SPAIN – The Austrian company Kronospan, the world’s largest manufacturer of wood panels, has announced that it will invest 180 million euros in a new factory in the Catalunya Sud industrial estate in Tortosa, which will create around 185 direct jobs and some 1,500 indirect jobs.

The Minister of Enterprise and Labor of the Generalitat, Roger Torrent, has made the announcement of the project that represents the largest foreign investment in Terres de l’Ebre.

The factory, which will be located in the Catalunya Sud industrial estate, where Kronospan has already closed the purchase of a 254,109 m2 plot of land, will be close to the AP7 freeway and will have a built-up area of 90,000 square meters.

“It will give a second life to waste materials that until now have been left in disuse. It is a 100% sustainable project that is fully in line with the concept of circular economy,” said Torrent.

Javier Macicior, general director of Kronospan Spain, praised “the work done in collaboration with both the Catalan regional government and the city of Tortosa”, and noted that “the plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2022”. He also recalled that to launch this project “we will need a whole cluster of complementary companies near the factory in order to be more competitive”. Kronospan setting up business in Tortosa is a response to the company’s objective of having a presence in Catalonia in order to be closer to its customers in the area, gain more effective access to the market in the south of France, and access to large urban and industrial areas. The company applies the most advanced environmental prevention techniques in all its factories, in strict compliance with the European Commission’s regulations in this regard.

Kronospan is an Austrian multinational dedicated to the manufacture and distribution of wood panels. Created in 1897 and originally family-owned, it currently has a workforce of over 14,500 workers and more than 40 factories around the world. According to the company, a further ten indirect jobs are created for each direct job in the area around its factories, and about 50% of its investments are made with local suppliers.