A Hennlich office in Tver. Photo: company social media
The Czech-Austrian industrial conglomerate Hennlich continues to operate in Russia through a local subsidiary that does business with defense manufacturers — including several that are under EU and U.S. sanctions. A joint investigation by The Insider and the Czech publication Investigace.cz has revealed who owns the corporation’s Russian subsidiary, LLC Hennlich (ООО «Хеннлих»), and how the company supports Russia’s military-industrial complex amid the ongoing full-scale invasion of in Ukraine.
Hennlich in Europe and Russia
Founded in 1922 by Hermann A. Hennlich in Duchcov, a town of 8,700 in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic, Hennlich Group is a private company that manufactures technical components and industrial solutions for a wide range of sectors. It employs around 800 people across 18 European countries. Its headquarters is located in Schärding, Austria.
In Russia, the group operates through its subsidiary LLC Hennlich, based in Tver. According to Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities (EGRUL), the company’s founders are Austria’s Hennlich Group GmbH, Pavel Šumera (co-owner of the Czech firm Hennlich s.r.o.), and Hennlich s.r.o. employee Jan Studnička. They hold 45%, 45%, and 10% of the company’s charter capital, respectively. LLC Hennlich also has branches in Kemerovo and Yekaterinburg. The Russia-based subsidiary employed 57 people as of the end of 2024.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, LLC Hennlikh’s revenue has remained relatively stable: 405.5 million rubles in 2022 (approx. $5.12 million), 463.3 million in 2023 (approx. $5.85 million), and 379.8 million in 2024 (approx. $4.79 million). While the company has its own production facility in Tver, the bulk of its Russian revenue comes from reselling imported components. In 2023, it earned only 37.7 million rubles from its own products — compared to 425.6 million from selling goods made by other firms. By all indications, Hennlich plans to keep its operations in Russia running — it signed three new vehicle lease agreements in 2023-2024.
The Russian firm’s financial ties to its European owners are also evident. In 2023, dividends were paid out to LLC Hennlich’s shareholders: Pavel Šumera received 3.29 million rubles, Hennlich Group GmbH received 3.11 million, and Jan Studnička received 732,000. Hermann Zebisch, owner of Hennlich Group GmbH, who had previously issued two loans to the Russian subsidiary, received €24,000 in repayment and €4,401 in interest.
Supplying the Russian defense industry
EU sanctions target European companies and do not directly apply to Russian entities like LLC Hennlich. However, Šumera, Studnička, and Zebisch — as Czech and Austrian nationals — are prohibited from doing business with sanctioned individuals and companies. Despite this, their Russian firm continues to work with military enterprises.
20 government contracts. On January 21, 2015, the company signed a contract worth 223,200 rubles with the N.L. Dukhov All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Automation (VNIIA), a Rosatom subsidiary that is involved in the development of nuclear weapons. On March 22, 2016, it signed an agreement to supply machine bellows to NITI Progress, an institute that is linked to 19 defense factories and that was involved in the development of 186 missile and firearms systems.
LLC Hennlich has also worked with sanctioned entities that cannot directly procure goods from the West. On Sept. 21, 2018, it signed a €34,170 contract with Uralvagonzavod — a major Russian tank manufacturer that has been under U.S. and UK sanctions since 2014.
The cooperation continued even after Russia unleashed its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While the company’s European owners received dividends, their firm in Russia supplied imported parts to at least four defense enterprises. According to its 2023 financial report, LLC Hennlich’s clients included:
- Ivanovo Heavy Machine Tool Plant, a major supplier to Russia’s aerospace and defense sectors
- UEC-Saturn, a leading producer of gas turbine engines for Russian aircraft (under sanctions from the EU, U.S., and Japan since 2022)
- Kolomna Plant, a manufacturer of diesel engines for naval vessels and submarines (added to the EU sanctions list in December 2023)
- Kamensk-Uralsky Metallurgical Works, which produces semi-finished products for aviation (under sanctions by the EU and U.S. since 2022 and the U.K. since 2024)
TIN (INN) 695019052380
TIN (INN) 695019052453
AA062358950 dated 05.07.2023, AA021563977 dated 08.12.2023, and AA037715594 dated 24.04.2024.
