PMF and Alno to establish Russia’s largest kitchen furniture facility

PMF (“First furniture factory”) belonging to entrepreneur Alexander Shestakov formed a joint venture (50/50) with the German furniture manufacturer Alno (belongs to Whirlpool concern), as reported by Delovoy Peterburg paper.

During the year, the partners will invest €50 million in establishing in St. Petersburg the biggest factory in Russia for the production of kitchen furniture (1,000 units or 100-120 sets per day). It will be located on the existing site of PMF, which will be expanded with the areas purchased this year. Until the end of the year, the company will deliver Piatti production line from Switzerland. Installation will take 5-6 months. The new factory will include existing lines for the production of facades and hotel furniture, other equipment will be sold out.

The annual factory turnover is expected to reach 4-5 billion roubles, with a payback period of 6-8 years. The products will be shipped to the Russian market and CIS countries. In the future, other markets will be also approached. PMF and Alno will begin to produce kitchen furniture of all niches including economy class, which hasn’t been present in the range of PMF by far. “The government is seriously determined about improving the quality of municipal housing construction. They plan to give it for rent with fitted kitchens. We want to be ready for the start of this program,” said Alexander Shestakov.

For Alno, this is the first affiliate business in Russia. Until that time, the concern was only importing furniture to the country. Alno is one of the largest companies of its kind in Europe that produces furniture at seven plants in Germany, Switzerland and the UAE. The holding PMF, in addition to the factory, comprises trade outlets Furniture City in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Garden City centre and a number of other enterprises.