Anna Shevtsiv, co-owner of the machine-building plant “Stryi Auto” (Lviv), became one of the 65 winners of the first stage of “CREATE!” and, within just six months, was able to scale her business several times over thanks to grant funding. The “CREATE!” grant program was initiated by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund. It is implemented by the KSE Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, in partnership with the “Avrora” multi-market chain and Oschadbank JSC.
The entrepreneur invested the grant into laser welding equipment, licensed software, and training for the Stryi Auto team — a company that manufactures vehicles and seating, including products for people with disabilities.
This investment significantly increased the plant’s production capacity, introduced new technologies, enabled the development of more competitive products, expanded the product range, and allowed the company to quickly adapt to modern market demands. Process automation and the new equipment also reduced the physical workload for employees, improving both comfort and workplace safety.
“Thanks to the high-precision equipment we purchased and staff training, the amount of defective products decreased, which reduced production costs and increased profitability. Overall revenue grew by 45%, while production costs dropped by 23%.”, said Anna.
As of today, the results are:
+45% in production volume
−23% in product cost
+30 new jobs
Entry into the European market (Latvia and Spain)
“Thanks to grant support, we didn’t just move forward — we completely replaced imported railway seats with Ukrainian-made ones. Now Ukraine no longer buys Chinese seats but has its own first- and second-class seats. We managed to launch and bring to the European market, including Spain, new special seats with updated designs. We have fully mastered this product, and today it is already 80% Ukrainian-made”, said Anna.
Thanks to new technologies, Stryi Auto has fully replaced imported railway seats with Ukrainian-made alternatives, launched European-quality furniture production, and expanded its range. Laser welding has also made production more environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, and precise.
Grant support has had a positive impact on the company’s development strategy. Improved product quality and compliance with international standards have given the company the opportunity to attract new clients and partners, including from abroad.
“For the first time, we secured a client from Latvia by showcasing the technical and quality characteristics of our product as well as the speed of production. Our products are now used by companies such as Kochut, ‘Meblevyi Park,’ ‘Meblovo,’ and TIVOLI — well-known not only in Ukraine but also in the US markets. They highly appreciated the quality of our products, which once again confirms their compliance with European standards.”, said Anna.
One of the 12 railway cars in Latvia equipped with seats from “Stryi Auto”