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EBRD planning EUR 45 mln investment in renewable energy co Freenergy |
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BNS - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development plans to invest 45 million euros in two stages in the capital of Freenergy AS, developer of renewable energy projects in the Baltic states.
The investment of the first stage will be 22.5 million euros, giving the EBRD a 35 percent stake in Freenergy.
The bank said in the project prospectus that it plans to exit the project in five to seven years' time through an initial public offering.
Martin Kruus, member of the board of Nelja Energia OU that manages Freenergy projects, told BNS today the funds to be invested by the EBRD will not be project-specific but will be spent on general development of Freenergy activities.
The investment agreement is planned to be signed on Wednesday, Kruus said.
Freenergy projects this year include the building of eight wind turbines at Virtsu in northwestern Estonia, three wind generators near the Aulepa wind farm of the national power utility Eesti Energia and a six-turbine project in Lithuania.
Freenergy is owned by five Estonian businesses, among them companies connected with the entrepreneurs Juri Mois and Hannes Tamjarv, and Gild Financial Advisory Services.
The EBRD is also planning a smaller investment in OU Raisner that is working on a 150 megawatt wind farm project at Luganuse in northeastern Estonia. |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 June 2009 07:50 |
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Intl symposium on oil shale to take place in Estonian capital |
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BNS - The Tallinn University of Technology is to host an international symposium on oil shale on Monday and Tuesday.
The event's sponsors are Eesti Energia, Colorado School of Mines, Tallinn University of Technology Tallinna and the University of Tartu.
The symposium will be opened by Eesti Energia Board Chairman Sandor Liive and the rector of the Tallinn University of Technology, Peep Surje, Eesti Energia said.
The Estonian minister of economy and communications, Juhan Parts, will speak about the importance of the oil shale industry for Estonia in the future.
Edward Lucas, writer and correspondent for The Economist in Eastern Europe, will speak about the strategic importance of oil shale, while the remarks by Peter Weber, vice president of the international engineering company Outotec, will focus on a technology for the production of shale oil developed together with Eesti Energia that is more environment-friendly, reliable, and boasts a greater per-unit capacity than the technologies used so far. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 08 June 2009 07:52 |
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Trichet: Baltic countries will demonstrate their solidity |
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BNS - The president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Jean-Claude Trichet, told journalists on Thursday that he is confident about the strength of the Baltic countries in holding their currencies stable.
"I'm confident that the Latvian government will make the right decisions internally without changes in the currency," Trichet said in his answer to a question from a Swedish journalist about a possible devaluation in Latvia.
Answering another question, he said the ECB was keeping a close eye on the situation in all countries, not just the Baltics.
"I have confidence that the solidity of the Baltic states will be demonstrated," Trichet said.
Questions have been raised in Latvia in recent weeks about the sustainability of the peg of the lat, the country's national currency. The Swedish media have added fuel to the debate on several occasions by publishing opinions showing devaluation almost as a done deal.
The Latvian central bank and the government have repeatedly rejected the option that the lat could be devalued. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 05 June 2009 07:36 |
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Estonia to support technology development centers with EUR 58 mln |
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BNS - The Estonian state is about to assign 904 million kroons (EUR almost 58 mln) to eight technology development centers of Enterprise Estonia (EAS) with the help of the European Regional Development Fund.
The money for the development of businesses will be allocated by EAS over the next six years, aside from which the companies involved in the centers and universities will invest additionally 428 million kroons, EAS said on Wednesday.
All the partners together stand to invest 1.3 billion kroons in development work during the six-year period.
Involved in the technology development centers getting support under the program are about 100 Estonian companies, for whom preconditions will be created to become the biggest risers when normal economic environment is restored.
The first technology development centers were set up in Estonia at the end of 2004. It is now that their research work is entering the stage of applications, EAS said.
Five of the centers have been active for a number of years and three are in the process of starting up.
Of the total number, two are active in food industry, two in medicine, three in IT, communications technology and electronics applications and one in the sphere of nanotechnology with emphasis on developing new materials.
