“In an effort to strengthen the positions of Lithuanian exports on the global markets, we must ensure production volumes and stand at the front lines of innovation. Both these goals will be achieved through this one of the largest greenfield investments in Western Lithuania. Large manufacturing capacities, innovative robotics and automation solutions, which are impossible without hundreds of qualified staff members, who will be the real owners of the new complex. Our team is working intensively to ensure that the new complex is built as quickly as possible, and the factory launched in spring next year,” says SBA Group VP Egidijus Valentinavičius.
Upon evaluating the planned manufacturing volumes and the number of employees of the new complex, the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation granted it the status of a large investment project, and it is the first project in Lithuania to receive this status. Based on the project’s investment agreement, the investor commits to establishing no fewer than 150 jobs over five years and investing no less than 20 million euros in private capital investment.
It is planned for 100 per cent of the furniture manufactured in the complex to be exported to foreign markets. The new complex will emerge in the SBA Industrial Innovation Valley alongside the already existing SBA Group logistics centre Innovo Logistika, and the furniture component factory Laminn, both of which became operational last year.
“The cluster is built up in the SBA Industrial Innovation Valley opens up opportunities for synergies, which will greatly increase the efficiency of the entire production chain, and enable us to generate even greater added value. At the same time, the location is strategically important due to its convenient transport links by road and waterway and is placed near a highway and the seaport. In the coming years, we plan to continue developing the valley,” said Raimonda Kižienė, the CEO of SBA Home, which manages six furniture factories and the aforementioned logistics centre.
This year, the SBA Group announced it is entering a new stage of strategic expansion. Over the coming few years, there are plans to invest around a third of a billion euros and create 800 new jobs. The measures outlined in the strategy will allow the group to increase its income by double-digit figures every year, and over the next three years increase its consolidated sales by more than one and a half times.
The SBA furniture manufacturing sector includes SBA Home, which manages the furniture manufacturing companies Klaipėdos Baldai, Šilutės Baldai, Germanika, Visagino Linija, Mebelain and Laminn, as well as the soft furniture manufacturer Kauno Baldai. Other than furniture manufacturing, the SBA Group operates in the real estate and textile sectors, employing a total of around 5,000 staff across the group’s companies.
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