Marles, best known for its wooden windows and houses, took a controlling stake in Gozdno gospodarstvo Maribor (GGM), a forest management company which has a licence to log in state-owned forests, for an undisclosed price.

In the second phase GGM might take a stake in a Marles subsidiary, said Marles executive director Martin Nose.

The two firms now plan to establish a regional wood processing centre and plan to invite other regional wood industry firms to join in.

It is yet to be determined whether the centre would be a cooperative, a consortium or a business association, according to Nose.

Nose suggested the move was also motivated by forthcoming changes to rules governing logging licences.

"New legislation will set new conditions for companies wishing to secure a licence for exploiting state forests," he said.

GGM last year posted revenue of close to EUR 9m but ended half a million euros in the red.

Marles does not report group results and has not yet released holding company results for this year.

In 2013 its biggest subsidiary, house maker Marles hiše, reported sales of EUR 14.4m and a modest net profit.