Vladimir Lempert, founder of a factory in the industrial city of Kamianske in east-central Ukraine, strolls proudly along production lines churning out plastic parts used by carmakers including Land Rover, BMW and VW. Elsewhere, imported robotic machinery shapes plastic pellets into containers for food, construction materials and the medical industry.
Yet something is spoiling this rare Ukrainian business success story. The factory’s output and profits are getting back to their levels before 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea and fomented a separatist war in far eastern regions — 300km east of Kamianske — causing a sharp economic contraction. But Mr Lempert is struggling to get the funds he needs to expand.
