Construction of the new resin plant in Riga, in the Bolderāja neighbourhood, has continued, with the foundation slab of the future building completed in March. Around 140 tonnes of reinforcement and approximately 1000 m³ of concrete were used to create the concrete slab. Assembly of the tower crane has been completed, the reinforced concrete columns have been delivered, and their installation will begin shortly.
It has already been reported that, in order to develop a new type of resin production in which raw materials of fossil origin are partly replaced by lignin, a naturally occurring wood component, thereby reducing the proportion of fossil raw materials in the phenol formaldehyde resins currently used in the manufacture of panel materials, thermal insulation, sandpaper and many other everyday products, the “Latvijas Finieris” group has begun building a new plant in Bolderāja, Riga. The new resin plant is being developed on the AS “Latvijas Finieris” site at Finiera iela 6, Riga. The plant will have a production capacity of 45 000 tonnes per year.
“Latvijas Finieris” has developed an adhesive for birch plywood production in which lignin partly replaces phenol and formaldehyde, and “Riga ECOlogical” birch plywood products have been available on the market for several years. Further research and the construction of the plant are a continuation of work carried out over many years. With the construction of a new synthetic resin production facility, this experience will be scaled up to an industrial level, supplying the entire “Latvijas Finieris” plywood output with more environmentally friendly lignin-phenol-formaldehyde resins.
The construction of the plant is part of the international research consortium project “VIOBOND”, which brings together eight partners from five European Union member states under the leadership of “Latvijas Finieris”. The main aim of “VIOBOND” is to develop the use of the natural polymer lignin in high value-added products, using this renewable raw material to partly or fully replace fossil phenol and formaldehyde, which are petroleum refining products.
The total research cost of the “VIOBOND” project is 32 million euros, of which 16 million comes from a grant under the European Commission's research and innovation investment programme “Apvārsnis 2020” (Horizon 2020), with the remainder contributed by the companies involved in the project.
To carry out the project, “Latvijas Finieris” will undertake research worth 16 million euros, of which 8 million is co-financing from “Horizon Europe”. To complete the construction of the plant, the total investment by “Latvijas Finieris” is around 40 million euros.
Construction of the plant is scheduled for completion by the spring of 2026.