Kronospan holding has launched Russia’s fourth OSB mill in in Egorievsk, Moscow region (after Hillman, Novovyatsky LK and DOK Kalevala) with a capacity of 350,000 m3, this is stated in the updated study by WhatWood agency “OSB market in Russia in 2013 – 1H2014”. Information about the launch of the mill and start of the product sales was confirmed to WhatWood in late September by the resin manufacturers and distributors of wood-based panels.
Meanwhile, the Austrian holding intends to expand production at this mill up to 700,000 m3 and currently solves the issue with the site for the construction of the second line.
Kronospan’s mill in Mogilev also started test production at the end of August, the rated capacity of this plant will be 300,000 m3. Its products will be sold on the markets of Western Europe and Russia. The company has recently published an advertisement about the search of exclusive regional distributors in Russia.
OSB imports into Russia in the first half of 2014, meanwhile, decreased just slightly – by 3.3% to 283,600 m3.
Prices for Romanian and Latvian OSB panels began to decline in the autumn of 2013 and stabilized only in May 2014, which is likely due to increased competition. According to market players, the suppliers “are fighting literally for 5 roubles per sheet”, which is less than 1.5% of the value.
The construction terms and conditions of many projects of OSB mills were revised this year. Projects with a high probability of implementation are listed in the infographics at the end of this article.
The second edition of the study “OSB market in Russia in 2013 – 1H2014” was published in October 2014 and is available for order at the WhatWood website:
- detailed list of investment projects of OSB capacities in Russia, split on the current status of the project;
- base import prices, distributors prices and detailed trade statistics;
- list of global manufacturers and review of the world industry;
- review of Russian economy, OSB market and competing panel sectors;
- outlook on consumption, imports and production.
