One of Latvia's leading timber industry companies, “Stiga RM”, has signed a cooperation agreement with one of Europe's leaders in the development of automation solutions – the Danish equipment and production tools developer “BILA”. Although the company is well known and highly regarded among industry professionals, this will be the first opportunity for Latvian manufacturers to work with this prestigious equipment supplier. The value of the cooperation agreement will reach almost 3 million euros and will cover the design, manufacture and installation of bespoke solutions for the “Stiga RM” wood-wool cement board (wood-wool cement board, WWCB) factory.
Solutions developed by “BILA” to replace labour-intensive manual work with robotic technologies are widely used by global companies such as “Siemens”, “Carlsberg”, “Orkla” and many others in their factories around the world, so establishing a successful partnership is a unique opportunity not only for “Stiga RM” but for Latvia's entire manufacturing sector, as no other technological solution this advanced has been available in our country until now, emphasises Sandis Fogelmanis, head of the “Stiga RM” wood-wool board factory.
“We are delighted and proud to announce this significant partnership with a team of Danish professional experts whose several decades of experience, knowledge and expertise will provide invaluable support in giving the “Stiga RM” factory an outstanding level of robotisation and automation that considerably exceeds all solutions currently known and available in the manufacture of this product. This project not only marks a new stage in the development of “Stiga RM”, but will also take innovation in this industry to new heights,” says Sandis Fogelmanis.
“Our cooperation during the design phase of the project has been very positive, and we have developed a very open and honest dialogue. Our experience shows that an open and mutually beneficial approach to cooperation is the key to delivering a successful automation project, and our colleagues at “Stiga RM” were very receptive to that way of working. This partnership is also an excellent opportunity for us to expand our operations in the Baltic market,” says Per Bech Rasmussen (Per Bech Rasmussen), Chief Executive Officer of BILA Automation.
The solutions provided by “BILA” are expected to replace manual human labour at the future “Stiga RM” WWCB factory in Tukums, creating new job opportunities for highly qualified specialists in automation and engineering who will operate and monitor the robotic equipment. This will not only improve manufacturing efficiency and productivity, but will also help the company meet its environmental targets by reducing carbon emissions and the energy consumption required for the production process.
About the WWCB factory:
The “Stiga RM” wood-wool cement board (WWCB) factory is scheduled to open at the end of next year, allowing sufficient time to implement and test the technological solutions before the plant is commissioned, so as to ensure that the production process is efficient and as precise as possible. Once open, the 80 thousand square metre factory complex will provide almost 100 new jobs and produce high-value timber products primarily for export markets.
Thanks to innovative and powerful technologies, the factory will be able to produce up to 4.5 million square metres of wood-wool acoustic board each year. This high-value, people- and environmentally friendly, CO₂-neutral timber production will mainly be exported to countries in Europe, Scandinavia and North America, although the growing market will offer opportunities to sell this product worldwide.
Total investment in the development of the new production facility will exceed 32 million euros.