Viktor Voroncov, Director of LLC Layher Ukraine, spoke with LDaily about entering the untapped Ukrainian market of construction scaffolding, the challenges along the way – including local mentality, global industry trends and standards, vast prospects for development, and the unconventional choice of a Galician town as a logistics hub.
LDaily: Tell us about Layher Ukraine.
V. Voroncov: I am not only the head of Layher Ukraine but also of the Lithuanian Layher Baltic and the Estonian Layher Tellingud Eesti. That is why I would like to begin not with the story of the Ukrainian subsidiary, but with that of its parent company. In 1945, the company’s founder, Wilhelm Layher, returned from the war to a completely destroyed Germany. There was nothing, and whatever you did, there was demand. He started by making clothespins and rakes in a garage. These two products marked the beginning of the company’s journey 79 years ago. A little later, he began manufacturing wooden ladders. Then, for stability, he placed two ladders together and created a stepladder. Placing two stepladders side by side and laying a board across the top resulted in the first construction scaffolding. At that time, of course, the scaffolding was wooden.The real revolution in the scaffolding industry came in 1965, when Wilhelm Layher invented the first steel frame scaffolding. He combined eight individual components into a single unit, achieving a breakthrough in labor productivity. Instead of assembling eight separate parts, one frame was now enough. In 1974, we began producing modular scaffolding for industrial applications. These are distinguished by greater flexibility in terms of both convenience and safety. Frame scaffolding allows for platforms to be installed at fixed heights of two meters, while modular scaffolding makes it possible to place platforms every 50 centimeters – or even every 25 centimeters in our case. Since that innovation, our core business has focused on a wide range of structures based on modular scaffolding. We produce grandstands, stages, temporary buildings, roofs, bridges, and staircases, including those used for public events and spaces accommodating thousands of visitors. Our products are manufactured at three plants in Germany. These facilities are known for their high level of automation and robotics. Nearly all processes are carried out with little or no human involvement. We operate three hot-dip galvanizing lines, and nearly all of our steel components are coated with a zinc layer of 80 micrometers. This coating is sufficient to ensure many years of durability, even in highly aggressive environments, without the appearance of rust. In September 2023 we opened the most modern plant with maximum automation of processes, using green energy. Overall, the company will be CO₂-neutral by 2030. Sustainable development is a priority for the company. We require the same from our suppliers. Everything we manufacture serves clients for 30-40 years. 100% compatibility of components. Everything produced in 1965 is compatible with components produced yesterday. Investments in Layher products never lose their value. Additionally, all our products are easily recycled – and have a high degree of reuse.
The company has more than 50 subsidiaries around the world, and one of them is Layher Baltic. We are responsible for Layher sales in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Iceland, and Ukraine. To operate in Ukraine, we opened the Layher Ukraine subsidiary in January 2023. It is still located in Lviv, but we are currently relocating to Chortkiv. Layher Baltic has four offices. We call them depots – because each is primarily a warehouse for construction scaffolding. The main office of the company is in Vilnius. The second Lithuanian office is in the small town of Mažeikiai, because there is an oil refinery there and a new production line is under construction. The office in Tallinn serves Estonia. And the office in Chortkiv serves Ukraine. For Ukraine – this is only the beginning.
LDaily: What was the year 2024 like for the company?
V. Voroncov: As a foreign investor, I may be mistaken – but even so, it always makes sense to look at the situation from the outside. 2024 was a turning point for us. Once we began operating profitably, we found clean, transparent, patriotic clients, we understood how to work in the Ukrainian market, and we took the first steps toward shaping the Ukrainian construction scaffolding market. The first meaningful results appeared, and our sales dynamics are growing by double-digit figures. The market is already large – and will grow exponentially when the country’s reconstruction begins. Our task for the year was to create a partner network of rental companies in the regions, which we could scale after the war ends. And we accomplished that task. Who, if not us, will continue to work in Ukraine? Our investments will only grow.
LDaily: What does the market look like today, and what changes have occurred over the year?
