News on L&R support measures in view of the war in Ukraine


5th October 2022

Almost seven months after the start of the war in Ukraine, Lohmann & Rauscher (L&R) is once again providing an update on its aid measures. Already on the day after the war began (24 February), L&R delivered its first shipment of medical products. Many more donations of wound dressings and other medical products were provided over the next weeks and months. In order to help quickly, unbureaucratically and according to need, an emergency aid budget was set up. After the first days of the war, L&R concentrated its support efforts mainly on activities in the countries near Ukraine with L&R subsidiaries: Poland, Croatia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. An employee donation account was also set up.

Wolfgang Suessle, CEO of the L&R group: "At L&R, we focus on people and the care of their health. This is also what our corporate claim People.Health.Care. states and this is concretely reflected, among others, in our commitment to people who are suffering hardship through no fault of their own. In 2022, these are especially the victims of the terrible war in Ukraine. It was and is important to us to help quickly, unbureaucratically and in a needs-oriented manner. I am very proud of the many L&R employees who have donated or have become personally involved in L&R Ukraine aid and continue to do so. We have not raised such a comprehensive volume of donations ever before in the history of L&R!" 

  • The L&R support is worth more than EUR 780,000 (as of 1 September 2022). § In total, more than 250 pallets of medical products were donated to various hospitals directly in Ukraine or to other recipients, mainly aid organisations that support war victims in Ukraine or in neighbouring countries. 
  • As of the beginning of September, the donation account set up for L&R employees had an amount of more than 7,500 EUR. This amount was transferred into further donations of medical products - especially urgently needed products for wound care and first aid. The subsidiary L&R Croatia organised the transport of the products to hospitals in Ukraine with the help of the Ukrainian Embassy in Zagreb.
  • The most recently released donation went to the L&R donation partner organisation Human plus e.V. in mid-September, which received 8 pallets of wound care products. They delivered them, together with other donated products, to a hospital in Mykolajiw in southern Ukraine.

22nd September 2022

Today, 8 pallets with our wound care product Suprasorb P sensitive, which can also be used for burn wounds, among other things, reached the central warehouse of our donation partner Human Plus e.V. in Nettetal / Germany. Human Plus e.V. will hand over these products together with other donated items to a hospital in Mykolajiw in the south of Ukraine on the the following weekend.


25th August 2022

Our colleagues from L&R Croatia are today sending a transport of 21,000 coveralls (infection prevention overalls), to various hospitals and other recipients in Ukraine. Coveralls are not only used in connection with Covid-19, but also in the recovery of injured or dead bodies in the war zones. 


1st August 2022

In March, in addition to the emergency aid budget, L&R also set up a donation account that L&R employees could us to donate money. At the end of July, there was a "cash audit": In total, the L&R colleagues collected EUR 7,530.80 by that time!

The amount of the L&R donation account was given into the responsible hands of our Croatian team. L&R Croatia has - also due to its own war history in the 1990s - the most experience and knowledge in organising donations for Ukraine. The amount was used for urgently needed wound care and first aid products: Rauscher dressing boxes, Vliwafix wound dressings, Curapor wound dressings, Raucolast elastic fixation bandages, Lomatuell H, Vliwazell, tweezers and scissors were sent to hospitals in Ukraine via the Ukrainian Embassy in Croatia.


29th June 2022

L&R Austria also supported an initiative by two private individuals from Vienna, who directly supplied the "Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No 1" in Kiev with donated materials. L&R was able to provide valuable products for the OR with our Kitpack multi-component OR system.


25th May

Update on support efforts due to Ukraine war: L&R has supported with over EUR 300,000 to date

Almost three months after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Lohmann & Rauscher (L&R) provides a first summary of its support efforts. Already one day after the war began (24 February), Lohmann & Rauscher (L&R) handed over its first delivery of medical products. Many more donations of wound dressings and other medical products followed. In order to be able to help as quickly as possible, unbureaucratically and need-oriented, an emergency aid budget was set up. After the first days of the war, L&R concentrated its relief efforts primarily on activities implemented In the countries near Ukraine, like Poland, Croatia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. 

