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KLAIPĖDA, Lithuania — The Trump administration’s tariffs increased prices for consumers and companies in Chicago and around the world, but Jurgita Radzevičė’s business has a cushion, thanks to some lucky timing
SBA Home, a Lithuanian furniture maker that supplies items for Ikea, opened a highly automated 500,000-square-foot factory last fall in Mocksville, North Carolina, outside Winston-Salem
Radzevičė, the 45-year-old CEO of SBA Home, says even though the project was years in the making, the timing was perfect
The $70 million facility opened months after President Donald Trump announced his so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025, which included a 20% tax on imports from the European Union. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the tariffs illegal in February, but Trump recently announced a new tariff plan that will levy 10% on EU goods
“It’s 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,” Radzevičė says
The company also has a 538,000-square-foot production facility, named Inno Line, in the Lithuanian port city of Klaipėda, one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania. She says its American investment was to bolster its supply chain
“That was the main issue — 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,” Radzevičė says
Another benefit is a smaller carbon footprint, since finished products don’t have to travel as far
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
If you’ve wondered how the components for furniture you’re assembling get that perfectly smooth, white finish, SBA Home’s Inno Line plant in Klaipėda provides the answer
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’s bonded at high heat
Robotic vehicles transfer the pieces of furniture from one station to the next, with flashing lights and beeps warning anyone in their path
Other machines help with quality control and packing for shipping
Rows of particle board at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaipėda, Lithuania. Inno Line is one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Inside the 538,000-square-foot production facility Inno Line located in Klaipėda, Lithuania.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
A worker demonstrates how furniture pieces are assembled, during a tour at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaipėda, Lithuania, on April 22. Inno Line is one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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 Klaipėda, Lithuania, on April 22. Inno Line is one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Automated machines build furniture components at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaipėda, Lithuania, on April 22.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
An employee works on the automated machines that build furniture components at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaipėda, Lithuania, on April 22. Inno Line is one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Automated machines build furniture components at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaipėda, Lithuania, on April 22.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
An employee works on the automated machines that build furniture components at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaipėda, Lithuania, on April 22. Inno Line is one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Trucks pull into the Inno Line production facility in Klaipėda, Lithuania, on April 22.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
The Inno Line production facility in Klaipėda, one of four SBA Home factories.|Provided by SBA Home
The Inno Line production facility in Klaipėda, one of four SBA Home factories.|Provided by SBA Home
Outside SBA Home’s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
A forested area near Kazlų Rūda, Lithuania.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chopped down trees can be seen in a forested area near Kazlų Rūda, Lithuania, on April 22.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chopped down trees can be seen in a forested area near Kazlų Rūda, Lithuania, on April 22.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Chopped down trees can be seen in a forested area near Kazlų Rūda, Lithuania, on April 22.|Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Furniture factories are scattered throughout Lithuania, some more modern than others. Ikea has a large branded factory in Kazlų Rūda, a town of about 5,400 people in a forested area southwest of Kaunas
Mantas Varaška, mayor of Kazlų Rūda, says the U.S. tariffs upended established trading relationships and harmed everyone
“It makes all the world unstable, including those small countries like Lithuania or other Baltic countries,” Varaška, 47, says
Companies like Ikea plan several years ahead for production and logistics, including shipping by rail, trucks and planes
“So, imagine how it changes the traffic, especially because of American tax decisions, when … 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,” he says.
Radzevičė says between the tariffs and increased oil prices from the Iran War, “nobody is giving you any time to prepare. That means this is the new normal in our business environment — you need to be extremely fast, extremely dynamic.”
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Baltic Silicon Valley
Lithuania’s 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
Growth has slowed in recent years to around 3%, but foreign investment continues to pour in
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’s also known for fintech startups and laser production
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
“We’re a small country, so we can’t really mass-produce something for the entire world. We just don’t have the capacity. But services is where we are really good, and financial services is one of them,” says Tadas Vizgirda, 57, managing director of payment processor Shift4 Payments
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Vizgirda grew up in California, married a Lithuanian woman and moved to Vilnius in the early ‘90s. He says the fintech sector took off about 10 years ago, when Lithuania loosened its banking rules, and international companies found a highly educated population with young workers who speak English
“We are a small nation that is just super positive. We’re glowing,” he says
Edvinas Grikšas, Lithuania’s minister for economy and innovation, says the country long ago shed its image as a cheap labor company
“We are becoming a technology-based, high added value-based country,” he says
At 35, Grikšas is the youngest member of the governing cabinet. He’s proud of its tech sector and its growing artificial intelligence presence. His ministry has a “3i” strategy, meaning innovation, investments and institutions
It could soon add a fourth “i”: India
The EU and India recently reached a free trade agreement, and Lithuanian access to India’s market of 1.4 billion people could make up for some of the trade hiccups caused by the U.S
“Cooperation with India is very important and not only in traditional industry,” Grikšas says. “They are very interested in our laser sector, in our biotechnology achievement, gene therapy. We are among the top countries globally in those kinds of achievements.”
But Grikšas is mindful of Lithuania’s less urban areas, where more traditional industries still hold sway. The country’s goal is to send at least 30% of government investment toward less developed regions
“We see this as an opportunity to grow, to raise all our economy — not only in the biggest cities,” he says
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
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Stephanie Zimmermann
Chicago Sun-TimesWatchdogs reporter, consumer investigations
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