(EUR 1 = EEK 15.65) |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 04 June 2009 10:45 |
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Microlink to sell software development operation to Helmes |
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BNS - Microlink Eesti, a 100 percent subsidiary of Eesti Telekom, is selling its enterprise resource planning and software development operations to the Estonian IT company Helmes.
From now on, Microlink Eesti will concentrate on providing ICT outsourcing, such as information management, IT systems hosting and management for businesses, as well as training computer users and top specialists, Eesti Telekom, the listed telecommunications group, told the stock exchange.
The sale of dispensable operations of its subsidiary will not have a great impact on the economic results of Eesti Telekom, it said. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 04 June 2009 10:44 |
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Enterprise Estonia says some very big investments under way |
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BNS - A division director at Enterprise Estonia (EAS) speaking to BNS on Tuesday said EAS had a couple of very large investment projects under work about which no closer information could be released at this point.
Interest in investing in Estonia clearly exists despite the complex economic situation and in addition to the couple or so very large investments several smaller projects are being worked on, said Gert Stahl, director of the globalization division at EAS.
For instance, the Finnish metal manufacturer Hyrles is about to open a plant at Juri near Tallinn at the end of this summer.
"They're creating a couple of tens of jobs this year, whereas by the year 2013 they are planning about 100 jobs and about 100 million kroons in turnover. Their large contracting partner is ABB," Stahl said.
A Swedish IT services company is planning an investment of 30 million kroons and creating up to 30 new jobs, Stahl added. The investor is about to make the final decision as regards the investment in the course of the current month.
With that investment one has to keep in mind that in the case of services the size of the investment often is much smaller than in the case of manufacturing, yet the value added may be bigger.
There are also two German investments being dealt with -- one in metals manufacturing and the other in wood industry. The projects are expected to create up to 200 new jobs combined. For the metal industry investment a positive investment decision has already been made.
In addition EAS is helping a Spanish investment in the domain of construction materials that will create a couple of tens of jobs in the initial phase. The possibility exists that in the future the company's entire value chain will be brought into Estonia, boosting the investment to several hundred million kroons and creating more than 100 jobs.
(EUR 1 = EEK 15.65) |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 04 June 2009 10:32 |
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Estonian Development Fund investing EUR 0.6 mln in virtual model |
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BNS - The Estonian Development Fund is investing 9.6 million kroons (EUR 0.6 mln) in the virtual model developer OU Massi Miliano.
As a result of the investment, a test solution of a virtual model will be launched in a leading international online shop this summer, the fund said.
The virtual model is being developed by Tartu University professor Alvo Aabloo and professor Maarja Kruusmaa of the Tallinn University of Technology. The technical solution of the Estonian scientists is being patented in the United States and other developed countries.
"Customers at present return up to 40 percent of clothing items purchased online. If a customer can in the future try on a shirt or a jacket on a virtual model corresponding to his measurements, returns are bound to diminish and people will be encouraged to increasingly buy clothing on the Internet," the Development Fund's investment expert Andrus Oks said.
Massi Miliano will market the virtual model under the trademark Fits.me.
Other investors in Massi Miliano are business angels and Webmedia AS. The deal gave investors a minority holding in the company. The law offices Sorainen and Luiga Mody Haal Borenius acted as advisers in the transaction.
(EUR 1 = EEK 15.65) |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 04 June 2009 10:32 |
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Estonia: Swedbank, Itella developing e-settlement |
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BNS - An open group of Estonian businesses led by Swedbank's Estonian bank and Itella Information has formed a corporate e-invoicing consortium.
The e-invoicing system allows to fully digitalize the processes of sending and receiving invoices and thereby save costs, the companies say.
Estonian businesses manage digitally 5-6 percent of their invoices, compared with more than 50 percent in Finland and 45 percent in Sweden.
If the Estonian state and businesses switched fully to digital e-settlement, aroud 1.3 billion kroons (EUR 83.1 mln) could be saved annually, Itella said.
(EUR 1 = EEK 15.65) |
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Last Updated on Monday, 01 June 2009 15:45 |
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Estonian Poltsamaa cheese maker to invest EUR 3.2 mln in production |
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BNS - The cheese factory of the Poltsamaa Meierei dairy will during this year invest more than 50 million kroons (EUR 3.2 mln) in its Kaarlijarve production unit situated in the Rannu municipality in southeastern Estonia.