V. Voroncov: There is no market in the European sense of the word. There are no strict requirements for labor safety. The country declares its intention to join the European Union, yet still allows work to continue under outdated Soviet-era GOST standards. No one considers labor productivity. For comparison, in Lithuania-a country with a population of just 3 million-there are at least five specialized construction scaffolding rental companies. Their combined fleet amounts to about 500 trucks. In Ukraine, we are the only such company, and we operate a fleet of just 10 trucks. There is no recognized profession for scaffolding assembly. That was a major surprise for me, because this profession exists in nearly every country around the world. In Ukraine, it simply doesn’t. We actually began our operations here by partnering with the Department of Vocational Education under the Ministry of Education and Science. This remains the first and, so far, the only government body that has truly supported us. They actively collaborate with the business sector, guide us step by step, and lead us exactly where we all need to go. We’ve already organized a conference in Lviv for vocational educators in the region, focused on EU standards for working at height. Three training centers are already operating in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and Lviv, where both teenagers and adults are learning to work safely on construction scaffolding. However, there are still no formal professional standards. As a result, no one verifies the qualifications of scaffolding assemblers. Anyone can assemble them, regardless of training. There is no oversight of scaffold usage or labor safety. What troubles me the most is seeing local government leaders proudly post photos of construction projects on social media. In these images, I often see scaffolding that clearly violates EU safety standards. A significant portion of this work is funded either by us or by the European Union. As both a European and Ukrainian taxpayer, I do not want to fund unsafe labor conditions for Ukrainian construction workers. If Europe is financing projects in Ukraine, then they must be implemented according to European standards for safety, quality, and productivity. There will be no real change in this market unless we shift the mindset of both workers and business owners, start paying attention to costs and efficiency, and unless businesses begin to respect the very people who drive their success.
LDaily: What are the main challenges the company sees for development in Ukraine?
V. Voroncov: The mentality of people. At all levels. Very few people have a European mindset. When it comes to business owners – very few of them think in the long term. Most often, they think within the framework of a project. Once the project is finished, they’ll take the profit out and think about what to do next. In Lithuania, business owners practically never think only about profit. For them, the priority is increasing the company’s value, planning to pass the business on to their children, taking the company public, or selling it. Very often people simply don’t understand what I’m talking about. On a recent trip, I spoke with young and successful entrepreneurs – they listen to me with interest. I explain to them that our components last 30-40 years, that they’re an asset for any company, a tool for making money today and increasing the value of the business tomorrow. A tool that enables successful participation in tenders and business diversification. And at the end of the conversation, they tell me: Viktor, you’ve explained it all so fantastically, we’re on board – but let’s say you find one of your clients who has a lot of scaffolding and wants to sell it to us for 15% of its value. And that’s when it hits me – these people don’t even understand what I’m talking about. No one sells used scaffolding – because it’s a product that doesn’t lose value. It’s potential. It’s an investment that keeps generating income for you. It’s a business, in the end. It’s like buying an apartment, and then someone comes to you five years later and says: hey, sell me the apartment for 15% of the price – you’ve already lived in it for five years, it’s old now. If we’re talking about hired employees – the situation is even worse. People don’t know foreign languages. And for me, someone who lived in Lithuania – where trilingualism is a must, and speaking four languages is the norm – this is very strange. Employees don’t know how to present themselves. Almost no one has a LinkedIn profile, and the CVs are tragic. I’ve reviewed maybe a thousand resumes over two years, and only one candidate had worked in the same place for more than 10 years. All the others looked like job-hoppers – two years max. No one can provide references. There’s a high level of self-overestimation, and an expectation that since we’re a foreign company, we must be an easy source of high salaries and generous benefits.
LDaily: How has the consumption of your products and services changed in Ukraine? Do you see new trends
V. Voroncov: Our biggest problem in 2023, when we launched the company in Ukraine, was that people didn’t know our brand or products at all. Globally, we are number one. But in Ukraine, I’d say “Layher” – and people would be surprised: never heard of it. Once we began broad and large-scale brand promotion, results followed. We’re seeing growth in sales across all Layher product groups. We have a line of professional ladders and modular towers – very high quality, though not cheap. And even those are being bought. Ukrainians are starting to recognize quality.
