"Metsä Wood is investing in birch plywood production to better meet globally growing demand," said Jari Tikkanen, senior vice-presdent of production and technology at Metsä Wood, according to a press release. "The location of the new mill in Pärnu offers very good logistical connections to our main markets. Birch veneers will be manufactured in Finland and converted into plywood at the Pärnu mill. This is a major investment in our competitiveness; the birch plywood production capacity at the Pärnu mill will be 50,000 cubic meters annually."

"We have not seen large-scale investments into industry too often in Estonia in recent years," remarked Avo Ambur, board member at Nordecon AS. "I believe that the construction of the new plywood factory in Pärnu is important for the city of Pärnu and for the entire region."

Construction on the 29,000 square meter mill, the total cost of which will exceed €14 million plus VAT, is to begin in April of this year and be completed by August 2018.

Enterprise Estonia will be supporting its constuction with €2 million via the foundation's large investor support scheme.