New Mestilla plant as one of the most significant projects in Klaipėda FEZ

Although the numerous strategically important, multi-million-euro investment projects have been implemented at Klaipėda FEZ over more than two decades, the its CEO Eimantas Kiudulas is particularly looking forward to the opening of the biodiesel producer Mestilla’s new factory early next year. According to him, this project may become a symbol of mature dialogue between business and the public.

Operating in the Klaipėda FEZ since 2005, Mestilla creates unquestionable value for the national economy, energy sector, agriculture and environmental protection. Seven percent of all diesel sold in the country currently consists of the company’s fatty acid methyl ester (biodiesel), reducing the use of imported fossil fuel by substituting part of it with a renewable local raw material.

The company is also one of the largest rapeseed buyers in Lithuania, and the annual harvest of this commercially attractive crop has grown at least fivefold in recent decades.

However, to Klaipėda residents, Mestilla is also known for more “down-to-earth” reasons: despite the company’s advanced technological measures and a wide safety margin relative to official norms, certain wind conditions can still occasionally carry a residual scent from the rapeseed oil pressing facility – resembling the smell of pancakes – to nearby neighbourhoods.

This is precisely what caused residents and city authorities to keep a close eye when news about the new Mestilla factory emerged a few years ago. Although the company has maintained ongoing dialogue with residents and institutions for two decades, both objective and subjective complaints about the residual smell meant that Mestilla’s expansion plans were initially met with caution and examined under a magnifying glass by the authorities.

Nevertheless, according to Eimantas Kiudulas, this phase in Mestilla’s history will soon be left behind, and the company’s development can increasingly be viewed through the lens of growing maturity in both society and business.

“This is one of the largest companies in terms of invested euros and turnover, although we do have a few even bigger ones. Without a doubt, it has been and remains a strategic investor, helping Lithuania and the EU achieve their energy and environmental goals. But Mestilla also faced very high public expectations, adjusted its business plans accordingly, and I believe it will meet the clearly expressed expectations of Klaipėda residents,” Kiudulas says.

Once the new 70 million euros-worth factory is opened, Mestilla’s old pressing facility will be closed, although the main activity will remain the same: biodiesel will continue to be produced from rapeseed.
The most significant advancements aimed at resolving the odour issue once and for all are the new technological processes and two newly built 70-metre chimneys. They will disperse any remaining odour after neutralisation systems at a much higher altitude than before, where detecting the smell at ground level becomes practically impossible.

“I want to thank the company for its understanding, and the residents, the city and the authorities for their trust. In the new factory, with the chimneys and other technological solutions, Mestilla once again went far beyond what the letter of the law or regulations required. This is why I consider this project one of the most significant in FEZ history – it is being implemented with consideration not only for business expectations but also for those of the community. It is a symbol of public and business maturity: we all make certain compromises so that in the long term we can live more harmoniously, sustainably and successfully,” Kiudulas says.

Meanwhile, Mestilla’s CEO Arūnas Zubas reiterates the company’s calculations showing that the combination of the new chimneys and advanced technological processes will provide a final and irreversible solution to the odour issue.

“We emphasise that this is our core interest. We want to be a constructive and reliable partner for the city and its residents, so we are fully committed to the quickest possible resolution. We are grateful to residents and city institutions for their constructive partnership,” Zubas says.

As previously announced, Mestilla has already completed the physical construction of the new factory, installed the technological equipment and began testing. However, the official completion and launch of the new infrastructure is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. At that time, the company’s old oil pressing facility, still in operation today, will be permanently closed.