Inside information: Raute announces the receipt of an order of EUR 29 million to Latvia and provides update concerning earlier announced customer project negotiations
Raute Corporation, Inside information, April 25, 2023 at 15:45 EEST
Raute Corporation (“Raute”) has signed a contract worth EUR 29 million with AS Latvijas Finieris (“Latvijas Finieris"), Latvia for the delivery of technology to a plywood mill expansion. Following the terms of the contract, the project has become effective by signing of a delivery contract today.
Latvijas Finieris, the leading producer of birch plywood in Europe and the Baltic countries, will expand their Verems, Latvia plywood factory to increase the production capacity by 35000 m3.
The order for Raute’s technology includes all main production processes from veneer drying to plywood overlaying: veneer drying line, veneer scarf-jointing line, veneer composing lines, plywood layup line, plywood pressing line, panel trimming line, and panel overlaying line, with extensive service package and long-term on-site management. The lines are a complete solution compiled of the proven R5- and most modern automated R7-Series technologies. All lines are equipped with analyzers for grading and MillSIGHTS software for data capturing.
The ordered machinery and equipment will be delivered between March 2024 and June 2025. The equipment will be manufactured at Raute’s production units in Lahti and Kajaani in Finland, and in the company’s partnership network.
This new expansion, which will be in full operation in 2025, is part of Latvijas Finieris’s strategy to develop and innovate sustainable birch plywood production enabling further processing of special end products.
“We are happy to work with Latvijas Finieris on yet another project to promote resource-efficient society. We believe our unique solutions enable Latvijas Finieris in reaching their increased targets for sustainable plywood production”, says Mika Saariaho, CEO of Raute.
Latvijas Finieris Group is a multi-sectoral international company with key business in research, development, production, and sales of tailored birch plywood products under the brand Riga Wood. Their birch plywood and veneer factories are located in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland. The plywood products and solutions are delivered to 32 industries world-wide. Further information on Latvijas Finieris can be found at www.finieris.lv.
Update concerning earlier announced customer project negotiations
In addition to the order with Latvijas Finieris announced with this stock exchange release, Raute also continues negotiations in relation to another mill-size customer project which was referred to in the stock exchange release dated March 9, 2023 (Raute plans directed share issue, rights issue and junior loan to support targeted growth and strengthening of capital structure and proposes combination of share classes). Negotiations in relation to the project have progressed to the final phase and are expected to be completed during the coming months. Should the negotiations result into a binding delivery agreement, the total size of the agreement is expected to be around EUR 45 million. Customarily Raute announces larger projects only at the time that they become effective, typically after receiving the agreed advance payment. If negotiations relating to this project result into signing of a binding delivery agreement, Raute expects to announce more detailed information on the project only after receiving an advance payment.
RAUTE CORPORATION
Mika Saariaho
President and CEO
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Mr. Mika Saariaho, President and CEO, tel. +358 40 1549393
DISTRIBUTION:
Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd, main media, www.raute.com
RAUTE IN BRIEF – Making Wood Matter
Raute is the partner to future-proof the wood industry. Our technologies cover different production processes with supporting digital and analytics solutions for engineered wood products. Additionally, we offer full-scale service concept ranging from spare parts to regular maintenance and modernizations. Our innovative hardware and software solutions are designed to support our customers’ efficient consumption of natural resources. In mill-scale projects, Raute is a global market leader both in the plywood and LVL industries. Raute’s head office and main production is located in Lahti, Finland. The company’s other production plants are located in Kajaani, Finland, the Vancouver area of Canada, Changzhou, China, and in Pullman, WA, USA. Raute’s net sales in 2022 were EUR 158.3 million. The Group’s headcount at the end of 2022 was 778. More information about the company can be found at www.raute.com