Oct 31, 2006. /Lesprom Network/. Klaipedos Kartonas has bought a majority interest in Ukraine’s corrugated board and packaging manufacturer NB-Mena, the Verslo Zinios reported. Klaipedos Kartonas, which is owned by the Lithuanian investment company Avestis, sees this acquisition as the start of a major expansion into the large Ukrainian market. Sarunas Kliokys, the chairman of both Avestis and Klaipedos Kartonas, said that the Ukrainian cardboard packaging market was forecast to grow by about 25% to a billion cubic meters in 2006. "This acquisition opens up excellent growth opportunities for us. The enterprise, which is located around 190 kilometers away from Kiev, owns six hectares of land with the necessary infrastructure and a rail branch line," he said. The Ukrainian company now employs over 150 people and produces 12 million cubic meters of corrugated board and packaging yearly. The new owners are in talks with corrugation equipment manufacturers with a view to boosting the Ukrainian plant’s annual production capacity to approximately 60 million cubic meters. Klaipedos Kartonas posted sales of LTL 72.2 million ($26.6 million) for the first nine months of this year, up 16% from LTL 62.4 million ($23 million) a year earlier.