GERMANY - With the aim of a strategic expansion, Homann Holzwerkstoffe GmbH, a leading manufacturer of wooden fiberboards in Europe, signed a contract for the acquisition of 77 ha of industrial land near Vilnius, Lithuania, in October.

A further thin board plant is to be built on the site in order to meet the needs of the customers represented there and to satisfy customer demands for even faster and more effective delivery of Homanit products. In recent years, Lithuania has developed into one of the most important locations for the furniture industry in Eastern Europe.

Like the Group’s existing plants, the new plant will produce the HDF product range as well as MDF boards up to 22 mm. In addition to the raw board plant, extensive finishing facilities will also be built to guarantee the market the usual extensive Homanit product range. According to the current schedule, the plant is expected to go into operation in 2022.

Fritz Homann, Managing Director of  Homann Holzwerkstoffe GmbH: “Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we had temporarily postponed our investment plans. We are all the more pleased that we were able to get through the difficult months after the outbreak of the crisis in spring with less short-time work than expected and without job cuts, and that we can now continue our expansion plans with the establishment of our fourth location in Europe.”