62 | Panel Perspectives: Kastamonu investment at Pomposa
TURKISH PRODUCER INVESTS IN ITALIAN PRODUCTION FACILITY
Turkish wood-based panels manufacturer Kastamonu Entegre has been investing in Italian production facilities as it seeks to grow its market, reports WBPI correspondent Jaroslaw Adamowski
K
astamonu Entegre is one of the world’s leading wood-based panels manufacturers and has branched out considerably since its first plant was opened in Turkey in 1971. The company has seen a rapid expansion in recent decades as part of its mission to become a significant global player in the industry – an aim it is achieving since it is now generally regarded as in the top five wood- based panels producers in the world. It has production facilities in six locations
Samsun, Tarsus and Adana. The company
also operates production sites in Romania,
Italy. The company has a subsidiary in the US,
where it carries out wood chip supply and logistics processes. Part of its expansion has been in Italy.
The company put down roots in the country when it decided to purchase Italy’s Gruppo Trombini in 2017. At that time, the business had been the third largest particleboard maker in Italy, running several facilities. These included the plant in Frossasco, with a capacity to produce 320,000m3
per
year (currently closed), and the factory in Pomposa, fitted with an annual production capacity of some 450,000m3
.
Prior to Kastamonu’s takeover, the facilities had been closed due to the bankruptcy of the former owner. The Falco factory in Pomposa, founded in 1962, has been a historically important hub of PB production and regarded a modern production unit in Italy in the production of raw and laminated panels for the furniture industry.
In 2007 Gruppo Trombini undertook an
extensive modernisation of the plant, costing more than €80m. It uses 100% recycled wood for PB production and boasted a 15% market share in that country.
In 2018, Kastamonu re-opened the factory and targeted a 20% PB market share in Italy. The latest update involves the opening of a new production line at the site, with an additional aim to launch export sales in 2025. The project is bringing the producer’s total
investments in the Italian market to some €250m, and the company is aiming to carry out further projects at the plant.
subsidiary will start exporting its output this year. “We have made total investments to the amount of €210m including purchasing and installing additional machines. We made another investment of €40m on top of that,” he was quoted. “Our investments are not over, they continue.” In the meantime, the Turkish company is
Above: Turkish manufacturer Kastamonu Entegre has opened a new production line
at the company’s particleboard factory in Pomposa, in Italy’s north-eastern part. The project is bringing the producer’s total investments in the Italian market to some €250m
WBPI | April/May 2025 |
www.wbpionline.com
investing to ramp up the Italian factory’s use of renewable energy in its manufacturing activities. As part of these efforts, in March 2025, Kastamonu Entegre installed solar panels on the plant’s roof. The photovoltaic installation is fitted with a capacity of 3MW. “We will also set up [a solar capacity of] 4.5MW on the land. We will produce 15% of the energy we consume on our own. We will complete these two investments in 2025. We have an investment plan for a glue facility of
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