  • A total of 135 pallets of medical devices were donated by the beginning of May 2022.
  • The recipients of the medical products are mainly hospitals in Ukraine - these were/are supplied via the Ukrainian embassies in the surrounding countries, such as Croatia, Hungary, Poland, etc., or via organisations in these countries (e.g. International Red Cross). Refugee camps in Ukraine and neighbouring countries (especially Poland, Romania, Moldova), as well as nursing services in Ukraine, were also supplied via the L&R subsidiaries and the major partner organisations Humedica e.V. and Caritas Vienna. But also, for example, an L&R customer in the Ukraine who cares for children with the disease epidermolysis bullosa (butterfly disease) is among the recipients of donations.
  • In addition to these "classic" product donations, L&R also supported Ukrainian refugees in Germany and employees who gave refugees a new home or transported donations to refugee camps themselves.
  • In total, L&R's aid efforts up to the beginning of May correspond to a value of more than 300,000 EUR.
  • As of 13 May, the donation account set up for L&R employees showed an amount of over 7,400 EUR. This amount will still be used for relief measures.
  • The Czech L&R subsidiary has already provided more than 20 refugees from Ukraine with jobs at the Slavkov site and some also with accommodation. In Germany, too, they are actively recruiting refugees from Ukraine for the logistics centre in Neuwied-Block.

24th May 2022

The 100 first aid kits donated by L&R Hungary were handed over by the Embassy of Ukraine in Hungary to the on-duty units of the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine.

14th May 2022

Great gratitude reached our Croatian colleagues.

Our team in Zagreb supplied and continues to supply hospitals and other recipients in Ukraine with medical products through the Ukrainian Embassy in Croatia.


22nd April 2022

Many of L&R's support activities are handled through the Ukrainian embassies in the respective countries - this is also the case with our colleagues from L&R Hungary.

The L&R team in Budapest donated 100 Rauscher first aid kits to the Ukrainian Embassy in Hungary for the care of injured people in Ukraine.


14th April 2022

Click the link below and you can watch a video (in German language) of our donation partner humedica e.V., that also shows some of the L&R donation products in Ukraine:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=646575363074752&ref=sharing

(Note: Playing the video is only possible with a Facebook account)


10th April 2022

L&R Croatia recently donated 15 pallets of Kitpack surgical kits and Cellacast products to hospitals in the western Ukrainian cities of Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv.


8th April 2022

A large delivery of medical products to Ukraine consisting of products from L&R and other companies (like the Austrian Grabher Group) on behalf of the Government of Lower Austria and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism is planned for April. L&R has supplemented the delivery with 2 pallets of donations.A symbolic handover took place at the end of March.

Image (NLK Pfeiffer) -  f.l.t.r.: Andreas Reichhardt (Head of Section in the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism), Enrico Grabher (Grabher Group), State Councillor Dr. Martin Eichtinger (representing the Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner), Thomas Menitz (COO L&R).


6th April 2022

he location of our Polish subsidiary in Pabianice is just over 400km away from the Ukrainian border. Millions of refugees from Ukraine crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border. Among others, the Polish Chamber of Commerce centrally organised aid for the refugees and for people in Ukraine at the request of the Ukrainian Embassy in Poland.

Our colleagues from L&R Poland responded quickly and unbureaucratically to the request for support from the Medical Devices Association of the Chamber of Commerce - it was a matter of the heart for them. Among other things, several pallets of wound care products (Vliwasoft, Lomatuell H, Solvaline, Metalline, Suprasorb products), bandages (Raucolast) and hygiene articles (OR clothing, surgical gloves) were donated to ensure medical care for the refugees and people in Ukraine.


2nd April 2022

As of 2 April, our Czech subsidiary has already provided accommodation and jobs for 25 refugees from Ukraine at our site in Slavkov!


