The Pervomaisk furniture factory “KEDR” was inherited by the couple — Yaroslav and Kateryna Fay — from their parents. “My father loved working with wood very much,” noted Kateryna in a conversation about the company’s present, making it clear that furniture making in their family is not accidental. Back when the parents were in charge, she and her husband helped with the business, and when the older generation stepped down due to age, the children continued the family business, taking on all the production and business responsibilities themselves.

And just at the time when they were preparing to give the company a new impetus for growth, they were struck by hardships and misfortunes. The death of their parents, the war, the necessity to “live in two cities”: production remained in Pervomaisk, while the owners, particularly Kateryna, were in Kyiv. As a result, instead of growing, “KEDR” was forced to retreat. They had to let go of some clients, including the large wholesale buyer “Epicentr” network, because with the team reduced to a minimum, the company could no longer guarantee timely delivery of agreed volumes.

— And yet, despite all these difficulties, you and your husband didn’t give up. Even working with minimal profitability, the company continues. Pervomaisk’s “KEDR” has not disappeared from the industry, the market, or UAFM.

— Yes. Now, more than ever, it has become clear that the most important thing in furniture manufacturing — and probably in any production — is people. Without them, even the most advanced machines won’t help. From a business perspective, we are surviving not only with minimal profitability but also with minimal staff. We’ve managed to retain a few woodworking specialists, and fortunately, they are versatile — able to operate various equipment and perform a wide range of furniture-making tasks.

— And your company has always stood out for its versatility, producing case and upholstered furniture, chairs, and furniture fronts — both for in-house needs and for sale. Have these difficult circumstances forced the company to limit this production diversity?

— No. We haven’t shut down any of these directions. And we won’t, as long as we have employees capable of maintaining this range of assortment with acceptable cost-efficiency for each product. Because we are in a situation where we could take an order that we are technically capable of fulfilling, but it would be economically unfeasible for the company.

As for the product variety, that’s a tradition passed down from my father. He always liked to take on something new if he had the skills to make it.

— Within this product range, there is a unique offering — a children’s playhouse. It’s a product we haven’t seen from any other furniture companies we know. Tell us about it.

— First of all, it was a gift for our daughter when she was little. And when we saw how much she enjoyed using it — for both play and rest, since everything in it was thoughtfully designed — we decided to offer it as a commercial product as well. Of course, it’s an occasional-sale product — an accompanying one, so to speak, so we don’t focus on it as a key item.

— How would you define the main challenge your company is facing right now?

— To achieve a stable and competitive cost-efficiency of our products.

— That’s important, especially if you have your sights on export. Do you?

— Export is attractive for everyone, but… Can we, in our current situation, really go for it — knowing that, due to the same staff shortage, we can’t be certain we’ll meet export contract guarantees? Unfortunately, we can’t. So for now, we work within our current capabilities, with faith that peace will come to Ukraine — and with it, better economic and business conditions that are currently limited.

In this context, I want to thank UAFM for what it does to support its members, inspiring business owners not to give up in the face of difficulties. Even simply by sharing and practically demonstrating, through real companies, how to overcome challenges and where to find new opportunities and resources. That’s why I’ve always responded positively to the events proposed by the Association — because participation in them truly filled me with new ideas.