22.09.2026
Yuriy Atanasov, CEO and co-owner of Centravis, has received the international STS Executive of the Year award, one of the prestigious professional honors in the global stainless and specialty steel industry. Centravis has become the first Ukrainian company in the history of the award whose representative has received this international recognition.
The award was presented to Yuriy Atanasov on September 22 in Germany during the International Stainless & Special Steel Conference 2026, an international industry event that brings together executives from leading global steel producers, raw material suppliers, distributors, processors, and industrial end users.
The STS Executive of the Year award is presented annually to a senior executive in recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions to the development of the global stainless and specialty steel industry. Previous recipients have included representatives of leading metallurgical companies from Spain, India, Türkiye, Italy, and other countries. In 2026, for the first time in the award’s history, it was presented to a representative of a Ukrainian company.
“For me, this award is first and foremost recognition of the thousands of people at Centravis and of Ukrainian industry as a whole. On a personal level, I also see it as an award for my father, who dedicated most of his life to metallurgy, and for my older brother, with whom I began working at Centravis and building the company. They were the ones who taught me respect for this profession and a sense of responsibility for the work you do.
It is recognition of the people who continue to work, manufacture products, and fulfill their commitments to customers while our country is at war. Today, resilience for Ukrainian business is not a slogan. It means continuing to create while others destroy. That is why I accept this award on behalf of our team — it belongs to them,” said Yuriy Atanasov, CEO and co-owner of Centravis.
Centravis is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of seamless stainless steel tubes and pipes. Around 75% of the company’s products are exported to the European Union. Centravis products are used in the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, energy, including nuclear power, and other high-tech sectors.
The company is integrated into international industrial supply chains and works with leading global companies and brands, including Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, and others.
Over the years, Centravis has invested more than $130 million in modern equipment and technologies, with its production development focused, among other priorities, on the requirements of the European market.
Centravis’ main production facility is located in the frontline city of Nikopol. Despite ongoing Russian attacks, the company continues operating and fulfilling contracts with international customers.
In 2023, Centravis also relocated part of its production from Nikopol to Uzhhorod, closer to the EU border and European customers. Investment in the new production site amounted to approximately €2.7 million. The facility has now suspended operations due to European quota restrictions.
During the award ceremony, Yuriy Atanasov also drew attention to the new European steel import quotas, which create additional risks for Ukrainian manufacturing.
For the relevant product category, Ukraine has been allocated an annual quota of 6,524 tonnes, while Centravis exported 11,306 tonnes in 2025 and 14,194 tonnes in the pre-war year of 2021.
At the same time, the quota was calculated based on the years 2022–2024, a period of full-scale war when the capabilities of Ukrainian industry were significantly constrained by Russian attacks, energy supply disruptions, and logistical challenges.
The new restrictions have also called into question the economic viability of the Uzhhorod facility, which the company established during the war to diversify risks and serve European customers more effectively. As a result, production at the site had to be suspended.
“The most difficult years of the war cannot be used as a benchmark for Ukraine’s normal production capacity. First, Russia reduces our ability to manufacture, and then those war-reduced volumes become the basis for determining our access to the European market. What Russian missiles failed to stop may be stopped by European regulation,” Yuriy Atanasov emphasized.
Centravis continues manufacturing in Ukraine, investing in development, and maintaining its presence in European industrial supply chains. Ukraine holds EU candidate status, while the European market remains strategically important for the company.
“We counted on Europe, invested in the European market, and became part of the European industrial system. We sincerely hope we did not do so in vain,” Yuriy Atanasov concluded.
