New Loan for Ecuador Wood Production

CAF development bank of Latin America and Novopan del Ecuador, an agroforestry sector company with 41 years of experience in the manufacture and marketing of wood panels, signed a loan agreement for USD 15 million for the construction of a new wood panel production plant, which will double its capacity to 600,000 m3/year over the next 4 years. 

With the loan, Novopan will be able to meet the potential demand of already consolidated export markets in Andean Community countries (Colombia, Peru and Bolivia) and to enhance exports to other destinations in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as export to the U.S. in the medium term.

Moreover, the installation of new equipment and the construction of the plant will help transfer capabilities from German international companies toward Novopan’s human talent and local suppliers, who will adopt new working methods to set up the process. This boosts the company’s competitiveness but also that of the cluster around Ecuador’s value-added forestry by-products, which is a strategic area for the country according to the sector’s management and promotional policy.

In addition, the growth of value-added exports resulting from the expansion of Novopan’s production capacity will represent an additional foreign exchange income for the country. A 57% increase in the value of the company’s exports is estimated over the next 7 years, with the creation of 147 new direct jobs and more than 10 indirect jobs for each direct job expected over a 10-year period.

CAF thereby supports the competitiveness of companies in the region and higher value-added exports, in line with the private sector strategy.