The Vilvi Group is starting to build a 50 million euro cheese factory in Latvia

The Baltic milk processing group “Vilvi Group” has started a EUR 50 million cheese production plant with increased capacity, the company’s general director, Gintars Bertašus, told LETA group.

He says that the construction company opened the new cheese factory in Bauska by pressing a symbolic capsule. Also, additional production capacity will be built on the territory of SIA “Baltic Dairy Board”, in the milk processing plant belonging to the “Vilvi” group, whose area is more than 8,000 square meters.

The project is financed by “Vilvi Group” with its own resources and loans from JSC “Citadele” bank. Also, the Latvian government will invest 8.5 million euros in the project through the “Altum Development Financial Institution”.

Bertašus notes that the construction of the factory is expected to be completed in 2026 and will be equipped with an automated, robotic and modern cheese production facility, which will create more than 100 new jobs. The new plant is expected to process over 500 tonnes of milk per day and produce around 50 tonnes of cheese, and will produce around 18,000 tonnes of cheese per year, the most some of which are exported to more than 40 countries.

The mayor of Bauskas, Aivars Okmanis, says that these investments will greatly contribute to the development of the national economy in the Bauska region and also on a Latvian and Baltic scale.

“Vilvi Group” is a dairy processing group in the Baltics, whose historical export share is around 90%. The company’s main export markets are European Union (EU) countries. The group also exports its products to Asia and other continents. The group includes “Vilkyškių pienotava”, “Medest”, “Kelmes pienotava”, “Kelmes piens”, “Pieno logistika” and “Baltic Dairy Board” in Latvia.

It was already reported that “Baltic Dairy Board” operated last year with a turnover of 11.206 million euros, which is 27.3% less than the previous year, but the company suffered a loss of 5029 euros in comparison the previous year’s profit.

The company was founded in 2008, and its share capital is 10.848 million euros. AB “Vilkyškiu pienine”, a company registered in Lithuania, is the sole owner of “Baltic Dairy Board”.