Giving tyres a second chance in Kharkiv

Sometimes the path to entrepreneurship does not begin with a business plan. It begins with curiosity, family conversations, and the desire to build something of your own. For Ernest Lobanov, this is exactly how it started.

Before the full-scale war, Ernest already had his own business. Together with his father, he was building Tirex in Kharkiv – the first tyre bakery in Ukraine, specialising in the retreading of passenger and light truck tyres. But, as for many Ukrainians, 2022 divided life into a ‘before’ and an ‘after’. Ernest returned to military service, went to the front, and after completing his service came back to the business he had once built almost from scratch, and the EU4Youth programme, in particular, helped him with this.

Ernest is from Kharkiv. He studied at the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics and at Ivan Kozhedub Kharkiv National Air Force University, worked in various fields, and later went into his own production business together with his father.

From a family idea to a production business

The idea did not come out of nowhere. In the family, they often spoke about times when tyres were expensive and hard to find, and when retreading was a practical solution. It was from this interest in the automotive field that Tirex grew – the first tyre bakery in Ukraine.

Before launching the business in 2017, Ernest and his father studied the experience of similar manufacturers in Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, and Romania. Over time, the company not only mastered the hot retreading technology, but also began developing its own products – from tyres for everyday use to solutions for motorsport, light commercial transport, and off-road vehicles. The team refined the technology so much that they were able to offer a warranty for the full service life of the tyre.

After the frontline – a new stage of growth

After the start of the full-scale invasion, Ernest served in the 228th Separate Battalion of the 127th Separate Brigade, where he worked as head of the vehicle service and as a UAV pilot. He served in frontline positions from the Sumy region to Zaporizhzhia. As Ernest himself says, this experience changed his attitude to responsibility, decision-making, and time.

“In war, a mistake costs lives. In business, it costs money and time,” he says.

After returning from the front, Ernest did not simply restart the business. He began looking for ways to grow it further. One important step was receiving a grant of UAH 1.5 million from the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. He also took part in a hackathon, after which he received support from the ‘Smart Media’ and ‘Action Times’ organisations, which implemented the ‘EU4Youth Phase III – Support for Young Veterans and Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine’ project. This support made it possible to expand the business and introduce important technological changes in production.

Ernest’s project, supported through the EU4Youth programme, started in March 2025 and focused on automating two key production areas – buffing and strip winding. Thanks to this support, the company introduced a modern solution based on a Schneider controller, while the software and interface were developed according to the Tirex team’s own technical brief. As a result, the business doubled productivity in these bottleneck stages while also reducing the impact of human error. 

More than just a business

At the same time, Tirex is about more than business. The production process is based on reusing tyre waste and giving materials a second life. Every retreaded tyre means less waste going to landfill and a more affordable product for the customer.

There is another important aspect as well. The company brings in young people and trains them from scratch. This work requires an understanding of tyre construction, retreading technology, pneumatics, hydraulics, electrical systems, boiler equipment, and other machinery. In this way, Tirex creates not only a product, but also an environment where people can gain valuable practical skills.

“I can’t find ready-made staff anywhere. So the only way is to train and develop the team. It takes time. But we’ve come a long way in a year. We’ve built a good team. And I can see how much the staff have grown. You could say that, at 20, I didn’t develop as much as they have. That’s why it really motivates me,” says Ernest.

Today, the company works with a wide range of clients – from international-level motorsport drivers to people who use cars every day for work, delivery, or service. In 2024, Tirex tyres were also used by participants in the Ukrainian Open Drift championship. Tirex products have already been presented outside Ukraine, including at Monster Energy auto shows in Romania and Denmark.

For Ernest himself, this story is not just about personal success. Since returning from the front, he has been actively sharing his experience with other veterans, advising them and helping to start their own businesses and secure grant funding. Thanks to his efforts, veterans have already received over UAH 5 million (about €100,000) in grant funding, including from the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation under the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. 

“There is no such thing as a free lunch. A grant is a reward for effort, for believing in your own cause,” Ernest emphasises.

“Ernest’s story is an example of how experience, resilience, and readiness to take responsibility for one’s work can be transformed into real development. For us, it is important to support such initiatives, because this is not only about one business, but about stronger communities, new opportunities for people, and the recovery of the country through entrepreneurship,” says Oleksandra Shchukina, leader of ‘Smart Media’.

Ernest himself puts his philosophy simply: there is no point in repeating someone else’s success or someone else’s model – your own path has to be walked independently, step by step. In his case, it all began with a family idea and an interest in the automotive field, and later grew into a tyre production business, a return to civilian life through entrepreneurship, and new opportunities for business development.