The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) has selected and advanced for further assessment an ambitious “Stiga RM” investment project – the creation of a new, technologically advanced timber processing plant in Ogre. The new plant for high-value engineered panels is currently taking shape on the site of the former “Norupe” sawmill. The total cost of the project will reach around 86 million euros, and the company is now applying for 10 million euros in state funding under the “Investment loans with capital rebate for large and medium-sized businesses” programme.
“The timber industry accounts for around 20% of all goods exports and is among Latvia’s leading sectors. “Stiga RM” is one of the most prominent companies in the industry, investing purposefully in raising productivity and efficiency. Investment of this kind not only strengthens the competitiveness of Latvia’s timber processing sector, but also fosters innovation and the development of sustainable production. We are pleased that the large investment programme is beginning to materialise in concrete projects,” emphasises LIAA Director Ieva Jāgere.
“Being granted state co-financing is very important to us – not only as financial support for carrying out a large and complex project, but chiefly as an expression of confidence and a clear example of the willingness to work together to move Latvia’s timber processing sector away from low added value and the export of unprocessed roundwood or primary-processed products towards technologically advanced industry and the creation of high added value. This is not one company’s success story, but a step in the direction of the whole sector’s development, which will in turn drive growth in export volumes and an even greater contribution to our country’s economy,” says “Stiga RM” owner Andris Ramoliņš.
The large investment project support programme is intended for large companies’ projects worth over 10 million euros that create high added value products. The programme is run jointly by LIAA and AS “Attīstības finanšu institūcija Altum” (ALTUM). On achieving the project’s objectives and meeting certain criteria, a company can qualify for a loan with a capital rebate, that is, have part of the loan granted by ALTUM written off.
The “Stiga RM” project has now been submitted to ALTUM for assessment and final approval. The funding granted is planned to be used to continue the transformation and rebuilding of the former sawmill, begun this summer, into a modern and technologically advanced plant for high-value timber products.
The new plant will become “Stiga RM’s” third timber processing plant in Latvia. The company’s work to date has likewise been founded on manufacturing high quality products and adding value to the riches provided by Latvia’s forests. At present, the “Stiga RM” plant in Kuldīga uses high-value Latvian birch timber to produce birch plywood, which is exported to more than 50 countries around the world, with the largest markets in Germany, Great Britain and the USA. In Tukums, the world’s most modern plant for wood wool cement board (WWCB) acoustic panels is preparing to begin operations. The Ogre plant is the company’s first step outside the Kurzeme region and an opportunity to apply the expertise it has built up in manufacturing high added value products.