In April 2022, entrepreneur Oleksandr Kroshka came to the KOLVI boiler plant. After Russian troops had left the city, the workshops looked badly damaged: there were no windows, no doors, and huge holes in the ceiling and walls. Rains were pouring in through them and did not stop for several days in a row. Oleksandr says that he did not feel any special emotions at the time: he only had an overwhelming desire to rebuild everything and take revenge on the enemy for what he had done.
Looking ahead, thanks to the team, good planning and perseverance, they succeeded. Boiler production was resumed in less than a month. Subsequently, additional production capacities were created, which can be launched at any time if necessary. After all, the plant's products are of strategic importance: with the help of block-modular boilers, Kolvi restores critical heating infrastructure destroyed by the enemy and decentralizes the heat supply system. Today, KOLVI equipment generates about 30% of heat in the cities and villages of Ukraine. Oleksandr's rage and desire for revenge are realized in the projects of a charity foundation that helps the defense forces keep the sky clear, but he does not disclose details about this area for obvious reasons.
Read more about the plant, decentralized heat supply, and KOLVI's scientific developments in the article.
KOLVI plant: the way from domestic boilers to powerful block-modular boilers
A 50-year-old plant was located in the industrial zone of the city, which was one of the first to come under fire from the Russian military on February 24. It was built to manufacture metal parts and structures. At different times, it employed thousands of people who made various parts here.
«I came to work here in 1974 after the army. I was hired only as an apprentice. I agreed because it was difficult to get a job here back then. And this year I celebrate my 50th anniversary at the plant. My whole life has been spent here. In 2002, we started producing simple household gas boilers. Over the years, the range has grown to 140 types of heat engineering equipment, among which industrial boilers occupy a significant share. Now they play a strategic role in ensuring heat supply in Ukraine,» Hryhorii Polgui, Production Director, who knows all the processes at the plant in detail and keeps an eye on everything, begins the conversation.
The man says he sometimes arrives at work at 6 am and stays until late at night. Sometimes he also works on weekends because the plant has a lot of orders. However, employees are paid double the rate for overtime.
«I've been through a lot of managers in 50 years. But Oleksandr Kroshka and Oleg Vaisburd have done a lot for the plant and people. They immediately raised all employees» salaries by 2-2.5 times. Can you imagine that? Everything is paid on time, without delay. They have created comfortable conditions for work here: there are showers, locker rooms, rest areas, offices... And with the start of a full-scale war, we are even paid our 13th salary. People are very satisfied and motivated to work because they understand the importance of the thermal equipment they produce for the country now," Hryhoriy Polguy shares.
During the fighting in the region in February and March 2022, the enterprise was hit by air strikes. Fortunately, all the people survived, but the workshops were damaged. This resulted in losses of tens of millions of hryvnias. Director of the Kolvi Charitable Foundation Oleksandr Kroshka says that at the time he did not know whether the plant would survive at all. But his priorities were different: to save the lives of the workers. Together with his colleagues, he organized the evacuation of women, children and the elderly from the regions where the shelling took place.
After the city was liberated, the plant began to rebuild: windows and doors were replaced, walls and roofs were repaired, and the facade was renovated. In the fall of 2022, when massive power outages began in the country, powerful generators were installed. As a result, the plant now operates even during hourly power outages.
«This plant is the birthplace of the KOLVI brand, it all started here. Therefore, we will revive and develop it. However, the war has shown that we need to have backup production facilities. We have already set them up in different regions of Ukraine and can launch them very quickly if necessary. Thus, we are able to restore heat generation under control. It is impossible to stop KOLVI production,» Oleksandr Kroshka says.
The plant is now actively working to ensure that it meets all European standards. The production facility already has many quality certificates, including the ISO series: 9001:2015 Quality Management System, 14001:2015 Environmental Management System, 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System and 50001:2018 Energy Management System.
KOLVI's production has also been inspected and audited by US taxpayer fund managers such as USAID. By their order, the company has been manufacturing and servicing thermal equipment for several years. Such cooperation confirms the quality of KOLVI boilers and boiler houses.
Oleksandr Kroshka: «We were talking about decentralization of heat supply even before the war»
The plant now produces boilers that run on gas and alternative fuels. There is equipment for household consumers, industrial boilers for large buildings, such as hospitals or schools. But the main focus is now on the production of block-modular boilers. They can heat thousands of people, for example, a neighborhood in a city. Such equipment became especially in demand with the outbreak of a full-scale war, when the enemy destroyed thermal power plants, heating networks and old stationary boiler houses. This left entire cities without heat. Eventually, the state finally decided to decentralize heat supply, and cities adopted the relevant targeted programs one by one.
«We talked about decentralization of heat supply before the war. Back then, it was about saving energy. Our boiler houses consume less fuel and produce more heat, the networks for its transportation are not as extensive, and this also reduces losses. The war has shown another argument for decentralization - security,» explains Oleksandr Kroshka.
