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Larch grows little in Lithuania, they are planted unless they decorate the environment. However, Alobera is almost the only wood used to cut boards for facades, terraces and floors.
Brought from Russia
“We mainly work with larch, around 95-97 percent. Our products consist of larch products and about 3-5 percent. – spruce. But we do not transport ourselves, they are Lithuanian suppliers that transport from Russia. Larch grows only in Russia or Canada, we also try to ship from Canada, but we had a very long delivery time, which we were not satisfied with, ”said Viktoras Nasalis, production manager of the company.
Photo by Ernesta Čičiurkaitė / 15min / Viktor Nasalis
Viktor has been working with larch for many years, as he says, he was probably the first to take this wood in Lithuania. He started working for Vilniaus Medienos in 1998, and a year later he received an invitation to join an Austrian capital company, the same company where he works now, but his name has changed.
“The first shipment of larch arrived in late 1999. We were surprised because we got firewood, we did not know what to do with them, he laughs after recalling the first experience with this wood. – Then the owners of the company worked directly with Russia, We called to ask, then the suppliers asked us, “What do you want to do with that larch? Because in Russia at that time it was only used for firewood. We received three wagons, 70 cubic meters each. m.”
The first shipment of larch arrived in late 1999. We were stunned because we got firewood.
When asked how he would explain if that larch is better than our fir, V. Nasalis smiles: “First of all, it doesn’t need any care. You can go and after a few years it will look almost the same, only it will be grayer. Lithuanian wood needs constant care: impregnation, painting. Fir, pine boards on the terrace where it meets, the rot appears and the floor begins to group.
When I started working with larch thanks to the Austrians, we had such a simple example, when we constantly heard that pine, fir is better, but all the people who bought these boards came after 5-6 years to buy new ones. Larch lasts longer. Of course, it depends on the region you came from, the age of the tree, where the felling sites are, whether it be sanitary felling or a mature tree. “
The larch differs in color: one is brown and the other is whiter. The company transported wood even from Kamchatka for about three years, as Victor laughs, one can imagine such a long road.
Sold more than wood
Currently, the company buys between 1.5 and 2 thousand larch woods per month. puppy. m – these are 65 tractors, and exports have already processed around 12-14 tractors. This company has no competitors in the Lithuanian market, nor in other Baltic countries. V. Nasalis says that various products remain in Lithuania, but are also exported to Western European countries.
First of all, the larch does not need any care. You can go and after a few years it will look almost the same, only it will be grayer.
“Let’s say about 65 percent last summer. Customers were from Lithuania, the rest were foreigners. The main one is a German company with a network of construction companies, we supply them with wood products. We have long-term contracts, unlimited quantities “We don’t get as much wood as we can make boards and we sell as much as we can sell them,” admits the production manager.
The most capricious buyer is in Lithuania: “You cannot imagine how capricious they are. Germans and Norwegians understand that the natural tree will break, and when you go, you will see, all German terraces are cracked. They don’t paint. In Lithuania, they try to paint, then they complain that the paint does not stick, the fungus gets stuck, although this is understandable, because after painting all the pairs, there is nothing to breathe like a person: near a room, no will survive long. “
It seems strange that Europeans prefer to buy Siberian larch products from Lithuanian companies rather than Russian companies; after all, it may be cheaper and faster for local companies to obtain wood for processing.
Larch Board Company
“Here are our new Czech buyers who are trying to work directly with Russia, it turned out that it is impossible, we need intermediaries, because they do not get what they expect.” With Russian companies, it is the case that you receive a normal order today, but if you order the same tomorrow, you will receive something completely different, ”said Viktoras, the reason that discourages Western buyers from working directly with Russia.
I’m not looking for employees
Asked if it is not difficult to find employees in the Molėtai district, Viktoras says that it is not necessary to look for them: the employees of the company practically do not change at all: “For a year, and sometimes several, we fired an employee, and that is bad. We have a total of 33 employees in both administration and production. ”
And when you need to replace it, there really is something: There are several people waiting, Viktor smiles. “At first it was very difficult for us, nobody wanted to work.” As they say, a town full of free hands, but nobody wanted to work. But little by little, people begin to think differently. This is where the generation of this benefits system is ruined ”, the manager is convinced.
Larch Board Company
How did you manage to convince people to work? Victor says that attractiveness is created by attractive wages that depend on everyone’s performance, are always paid on time, and efforts are made to improve working conditions. Plus, all employees can do more than one job, they can replace each other, then the job doesn’t get stuck when someone is sick or on vacation. Pre-tax wages here amount to more than 1,400 euros in production (around 1,000 euros are paid in hands).
There are also family duos in this company. That’s where Victor’s son started here as a job assistant in the summers, now working with sales. Giedraitis’ son, who works as a guard, also got a job in the workshop.
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