New identity of Akmenė Free Economic zone reflects sustainability and ease of doing business
The Akmenė Free Economic Zone (FEZ) has unveiled a new visual identity – a logo, website, color scheme and other brand elements. With its new image, Akmenė FEZ aims to highlight its distinctiveness in the market, especially in the areas of sustainability, ease of doing business and renewable energy.
In the updated Akmenė FEZ brand, shades of green and round shapes symbolizing the circular economy dominate, while the stylized letter “A” can be interpreted as both a reference to Akmenė and, for example, a house roof.
These details were chosen deliberately: the majority of current Akmenė FEZ investors operate in sectors such as wood, furniture or sustainable construction, primarily using renewable resources in their production. Furthermore, the sustainability strategy of Akmenė FEZ is reinforced by the upcoming construction of a wind farm nearby, intended solely to meet the energy needs of the territory’s investors. At the same time, abundant natural and mineral resources are among the unique advantages of this free zone.
According to Lina Mockutė, the CEO of Akmenė FEZ, as the territory’s business community prepares to celebrate its 5th anniversary, the free zone ready for a new qualitative leap – in its image, infrastructure, energy, and, most importantly, attracting new investors.
“It’s no secret that the first investor in Akmenė FEZ was a major Lithuanian business group, whose investments in several modern factories already exceed 300 million euros. However, we continuously strive to attract other Lithuanian and foreign investors, especially in the areas of sustainable and innovative production, energy, and other high-value-added sectors. Despite the challenging economic backdrop, 2023 brought us very serious inquiries, from which at least one or two should materialize into new investments and the production of advanced products this year. We believe that the refreshed brand will contribute to even more new businesses and job creation,” says L. Mockutė.
She emphasizes that many Lithuanian and foreign investors value business communities based on sustainability, renewable energy or circular economy principles and actively seek such partners. And so the new brand of Akmenė FEZ will further emphasize the existing efforts.
Additionally, current and potential investors respond very positively to the business-friendly attitude of the Akmenė district municipality and its ambitions to increase the number of residents and improve the quality of life. Finally, potential investors are attracted to territories with smooth launch and business development processes – all of which are already competitive advantages of Akmenė FEZ.
Currently, Akmenė FEZ hosts companies such as VMG Wood Solutions, Rietuva, VMG Akmenės Baldai, VMG Service Akmenė, VMG Lignum Construction and Akmenės Projektai. The free zone specializes in wood, construction, energy and logistics sectors but is open to other business sectors as well.
In 2022, the combined turnover of Akmenė FEZ investors reached 62.1 million euros, with 3.8 million euros paid in personal income and social security taxes. Procurement of goods and services in Lithuania amounted to 161 million euros. Official results for 2023 activities will be announced this summer.
Currently, there are over 500 employees working in companies within Akmenė FEZ. With the implementation of current and planned development projects, this number is expected to reach 800-1000 by 2025.