LDaily: How do you assess the investment climate in Ukraine? Is the company planning new investments or expansion
V. Voroncov: Before coming to Ukraine, I had heard so many alarming things about the Ukrainian investment climate that I even went to the Lithuanian equivalent of NABU to ask where to report if someone tried to pressure me. But once I started working in the country, those fears gradually faded. The investment climate in Ukraine can’t be compared to that of Europe – but that’s natural, especially under martial law. Yes, taxes are higher, but we are obligated to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine – that’s normal and understandable. At the same time, the regions are very flexible when it comes to attracting foreign investors.
There is a fairly high level of corruption – yes. As soon as I arrived to start the business, I was offered “solutions” to every problem for a bribe – opening a bank account, leasing a warehouse, entering strategic enterprises. I didn’t pay a single hryvnia in bribes. But I opened the account, leased the warehouse, and I am working with strategic enterprises. I’d rather work with the 10-15% of the market who are like me – patriotic, honest, paying taxes, offering official salaries, and thinking about Ukraine’s future.
One area that could be improved is the business setup process for foreigners – for example, integrating digital signatures from EU countries into the “Diia” platform. Why should I, someone who created a business and jobs, need to obtain – and then renew every two years – a work permit? Opening a bank account for a foreign company is, frankly, a bureaucratic nightmare, especially with my last name. But all of this is manageable. And I would assess the investment climate in Ukraine as acceptable. We will only continue to increase our investment in Ukraine. Our plans include opening new warehouses in the regions and expanding the team. Our position is: a company’s depot should be no more than four hours’ drive from the client. So, our near-term plans include offices in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Vinnytsia, and Kryvyi Rih.
LDaily: What are the strategic goals of Layher Ukraine for the next 3-5 years?
V. Voroncov: When I started working at Layher in 2011, our market share in Estonia, for example, was 2%. Now – it’s 95%. I’m a maximalist. For me, there’s no other place in the market but first. By 2030, Layher’s market share in Ukraine will be 60-70%. We will have 10 offices across Ukraine. Annual sales will be around 2 billion hryvnias. The company will employ 300 people. But most importantly – we’ll have hundreds of clients whom we will grow from 150 square meters of façade scaffolding to 1,000 trucks of industrial scaffolding. This is exactly how our development progressed in the Baltic countries. I’m confident that we’ll follow the same path in Ukraine.
LDaily: Are you planning to introduce new products or services to the Ukrainian market?
V. Voroncov: We’re already offering services. In none of the Baltic countries or in Iceland do we rent scaffolding directly to the end client. But Ukraine is an exception. In order to demonstrate the efficiency of using our scaffolding, we made the decision to begin renting directly – and the results were phenomenal. Working in a small region, we can’t even keep up with delivering rental equipment to clients.
As for new products, we’re bringing to Ukraine the 80 years of experience that our parent company has accumulated around the world. And that experience meets the needs of even the most demanding clients. I love telling clients the phrase global view, local touch – a global vision of the business combined with a local presence. That is the secret of our company’s success. On the contrary, I don’t want to develop something specifically for Ukraine – I want to elevate the Ukrainian market up to European standards.
LDaily: How has the company adapted to changes in logistics and supply chains?
V. Voroncov: I can’t say that we’ve had problems with that. Yes, during the blockade of the border by Polish farmers, we were calculating the delivery time to Ukraine as 2-3 weeks. But outside of that period, transporting a truck from Vilnius to Lviv takes 2-3 days. My special thanks go to Ukrainian customs. There hasn’t been a single issue. Customs clearance takes only hours, there have been no conflicts, and I hope there won’t be any in the future.
