Leading Turkish panelmaker Kastamonu Entegre Agac Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS is planning major panelboard expansion in Russia with proposals for two separate mill projects in the country's southwest.
But their progress is likely to be slower than expected in the face of the global economic crisis because of the company's need to secure credit to finance the plants' construction.
The more advanced project for a 300,000m3/year MDF plant to be located on a half a million square metre site in the city of Krasnodar in Russia's far southwest was scheduled for start-up in late 2010. However, this project is understood to be on hold at present.
The Turkish company is also planning to invest around US$100m in the construction of a second wood based panels operation further north east in the semi-autonomous Russian region of Tatarstan.
The company, which also makes plywood, particleboard and doorskins, runs seven plants, mainly in Turkey, but also in Romania, Bulgaria and Bosnia Herzegovina. It is also considering a plan to build an OSB mill in Bulgaria.