The company has by now renovated its purification equipment and cooling system. This year a new cheese-making line will be installed and the salting process automated, the company said.
"The cheese factory of Poltsamaa Meierei has over the last few years renewed most of its equipment and we'll be buying new equipment this year as well," manager Ago Teder said.
In the second half of the year the firm will complete installation of a new cheese-making line which enables it to triple output and raise the quality of products.
The distributor of Poltsamaa Meierei output, Estover OU, has sold close to 180 tons of cheese on the Russian market this year, which is nearly three times more than at the same time last year.
The cheese factory of Poltsamaa Meierei is a holding of United Estover Group OU.
(EUR 1 = EEK 15.65) |
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Last Updated on Monday, 01 June 2009 15:45 |
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German furniture company to open showroom in Estonia |
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BNS - The German Hulsta furniture maker will this Thursday open a now! by hulsta furniture showroom in Parnu Maantee in Tallinn.
In addition to its own trademark the company will also offer other interior decoration brands earlier known in Estonia such as Rolf Benz, Parador, huelsta, Arte M, Ruf, Loddenkemper and Femira, the company said on Wednesday.
The total turnover of Hulsta and now2! by hulsta was 267.5 million euros in 2008. The company has about 1,400 employees and the whole production takes place in Germany. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 28 May 2009 10:47 |
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Estonian Culture Minister to hold broadcasting licences competition |
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BNS - The Estonian Culture Ministry has announced a competition as a result of which 31 holders of radio broadcasting licenses will be issued, including local and regional licenses and one international license.
Peeter Sookruus, head of the Culture Ministry media and copyright department, said that the reason for such a large competition was that late this fall almost all broadcasting licenses would expire simulataneously.
"The new licenses will be issued to all the present frequences, and there will also be four totally new broadcasting licenses.
Broadcasting organizations must file applications to the ministry by June 22. The broadcasting licenses committee will then meet to consider all the applications and to make a proposal to the minister for the appointment of the broadcasting licenses.
Radio stations will go on the air on the basis of new licenses from November 17, 2009.
All the licenses to be given in the competition announced on Tuesday will be in effect for up to five years. |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 May 2009 07:42 |
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Estonia's natl power co approves plans to build shale oil plant |
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BNS - The supervisory board of Estonia's national power company Eesti Energia approved on Thursday plans to build a shale oil plant using a new, more efficient technology and organize a tender for the construction of up to two new oil shale-fired electricity generation units.
CEO Sandor Liive said the decision to build the complex consisting of the shale oil plant and up to two new generating units is crucial for the future of the Estonian oil shale industry.
"Building a new shale oil plant is Eesti Energia's next step towards creating a high-quality liquid fuels industry in Estonia and a prerequisite for offering our technologies in other parts of the world," Liive said.
The planned refinery will use the more environment-friendly, reliable and higher-capacity Enefit technology developed jointly by Eesti Energia and the international engineering company Outotec.
The plant will consume 2.26 million tons of oil shale annually, producing 290,000 tons of shale oil and 75 million cubic meters of carbonization gas used in electric power generation. In addition, a 35-megawatt steam turbine will be integrated into the complex using residual heat of the refining process to produce electricity.
The construction of the unit will start this year and it is to start running in 2011.
The cost of the facility is estimated at close to three billion kroons (EUR 192 mln). The cost of new generating units will become clear along with the outcome of the tenders by the end of 2010 when the final investment decision will be made.
(EUR 1 = EEK 15.65) |
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Last Updated on Friday, 22 May 2009 15:11 |
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Finland's Atria acquires two more Estonian meatpackers |
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BNS - AS Valga Lihatoostus (Valga Meatpacking Company), a holding of the Finnish Atria group, and two other Estonian meatpackers, AS Woro Kommerts and AS Vastse-Kuuste Lihatoostus, signed a merger agreement on Thursday whereby the latter two went into Atria's ownership.
Both the meatpackers will continue their operations under the existing trademarks and with the present organizations.
