Florin Popov - young man of Ungheni setting up miracle Paulownia plantation with great business potential

Florin Popov is a young entrepreneur from Ungheni who, six years ago, established a Paulownia plantation in Floreni village, Sculeni. A young entrepreneur who decided to set up a "miracle" plantation in the locality, bringing each tree in pots from Spain. Six years after planting, the trees have grown over five meters tall, making it a unique crop both ecologically and economically.

A graduate of the Faculty of Law at Moldova State University, Florin chose to pursue the furniture industry and has big plans in this regard, which he shared at the request of MOLDPRES.

Florin Popov: "I worked in Italy for a furniture manufacturer that used Paulownia. It caught my interest, and I found a seedling producer from Spain, patented at the European level, and I decided to try planting it, initially on a 3.5-hectare plot. After that, I expanded the plantation area by ten hectares each year, currently covering 40 hectares. I expect the first harvest in the winter of 2026."

Florin decided to grow Paulownia because it is one of the most profitable investments in agriculture.

I will sell the raw material myself, because I am a member of the cluster of furniture manufacturers, created within a regional program for Cahul and Ungheni, supported by the European Union, or I will sell the wood to partners who make furniture. I will not export it, I will provide raw material to the businesses in the district. It is a very popular wood for various works, and more recently - also for modular houses.

Paulownia species has a lot of advantages. It is a deciduous tree with extremely fast growth with vegetative propagation and high tolerance to environmental conditions.

Paulownia has gained immense popularity in the world, where the cultivation of this species is booming, especially for the production of furniture, plywood and biomass. Known in the furniture and lumber industry as "the aluminum of wood," Paulownia is 30% lighter than any comparable hardwood.

People are still a bit skeptical, but they will be convinced when they see all the advantages of this product. We also count on state support, on subsidies, just like for other crops. I am sure that in the Republic of Moldova people will be convinced of the benefits of this tree, we will be able to sell the emissions we will have from these plantations on the carbon exchange. Currently, I have 40 hectares planted, but I plan to develop the business to reach at least one hundred hectares. We also have hopes for the National Afforestation Program, so that Paulownia will be planted in this way as well.

Paulownia wood is a very good thermal insulator, twice as effective as pine or oak wood. The ignition temperature in fire is about 400°C, which is almost double that of many hardwoods and softwoods.

Author - Lilia Grubîi