Estonia, Investments, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Woodwork

"Until the end of last year we only produced wet veneer in Kohila, plywood has never been produced there," Laht said speaking at a conference of Estonian Timber in Tallinn on June 8th.

The decision to start producing plywood was made by Latvijas Finieris, parent company of Kohila Vineer, in 2014 and the investment in facilities totals 60 million euros, he said.

"When this investment has materialized we expect to manufacture 45,000 cubic meters of plywood of different quality per year," Laht said. He added that following the extension the plant will employ a workforce 230 and its annual sales are expected to quadruple to approximately 40 million euros.

Laht described shortage of labor as the biggest risk the company is faced with. "Today we have to train people ourselves, which is cumbersome. Our costs would  be significantly lower if we had workers with elementary skills in the field of wood processing," he said.

The plywood making facility will expand the area of the Kohila Vineer plant by 18,000 square meters. To meet increased demand for thermal energy, a new wood leftovers burning boilerhouse will be set up in the territory of the plant. Preparations for plywood production were started in 2014 and construction works are to be completed this summer.

"We have installed all necessary equipment for veneer production in the old production building and are about to finish the installation of veneer press machines," he said.

Kohila Vineer is based in the central Estonian small town Kohila. Its parent company is Latvijas Finieris, which owns plants also in Latvia, Lithuania and Finland.