31st March 2022

Our Croatian colleagues around Country Manager Tvrtko Blaic have done a lot in recent weeks to support hospitals in Lviv, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv in Ukraine. Here is an excerpt:

- Packaging of more than 17,000 special wound dressings for the wounded in the Ukraine.

- Further product donations such as OR-sets, surgical drapes, etc.

- Motivation of partner companies in Croatia to also donate necessary relief supplies, such as suture materials.

Our colleagues also helped to equip refugee shelters in Zagreb and privately collected clothing for children.


27th March 2022

All people in Ukraine and outside are suffering from this war - and especially older, impaired or vulnerable people.

In response to a request for support, L&R supported the NGO Caritas Austria with 4 pallets of incontinence products for their clients in Ukraine.

Image/Copyright: Caritas Austria


25th March 2022

Our colleagues from L&R Hungary are also active in helping the victims of the war in Ukraine.

In a first step, the university hospital of Debrecen, which was converted into a military emergency hospital for war victims, was equipped with wound care products.


21st March 2022

L&R also supports the commitment of colleagues and their private efforts for the victims of the war in Ukraine. Among others, the Flame of Peace association and the Papa Bär association in Austria are collecting relief supplies for Ukraine and refugee camps on the border. An L&R colleague actively supported this and delivered medicines, emergency generators, blankets, tinned food etc. to a refugee camp in Dorohusk and one in Przemyśl.
L&R supported here by paying the fuel costs.


18th March 2022

On 18 March, 20 pallets of medical products left our logistics centre in Schönau and were handed over to our long-time donation partner Caritas Austria. Caritas is one of the few organisations that can still provide help on the ground. This works because the organisation has been active in Ukraine for 30 years and has built up well-functioning aid structures together with Caritas Ukraine. Caritas brings food, hygiene articles, medicines and medical products to Lviv and Kyiv, among other places.

https://www.caritas.at/

 


17th March 2022

For the last two weeks, our colleagues from Richard Fréres in St. Genest/France have also been collecting. Clothes, food etc. were handed over to a local aid organisation for their work on the Polish-Ukrainian border. 


16th March 2022

Our team from L&R Slovakia supported the state hospital in Uzhorod, Ukraine. In cooperation with the international Rotary Club, the donated goods were handed over to the Ukrainian organisation "From Heart to Heart". Our products are mainly used for the treatment of war injuries. 


15th March 2022

L&R Czech Republic with its 3 locations Slavkov, Nova Paka and Stara Paka has already implemented many relief measures since the beginning of the war and continues to do so: In addition to product donations to NGOs, our Nova Paka & Stara Paka locations cooperated with a regional NGO in Jičín. Medicines, medical products, drugstore items, food, clothing, shoes, etc. were collected. Our Czech subsidiary also offers jobs to refugees and assists with the necessary official formalities.
Accommodation for refugees is also offered when possible. Now, 3 mothers and their children are staying with us at L&R.

Trennlinie


14th March 2022

Our colleagues from L&R UK also collected items of daily use (sleeping bags, nappies, wet wipes and colouring books) and took them to a local donation centre in Derbyshire. Together with the other donations, this filled a 40-foot trailer that set off for the Polish-Ukrainian border.


11th March 2022

Our team from L&R France also sent product donations to the Polish-Ukrainian border. At the same time, our colleagues were encouraged to participate in collections of necessities such as clothes, blankets, baby products, etc. organised by the Red Cross or other NGOs. 


10th March 2022

At our Czech location in Slavkov, we started the collection of necessities for refugees from Ukraine. Whether used or new clothes, towels, blankets, shower gels, soaps, sweets, etc., our colleagues made it possible and everyone made a contribution. 


8th March 2022

Our colleagues from L&R Croatia started the production of special acute wound dressing sets for war wounded in Ukraine in their office. Over the following days, more than 17,000 (!) of these sets were packed. Our colleagues were also supported: by volunteer refugees from Ukraine.


7th March 2022

In a first step, our Slovakian colleagues collected suitable products in the L&R product sample warehouses in Secovce and Bratislava and brought them to the refugee camps on the Slovakian-Ukrainian border.


