Välinge’s owner, Pervanovo, acquires Croatian veneer producer

Välinge's mother Pervanovo has bought the Croatian veneer producer Furnir Otok doo from its owner Jozo Jovic. Woodura is a multi-layer flooring based on veneer, wood dust and polymer, which is pressed under high pressure.

Furnir Otok is located in the eponymous village in north-eastern Croatia, and thus in the Spacva forest, one of the most important oak-growing areas in Europe. The company has a long-term contract with the Croatian State Forests Hrvatske Šume.

Furnir Otok started veneer production in 2011. At present, 7.5 million square meters of veneer are produced each year. The main customer is the European furniture industry. The production capacity is twice as high, at 15 million square meters. The company employs 130 people and generates a turnover of 10 million euros.

Following the acquisition, the company will be renamed "Bjelin Otok" and will continue to produce for existing customers. First of all, production is to be raised to the level of 15 million square meters of capacity. Another line will then increase capacity to 20 million square meters. The additional veneer quantities flow into the Woodura production.

In 2016 Pervanovo acquired the Croatian company Bjelin d.o.o. with production sites in Ogulin and Bjelovar. Bjelin d.o.o. has long-term supply contracts with Croatian forest comprising large quantities of oak. The Ogulin parquet plant has been restructured and the capacity has been increased from 0.4 to 2.0 million m2. New equipment has been installed in new buildings and the product range has been extended to oiled and lacquered conventional parquet planks and strips for herringbone installations. The industrial land area in Ogulin has been extended from 140,000 to 470,000 m2 and land works for a new major Woodura factory in Ogulin have started.

In Bjelovar a new factory building will be completed at the end of this year and new equipment will be installed for production of top layer lamellas based on fresh cutting technology. The oak lamellas are supplied to the Ogulin parquet factory but also to several wood flooring producers in Europe.

The Bjelovar and Otok plants will be coordinated.