European pet industry leader chooses Klaipeda FEZ for 50 million EUR project

Beating Belgium, Poland, England and Australia, Neo Group’s PET production facility in Klaipeda FEZ has been chosen as the location for expansion of a new 50 million Euro production project. Paulius Ambrazaitis, Managing Director at Polymers Trading International AG and Chairman of the Board of UAB “Neo Group”, stated that it was the support provided by the Lithuanian government in the form of aid that was instrumental in bringing this investment to Klaipeda FEZ.

A newly appointed CEO of Neo Group is now Ruslanas Radajevas.

With the introduction of this new line, starting in May 2018, Neo Group’s Klaipeda FEZ plant, a member of Retal Group, will become the second largest PET supplier in the EU, and the largest PET production facility in the EU.  The facility at present produces an annual capacity of 328.000 tons, and this will increase to 500,000 tons. In fact, the revenue generated by the plant in 2017 was 406 million, with 15 million profits, and this is only set to grow. This expansion of the Klaipeda’s plant capacity reflects the increased market for PET products within the EU. The rise in demand in this region currently amounts to an average rise of 3% per year, while PET imports into the EU amounted to about 700,000 tons last year. This new line will help to satisfy this demand and increase European PET production, especially considering that there are currently no discussions concerning the construction of any new PET plants in Europe.

Although a great deal of time and consideration went into evaluating many options, including such major centers as Belgium, Poland, England and Australia, Retal finally settled on Klaipeda FEZ. This is a major affirmation of the quality of the expertise and talent on the ground in Lithuania. But even more so, it was the government’s commitment to create conditions that ideal for PET production that really swayed the site selectors. As Mr Ambrazaitas explains, “It is what I call the Klaipeda FEZ effect: the government proposed certain incentives, so foundations for the industry were laid here. Now it is more reasonable for businesses like Retal to expand here than begin operations elsewhere, as the infrastructure is already in place.”

Klaipeda FEZ is, in fact, becoming a center for European PET production, aside from Neo Group, and its Retal Baltic lines, there are also major players like Orion Global PET already on the ground. This is due to the security and reliability that the FEZ can provide, alongside the support given from its dedicated team of business advisers. Talent is also high on the agenda, and Klaipeda is renowned as a city that produces highly skilled and dedicated engineering talent. This year alone, a panel has been set up to oversee the forging of closer links between business and local educational institutions to create the kind of talent that burgeoning sectors like PET require. For Klaipeda FEZ and the PET industry, it would seem, this is only the beginning.

More info: www.vz.lt