Russia’s authorities have taken control of Polish-US aluminium packaging company Canpack operations in Russia as well as Danish insulation giant Rockwool.
They did so by placing the assets of both companies under “temporary external management”.
Under a decree issued on December 31 last year, the Russian industrial metal firm Statement assumed control of all shares in Canpack and the Canpack packaging plant.
Canpack is one of the world’s largest producers of aluminium containers, accounting for around 30 per cent of Russia’s domestic market.
The Russian authorities have not provided an official reason for their decision. Polish media have noted there have been reports that such actions are increasingly targeting firms from countries deemed “unfriendly” by Russia. Poland has been one of Ukraine’s most vocal supporters.
Established in 1992 in the Polish city of Kraków, Canpack has operated factories in the Moscow and Rostov regions since 2010.
In a statement issued by the company on January 14, Canpack defended its position.
“For 30 years, Canpack Group companies in Russia have operated in accordance with applicable law, fulfilling their obligations to employees and customers.
“We are currently assessing the legal, operational and financial consequences of the actions of the Russian authorities and intend to take all possible measures to protect our rights, property ownership and business continuity,” it said.
According to another Russian decree, newly established entity JSC Razvitie Stroitelnykh Aktiv (Development of Construction Assets) took over 100 per cent of Rockwool and 68 per cent of Rockwool-Volga.
Rockwool, the world’s largest producer of mineral wool insulation, entered Russia in the mid-1990s and owned four plants across the country, including in the Moscow and Leningrad regions, Chelyabinsk region and Tatarstan.
The Danish company in a statement on January 14 said it will defend its rights under a bilateral investment treaty. It added, though, that it was “not optimistic about reversing the decision to place our Russian subsidiaries under forced external administration”.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has increasingly been seizing the assets of private companies under the guise of temporary administration. That practice is widely seen as a way to plug budget holes caused by western sanctions and to fund Moscow’s war effort against Kyiv.
According to the independent Moscow Times, by 2025, the Russian state had nationalised hundreds of firms valued at more than €43.62 billion.
Dozens of Polish companies continue to operate in Russia, directly or via subsidiaries, including chemicals trader Makrochem, pharmaceuticals maker Polpharma or Poland’s clothing giant LPP.
