Vėjo Projektai, a company developing fully electric Dancer buses in the Klaipėda FEZ, introduced itself to the world last week at Busworld 2023 in Brussels – one of the most important passenger transport events attended by tens of thousands of people.

According to the company, visitors were most impressed by the exceptional design, lightness and cutting-edge technologies of the Lithuanian bus. The company hints that in the future, the Klaipėda-made bus will be seen not only on the streets of its hometown, but also in other European cities.

“We hope that the Dancer buses will soon be seen not only in Lithuania – two of our models and the e-mobility solutions offered with them have been of interest at the exhibition by passenger carriers from the Nordic countries, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and other European countries,” says Alvydas Naujėkas, the CEO of Dancer.

Busworld 2023 is one of the most important events in passenger transport, revealing the future of the sector. It is a good opportunity to meet industry leaders, potential partners and customers.

Visitors the Dancer bus stand could learn all about the two technologically advanced, 100% electric Dancer bus models – the fast-charging Dancer (FC 75) and the long-range Dancer (LR 530). The low-floor electric buses produced and operated in Lithuania have already saved almost half a million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The fast-charging Dancer (FC 75), designed for dynamic cities, has an extremely fast charging time of just 8 minutes. The bus is also extremely economical, with an average energy consumption of 0.72 kWh/km, allowing it to cover up to 100 km on a single charge. These technical features, together with fast charging, make it easy to operate in urban areas.

A sustainable construction components factory began operations this week at Akmenė FEZ. What makes these sustainable wooden components special, and what are they used for, what makes this factory different from any other, how will it contribute to sustainable growth, and why is this a significant event for Lithuania?

Sustainable wood products for construction, or engineered structural wood, includes laminated veneer lumber, used for strong, compression-resistant joists, columns, facades, and other industrialised construction and renovation elements. Such lumber can replace highly-polluting materials used in the construction industry, such as cement, concrete, and reinforced concrete. More than 30 per cent of new buildings in Western Europe and Scandinavia are built using such sustainable, environmentally-friendly components.

The sustainable construction components factory that has begun to operate at the Akmenė FEZ is the first such factory in Lithuania and the third in Europe. Until now, there were only two such factories; both of them are in Norway. The owners of the factory at Akmenė FEZ is the global investment company VMG Group. The factory was built by AB Hanner and the UAB BRAITIN-owned fund Baltic Industrial Fund II. These companies’ extensive experience in their respective fields (industry, construction, and finance) created synergies and allowed them to efficiently implement the project, the value of which is €10 million.

The factory will start by producing laminated veneer lumber, two-ply joists, and construction chipboard, and later the product assortment will expand. The factory’s annual production capacity is 120,000 m³ of laminated veneer lumber, 15 million metres of two-ply joists, and 200,000 m³ of construction chipboard. Turnover is estimated to be up to €150 million. The factory will create 200 jobs.

Products made at the factory will supply the market in Western Europe, Scandinavia, and Lithuania. One of the advantages of engineered structural wood is the ease with which it can be transported, so export is planned to North America and Australia. Until recently, Australia imported such wood from Russia, but due to the changing political environment, agreements have been signed with producers in Lithuania. At present, negotiations are proceeding regarding export to the USA; there, production of structural lumber is concentrated on the West Coast, so for companies located on the East Coast it is cheaper to import such wood from Europe.

The new factory will contribute to environmentally-friendly construction in various ways, by supplying to the market natural, less-polluting products and by producing in an environmentally-friendly way. It is expected that the sustainable construction components made here will gradually replace the polluting materials in use until now, such as cement, concrete, and reinforced concrete.

UAB “MLEZ Infrastruktūra”, which is a 100% owned subsidiary of UAB “Marijampolės LEZ valdymo bendrovė” (MLEZ), and UAB “Viešųjų investicijų plėtros agentūra” (VIPA) (Public Investment Development Agency) have signed a contract for the design and construction of a approx. 5440 m² manufacturing building and the necessary infrastructure for it in the Marijampolė Free Economic Zone (Baltic FEZ). The project, which is being partially financed with the VIPA loan from the national budget of the Republic of Lithuania, is planned to be completed by the end of 2024.

“The macroeconomic indicators for the manufacturing industry do not inspire much optimism, and the situation is likely to worsen for some time throughout Europe, which will lead to a higher cost of money. Together with the Board, having carefully analysed market trends, we have decided that this is an excellent opportunity to lock in the price for borrowed money, to define the conditions for this loan with the lender and at the most difficult economic moment to reach favorable negotiating results with the contractors, with whom we plan to conduct detailed negotiations at the end of this year. Our objective, having locked in the prices for construction and contract works, is next year to build the manufacturing and warehousing areas under especially competitive conditions,” says Simonas Petrulis, CEO of MLEZ, presenting the plans for the near future.

We will offer this building to investors at the beginning of 2025. A distinct advantage is the fact that the building will be right next to the Via Baltica, the node for Rail Baltica 1 and Rail Baltica 2, and the Lithuanian-Polish border, where the FEZ will offer tax incentives and the most modern industrial infrastructure in the Baltic countries. In the adjacent city of Marijampolė, there are a wide variety of potential partners: the Vocational Training Centre, college, and strong companies operating in the food, wood, and metalworking industries. Take the right decision – together with MLEZ, plan the next stage of expansion for your business. Together with us, current and future clients gain a huge competitive advantage and accelerate the growth of their business.

