Luminor grants EUR 950 000 to SIA Latvāņi to launch new products

  • 2023-11-23

Luminor Bank has provided financing of EUR 950,000 to the wood processing company SIA Latvāņi to ensure the successful implementation of an investment project. The project has a total financing of EUR 6.99 million and will launch the production of a new glued laminated timber product – structural beams made from radial bark edge boards.

SIA Latvāņi dates back to 1994 and is engaged in the production of various wood products. The processing of saw logs produces glued timber structures for windows, carpenters' boards, wooden windows, doors, carpentry products, and pine bark for mulching woody plants. Meanwhile, wood residues are processed into fuels such as wood briquettes and pellets. The company also produces electricity and heats its production with self-produced biomass heat. 

“We have been working successfully with Latvāņi for more than ten years and we are delighted to be able to offer our help in this ambitious new project. It’s important for us to support such a promising local company that not only contributes to the development of the Latvian economy, but also takes care of sustainability issues by working with wood as a renewable resource and promoting residue-free production,” says Ilze Zoltnere, Head of Corporate Banking at Luminor bank in Latvia. 

The project to introduce new products into production was launched by SIA Latvāņi in 2018 and is being implemented in several stages. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The project involves the development, production, and installation of two pilot production lines with the aim of speeding up production and launching a new glued laminated timber product with improved usability properties – structural beams made from radial bark edge boards. The funding will allow the company to increase productivity and to integrate into the production line experimental technologies whose technical parameters are in line with the latest scientific developments.

Linda Grīnberga, member of the board of SIA Latvāņi, says: “Currently, the company's main challenge is to increase production efficiency by introducing innovations both in the production process and by investing in tomorrow's technologies. The factory already uses high-resolution scanners and digitally controlled machine tool benches, but this project will further develop the factory's technology so that we can work more efficiently and produce more modern products using artificial intelligence.”

The total funding for the project is EUR 6.99 million, of which EUR 2.85 million is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Project No 1.2.1.4/18/A/038, “Introduction of new products into production at Latvāņi SIA”.

About SIA Latvāņi

The sawmill complex was established on the basis of the Latvian farm Latvāņi, which was founded in 1994 by Laimonis Onzuls. The company operates a full-process, waste-free technology woodworking factory. SIA Latvāņi sells its products mainly to wholesalers not only in Europe, but also in Asia, whose customers are manufacturers of wooden windows.

About Luminor

Luminor is the leading independent bank in the Baltics and the third-largest provider of financial services in our region. We serve the financial needs of individuals, families, and companies. We are new, dynamic, and forward-looking just as Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian markets.