The Lumin company will invest US$ 136 million to put into operation a new plywood panel manufacturing plant (plywood) in Uruguay, expanding its production capacity to almost 500 thousand m3, which will generate 320 new jobs and will make Uruguay the second largest producer of plywood in Latin America.
The plant will be installed on a property bordering Route 8, 14 km before reaching Melo, going from the south.
The announcement was made in the capital of Cerro Largo, coinciding with the tour carried out by the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pouwho participated in the investment presentation conference, together with the local mayor, José Yurramendi, and the CEO of Lumin, Álvaro Molinari.
The mayor stressed that This is the largest investment in history made by a company in the department.
This new industrial complex will significantly increase the country’s sustainable production of plywood panels, an export product.
Rendering of the interior of the future factory, in Melo.
Beginning of the works
Following approval by Lumin’s board of directors, which includes representatives from BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), Construction of the plant will begin in the first quarter of 2023, and it is expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2026..
The expansion is part of Lumin’s strategy to capitalize on growing global demand for sustainable wood products from the construction and furniture sectors.
Lumin’s 120,000 hectares of commercial forests are independently certified as meeting the FSC® global standards for responsible forest management (FSC-C162602).
This new investment complements investments of US$48 million made over the last two years in the company’s existing facilities, which includes the construction of a Thin Peel plywood factory in Tacuarembó and a storage logistics center near the port of Montevideo.
One of the company’s industrial complexes, in Tacuarembó.
Álvaro Molinari, CEO of Lumin, said: “Lumin employs 780 people and produces 304 thousand m3 of plywood annually at its two plants in Tacuarembó”.
The expectation is that the new plant capitalizes on the timber forests that Lumin has managed sustainably for more than 15 years in the departments of Cerro Largo and Treinta y Tres.
Board manufacturing line, in Tacuarembó.
