The Lithuanian ZFE pandemic did not escape: part of the investment was suspended, but there are also success stories

Most investors have suspended their plans.

Speaking about companies operating in Klaipėda FEZ, their manager Eimantas Kiudulas stated that during the quarantine there were companies that interrupted and suspended their activities and those that increased their sales and profits due to the pandemic.

According to him, it was PET manufacturers and food companies that enjoyed the highest sales, leading people to use more packaged food.

“However, at this time, the increase has ended and the companies have returned to their normal operations,” he said.

The manager also explained that due to the pandemic, companies were also forced to undertake a restructuring in production.

“They had to take on additional security requirements because if one person becomes ill, the entire group of people must be quarantined. This restructuring is not of short duration and will continue ”, he predicted, and finally summarized that the quarantine had negative consequences for almost all companies, except PET and the food industry, which led to lower sales.

“But now they are recovering a little now. However, most companies believe that the real situation will be seen in July and August,” said E. Kiudulas.

Asked what the situation is in terms of attracting new investment, he explained that some investors are not holding back development, but added that there have been all kinds of cases.

“We have an existing client that is planning to expand, we are pleased that the company is not afraid and does not stop now and is looking boldly into the future.

We also signed a contract with a new client during quarantine, which means that companies do not believe this is the end of the world, but most potential clients have suspended their plans, “said the manager.

He’s reluctant to talk about investing this year

Artūras Klangauskas, director of the Šiauliai FEZ company, told Delfi that the companies that belong to Šiauliai FEZ are probably following the same business as all the other companies; They also calculated declining sales, but there were also cases where the company continued to develop and did not stop investments during quarantine.

“Companies have only started operating in the Šiauliai Free Economic Zone this year.

This means that one of the first companies, the Advertising Dictator, began its official activities in January, making it natural for the company to face a phase of economic stagnation when the factory opened.

As far as I know, the company felt this and the other two companies opened during the quarantine. A Norwegian company yesterday added 100 percent of the building. and plans activities a few months later just because the representatives of foreign companies that have to start the team could not come to Lithuania, “he said.

It is true that the head of Šiauliai FEZ also spoke about a German company, which will probably be considered a true example of success in creating a pandemic.

“We also have a German company, which had many challenges in Germany, had decided to invest in Šiauliai, the design work had started and with the advent of quarantine and economic stagnation, we had the question of whether they would continue to invest and not stop everything” .

The company itself decided to continue the work started, finished the design, took out the building permit, which, as far as I know, has also started earthworks. They have plans to establish an IT department and new ideas are emerging. I think it will be one of the success stories when the company was able to implement investments during quarantine, ”said A. Klangauskas.

In conclusion, the manager emphasized that when it came to the development of the EPZ itself, there certainly was no dramatic impact of the quarantine. As claimed, someone was unable to implement the planned sales, but bankruptcies were avoided.

“And if things continue to recover in this way, we would be reluctant to talk about new investments this year, but next year we could attract new investors,” he said, adding that potential new investors had been traded prior to quarantine, but with coronavirus so far. discontinue decision making and next steps.

Feel more interested

Vytautas Petružis, CEO of Kaunas FEZ Management Company, also spoke about the situation. He said that Kaunas FEZ did not differ from the macro context either, therefore some sectors had to strongly adjust their activities due to the changed consumption volumes, while for others it became a unique opportunity.

“Probably, analyzing it more broadly, we can be glad that the companies located in Kaunas FEZ have passed this test with enough force and today, as far as we know, they all carry out their activities, to the extent that state regulation allows” , said.

Speaking about the situation on the part of the Kaunas FEZ company, he said that since new investments are the subject of long-term planning, this period did not bring significant changes in its activities.

“During this period, we concluded an additional agreement with an investor from Kaunas FEZ for the development of the existing facility. And those plans that were planned before quarantine continued to be implemented, especially when it comes to engineering infrastructure works. We continue and in fact complete the street work, and the construction of the viaduct is also being completed.

However, this situation has highlighted the need for changes in the supply chain. Many North American or European companies that produce end products that have experienced difficulties obtaining raw materials or components from the Asian side are re-evaluating their supply chains. Therefore, we have recently felt a sharp increase in interest in the possibilities of establishing Kaunas FEZ. And here it is important to emphasize that by consistently implementing our development plans, we are ready to offer investors excellent conditions for the establishment, ”said V. Petružis.