Uponor opens plastic pipe plant in Leningrad Region
MOSCOW. Oct 2 (Interfax) - Uponor Corporation, a Finnish manufacturer of plumbing and indoor climate systems, launched a plastic pipe plant in the Tosnensky district of Leningrad Region on Thursday.
This is the company's first plant in Russia, Uponor said in a press release.
The plant will initially manufacture Uponor Ecoflex insulated pipes, with targeted production of over 1 million meters of pipe per year. In future, the product line might be expanded.
Uponor is pleased that, relying on its twenty years of experience in Russia, it managed to successfully launch production, the company's president and CEO, Jyri Luomakoski said at the opening of the plant.
Luomakoski said he is full of optimism and hopes that the Russian division and new production facility, which will offer products for the local market, foremost Leningrad Region and St. Petersburg, will help the company have a stable, growing presence on the market as it moves forward
Luomakoski told Interfax in May that the company was financing the project with its own funds. Uponor's worldwide investments total 35.7 million euros and are growing by 1.8 million euros annually, and net investment in current projects amounts to 32.1 million euros. These investments include a plant in North America and one in Russia, he said.
Russia was Uponor's tenth largest market in 2014. The company's net global sales totaled almost 1.024 billion euros last year, with Russia accounting for about 3% of this figure.
Uponor, which is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, produces water supply and interior climate solutions for residential and commercial buildings. The company operates primarily in Europe and North America, and has ten plants in five countries (Finland, Sweden, Germany, Spain and the United States), not including the new one in Russia. Uponor has about 4,000 employees in 30 countries.