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Latvijas Finieris – Assessment of 2015 Results

10. juni, 2016

In 2015 Latvijas Finieris Group reached a turnover of 196.5 million euros.  Although the increase is only 1% against the previous year, it was secured by selling higher value products, which in turn is the result of investments made in previous years.  Export turnover managed to grow faster - by around 3%, exceeding 155 million euros.

Uldis Bikis, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Latvijas Finieris: "One of the conditions for sustainable operations is competitive salary. Already in 2011 Latvijas Finieris defined in the Personnel Policy the need for a substantial increase in wages annually by an average of 6-9% until 2020.  Compensation, as seen from the perspective of an employee, takes into account the purchasing power index when comparing to the salary in the Northern region (Sweden, Finland).  For the company itself, rise in salary means a simultaneous growth in productivity, including implementation of an ambitious investment program over several years.”

During three years Latvijas Finieris manufacturing companies in the Baltic countries have raised pay levels by 5% per year on average, which is roughly the same as the average salary rise in Latvia as a country.  An essential element of sustainable operations is also the Group's overall tax contribution to the state and municipality budget – it is increasing year by year and in 2015 reached a level of 17.4 million euros (16.3 million euros in 2014).  The company's input to shape the National economy has also been appreciated by public authorities – at the beginning of 2016, the Ministry of Finance awarded an Acknowledgement to Latvijas Finieris "For significant contribution to the growth of Latvian economy."

In 2015 Latvijas Finieris Group invested 42.3 million euros in development and is planning to invest even more in the coming years to implement the already mentioned multi-annual program for development – rapid growth in products and automation, regional development in the Baltic Sea Region.

At the end of last year the company started to build a new impregnation plant, which will produce modern and environmentally friendly products.  Harmful substances utilization unit is equipped with a heat exchanger, which does not allow heat to escape into the atmosphere, but returns it back to the manufacturing process – used for paper drying.  Investing 10 million euros, the production capacity is doubled. The process will be managed by 11 employees working in three shifts. 

It should be noted that the above plant is distinguished by its innovative engineering solutions – more than three thousand square meters of space are supported by wooden load-bearing structures.  Frame structures are also based on wood and the roof is built from laminated wood panels, which significantly speeds up the construction process.  In order to achieve the highest quality of products, the new impregnation plant is an important complement to the overall manufacturing cycle.

Ensuring competitiveness in the global market, Latvijas Finieris is increasingly proving itself as a manufacturer in the Baltic Sea Region – in addition to investments in Latvia, one of the priorities is the construction of new plywood factory in Kohila, Estonia.  In 2015, not only significant investments have been made in fixed assets, but also serious work has been done to create a skilled and motivated management team for the new factory. Additional staff has been attracted and trained, so that the new team can fully start work in 2016.  There will be 230 employees in the factory.  Total investments since 2011 up to the implementation of this project will reach 80 million euros.