In the Rossony district, entrepreneurs from the Baltics are boosting timber processing production
It is hard to believe that the territory, where work is in full swing today, equipment is being installed and products are being shipped, was desolate just six months ago. When LMF Plus LLC purchased a plot for a production base in Klyastitsy in August 2015 for 1.2 billion rubles, they had to start with basic cleanup. First, they mowed down the weeds around the dilapidated buildings, then they began restoring the structures, which were intended to house woodworking shops and the administration in the future.
First and foremost, the enterprise director Pavars Martins invested funds in production.
Currently, about 1.9 billion rubles have been spent on the reconstruction of the facilities. In addition, modern equipment worth 155 thousand euros was purchased: lines for the production of debarked and planed timber, and band saws. To prevent the machinery from getting stuck in the mud, access roads were concreted. In general, they got down to business seriously. And the result was not long in coming: the first workshop was launched in test mode in December, explained the production manager Vadim Dobrinevsky. By mid-January 2016, LMF Plus LLC shipped its first products: 120 cubic meters of debarked timber, 20 cubic meters of planed timber, and three trucks of wood chips.
Twenty-three people work at the private enterprise. But very soon their number will almost double – this will happen when the second workshop, where they plan to produce lumber from thick logs, starts operating. Equipment installation is currently underway, and a bridge crane is being installed, which will fully automate lifting and loading operations. And by the end of the month, they plan to receive the first products there. By the way, they will process not only the coniferous forest of the Dzvina region. A batch of larch with a dense but very beautiful wood texture has already arrived from Siberia. Wealthy residents of the Baltic countries are ready to order such elite lumber as well.
And yet, the main part of the raw materials comes from the Vitebsk region. The company "Transpromleskhoz", headed by another foreigner, Babris Gints, is engaged in its procurement. It is located at the same production base in Klyastitsy. Previously, a significant amount of harvested timber was sold abroad, but since January 1, a ban on the export of commercial timber has come into force in Belarus. Therefore, the volumes of harvesting will now significantly decrease. They will mainly depend on how much raw material is required for "LMF Plus" LLC.
By the way, the production cycle of this enterprise is organized as efficiently as possible. Its peculiarity is that, in essence, there are no waste products left. Everything is put to use; the equipment was initially installed with the aim of processing 100% of the wood. Even wood chips are exported to the Baltic states, where there is also demand for them.
It is planned that when the two workshops are fully operational, the production base of "LMF Plus" LLC will be able to process 2,100 cubic meters of wood per month: 800 of thin timber and 1300 of thick timber. This means that products worth approximately 120 thousand euros will be shipped monthly. In the future, a third workshop for sawing small-sized timber is planned to be built in Klyastitsy.
Despite the fact that the owner of the enterprise is a citizen of another state, the main part of the staff consists of local residents. Foreign specialists at "LMF Plus" make up only about ten percent. The average salary, according to Deputy Director Ivan Kozlov, currently exceeds 6 million rubles, which is quite good for an agro-town. Therefore, there is no shortage of labor here.
Liliya IVCHENKO. Vitebskiye Vesti. Photos by the author and from the enterprise's archive.