The Estonian Competition Board granted Atria permission to buy Woro Kommerts and Vastse-Kuuste Lihatoostus in July 2008.
The parties have agreed that the price of the transaction will not be made public.
Operations of Valga Lihatoostus along with Woro and Vastse-Kuuste will constitute the second biggest unit on the Estonian meat-packing market with an annual turnover of nearly 657 million kroons (EUR 42 mln) a year, Atria said.
(EUR 1 = EEK 15.65) |
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Last Updated on Monday, 18 May 2009 08:44 |
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Cbank: Estonian labor market shows rapid adaptation |
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BNS - The Estonian labor market has adapted rapidly under the conditions of declining economic activity, and for putting the economy back on the growth track it is necessary for production per employee to start growing again, the central bank said on Friday.
The practice of so far has shown that economy on labor costs is achieved at companies in Estonia primarily through changes in employment, but also through reducing labor costs, Bank of Estonia economist Martin Lindpere said.
The number of unemployed people increased significantly in manufacturing at the beginning of the year, as that part of the economy has suffered from a stronger impact because of the worldwide crisis, Lindpere observed.
Because of the ongoing processes of adaptation in the economy, registered joblessness is set to increase in Estonia also in the near future, but the pace of growth is due to slow down from what has been the case until now, the central bank estimates.
The unemployment rate in Estonia rose to 11.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009 as the number of employed persons decreased by 44,000 compared with the same three-year period a year ago, Statistics Estonia said on Friday.
The last time the unemployment rate was higher was in 2001. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 18 May 2009 08:43 |
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Scrapping of invitation requirement likely to bring more Russian tourists to Estonia |
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BNS - The abolition of the requirement to have an invitation from a resident of Estonia to apply for an Estonian visa is likely to lead to an increase in the number of Russians visiting Estonia, tourism professionals interviewed by Postimees said.
Feliks Magus, manager of the Estonian association of hotels and restaurants, said that interest toward Estonia has been growing among Russian tourists already for some time.
When a trip is booked via a travel agency the agency usually arranges for the too, but the trend worldwide is toward reducing the role of travel agencies, Magus said.
Tarmo Bachmann, manager of the Narva-Joesuu based Meresuu spa hotel, said that every step which makes travel from one country to the other simpler in the present period full of challenges is in every way welcome.
"There are 10 million potential visitors in the St. Petersburg region, many of them are positively minded about Estonia and have contacts with Estonia," Bachmann said. He added, though, that it was not visas but the tiresome and time-consuming procedures on the border that posed the biggest problem for Russian tourists.
Russian tourists have made up from two to three percent of the overall number of tourists accommodated in Estonia in this century. The percentage climbed to 3.5 last year and to a record 6.5 percent in the first quarter of this year.
The Riigikogu passed a legal amendment last week which abolishes the requirement for travelers to have an invitation to apply for an Estonian visa. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 15 May 2009 14:54 |
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First company established in Estonia's e-register using Finnish ID card |
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BNS - A business was for the first time ever created in Estonia via the e-registry facility of the Commercial Register using a Finnish ID card this week.
All of the company's two Estonian and three Finnish founders used their ID card to set up the business. The new company is based in Tallinn and its area of business is wholesale of electronics and telecommunications equipment and their components, the Ministry of Justice said.
Authentication using a Finnish ID card became possible on the entrepreneurs' portal of the e-Commercial Register at the end of 2008. The portal also accepts Portuguese, Belgian and Lithuanian digital signatures.
The portal is unique in Europe for the speeds it offers for the establishment of a new business. A private limited company can be registered via the portal using an ID card in just a couple of hours.
In addition to creating a company also the registry data of a company can be changed and an electronic annual report filed using the portal. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 14 May 2009 11:47 |
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Tallinn city holds a land lease auction to develop the Kopli Lines residential area |
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The city aims at opening the urban space in the North-Western direction, at reconditioning the area by creating a safe high-quality living environment with the required infrastructure and at enlivening the city by adding new green areas.
The site is located on the Kopli peninsula, 5 kilometres from the Tallinn Old Town and the city centre. The peninsula is a part of Kopli district and offers several activities related to both the harbour and the residential areas near the Kopli coast and the Paljassaare bay.
