For fifteen years, the company has been engaged in agricultural activities and has large areas of land and warehouses in Kiev, Chernigiv, Poltava and Cherkassy in eastern Ukraine.
But the focus is now entirely on helping the employees.
- Many of them have become my friends during the time we have run our agricultural business.
It is a terrible situation for our employees right now, but of course also for everyone else in Ukraine, says Johan Damne.
Very cut by the situation
- We try to help and have made efforts in earlier stages.
For example, trying to get our staff to avoid being drafted into the army.
We try to keep them in the company, they are very important to us.
We also have a large HR department that helps right now.
We try to line up with everything from conversations to more tangible help such as putting the employees in safety, he says.
During the interview, Johan Damne gets teary-eyed on several occasions.
- You feel very small, extremely small.
I'm obviously cut.
There is not much you can do about this situation right now, he says.