BREST, 26 April (BelTA) – There are plans to found a furniture cluster at the Ivatsevichdrev woodworking company, Yuri Nazarov, Chairman of the Belarusian timber, woodworking, pulp and paper industry concern Bellesbumprom, told BelTA during the business expo Brest 2018 on 26 April, BelTA has learned.
In a follow-up to an earlier deal, Bellesbumprom intends to sign an investment agreement with Polipol, a German holding company, in the next two months. This is about building a company to produce seating furniture in Ivatsevichi. According to Polipol chief engineer Andrej Isaak, this will be one of the most cutting-edge furniture companies in Europe. “There will be around 50,000 square meters of manufacturing area and not less than 1,200 jobs. The investment is estimated at €20 million. The first 50 people have been selected to do an internship in Poland,” the Polipol representative remarked.
The launch of production at the old factory is scheduled for September 2018. The investors plan to start the construction of a new facility in 2019.
This is a landmark project, Yuri Nazarov said. “It will create highly paid jobs. I believe that this is important for Ivatsevichi. Moreover, I think, another furniture factory will be built here this year. We have held negotiations with a Polish company. Most probably, we will offer them an offer they cannot refuse. A cluster will be built up in Ivatsevichi: furniture factories, which consume chipboard, will be set up near chipboard manufacturing facilities. The production of furniture will depend on the production of fiberboard at Ivatsevichdrev,” Yuri Nazarov emphasized.
In his words, Rechitsadrev and Gomeldrev, the companies making chipboards, plywood, and medium-density fiberboards (MDF) are attractive to investors. “In fact, these companies are interesting, too. They will attract investors one of these days. Taking into account the deficit of qualified workforce, European manufacturers tend to come here. I think that the location of chipboard consumers near chipboard plants will gain traction in the near future,” the Bellesbumprom chairman summarized.
