Bolderaja Ltd puts 140 million into new plant

RIGA 's TheBolderaja chipboard production company has invested 140 million euros into theconstruction of a new plant in Riga.

Bolderaja Ltd. CEO Risards Slotvinskis said the Latviancompany would build the plant to help with the production of oriented strandboards.

The construction of the new plant, which is scheduled to becompleted sometime in the first three quarters of 2009, will still requireabout 5 million euros of additional investment. Slotvinskis said that thecompany did not plan on any further expansions after the plant was completed.

"After making this investment, the company will take arest for some time, because investments have taken very much money in recentyears," the Bolderaja Ltd CEO said.

He said that in about two years, however, the company mayhave to build a new office building to replace the current one, which is in badcondition.

Bolderaja Ltd chipboard maker invested 116 million euros in the first phaseof its OSB plant. Latvia'sHansabanka co-funded the project by providing 55 million euros, while the restwas paid from the owners' savings and funds.

Bolderaja Ltd makes chipboards. The company launchedoperations on Feb. 1, 2006.

The company posted a turnover of 81.4 million lats (115.8 million euros) forthe last fiscal year that started on October 1, 2007, and ended on September30, 2008, which is a 2.3 times boost from the previous fiscal year,

According to the Latvian Business Register, Bolderaja Ltd is owned byCypriot company Aureja Ltd., belonging to international wood-processing concernKronospan. Bolderaja's registered capital is 28.815 million lats. Kronospanowns 26 chipboard plants in 24 countries.