REHAU’s real estate in the FEZ is purchased by Maltese investment company

YIT Lietuva, a real estate development company, has announced that it has signed an agreement with Hili Properties, a Maltese investment company, for the transfer of the plant of the German polymer company Rehau in the Klaipėda Free Economic Zone, writes Verslo žinios.

The investor is buying the 19,000 sqm building for an undisclosed sum in a share deal while Rehau will lease it. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“This property will complement our existing portfolio of 6 shopping centres and six restaurants in the Baltics and is in line with our strategy to diversify our portfolio and tenant mix. In addition, the property, with its state-of-the-art production facilities, meets a wide range of sustainability criteria and is a sound long-term investment for us,” said George Kakouras, CEO of Hili Properties, in a statement.

Rehau and YIT Lietuva have shaken hands on the expansion of this plant in 2020. Under the agreement, YIT Lietuva will invest in expanding the micro cable pipe systems plant, and the manufacturer will lease it.

Kęstutis Vanagas, CEO of YIT Lietuva, says that the plant, which will be operational in January 2022, was built in record time to meet the customer’s needs: the project took 12 months from the preparation of the site to attract an investor.

“Although the project was complex and faced additional challenges due to the pandemic and disruptions in supply chains, we plan to finish on time – by the end of November. We do not doubt that it will be a win-win situation for all parties, and most importantly for the economy of the Klaipėda region and Lithuania as a whole,” said Vanagas in a statement.

The REHAU plant will create 190 jobs and produce floor heating pipes and cable ducts – 9,000 and 20,000 tonnes per year. The production in Klaipėda will be supplied mainly to wholesalers, telecommunications companies and municipalities in European countries.

Although the name REHAU is primarily associated with plastic windows in Lithuania, the German company’s activities are much broader than that – its polymer solutions are used in the automotive, construction, furniture, aerospace, and other industries. REHAU started as a family business and is still a family business, but today the company has more than 170 locations worldwide and an annual turnover of around €3 billion.

Two years ago, the company was scouting all over Europe for a location for a new plant, and the Klaipėda FEZ offered the Germans not only a well-developed infrastructure and an active business community, but also a variety of solutions that allowed them to advance the desired launch date by almost half a year.