Tyco Adds New Landmark to Ukraine's Greenfield Landscape
On December 10, 2008, a ceremony took place on the new site of Tyco Electronics Ukraine Ltd. in the Khryplyn Industrial Area of Ivano-Frankivsk. Joe Donahue, President of the TE Global Automotive Division and Fazal Choksi, General Manager of Tyco Electronics Ukraine Ltd., cut the ribbon and formally opened Tyco's doors to Ukrainian production.
Donahue noted that Tyco had high hopes for the new production facility, and that there are currently plans for the corporation's automotive division to be followed by its engineering division in setting up operations on-site. Choksi and Donahue both thanked community leaders for welcoming Tyco to the city, and Choksi also thanked his staff and colleagues for the hard work they had done to bring the plant on-line smoothly.
Richard Steffens, Commercial Counselor with the U.S. Embassy's Commercial Service, also addressed officials and business leaders attending the function from Ivano-Frankivsk and its surrounding regions. He said that the Embassy is keen to encourage quality investment from the United States which benefits both Ukraine and American business. Steffens acknowledged the important role played by the territory's strategic plan developed with USAID assistance, which emphasized the attraction of exactly the type of strategic foreign investment represented by Tyco. In conclusion, he offered congratulations to all stakeholders on the launch of Tyco operations.
The first module of the automotive wire and cable plant has already created several hundred jobs. When the whole project is implemented during the next year, the plant's total manpower will reach 3,000 to 5,000 workers.
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Workers on production lines of the Tyco plant in Ivano-Frankivsk. When the whole project is implemented, the plant's total manpower will reach 3,000 to 5,000 workers.
Photo credit: Victor Rachkevych |
For Ukraine, the plant, launched by one of the automotive industry's worldwide leaders in high-end auto parts for Original Equipment Manufacturers, is a landmark investment. Says Howard Ockman, USAID Local Economic Development (LED) Project Chief or Party, “The opening of Tyco's new automotive cabling plant is an important event not only for the people of Ivano-Frankivsk, but for all of Ukraine. In the midst of an economic downturn, Tyco has shown its confidence in, and commitment to, Ukraine, by going forward with its investment. For Ukraine, this is positive proof that strategic foreign investors, here to seek production efficiencies, will continue to come to Ukraine as long as the country continues to offer a skilled work force and friendly business environment."
The Tyco site occupies a 15-hectare plot leased from the municipality in the Khryplyn Industrial Area. The area is a 419 hectare zone designated for attracting investments into priority industries, upgrading existing enterprises, and creating up-to-date production, transport and market infrastructures.
After Tyco and the Ivano-Frankivsk City Rada (Council) signed a lease agreement in late July 2006, the investment project hit a bump in the road. It turned out that part of the land leased to the company is actually owned by dozens of individuals, many of whom had even left Ukraine—a fact unknown to the City Hall at the time of signing the agreement. The USAID LED Project offered its expert land lawyer to sort out the titling situation and to suggest solutions that were ultimately adopted to ensure the consummation of the deal.
Tyco Electronics Ukraine Ltd. was founded by two Luxemburg-based companies, Tyco Group SARL and Tyco International Group S.A., which are subsidiaries of US-based Tyco International Ltd. The new company was registered in Ivano-Frankivsk in February 2006.
Tyco Electronics Corporation, headquartered in Berwyn, PA, is a "global provider of engineered electronic components for thousands of consumer and industrial products; network solutions and systems for telecommunications and energy markets; undersea telecommunication systems; and wireless systems for critical communications," according to the Corporate Overview available at the company’s web site. Tyco Electronics has approximately 92,000 employees around the world. In fiscal 2007, the company's sales were $13 billion.
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