VILMERS UAB, A NEW INVESTOR IN THE ŠIAULIAI FEZ

/in /by

 

Vilmers UAB, a private company, invests over EUR 20 million in the Šiauliai FEZ. The company is part of a group Neaustinių medžiagų fabrikas established by entrepreneur Stanislovas Grušas. Earthworks have already been started for a factory 42,000 sq. m in area. It is estimated that 300 new jobs will be created on completion of construction and installation of process lines. The Ministry of Economics and Innovation has granted the future company the status of a major investment project.

Investments in the new factory’s automated warehouses, robots and logistic solutions will be made. At present Vilmers UAB employs almost 500 people. When construction of the new factory in Šiauliai FEZ is completed, the number will be increased to as many as 800.

Vilmers UAB has faced the challenge of raw materials deficiency just like many other production enterprises. The prices for raw materials have spiked, as a result of which the company had to increase prices for its finished products, however, it continues operating profitably and receives many orders. In 2020, the company’s profit increased 37%; a significant growth in sales is observed this year.

The majority of Vilmers’ upholstered furniture is exported to France, Norway and Finland. It is reported that the company is increasing its product prices in order to manage exponential growth. At present, 139 furniture models are produced at the factory. A model is comprised of as many as 7 components that can be arranged according to the customer‘s wishes. In this way a basic upholstered item is developed into a number of options that can be treated as almost unique designs.

An important novelty is that the company will seek the status of an educational institution having the right to train furniture upholsterers under a special training programme. There is a great shortage of specialists in this profession in the market. The company intends to discuss this with relevant authorities in the nearest future. It is expected that on completion of training people will remain in the company – in this way, shortage of specialist workers will be avoided.

This year, two new investors came to Šiauliai FEZ: Bar Cargolift, a German manufacturer of tail lifts, and a Vilmers UAB, a company with Lithuanian capital invested that produces upholstered furniture. Good luck in attracting new investors!

 

A MODERN FURNITURE FACTORY IN THE KAUNAS FEZ

/in /by

Until April of the next year, a new A ++ energy class furniture factory will be built in Kaunas Free Economic Zone, which is being built by the sustainable urban development and construction company “YIT Lietuva” on behalf of “Gerų baldų fabrikas” UAB. Investment in 2-storey 36 thousand m² of premises that will be used for storage amounts to 25 million euros.

This development project is already the second one that “YIT Lietuva” is implementing in cooperation with “Gerų baldų fabrikas”. The new building will be integrated into the general infrastructure of Kaunas FEZ, where the construction of the first furniture factory building was completed two years ago. Construction works of the factory and other engineering structures are currently in progress.

The new building will be used for the storage of already manufactured products and raw materials required for the production. Work in the factory will be organized 24/7. It is planned to create 80 jobs within four years of the warehouse opening.

“We chose the Kaunas Free Economic Zone for the new premises due to the convenient infrastructure, the possibility to distribute the management costs to two adjacent factories and the tax benefits applied to this zone. In addition, all engineering networks have already been created here, most of the connections will be made from the building already built – it is convenient and easier for us than to settle in a new place,” says Virginijus Brundza, the head of the furniture factory.

Kęstutis Vanagas, the head of the sustainable urban development company “YIT Lietuva”, says that the new premises will be distinguished by an extremely high A ++ energy class and advanced technologies that ensure a suitable microclimate: “Currently, the biggest concern when building industrial buildings is the management of energy resources. The minimum energy class set for new buildings is rising every year. In this respect, the new factory will be one of the most innovative in Lithuania with its own solar power plant on the roof.”

“I dare to say that in terms of implemented technologies, this furniture factory will be one of the most modern not only in Lithuania, but also in the whole of Europe. Although, according to its purpose, it is a typical industrial building, we strive to make the architectural solutions as environmentally friendly as possible; that the building would harmoniously merge with another adjacent factory and form a unified ensemble of the buildings of the company, which is easily identifiable and does not lose its affinity,” says Tomas Kriaučiūnas, the building architect, head of “Kita kryptis” UAB.

The building Construction works, which began this April, are being carried out using advanced methods. The building project has been prepared and is being implemented using Building Information Modelling (BIM); the amount of earthworks is measured by scanning with the help of a drone and special software; the construction works are performed using the LEAN methodology.

Source: Kaunas Free Economic Zone

BAR CARGOLIFT OPENED A PLANT IN THE ŠIAULIAI FEZ

/in /by

The Šiauliai FEZ has welcomed a plant opened by Bär Cargolift, one of Europe’s largest vehicle tail lift manufacturers. It is the first manufacturing branch of this German company to open abroad, which is planning to hire up to 100 members of staff in the coming years. Its annual turnover is estimated to reach 7 million euro at the end of 2022, and up to 20 million euro, in 2025. This German investment made in Šiauliai coincided nicely with the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations being restored between Germany and Lithuania, which is celebrated this year.

A virtual factory opening ceremony was attended by many honourable guests. It saw welcoming statements made by the Lithuanian Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė, German Ambassador to Lithuania Matthias Sonn, Šiauliai City Mayor Artūras Visockas and the CEO of ‘Invest Lithuania’ Gediminas Koryzna.

The Bär Cargolift plant is one of the major investments both in the Šiauliai FEZ and in the region as a whole. The company is notable for engineering excellence in the automotive industry, which will draw the attention of other global players to our region too. We have been experiencing interest from Scandinavian and German companies for quite some time, but previously they used to see a shortage of this particular type of competencies in Lithuania. We believe that Bär Cargolift’s decision to invest in our region will encourage other foreign companies to follow suit,” says Giedrius Valuckas, the Chairman of the Board at the Šiauliai FEZ.

The plant has automated folding and laser cutting processes and 5 robotic component welding stations in operation.

A 9.5 thousand sq metre building, which is situated across the area of 3.5 hectares, boasts an A++ energy rating and is equipped with state-of-the-art heating systems that use minimum energy. Manufacturing operations will purchase electricity generated exclusively from renewable energy sources, with some of the necessary energy being generated by a rooftop solar power plant.

There is also a special focus on working conditions: the premises use natural daylight and eye strain free lighting, while proper ventilation and air temperature are ensured by automatic ventilation and air circulation systems.

The investments made in the Šiauliai FEZ reached 10 million euro. At present, the plant employs around 40 members of staff and is expected to increase the number to 100 at a later point. Mostly these include metalworking professionals and equipment operators. In the future, it is planned to expand the constructor division to encompass external projects and establish an IT centre to develop technological and engineering solutions concerning the smartest tail lift controls.

Mr Valuckas says that the main objective of the Šiauliai FEZ is to attract not only the investors themselves, but also new competencies that function in synergy with the existing ones, thus creating greater added value.

It is symbolic that the opening of this German capital plant coincided with the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations being restored between Germany and Lithuania, which is celebrated this year. To mark this occasion, Šiauliai City cultural, research, sports and business bodies have been sharing their friendship experiences with German partners and are planning joint activities for the future.

The German company Bär Cargolift, which develops and manufactures vehicle tail lifts for loading goods, designed for trucks and trailers, is the second largest tail lift manufacturer in Europe. Its output is more than 15 thousand tail lifts annually. The company’s main market is Europe with operations planned to be expanded to North America, South Africa and Australia. The company’s main partners are Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Iveco, Scania and Schmitz Cargobull, while its European customers include McDonald’s, Coca Cola, Lidl, Aldi, Intermarche and others.

© LAFEZ visos teisės saugomos 2021