Stiga RM invests EUR 10.5 million in the expansion of its plywood mill

Stiga RM, one of Latvia’s leading timber companies, will significantly expand its birch plywood mill this year, adding production space of 2,900 square metres, and will further modernise it with new, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly equipment. Total investment in productivity and product quality promotion projects will exceed EUR 10.5 million this year. 

The office building on the territory of the production plant will be dismantled this spring and replaced with a heat treatment pool with equipment. At the same time, work is underway to rebuild and expand the production site, build another production building, create a repair base for production machinery, and establish new office space to provide a more comfortable and pleasant working environment for employees. The development projects will significantly increase production capacity and promote energy efficiency while continuing to introduce sustainable operating principles into the production process. 

“The rebuilding of the production building and the expansion of the production area are planned in two phases, this is an ambitious project that has been underway since last year. The modernisation activities started last year and the installation of new equipment using solutions from the world’s leading equipment manufacturers will continue throughout this year and will make the production process even more powerful, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly,” says Viesturs Krēvics, Director of Stiga RM Plywood Mill.

The construction of the boiler house is now nearing completion, with the installation of a new 12 MW Polytechnik boiler for steam production, which is necessary for the technological process and allows the use of lower-quality wood chips and bark from production residues. Polytechnik is an Austrian company; a leader in sustainable and CO2 neutral energy solutions.

Alongside the modernisation of the boiler house, the installation of a wood chipper and conveyors for processing wood residues, as well as a filling line, continues. A conveyor system for internal logistics is being developed and a Raute dryer sorting line equipped with Mecano cameras with computer vision functionality is being installed, optimising quality assessment and sorting processes. Upgrades are also expected for several other pieces of equipment and production lines before the end of the year.

The total cost of the Stiga RM plywood production plant development project will exceed EUR 22.4 million over two years. It started at the beginning of last year and will run until the end of this year, significantly increasing production volumes and export amounts.

The development of the factory will also create new jobs for highly skilled engineering professionals. The factory currently offers 278 well-paid jobs, and the number of positions is expected to grow after the completion of the expansion projects. In 2023, Stiga RM was Kuldīga’s largest employer and taxpayer.