International Dealer News 165 Feb/Mar 2022 IDN165 Feb/Mar 2022 | Page 9

news ROOM to us . Especially the tragedies in the world , tragedies like Syria and Myanmar . " They often don ' t have an emotional impact because we don ' t feel connected . It ’ s another tragedy in another country . But then something can happen that can turn your world on its head . " Supersprox was founded in the United Kingdom by my father back in 1959 . We set up a small and specialised company in Ukraine in 2008 , and I have been working in Zhytomyr , Ukraine , since 2011 . I am a British citizen and my wife is Slovak . We are foreigners , working in a third country . It ’ s not our native land . The team of Supersprox ' Ukraine staff are about 80 people . We have built a business in the city , and it connects us to the community here . Several of our staff have worked in the company for more than ten years , almost from the beginning of our time in Ukraine . " Today , ( February 24th , 2022 ) we were awoken to bombing in Ukraine . A Russian military attack on an independent nation . In such a short period of time , our investments in Ukraine have changed from solid and dependable to something that could be blown away like a leaf in the wind . " This new situation is hard to comprehend . Inside the country , there have been bombing raids in many regions . Mainly focused on the east , where most Russian forces are stationed . In the north , ' above ' the capital Kyiv , and several other areas . There is a small military airbase about 5 km from the Supersprox factory . That was amongst the targets this morning . " I can say that in this situation , I don ' t

think about the investments . This becomes a situation where we think about the people and the company . We know that Europe and USA will not come to support the defence of Ukraine . " We understand that the head of Russia is not too much concerned about sanctions from the West . What is lost from sanctions , will be compensated by the acquisition of new assets . This is not a political message or a jab at the Russian leader . We don ' t waste our time with those matters , because it will not help us in this situation . " Today , our staff came to work , and we made sprockets . Tomorrow , we will come to work and make more sprockets , and we will continue doing that as long as there is metal , energy and people . During these years , Supersprox has worked hard to deliver innovation , quality and brand recognition . Much of that created here in Ukraine , by our staff . " We have seen that the disputed territory in Eastern Ukraine suffered badly after the occupation by separatists . Our job now is to try and avoid the same situation in our region . Time will tell if Supersprox is destined to continue to be a player in the motorcycle market . The political chess game has little regard for pawns . " From the company that invented dual material sprockets in 2000 , forged blank technology in 2018 and pioneered aluminium sprockets in the 1970s , we thank our partners and clients for their support , and we have hope that this situation will not spread across borders . It is still our belief that we can work to save the company ." www . supersprox . com
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