Barrus AS wins Factory of the Year 2026 award

 Friday, April 17, 2026

At the major event “Smart Industry 2026,” the winners of the Factory of the Year competition were announced, including Barrus, Tiksoja Puidugrupp, and A. Le Coq.

The categories are:

• The “Factory of the Year 2026” in the large enterprise category is the wood industry Barrus AS
• The “Factory of the Year 2026” in the small and medium-sized enterprise category is the furniture manufacturer Tiksoja Puidugrupp AS

According to Tauno Otto, Professor of Manufacturing Engineering at TalTech and member of the competition jury, Barrus—winner in the large company category—stands out for its technologically advanced approach and effective use of artificial intelligence.

“Barrus stood out with a data-driven and technologically mature approach, where digitalization, AI-based planning, and optimised manufacturing practices are integrated into a real competitive advantage,” said Otto. “The increase in productivity and improvement in resource utilisation by 20% in new production units and the systematic valorisation of raw materials throughout the value chain are good examples of how Industry 4.0 solutions can create both economic and environmental value simultaneously,” Otto added further.

According to Marko Saviauk, Head of Leanest and member of the competition jury, it is notable that Tiksoja Wood Group, selected as Factory of the Year in the SME category, has developed strong in-house engineering capabilities, enabling it to design and implement robotics tailored to its own needs.

The Factory of the Year competition was held for the 5th time. The nominees for “Factory of the Year 2026” were chemical industry Chemi-Pharm, concrete manufacturer Bauroc, wood industry Barrus, beverage manufacturer A. Le Coq, furniture manufacturer Tiksoja Puidugrupp, and electrical equipment manufacturer Legrand Estonia.

The jury for the Factory of the Year includes Aleksandr Miina , partner at Lean Digital , Ats Alupere , head of Saksa Automatika , Tauno Otto , professor at the Institute of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Tallinn University of Technology, Marko Saviauk , head of Leanest , and Raul Kirsimäe, head of the industrial department at Swedbank.

Source: toostusuudised

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