<\/p>\n SBA Home CEO Jurgita Radzevi\u010d\u0117 at the furniture company\u2019s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, on April 21.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very nice coincidence about tariffs because when we started our journey, we still had Democrats in the White House, and nobody was talking about tariffs on such a scope,\u201d Radzevi\u010d\u0117 says.<\/p>\n The company also has a 538,000-square-foot production facility, named Inno Line, in the Lithuanian port city of Klaip\u0117da, one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania. She says its American investment was to bolster its supply chain.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the main issue \u2014 how to secure logistics and especially after the stories of COVID, when we had huge disruptions, and after the Suez Canal [closure] when we had a huge disruption. So, we understand that if we want to be fast, we need to be more in place,\u201d Radzevi\u010d\u0117 says.<\/p>\n Another benefit is a smaller carbon footprint, since finished products don\u2019t have to travel as far.<\/p>\n The North Carolina factory, which aims to employ 240 people, expects to produce about 450 pieces of furniture per hour for the North American market.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve wondered how the components for furniture you\u2019re assembling get that perfectly smooth, white finish, SBA Home\u2019s Inno Line plant in Klaip\u0117da provides the answer.<\/p>\n In the highly automated factory, machines pick up particle board, slice it to calibrated sizes and send the pieces down the line to be wrapped in finishing material that\u2019s bonded at high heat.<\/p>\n Robotic vehicles transfer the pieces of furniture from one station to the next, with flashing lights and beeps warning anyone in their path.<\/p>\n Other machines help with quality control and packing for shipping.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rows of particle board at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaip\u0117da, Lithuania. Inno Line is one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.<\/p>\n | Inside the 538,000-square-foot production facility Inno Line located in Klaip\u0117da, Lithuania.<\/p>\n | A worker demonstrates how furniture pieces are assembled, during a tour at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaip\u0117da, Lithuania, on April 22. Inno Line is one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.<\/p>\n | Rows of particle board with wooden dowl pins on the end can be seen at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaip\u0117da, Lithuania, on April 22. Inno Line is one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.<\/p>\n | Automated machines build furniture components at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaip\u0117da, Lithuania, on April 22.<\/p>\n | An employee works on the automated machines that build furniture components at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaip\u0117da, Lithuania, on April 22. Inno Line is one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.<\/p>\n | Automated machines build furniture components at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaip\u0117da, Lithuania, on April 22.<\/p>\n | An employee works on the automated machines that build furniture components at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaip\u0117da, Lithuania, on April 22. Inno Line is one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.<\/p>\n | Trucks pull into the Inno Line production facility in Klaip\u0117da, Lithuania, on April 22.<\/p>\n | The Inno Line production facility in Klaip\u0117da, one of four SBA Home factories.<\/p>\n | The Inno Line production facility in Klaip\u0117da, one of four SBA Home factories.<\/p>\n | Outside SBA Home\u2019s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania.<\/p>\n | A forested area near Kazl\u0173 R\u016bda, Lithuania.<\/p>\n | Chopped down trees can be seen in a forested area near Kazl\u0173 R\u016bda, Lithuania, on April 22.<\/p>\n | Chopped down trees can be seen in a forested area near Kazl\u0173 R\u016bda, Lithuania, on April 22.<\/p>\n | Chopped down trees can be seen in a forested area near Kazl\u0173 R\u016bda, Lithuania, on April 22.<\/p>\n | Furniture factories are scattered throughout Lithuania, some more modern than others. Ikea has a large branded factory in Kazl\u0173 R\u016bda, a town of about 5,400 people in a forested area southwest of Kaunas.<\/p>\n Mantas Vara\u0161ka, mayor of Kazl\u0173 R\u016bda, says the U.S. tariffs upended established trading relationships and harmed everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes all the world unstable, including those small countries like Lithuania or other Baltic countries,\u201d Vara\u0161ka, 47, says.<\/p>\n Companies like Ikea plan several years ahead for production and logistics, including shipping by rail, trucks and planes.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, imagine how it changes the traffic, especially because of American tax decisions, when \u2026 Ikea has to rethink all its producing strategy for three years. And of course, it affects us because if there are some changes going in production lines, in technology equipment, they are interrupting the production work for two months, for three months, they are [downsizing to] one shift. That means that people are losing their jobs, or that people are receiving less money for two or three months,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Radzevi\u010d\u0117 says between the tariffs and increased oil prices from the Iran War, \u201cnobody is giving you any time to prepare. That means this is the new normal in our business environment \u2014 you need to be extremely fast, extremely dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mantas Vara\u0161ka, mayor of Kazl\u0173 R\u016bda, sits for an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times on April 22, outside the city\u2019s Tourism and Business Information Center in southern Lithuania.<\/p>\n Baltic Silicon Valley<\/p>\n Lithuania\u2019s economy took off after it joined the EU. By 2007, its gross domestic product was growing by 11.1% a year, according to the World Bank Group.<\/p>\n Growth has slowed in recent years to around 3%, but foreign investment continues to pour in.<\/p>\n While Lithuania has a long history of furniture-making, thanks to its pine, spruce and birch forests covering about one-third of its land, it\u2019s also known for fintech startups and laser production.<\/p>\n The country of 2.8 million people has six unicorn companies, or businesses valued at more than $1 billion, and its capital Vilnius is called the Baltic Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a small country, so we can\u2019t really mass-produce something for the entire world. We just don\u2019t have the capacity. But services is where we are really good, and financial services is one of them,\u201d says Tadas Vizgirda, 57, managing director of payment processor Shift4 Payments.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tadas Vizgirda, 57, managing director of payment processor Shift4 Payments, stands in the company\u2019s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, on April 13.<\/p>\n![\"SBA](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/3e35f2c\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/6492x4330+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG\")
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\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Provided by SBA Home<\/p>\n
\n Provided by SBA Home<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n
\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n![\"Mantas](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/80f1cee\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/6772x4517+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F9c%2F50%2Fcdb2cbb04bd8a6795dd1f5e37242%2Flithuania-06xx26-313.JPG\")
<\/p>\n![\"Tadas](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/8ad55e7\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/7438x4961+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Ffe%2Feb%2Fba6c679f40dea534f80b897241e0%2Flithuania-06xx26-314.JPG\")
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![\"Minister](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/96e31ef\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/7412x4944+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F08%2Fd8%2Fa7ecc0574bffa8a3e0c0982f53a6%2Flithuania-06xx26-315.JPG\")
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