Company briefs - 2011-11-03

The leading wood pellet producer in Latvia, Latgran has opened a new wood pellet plant costing 14.6 million euros, reports business daily Dienas Bizness. The new plant is the largest investment in the eastern Kraslava region in over 25 years. The construction of the plant began already last fall. Latgran, which already is the largest wood pellet producer in Latvia, hopes that the new plant will further consolidate its market positions. The new plant is Latgran’s third. Wood pellets produced at the new plant will be exported to Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Belgium, says Latgran board member Martins Zvejnieks. Last year, Latgran plants produced 239,000 tons of wood pellets; this year the output is projected at 275,000 tons and in 2012 at 380,000 tons.

Riga Vidzeme District Court on Nov. 1 ruled that businesswoman Ieva Plaude-Relingere, the founder and a shareholder of Kolonna group, is insolvent, reports LETA. The court also ordered a five-year bankruptcy procedure for Plaude-Relingere, confirmed a schedule for the sale of her property to settle creditors’ claims, and banned the businesswoman from any transactions with her properties in Riga and Valmiera. The court’s ruling cannot be appealed. Plaude-Relingered was not present in the courtroom. Her representative, Vaiva Kirvelaite, said that the businesswoman was currently abroad. The court considered Plaude-Relingere’s insolvency case repeatedly, because the Supreme Court’s Senate this past May overturned Riga Vidzeme District Court’s last December insolvency ruling against her.

Estonian shipping company Tallink estimates its market share in the northern part of the Baltic Sea at 48 percent, reports Postimees Online. Tallink transported 9.1 million passengers in the previous financial year, while all shipping companies together transported 18.9 million passengers. On the Tallinn-Helsinki routes, Tallink’s market share is 57 percent; Viking Line 25 percent; Eckero Line 13 percent and Linda Line 5 percent. On the Helsinki-Stockholm route, Tallink estimates its market share at 53 percent versus Viking Line’s 47 percent, and Turku-Stockholm routes at 57 percent (Viking Line at 43 percent). On the Tallinn-Stockholm and Latvia-Sweden routes, Tallink is the only shipping company offering passenger transport.