Historical significance and strategic advantages of Võru as a location.
Catherine the Great (Empress of Russia) founded Võru (Estonian name), also known as Werro (German name), in 1784. Catherine the Great ruled during the Age of Enlightenment and, like Maria Theresa (Empress of Austria), recognised the economic importance of agriculture and forestry.
From a strategic point of view, Võru was built at a geographically favourable trading location - on the route from St. Petersburg to Latvia and the German Empire - in the middle of a forest region. Võru was intended to ensure sustainable forest management in the region and generate economic benefits for the empire.
In order to achieve this, skilled labour was required. When the town was founded, this was achieved by attracting skilled German workers from the Hanseatic League, which had disintegrated at the time.
Võru was not located in a historically optimal transport location. It lacked a large river or the sea. It was therefore not possible to survive economically with quantity - and certainly not with wood quantity - but only with processed wood. This has remained the case to this day.
Today, Vöru is home to the Võrumaa Vocational Education Center (https://www.ewers.ee/en), which has an excellent international reputation and is one of the most recognised educational institutions in Estonia. Attached to the school is the Competence Centre for Wood Processing and Furniture Production (http://tsenter.ee/de/).
The Werroform production building in Võru was built during the Soviet era with the intention of having a permanent trading centre for most of the goods that arrived to Voru, those were stored and divided and assemblied as per local demand.)
The right place for Werroform's Assembling plant is in Võru, Estonia. The conditions are still the same as when the town was founded:
-) The majority of the wood processed by Werroform comes from Finland or directly from Estonia and is delivered from there to the Central European region. A geographically favourable location.
-) Due to the cultural and historical perception of the local population, Võru is still a very suitable location for a wood processing company. There are skilled workers and will continue to be in the future.
