Swedish Manufacturer Opens New Factory in Panevėžys County

Anva Polytech, a rubber component producer from Sweden, is setting up a production facility in Lithuania, with the aim of creating 50 new jobs in the next 5 years. The factory, which will produce a variety of rubber components, will be established in Biržai, Panevėžys County.

The factory in Lithuania will work in collaboration with a similar production unit in Sweden, helping its colleagues there to meet growing demand for Anva Polytech’s products. According to Leif Andersson, co-owner and chairman of Anva Technologies, the first production line in Biržai has already been launched, and another four production lines will come into operation in the next four months. Further expansion, according to Mr Andersson, will depend on the growth of demand and output.

[quote text=”We became interested in Lithuania for many reasons, first of all because of the favourable geographic location and the existing competences here. In addition, right from the very beginning, we felt we were welcome.” name_surname=”Leif Andersson” description=”Co-owner and chairman of Anva Technologies”]

“We became interested in Lithuania for many reasons, first of all because of the favourable geographic location and the existing competences here. In addition, right from the very beginning, we felt we were welcome. We managed to establish contact very quickly both with the public sector – Invest Lithuania – and reliable partners in the private sector. They encouraged us to select Lithuania and to set up in Biržai”, Mr Andersson said. 

According to the Minister for Economy Evaldas Gustas, this latest investment continues to prove that Panevėžys County, building on its long traditions in this sector, is a modern manufacturing centre that is able to provide top quality engineering expertise and produce high-end industrial products. “Almost one-fifth of the students in Panevėžys County choose engineering professions, and investors clearly prefer this county for manufacturing projects. At the same time, investments like these are very important to the region, because they will not only create new jobs in the factory, but also lead to more orders for local suppliers and entrepreneurs”, Mr Gustas said.

The newly founded Swedish Group AnVa Industries AB currently consists of three independent companies, each a with very long history. AnVa Tubes & Components is a provider of high-quality steel pipes, machining and logistics solutions, whilst AnVa Components supplies high-quality steel products to markets across the globe. AnVa Polytech AB, based in Sunne, Sweden, produces innovative and complex rubber components, to which AnVa Polytech UAB in Biržai is now a daughter Company, thus becoming the fourth company in the Group.

According to Justinas Pagirys, director of the Investment Development Department of Invest Lithuania, Anva Polytech is a perfect example of how established foreign investors operating in the country can help draw the attention of other companies to Lithuania: “It is very important for new investors to see how similar businesses or potential partners are doing in the country. The success of Swedish companies already operating in Panevėžys County has therefore been very important in our cooperation with Anva Polytech. I have no doubt that Anva Polytech will have similar success in Lithuania.”

In 2014, Invest Lithuania attracted a record number of foreign investors – 29 foreign companies decided to establish or develop businesses in Lithuania, and the combined number of new job places created was nearly 2,000. The largest proportion of investment projects (41 per cent) were in the manufacturing sector. Nearly half of the companies attracted to Lithuania chose to set up outside Vilnius.