LDaily: Are you observing increased competition in the industry? How do you plan to maintain a leading position
V. Voroncov: We don’t have competitors – because we’re the best. We produce the highest-quality construction scaffolding in the world. We offer our clients the most important thing – engineering. From the most expensive components in the world, our engineers create solutions that, in implementation, cost less than a project made from scrap metal. And more often than not, we’re the only ones able to carry out a project that competitors have turned down. Yes, for a long time we weren’t present in Ukraine – but now we’re here, and it’s only a matter of time before we’re on top. The greatest asset of our company is our people. I constantly invest in our employees. People come to work with us – and they never leave. That is the secret of leadership: a quality product and a strong team.
LDaily: You recently announced plans to open a branch in Chortkiv. Why there?
V. Voroncov: The main reason was the initiative of the mayor of Chortkiv, Volodymyr Shmatko. He simply wrote to me on Facebook and suggested investing in Chortkiv. Okay, I replied with a list of what we’d need to relocate the office from Lviv to Chortkiv – and received a proposal for a location that I couldn’t refuse. I didn’t ask for money, tax breaks, or anything material. I asked: help us find employees for the company. The key motive for investing in Chortkiv is the city’s advantageous logistics position – from there, we can serve a region with significant industrial potential. Of course, direct contact with the city administration is also important for us. It’s a simple formula: there’s a question or problem – there’s a contact person – there’s an answer and a solution.
LDaily: What services and products will Layher Ukraine offer at the new branch?
V. Voroncov: We want to make Chortkiv the central Ukrainian office. That means the city will have a warehouse, an office, an engineering bureau, a rental division, a training center, and a professional association for scaffolding assemblers – which is currently in the process of registration. I see Chortkiv not only as a logistics hub for our company, but as a center of know-how and expertise that we will pass on to clients. In Lithuania, for example, we hold one or two trainings per week: engineering sessions, marketing workshops, product introductions, and courses for obtaining scaffolding assembler certification. In Ukraine, we need to do the same – only on a much larger scale. And right now, the training center is a top priority.
LDaily: How will opening the branch impact the local construction technology market?
V. Voroncov: We haven’t even moved the warehouse to Chortkiv yet, but we’ve already received the first orders to rent construction scaffolding for a small façade project. You won’t believe it, but people traveled over 100 kilometers just to see this project. I have a very strict – maybe even uncompromising – approach to workplace safety. So from the very start, this project was implemented under the strictest European safety standards. All workers wore helmets, full harnesses with secured fall arrest systems. The scaffolding structure was built in full compliance with European safety requirements. It was especially important for me to have a veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine serve as an instructor on this project. That reflects the company’s position – and my personal conviction – to support veterans in their return to civilian life.
LDaily: Is Layher Ukraine planning to expand its presence in other Ukrainian cities?
V. Voroncov: I often use the example of the Lithuanian city of Mažeikiai – with a population of 35,000, located 340 kilometers from Vilnius. And yet we have an office, warehouse, and four partners there, managing a scaffolding fleet worth a total of 30 million euros. Why such concentration? The answer is simple. The city has an oil refinery, and the safety requirements for work conducted at the plant are so strict that it demands a huge amount of scaffolding. Now, look at Ukraine – this is a country with enormous industrial potential. In 2-3 years, you’ll see Layher scaffolding across the country, and our biggest achievement will be the partners we’ll have in every Ukrainian city. It’s through them that we’ll expand into the regions. Through them we’ll enter non-traditional niches – aircraft maintenance, shipbuilding, the entertainment industry, building restoration, bridge construction, and more.
LDaily: Is the company planning to localize the production of certain components in Ukraine?
V. Voroncov: I’ll be honest – unlikely. We produce everything at three plants in Germany – and we will always manufacture in Germany using materials processed in Germany. We will never move production outside the country because that’s our social responsibility to the people with whom our business has grown. Within a 100-kilometer radius of our factory, there are a huge number of businesses that either supply us, accommodate our clients in hotels, or feed our employees and clients in restaurants. These are simply people who work with our company – and we are responsible for them. The word responsibilityruns as a red thread through the entire Layher business. In my work, I’m guided first and foremost by responsibility – to employees and to partners. That said, there are a few factors that could influence our decision to begin production in Ukraine: the size of the domestic market before the country’s reconstruction begins, and Ukraine’s potential membership in the EU.