Instead of rebuilding one cumbersome old thermal power plant that was destroyed by the Russian military, several dozen modular boiler houses are being installed. This means that in case of shelling, the threat of leaving people without heat for a long time will be minimal. Even if one boiler house is destroyed, its consumers can be connected to neighboring ones or a new module can be installed quickly.
«We manufacture block-transportable boilers of various capacities. They are economical and of high quality. We are located in Ukraine, so we can deliver them quickly. This is the equipment that the government and international partners who finance Ukraine's energy recovery are focusing on,» he said. explains Oleg Vaisburd, director of the company.
A block-modular boiler house looks like a large metal room with boilers and other equipment inside. It takes about two months to manufacture. Installation takes up to a week. The boiler house consists of several parts. After manufacturing, it is transported to the customer and connected to the heating networks of the house. This equipment runs on gas or alternative fuel: wood, coal, pellets, etc. Another advantage of such boilers is their mobility. If necessary, it can be transported and connected to another location.
All metal structures for the equipment are manufactured at the plant. Electronics and other parts are ordered abroad. The plant's workshops have the latest European-quality equipment. This has automated many processes and reduced the need for employees. Instead of 400 people, a hundred are now doing the job.
Soviet machines are also working nearby. Hryhorii Polhui is sure that they have no analogues among modern ones.
KOLVI boilers have unique technological solutions that increase the boiler's efficiency by 2-10%. Oleksandr Kroshka says that this results in billions of hryvnias in fuel savings across the country.
«I would like to note that the operation of the equipment is also a huge scientific work that stands behind the final product. The average person will not notice anything visually on the boiler, but the savings will be felt in their wallet. To improve this development, we involved scientists from the academy and universities of Odesa, Kyiv, Poltava, Ivano-Frankivsk... I dedicated my own dissertation for a degree to introducing improvements to the equipment used for heat supply,» says Oleksandr Kroshka.
Roman Usatyi, head of the production and trading company for KOLVI equipment for the Ukrainian market, says that one of the main tasks today is to prepare Ukraine for the heating season as much as possible, which will prevent critical damage during frost.
This is done with the money of European and American partners who cooperate with local heating companies.
«International funds are allocating funds to help Ukraine decentralize heating. Our Kolvi Charitable Foundation helps district heating companies design such networks and boiler houses. Then these projects and calculations are checked by partners. Next, regional heating companies announce a tender on Prozorro. We take part in it. Of course, we don't always win. But in general, we have great chances because we have a 30-year production history, reputation, large capacities, assortment, and most importantly, high-quality equipment that has been in service for decades. There is strict control over the use of donor funds. We do not always receive an advance, so we invest our own money in the production of such boilers to deliver them on time where they are needed,» Roman Usatyi explains.
He adds that currently, KOLVI boilers account for 30% of Ukraine's heat generating capacity.
Thus, since 2022, Kolvi modular boiler houses have been operating in Kharkiv. They were installed to replace the destroyed CHP plants, central heating stations, and old Soviet boiler houses. Thanks to the decentralization of heat supply and the ability of boiler houses to run on different types of fuel, people in apartments and hospitals remain supplied with heat and water despite local power outages. Installation of boiler houses takes little time, because it is a ready-made product that just needs to be assembled on site and connected to the networks. Therefore, KOLVI equipment has successfully passed the test of the war «in the fields».
Kolvi Foundation helps the army to close the sky and cities to restore heat supply
After the liberation of northern Ukraine from the Russian military, KOLVI created a charitable foundation of the same name. It was headed by Oleksandr Kroshka.
With the outbreak of a full-scale war, it became clear that critical infrastructure would be targeted. In the end, this is exactly what happened. Currently, the fund is helping to develop technical solutions to restore district heating in cities and villages that have been destroyed. The main source of the fund is the production of boilers.
«Now, with the destruction of large thermal power plants, decentralization is the way to energy security. That is why we focused on the production of block-modular boiler houses based on KOLVI boilers and equipment. They help cities survive where critical infrastructure has been destroyed. If we don't restore heat, the damage will increase many times over with the arrival of frost: the water in pipes and batteries will freeze, leading to destruction and losses. We cannot let this happen,» he said. says the head of the foundation.
Here, settling scores with the Russian military is converted into aid to the army.
«Our foundation has a clear direction in terms of helping the defense forces. We are not scattered. There are three major investments in the development of technical solutions for the army. In particular, we are focused on helping our military defend the sky. Not to mention the current activities - such traditional volunteer activities as providing off-road vehicles, FPV, creating conditions for training and rehabilitation of our defenders Along with providing heat supply, this is also our contribution and work for victory,» summarizes Oleksandr Kroshka and adds that it will be possible to talk about this in more detail after the victory...
Source: NV
