URUGUAY - Uruguay-based plywood manufacturer Lumin (Uruply) has embarked in a new chapter in its history.

Construction and groundwork at the Tacuarembó mill in the north central region of Uruguay has been under way in preparation for the assembly of an additional production line during 2020. The current 270,000m3 capacity plant will be added to by a new thin veneer line. The expansion will require an investment of USD 30 million.

According to Lumin CEO Alvaro Molinari, the reasons for the expansion can be explained by the company’s journey over recent years, which included a change in ownership in 2017 when Weyerhaeuser sold the plywood manufacturing operation to a consortium led by BTG Pactual’s Timberland Investment Group (TIG).

Weyerhaeuser had originally started its involvement in South America back in 1997. In the 23 years since then plantations have gone from virtually nothing to one million hectares.

Today Lumin has 65,000ha of plantation forest assets, a three million clonal seedling annual nursery capacity, 250,000m3 per year plywood production output with 95% export volume, 180,000m3 of annual log exports and 750 direct jobs.

Lumin is looking to develop more added value products, taking full advantage of the top grade material. The new line will therefore include new peeling technology able to peel 1.3-1.5mm veneers. Existing peeling operations focus on producing thicker 3.2-3.8mm veneers.

The new investment will feature an annual plywood production capacity of 34,000-36,000m3. Markets in Mexico, the US, Europe and Latin America are the main target destinations.