6th March

The small subsidiary Rauscher Verbandstoffe in Dornbirn/Austria also compiles product donations from its warehouse. The destination of the donations is a hospital in Mykolajiw, in the south of Ukraine. 


4th March

Our team from L&R Croatia supports the establishment of refugee centres in Zagreb / Croatia with necessary items such as mattresses, sleeping bags and clothing.


4th March 2022 | UPDATE by the CEO of L&R

This war is affecting us on so many levels and dimensions. It touches our innermost personal feelings, and awakens fears – but also the urge to help. What’s more, it is also increasingly occupying us as an organisation.


We are currently receiving many, many requests for product donations.


With the full support of the L&R Advisory Board and the shareholders, we the Executive Board have decided to initiate and implement further measures in addition to those already in place.

 

  • We have created an emergency budget for short-term support activities.

  • In addition, a global L&R donation account has been set up, the proceeds of which will also go into the emergency budget.

  • Our actual support services, e.g. the supply of medical devices, as well as food, accommodation for refugees, etc., will focus primarily on the countries close to the Ukrainian border, i.e. Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Our L&R companies there can offer help quickly and according to need.

  • We are currently organising the delivery of a second central consignment of aid to our partner Humedica, based in Germany. The first consignment, delivered last Friday, is already on its way to Ukraine along with other donated items. A consignment of donations to the organisation Caritas in Austria is also being prepared. What’s more, our colleagues from L&R Croatia are already supplying local organisations with donated items.

  • Other initiatives have already been launched: In Germany, a collection campaign will be organised by the employees of L&R and our associated Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG in the next few days. This involves the collection of everyday necessities, which will be transported by Lohmann to the crisis region next week.

Let's continue to stay strong together and support each other!

 

Best regards,


Wolfgang Suesle

President & CEO

On behalf of the entire L&R Executive Board


3rd March 2022

Our colleagues in the Czech Republic supported two non-profit organisations with medical products. The donations go to "ADRA" and "Pomoc bez hranic" (Help without borders).


1st March 2022

Our colleagues of L&R Croatia received the first shipment of product donations from our warehouse in Schönau/Austria, sorted them and handed them over to the Ukrainian embassy in Zagreb and to Ukrainian aid organisations. These sent the products directly to Ukrainian hospitals and to the war front. Due to their war experience, our Croatian colleagues have a lot of knowledge about what is needed. Therefore they prepared special small "wound packages" for the treatment of injuries.


28th February 2022 | Statement on the war in Ukraine by the CEO of L&R

We are shocked by the extremely dramatic political events that have been unfolding in recent days in Europe. Russia started with an unprecedented aggressive invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine. We are reading, seeing and hearing of casualties and injuries, of distraught people in Ukraine, of explosions, also in civilian facilities and blocks of flats, of thousands of refugees, of concerned individuals who have relatives and friends in Ukraine.

The entire Executive Board condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms. We stand in solidarity with all of the victims of this war. And we will do everything in our power to help alleviate the terrible consequences suffered by all who are affected -- those in Ukraine and elsewhere.

  • Colleagues from Ukraine also work in our company, e.g. at our Slavkov site in the Czech Republic. We will offer them and their families/acquaintances assistance regarding housing, work, etc.
  • Already last Friday, we sent our first aid shipment of donated products to our partner organization Humedica, which provides medical devices to the largest hospital in Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine and to the Children’s Mission Ukraine. We are planning to send another shipment this week (you can watch a report here broadcast on German television, starting at 4:28:30)

These days remind us all how valuable our personal safety, health and freedom are and how much our solidarity and mutual support is needed.

 

Ukraine: We stand with you!

 

Wolfgang Suessle

President & CEO

On behalf of the entire Executive Board


25th February 2022

On day 1 after the begining of the war, L&R sent the first shipment of donated medical products to the partner organisation Humedica e.V. in Kaufbeuren/Germany. Humedica has been supporting hospitals and children's projects in Ukraine for many years.
German television (channel ZDF) reports on Humedica's commitment.