Foreign companies are making big investments in developing laminate flooring factories in Russia to capitalise on the country’s growing building materials market.
Investments include €100m by Kronostar to build a facility near to forests in the Kostroma region, while its Austrian sister company Kronospan has spent a similar sum buying a factory near Moscow. The capacity of Krono Group‘s factories is expected to be three times larger than the country’s current demand for laminate flooring.
Egger has reportedly spent more than €300m in Russian developments.
The companies currently have a relatively small share of the Russian laminates market compared to imports, such as the Quick Step, Perga and other brands. Kronostar reportedly has a 10% market share, while Tarkett has 7% and Kronospan 6%.
But they are hoping to double their business soon and also export products to other nearby countries and across Europe in the future.
The Russian building materials market is growing by up to 30% a year, with 36 million m2 of housing being built annually, compared to the 150 million m2 required.
Domestic laminate flooring producers’ business expectations are also being fuelled by the possibility of higher import duties on imported flooring materials and a trend away from linoleum.
