Helsinki-based Stora Enso Oyj has invested approximately CZK 2.1 billion/€79 million into the production of cross laminated timber panels at their factory in Ĺ˝dírec nad Doubravou.

Renowned for their focus on sustainable products related to packaging, biomaterials, paper production, and wood-based architecture, the company applied for an incentive investment through CzechInvest in May, 2019. The Finno-Swedish wood-processing company had its application approved by the government in August 2019 for an estimated CZK 380 million/€14 million plus from the country’s budget – all in all, the total investment amount from the state equals to CZK 1.75 billion/€66 million plus.

The new production line will produce an innovative, eco-friendly product that’ll be invaluable for the wooden construction subsector of the construction market, and it will create sixty new jobs. The construction of the line is slated for within the first three months of 2021, and the production of the panels themselves is scheduled to begin sometime in the third quarter of 2022.

In 1998, the company established a branch of their wooden product subdivision in Ĺ˝dírec nad Doubravou and in Planá u Mariánských Lázní. They employ up to an estimated one thousand people in the Czech Republic.

Their total investment into their Czech Republic subdivision is estimated to be around CZK 3.1 billion/€117 million (between 1998–2018) – CZK 305 million/€11 million plus of which belongs to the state in the form of investment incentives, and CZK 167.4 million/€6 million plus of which is composed from subsidies from various European funds.

The expected annual gross revenue is expected to be in the range of CZK 1.9 billion/€71 million plus, if their factory meets projected production quotas.