Krono Group to invest into chipboard mill in Perm region

Perm region authorities and Krono Group hold negotiations on chipboard mill construction, as Kommersant paper reports quoting a source in regional government.

Swiss Krono Group owns one mill in Russia, Kronostar in Kostroma region which produced 537,200 m3 of particleboard last year. According to the data available in the Annual Report of WhatWood analysts, this mill is fourth largest particleboard producer in Russia after Kronospan mill in Egoryevsk near Moscow, Gagarin plywood mill in Smolensk region and Pfleiderer mill in Novgorod region.

The president of regional forest industry association Alexander Susloparov said in an interview to Kommersant that Perm region has large volume of unused low-grade hardwood as well as wood waste, so chipboard production allows utilizing these resources.

Austrian company Kronospan which owns a mill in Egoryevsk and constructs an OSB line there, is also planning to invest into chipboard mill in the Urals, namely in Shaksha (Republic of Bashkiria).

An OSB mill is also being built in Perm region by ORIS company, which intends to reach the level of 500,000 m3 by 2017.