Riga, Oct 31 (LETA) - Large-format and non-standard birch plywood plant Norupe in Tinuzi municipality, Ogre county, plans to export plywood products worth EUR 120 million a year, said Andris Ramolins, owner and chairman of the board of Stiga RM, owner of Norupe, at the time capsule laying ceremony of the new plant on Friday.

The first phase of the plant will start operations in December 2026, he said. The first phase involves an investment of EUR 32 million plus the EUR 6 million invested in the purchase of the Norupe sawmill.

The first phase will have a production area of 14,500 square meters and will create 50 new jobs. The first phase is planned to produce 50,000 cubic meters of veneer per year.

The second phase of the plant is planned to be completed by 2029, Ramolins said. The second phase will have a production area of 18,500 square meters and will create 200 new jobs. The planned production capacity will be 80,000 cubic meters of plywood per year. The investment in the second phase is planned at EUR 54 million.

Ramolins said that the aim of Stiga RM's expansion and the establishment of new plants is to ensure that all wood harvested in Latvia is processed locally and not exported raw wood, but rather high value-added wood products.

Ramolins also stressed that 60 percent of the equipment for the new plant will be manufactured at Stiga RM's metalworking plant in Tukums.

In total, 99 percent of the new plywood plant's production is planned to be exported to more than 60 countries, Ramolins said.

As reported, Stiga RM has signed a contract with BauArt construction company for the construction of the new plant.

The development of the plant is planned in two phases and is expected to be fully completed by 2029. The total cost of the project will be around EUR 92 million, attracting also public co-financing.

This will be Stiga RM's third wood processing plant, each of which has been developed in cooperation with BauArt.

The Stiga RM Group, which comprises Stiga RM, Stiga RM Nami, Stiga RM Distribution, Stiga RM Transports, Stiga RM Metals and Stiga RM Less, had a turnover of EUR 97 million and a profit of EUR 10 million in 2024.

The parent company Stiga RM, on the other hand, had a turnover of EUR 80.059 million in 2024, up 4.6 percent year-on-year, while its profit was down twofold at EUR 9.961 million.

Stiga RM was registered in 1994 and has a share capital of EUR 1.921 million. The company is owned by Stiga RM Management, owned by Ramolins.