Daily: 148 lose jobs as Ida-Viru wooden board producer files for bankruptcy
AS Repo Vabrikud, a wooden board producer employing 148 in Püssi, Ida-Viru County, filed for bankruptcy last week, regional daily Põhjarannik reported Monday afternoon.
Due to high energy and wood prices, AS Repo Vabrikud is no longer competitive on its sales markets, which are located primarily in Finland and Sweden, the company announced according to Põhjarannik (link in Estonian), noting that other European board producers are offering their production at 10-15 percent lower prices and the market as a whole is cooling.
AS Repo Vabrikud employs 148 people directly and another couple hundred people indirectly via its partners in Ida-Viru County and beyond; the company is one of the biggest employers in Lüganuse Municipality.
Together with its predecessor Püssi Puitlaastplaatide Kombinaat, AS Repo Vabrikud has been in operation since 1975, producing value-added wood and wood boards for the furniture industry.
The company has been operating at a loss in recent years. In 2019, AS Repo Vabrikud earned a loss of €1.1 million on a turnover of €22.1 million; in 2020, the company earned a loss of €8,000 on a turnover of €21.1 million; last year, the company earned a loss of €630,000 on a turnover of €27.5 million.
According to commercial register data, the company is owned by Malta residents Sergiy Lishchyna and Roman Tsupryk.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