The railway tracks running between Kopli Street and the coast divide the territory into two, which because of the different altitude are called the Upper and the Lower part respectively. The Upper part is tightly connected to Kopli Street and the buildings there overlook the Paljassaare bay. The Lower part is a beach area with the outlook at the Paljassaare bay.
The city intends to find a developer for the Lower part of the Kopli Lines, who would develop the residential area, including infrastructure facilities (roads, water supply and sewerage system, recreational areas, green areas etc) for the whole project area.
The site area of the Kopli Lines development project covers approximately 11.9 ha.
- The volume of the land lease area is ca 35,292 m²
- The total volume of the land lease is ca 35,325 m², including ca 27,225 m² of new constructions and ca 8,100 m² of reconstructed buildings.
According to the adopted detail plan up to 5-storey apartment houses with ca 277 apartments and 38 single-family houses can be constructed in the area.
The deadline for submitting the bids is 26 June 2009 at 10.00. am.
For further information please visit the web page of the project http://www.tallinn.ee/kopliliinid/eng/index.html |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 May 2009 08:42 |
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Econmin invites Finns to invest in Estonia |
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BNS - Speaking at a seminar on Estonia in Helsinki on Friday, Estonia's Minister of Economy and Communications Juhan Parts called on Finnish businesspeople to invest in Estonia again.
"The Estonian business environment is good as before, there's great freedom of enterprise, and the workforce is competent and competitive. Now that the wage level is lower than before as well, it's the right time to invest in Estonia," Parts said in his speech at the Helsinki city government.
He said it was important today to look at cooperation between Estonia and Finland with a fresh eye. There are opportunities for joint research and development work, and common cross-border business clusters are also needed, said the Estonian minister.
Parts emphasized Estonia's consistency in the drive to switch to the euro, the need to restructure the economy so that it was more capable of producing for export, and outlined programs and opportunities for supporting foreign investments and export.
Parts also highlighted the special place that Finland has as Estonia's economic partner.
The minister's visit to Finland kicked off with an appearance on the morning talk show of MTV3 television, where he once again reaffirmed that no one is planning to devalue the Estonian kroon. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 11 May 2009 07:49 |
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Finland's Ensto transferring part of production to Estonia |
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BNS - Ensto, a manufacturer of electrical products of the Finnish EM Group, is merging the Estonian plastic products maker AS Imco with itself and will move the production of plastic enclosures to Imco.
Ensto will stop the production of plastic enclosures in Finland and move the business to Imco facilities in Tallinn. The transfer will take place at the end of 2009, Ensto said in a press release.
Ensto is already present in Estonia with a plant and a sales unit that together employ some 300 people in Keila, a town situated to the southwest of Tallinn.
Ensto is an international industrial group and family business specializing in the development, manufacture and marketing of electrical systems and supplies. It posted sales of close to 237 million euros for 2008 and employs approximately 1,300 people in 18 countries in Europe and Asia.
Imco's sales last year amounted to approximately five million euros. The supplier of injection molding and coating products is based in Tallinn and employs a workforce of 70.
Imco has manufactured some plastic parts also for Ensto's products. Both Imco and Ensto are fully owned by the Finnish EM Group. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 07 May 2009 15:30 |
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Finnish metal company creating jobs in Estonia |
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BNS - The Finnish metal producer Hyrles is in the process of furnishing a new production facility in Juri not far from Tallinn and has set its sights on hiring dozens of more people every year.
"We had a choice of launching new production in Poland or Estonia, and we finally picked Juri," Juhani Hyry, the CEO of Hyrles, told the Estonian daily Postimees.
He said the reasons were logistics and the lack of a language barrier. Additional synergies will be created with the large number of Finnish companies active in Estonia.
Hyrles, which is based in Lohja, Finland, currently employs 7 people in Estonia. The number is estimated to rise to 20 by the end of the year and to around 100 by 2013 if everything goes as planned.
Most of the jobs will be hi-tech and Estonia was not picked for cheap labor but for its educated workforce, said the company's Estonian chief executive Urmo Sisask. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 07 May 2009 15:29 |
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