Biogas plant builders and related technology suppliers Biokona, which have been operating in the market for nine years, are carrying out the construction of production premises with offices in the territory of the Kaunas Free Economic Zone (FEZ) to expand their activities. The total area of production and administrative premises will be about 1,500 sq. m. The planned investment amounts to €1.6 million, while the new production base will carry out the production of modular equipment and metalworking.

Technology adapted to local needs

Since its inception, Biokona’s main direction has been the construction of biogas plants and the provision of related technologies. Initially, based on the experience of foreign partner countries – Germany and the Netherlands – the business quickly felt the specific technological needs of Lithuanian customers. This required new, self-created solutions: most of the technologies developed in Western European countries were adapted to the processing of corn silage raw material, whereas in Lithuania the use of such raw material, according to Biokona’s experts, was and still is unprofitable in biogas plants.

Thus, first, the nature of the raw materials generated in the Lithuanian agricultural and manufacturing sectors was taken into account and, based on them, the technological solutions operating in the market began to be adapted, while at the same time improving them and even developing completely new technologies – this benefited greatly from analysis of the specifics and operational characteristics of already existing equipment.

 “We design and manufacture modular equipment such as biomethane production modules, pumping stations, boiler rooms, collector units, cogeneration plants, steam generators, and water treatment modules. All this equipment and control systems are modular, i.e., fully complete solutions that are mechanically and functionally tested before going to the client. This allows us to optimise production processes and labour costs and ensures the smooth and fast installation of such equipment in the object,” says Gerardas Žukauskas, Director of Commerce at Biokona.

The global crisis called for mobilisation and opened up new opportunities

Biogas equipment developed and produced by Lithuanians has proven to be in demand not only in our own country but also abroad: Biokona currently sells its products in Spain, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Poland. The company’s customers are companies that invest in the use of renewable energy sources for energy production. Important partners include Modus Group, AUGA, Continental, and Kurana.

Interestingly, the global market shocks and developments in recent years, which initially created a few challenges in Biokona’s business-important sectors and supply chains, soon opened up new opportunities that the company used not only to expand production but also to optimise the capacity of its newly built plant – during the technical design, it was decided to increase both the production and administrative areas.

According to Gerardas Žukauskas, Biokona’s Director of Commerce, in the short term, inflation, the cost of materials and equipment, and the extension of delivery deadlines really posed huge challenges to the company’s projects, but compliance with commitments to customers remained a key priority: “With the help of our clients, we solved the challenges that arose, and we fulfilled our obligations. Of course, this required higher costs, team concentration, and great effort. But, in the long term, this crisis brought more certainty: all of Europe realised that we cannot rely on imported fuels from hostile countries, so we need to expand the Green Deal and provide ourselves with green energy. This is exactly what we help with by the construction of biogas plants and the production of biomethane, electricity generation equipment for the production of renewable energy from local, renewable, and waste sources.

Developing their own unique solutions tailored to the EU strategy

Biokona’s activities are not limited to modular equipment for biogas plants, but also solutions for other agro and energy sectors are being developed and produced: modular automated gas or liquid fuel boilers, water heating or steam boilers, gas compressor stations, water lift stations, modular refrigeration units, or modular dryers.

“We try to adapt our products to the EU strategy, which is based on ecology and circular economy principles in industry and agriculture. This is why we are involved not only in manufacturing but also in technology development processes,” says Gerardas Žukauskas, Director of Commerce.

In implementing innovations, they also cooperate with Lithuanian higher education institutions and institutes, as well as with technology development leaders of European partners. For example, experimental tests of biogas treatment technologies were carried out together with the Lithuanian Energy Institute; the production of equipment for the sterilisation of animal by-products and other waste from the food industry; a specific dryer with a capacity of 4 MW was produced and uses biogas or biomethane as fuel. 

More than one and a half million euros for the new production base

After completion of the new factory, all this activity will move from the old Biokona premises to the planned new production base and offices in the territory of the Kaunas FEZ: the complex will consist of 600 sq. m. administrative premises and 900 sq. m. production premises.

The need for development was dictated by both growing production volumes and strategic plans of the company to expand to foreign markets and act as its technology leaders, which requires modern production facilities and high-quality working conditions for employees. The Kaunas FEZ territory was chosen due to its very convenient location, ready infrastructure and attractive business environment as well as economic conditions and preferences.

Currently, the company employs thirty employees, and half of them have higher technical education and extensive experience in the sector – technologists, project managers, production managers, operating managers, engineers, and designers. The rest of the team includes highly qualified welders, locksmiths, installers, who qualitatively perform module manufacturing and assembly works necessary for carrying out very complex works or creating the technology needed for a specific client.

“Our area is so niche that there are no trained professionals in the market. We are constantly looking for talented employees with similar backgrounds, whose adaptation and training can take between six months and two years,” note representatives of Biokona. 

It is planned to invest €1.6 million in the construction of the new factory and office building. The factory is being built with room for future development, and currently, Biokona is investing in technology and distribution development in other countries.

“The Kaunas FEZ has become the home of manufacturing companies since its inception – it is no accident that producers make up most of the companies established here. It is even more encouraging that practically all of them are innovative, high-value-added, and R&D businesses. This is also in line with the goals set by the company managing the Kaunas FEZ – to bring together a strong business community in this territory, attracting the most vibrant Lithuanian companies and advanced foreign businesses,” says Vytautas Petružis, CEO of the company managing the Kaunas FEZ.

Currently, the Kaunas FEZ has attracted 54 foreign and Lithuanian capital investors operating in the service and manufacturing sectors, applying advanced technological solutions, and developing innovative products. Since the first investor in 2005 until today, the territory of Kaunas FEZ has created more than 9,100 jobs and attracted more than €1.35 billion in direct investment.