The amounts are listed net of personal income tax.
Contract no. 57707074137150001560000
Contract no. 51831020840160000930000
Contract no. 56623029538180011080000
Contract no. 20073420412400199
TIN (INN) 4217177191
According to customs data reviewed by The Insider.
EDRPOU 35822064 (EDRPOU is the Ukrainian company registration code, similar to a tax or business ID number).
On July 10, 2024, LLC Hennlich signed a 394,000-ruble contract with NPO Iskra (Perm region), a manufacturer of solid-fuel rocket engines used by Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces. Iskra has been under EU sanctions since June 23, 2023.
Exports to Russia and sanctions risks
In a response to Investigace, Hennlich s.r.o. claimed: “In 2022, the shareholders of Hennlich Russia officially banned management from participating in any military-related projects, as recorded in meeting minutes. Hennlich s.r.o. Czech Republic and no other European Hennlich company exports products, technologies, or components to Russia, nor is involved in the [Iskra] contract…”
However, this statement contradicts Russian procurement data and the company’s own financial records — as well as customs declarations.
Evidence of continued exports from the parent company includes the registration of new products in Russia. On Jan. 30, 2025, LLC Hennlich obtained a declaration of conformity for a cooler with an AC motor produced by Hennlich Cooling-Technologies GmbH. This process required submission of extensive documentation to Russia’s accreditation agency. These included: incorporation documents from the manufacturer, test reports, and a contract designating an authorized representative. All of the documents were stamped and verified by both sides. This undermines the Czech-registered Hennlich s.r.o.’s assertion that exports to Russia had indeed ceased.
Between March 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2024, LLC Hennlich received 583 product shipments worth $2.9 million. Most of these goods fall under EU export bans, regardless of their intended end use. One major category — HS code 401693 — accounts for 26% of all deliveries and covers industrial rubber products banned by an EU Council regulation dated June 21, 2022. Another — mechanical seals under HS code 848420 — is classified as dual-use. The EU banned their export in its 12th sanctions package on Dec. 18, 2023.
These violations put not only the company’s European owners at risk of breaching sanctions — but also their suppliers. The largest foreign trading partner of LLC Hennlich is German firm M & V Export und Logistik GmbH, based in Stuttgart, which delivered it $942,200 worth of goods.
Beyond its Russian subsidiary, Hennlich Group continues to serve Russian clients directly. From March 2022 to December 2024, Kemerovo-based Arvesmining received 12 shipments of goods produced by Hennlich s.r.o., totaling $83,400. The first shipments, worth $32,700, were made directly by the Czech firm before October 2022. Subsequent deliveries came through Turkish firm Importir Trading Logistik, acting on behalf of the Czech manufacturer.
During the war in Ukraine, Hennlich’s beneficiaries are profiting on both sides of the conflict. Pavel Šumera and Hermann Zebisch are also beneficiaries of the Ukrainian firm TOV Hennlich Ukraina. While the firm’s Russian operation has remained steady, Hennlich’s business in Lviv has actually grown significantly, with revenue rising from 62 million hryvnias in 2022 (approx. $1.49 million) to 98 million in 2024 (approx. $2.35 million).
Russian military plants continue to operate thanks to the steady supply of new machines, components for old ones, and raw materials for processing. The Insider continues to investigate these supply chains.
TIN (INN) 695019052380
TIN (INN) 695019052453
AA062358950 dated 05.07.2023, AA021563977 dated 08.12.2023, and AA037715594 dated 24.04.2024.
The amounts are listed net of personal income tax.
Contract no. 57707074137150001560000
Contract no. 51831020840160000930000
Contract no. 56623029538180011080000
Contract no. 20073420412400199
TIN (INN) 4217177191
According to customs data reviewed by The Insider.
EDRPOU 35822064 (EDRPOU is the Ukrainian company registration code, similar to a tax or business ID number).