The acquisition consolidates an expansion process undertaken by Garnica and guarantees the future development of Maderas de Llodio, offering major opportunities to both companies.
Garnica announced its acquisition of the Álava manufacturer Maderas de Llodio, specialist in the production of panels from Radiata pine. With this move, Garnica has consolidated its ongoing expansion process and provided Maderas de Llodio with stability and future viability.
For both Maderas de Llodio and Garnica, the acquisition brings opportunities for growth and expansion into new markets through the diversification of raw material and product portfolios.
Maderas de Llodio was set up in 1982, operating out of the town of Llodio and mainly engaged in the production of Okoume, pine and others panels. From 2003, its business strategy switched to the production of pine panels and it relocated to the Santa Cruz Industrial Estate in Llodio. The economic crisis hit in 2009 and the Spanish market sailed into rough waters. As a result, Maderas de Llodio embarked on an internationalisation process while also focusing and simplifying production. Today, 80% of the company’s sales are exports, it produces 42,000 m3 of panels, posts an annual turnover of 21.5 million euros and employs over 100 people.
Garnica, which began operating as a sawmill in 1941, is currently a global benchmark in the production of poplar plywood panels. With a turnover of more than 200 million euros in 2017 and a production capacity of 330,000 m3 of plywood panels, the company exports 93% of its sales. Its main markets are Western Europe and the United States, with operations in over 40 countries on every continent. It has five factories and over 950 employees. Its production model is based on sustainability and it promotes sustainable plantations as a source of raw materials for its products. This benefits rural areas and helps improve the local population’s quality of life.
“We all have a great deal to gain from this acquisition”, said Faustino Uriondo, until now Chairman of the Board of Directors and Purchasing Manager at Maderas de Llodio. He went on to add that, “Garnica will bring its know-how to Maderas de Llodio in terms of the productive system, technical and quality assurance processes, service capacity, a global customer base, R&D potential and the development of new products”. In turn, Maderas de Llodio will provide Garnica with the chance to expand its product range and therefore better meet customer demands. “Maderas de Llodio will help us keep growing and develop our knowledge of the potential of pine as a raw material”, said Pedro Garnica, Chairman of Garnica.
Christian Michel, CEO of Garnica, said that, “the fact that the two companies are so close geographically and share similar business cultures will no doubt help the integration process”
