Swedwood Company has built a furniture factory in the Leningrad region.

The official commissioning ceremony was held on 15 November in Tikhvin town (Leningrad region). The importance of the event was confirmed by representatives of regional government and Tikhvin administrative authorities who attended the event. “By commissioning the factory, our company will complete creation of a full cycle production in Tikhvin, from timber harvesting to furniture output,” said Nils Skerbek, coordinator of Swedwood’s Russian project. Swedwood Tikhvin employs 1,100 people taking part in production chain from timber harvesting to furniture manufacture. The new factory which attracted ?13mln of investments, will output pine furniture to be delivered to IKEA shops in Russia and abroad. The anticipated annual turnover will be approximately ?30mln, production will engage 275 people.

Tikhvin factory is the first Russian furniture enterprise supplying to IKEA. Two more Swedwood projects are under development now: a sawmill was put into operation this summer in the town of Kostomuksha, Karelia, and another furniture factory is to be commissioned soon in Yesipovo settlement, Moscow region.

Swedwood Tikhvin Ltd. has long-term leased forest plots in the Leningrad region. The total harvesting volume is 250,000 m³ of roundwood per year. Timber harvesting operations are performed at the distance of 150 km from Tikhvin. Swedwood enterprises in Tikhvin and Karelia exercising the basic IKEA principle – environmental and raw material friendliness – received FSC forest management and chain-of-custody certificates in October, 2006.

Swedwood Industrial group first expressed its intention to cooperate with the Leningrad region in 2000. The company’s management and government of the Leningrad region signed a general agreement; the first stage of modern Swedwood Tikhvin woodworking plant was commissioned in summer 2002. The fist stage included harvesting division, sawmilling facilities and a glued-laminated panel production plant.

(After LesPromInform Journal)