Raimonds Spūls-Vilcāns, Chairman of the Board of AmberBirch, Chairman of the Jēkabpils County Council Raivis Ragainis and Chairman of the Board of Pillar Contractor Jānis Lāčaunieks took part in the ceremonial laying of the capsule.
AmberBirch will invest more than 40 million euros by the middle of 2025 to double the production capacity of birch veneer and start the production of higher quality veneer products and diversify its range. It is planned that already in the second half of 2025, AmberBirch, SIA will be able to produce up to 90,000 cubic meters of veneer per year. Increasing the production capacity and installing new technologies also means the creation of additional jobs, increasing the number of employees at the plant from 85 to 130.
Starting the investment project, in February of this year, AmberBirch signed a contract worth 20 million euros with the Finnish company Raute Corporation for the supply of technology with ultra-high automation of the production cycle. Raute Corporation’s technology order includes all major veneer manufacturing process lines: a log feed line, a veneer peeling line, and a veneer drying and sorting line, visual defect and moisture content analyzers, and MillSIGHTS MIS-software.
The new equipment will not only allow the company to increase its production capacity, but also to enter new market segments, as well as create a competitive production technological base. It will be possible to develop new strategic product lines to take advantage of the growing opportunities in the European Union engineered wood product market, in line with EU Co2 targets, guidelines, directives and regulations. Another 20 million euros will be invested within the project in the construction of a production plant with a total area of 10,000 m2, creation of steam chambers, expansion of the timber yard, purchase of log transportation equipment.
Investments in the AmberBirch, SIA production facility are planned to be covered from the company’s own funds and by attracting external funding. The construction of the new production plant will be carried out by Pillar Contractor.
So far, more than 10 million euros have been invested in the AmberBirch production facility, also using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as well as receiving co-financing from the Parallel (mezzanine) loan program implemented by the state capital company ALTUM. In order to increase the added value of both the company and its products and become a significant exporter, AmberBirch has obtained the international wood supply certificate FSC® (NC-COC-066790; FSC®-C170393) as well as the PEFC environmental quality certificate. In the production cycle, AmberBirch uses renewable energy resources – in 2023, 850 thousand euros were invested in the creation of a solar panel park with a capacity of 1MW.
AmberStone Group, AS is a holding company founded in 2013. It has participation in medical, hospitality, agricultural, construction and wood processing companies in Latvia and Estonia.
AmberBirch, SIA was established in 2016, it is a 100% subsidiary of AmberStone Group, JSC, which in 2016 started the establishment of a birch veneer production plant in the Jēkabpils region. The factory started operations in 2019, becoming one of the largest specialized veneer manufacturers in the region. AmberBirch, SIA produces multifunctional veneer suitable for various customer segments, including manufacturers of furniture parts and plywood. AmberBirch aims to become an important European-level producer in the market of various environmentally friendly engineered wood products, while contributing to the achievement of the European Union’s climate neutrality goals.
The turnover of AmberBirch, SIA in 2023 exceeded 26 million euros and the unaudited profit exceeded 4 million euros. Last year, the company paid 998 thousand euros in taxes, excluding VAT.
More information on the websites www.amberstone.lv, www.amberbirch.lv.
Source: www.diena.lv
