Kronospan to invest € 67 million in Ukraine

OSB-group Kronospan is planning on investing € 67 million in the factory Novovolynsk in the northwest of Ukraine. The company applied for a credit of € 40 million with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). According to the project description, a multi-daylight press will be replaced by a continuous chipboard press, and additionally, a 15 MW biomass boiler, an electrical precipitator and an expansion of the chip processing capacity are part of the planned measures. The investment is supposed to enhance quality, which would enable the group to export to the EU. The factory is located 10 km from Poland.

Kronospan UA, which belongs to the Kronospan Holding East, Cyprus, is listed as the applicant with the EBRD. According to the project report, the parent company employs 14,000 employees in 40 sites located in 27 countries and generates a revenue of € 4.5 billion/yr.

In 2006, Kronospan UA already financed 60% of an investment amounting to € 100 million for two chipboard lines in Novovolynsk via the EBRD. Kronospan started its chipboard production in 2009, and installed an MDF-line a year later. The group did not specify concrete capacity volumes.