Topping-out ceremony celebrated at AmberBirch’s new production facility
Marking the achievement of the building’s highest point of construction, the topping-out ceremony for the new veneer production plant of SIA AmberBirch, a company operating in Jēkabpils Municipality, was celebrated on 14 December.
The total area of the new production plant will be 10,000 m2. As part of the project, the log storage yard will also be expanded, steam chambers will be built, and other plant expansion works will be carried out, bringing the total area to slightly more than 20,000 m2.
More than EUR 40 million will be invested in the AmberBirch plant by mid-2025 in order to double birch veneer production capacity, begin producing higher-quality veneer products, and diversify the product range.
It is planned that already in the second half of 2025 AmberBirch will be able to produce up to 90,000 cubic meters of veneer per year. Increasing production capacity and installing new technologies also means creating additional jobs, increasing the number of employees at the plant from 85 to 130.
The investments in the AmberBirch plant are planned to be covered from the company’s own funds and by attracting external financing. The construction process organizer for the new plant is SIA Pillar Contractor, while the company has purchased the technology from the Finnish company Raute Corporation, which includes all the main veneer production process lines: the roundwood feeding line, the veneer peeling line, the veneer drying and sorting line, and other software.
Prior to the implementation of this project, more than EUR 10 million had been invested in the existing AmberBirch plant, also using financing from the European Regional Development Fund and receiving co-financing from the Parallel (Mezzanine) Loan Programme implemented by the state development finance institution ALTUM.
AmberBirch has also obtained the international FSC® wood supply certificate, as well as the PEFC environmental quality certificate. AmberBirch has an ISO 50001:2018-certified energy management system. In its production cycle, AmberBirch uses renewable energy resources – in 2023, 850 thousand euros were invested in the development of a solar panel park with a capacity of 1 MW.
AmberStone Group, AS is a holding company established in 2013. It has holdings in medical, hospitality, agricultural, construction and wood processing companies in Latvia and Estonia.
AmberBirch, SIA was established in 2016; it is a 100% subsidiary of AmberStone Group, AS, which in 2016 began developing a birch veneer production facility in the Jēkabpils region. The factory began operations in 2019, becoming one of the largest specialized veneer producers in the region. AmberBirch, SIA produces multifunctional veneer suitable for various customer segments, including manufacturers of furniture components and plywood. The goal of AmberBirch, SIA is to become a significant European-level producer in the market for various environmentally friendly engineered wood products, while contributing to the achievement of the European Union’s climate neutrality goals.
AmberBirch, SIA’s turnover in 2023 exceeded 26 million euros, and its audited profit was 4.4 million euros. Last year, the company paid almost one million euros in labor taxes.
More information is available on the websites www.amberstone.lv and www.amberbirch.lv.
