Omniva opened the largest logistics centre in the Baltic countries in Kaunas with the support of SEB's green loan

On the 18th of September, Omniva group opened the largest and the most modern logistics centre in the Baltic countries in Kaunas. It is going to increase the capacity of the company for handling international shipments exponentially.

This is the largest investment of Omniva to date, with a total cost of over 42 million euros. The objective for building an automated logistics centre in Kaunas, Lithuania, covering 22,000 square meters, is to improve the performance of the national logistics company on international markets and establish better opportunities for the growth of online trade and cooperation between the companies of this sector in the region. Omniva has the largest network of parcel machines in the Baltic countries.

The logistics centre in Kaunas is capable of sorting up to 12,000 packages per hour. At the opening ceremony, Ieva Valeškaitė, the Minister of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, Piret Hartman, the Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture of Estonia, Antanas Nesteckis, the Deputy Mayor of the County of Kaunas, and the members of the leadership team of Omniva jointly switched on the new state-of-the-art parcel sorting line.

New centre as a gateway for the Baltic countries

According to Mart Mägi, the Chairman of Omniva, the new logistics centre strengthens the infrastructure of the company and establishes new standards for the logistics sector. ‘The strategic location of the logistics centre in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone enables it to fulfil the role of a gateway to the western markets for the Baltic countries and increases our capability in handling the growing volume of international shipments. Thanks to the new centre, Omniva is set to become a leading provider of logistical services in the region,’ stated Mart Mägi.

Piret Hartman, the Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, who was present at the opening of the Kaunas logistics centre, expressed her joy that an Estonian company has grown into a considerable international actor on this highly competitive market. ‘I can see that the investment into the Kaunas sorting centre will help the company grow into a regional centre in this sector for all Baltic countries. The stronger Eesti Post as a company is, the better and more sustainable public services it can provide to the population at the regional level as well.’

In addition to opening a huge new logistics centre, Omniva is also preparing for the construction of an extension for the Rukki logistics centre in Tallinn and is considering expanding its services in Finland.

The parcel sorting line manufactured by Equinox Europe, installed in the Omniva logistics centre, was one of the major projects in the construction of the centre. The line is capable of sorting and directing parcels to a maximum of 600 different parcel machines or courier routes and the automated solution enables to sort up to 150,000 parcels with various shapes and weights per day in such a manner. The technological solution developed in cooperation between Lithuania and the Netherlands cost about 10 million euros.

‘This parcel sorting line belongs to a completely new generation, so it is faster and more reliable than earlier technology. All of the mechanical parts of the line were manufactured by Equinox Europe in the Netherlands, whereas the automation components were developed by Lithuanian specialists. This type of line is going to be used for the first time in Europe. The efficiency and precision of the parcel sorting line was designed to satisfy the needs of all three Baltic countries right from the start. The line has sufficient capacity to process growing streams of shipments from the western countries,’ Kastytis Valantinas, a member of the Management Board and the Chief Operating Officer of Omniva, described the capabilities of the logistics centre.

Better environment for the staff

Valantinas added that the new building is going to increase the well-being of the staff. ‘In addition to modern office space, the new logistics centre also offers excellent leisure options for the employees,’ he remarked. The new centre has 2,500 square metres of office space for 120 workstations; moreover, it will include four quiet rooms, three kitchenettes, three spacious changing rooms, three game rooms, two saunas, and a gym. ‘As Lithuanians love basketball, we have also constructed a basketball court to support the athletic spirit of the team,’ added Valantinas.

A third of the energy requirement of the logistics centre is covered by renewable energy, which is in perfect harmony with the sustainable development goals of Omniva. Energy is produced by an on-site solar station with a 1,600 kW capacity. The roof of the building has over 3,700 solar panels.

The main contractor in the construction of the Omniva Logistics Centre was Conres. The construction of the Kaunas Centre was financed by AS SEB Pank with a green loan in the amount of 27 million euros. In order to qualify for an SEB green loan in the Baltic countries, the energy efficiency of a building must exceed that of near-zero energy buildings by at least 10%. The Kaunas Logistics Centre has been awarded energy performance class A++, exceeding the thresholds established for near-zero energy buildings in Lithuania by 38%.