Expanding its operations in Daugavpils municipality, Laflora plans to build a peat production unit in Nīcgale Mire. The planned investment in the establishment of the factory reaches approximately 5 million euros. It will provide about 25 new jobs.
One of the largest peat extraction and peat products production companies in Latvia –Laflora – is expanding its operations in Daugavpils region, and plans to build a peat products production unit in Nīcgale Mire. It is planned to build the factory in a place where the company has already completed peat extraction.
The planned investment in the establishment of the factory reaches approximately 5 million euros. It will provide about 25 new jobs. The establishment of an export-capable peat production factory is a significant investment in the economic growth of the Latgale Region.
The company Laflora has been managing the peat deposit of Nīcgale Mire in Nīcgale rural territory of Daugavpils municipality for more than 20 years. In 2017, the peat extraction area was expanded, reaching 308 ha. Thus, in the next 2-3 years, the amount of peat extraction at the Nīcgale Mire deposit will double, and it will be approximately 200 thousand. m³ of peat per year.
Until now, the company transported the obtained peat by road to Laflora peat processing unit in Jelgava municipality – around 250 km. However, the increase in peat extraction volumes and increasing transportation costs, as well as the company's responsible attitude towards reducing carbon dioxide pollution caused by transportation, have led to a plan to organize on-site production of peat products – peat substrates and fractionated peat products in Nīcgale rural territory, besides the peat extraction site.
The development and production of new, innovative products is also planned at the factory, such as materials used in construction – thermal insulation materials from peat, peat paint and putty. It is expected that the peat factory could start operating at the end of 2022.
Uldis Ameriks, Chairman of the Board of Laflora: “I hope very much that the COVID emergency situation in the country will not hinder the planned work; that despite the difficult economic situation, credit institutions will be ready for bold solutions to finance this important project for Latgale Region. Moreover, this idea will coincide with the need to recover the country's economy after the crisis caused by the virus."
It is also planned to carry out wind monitoring in Nīcgale Mire in order to evaluate the possibility to create a wind park and to provide the new production factory with wind electricity.
In Nīcgale Mire of Daugavpils municipality, there were 62 Laflora employees in the peat extraction season in 2019. In total, the company employs about 245 permanent employees, to which about 180 seasonal employees join each year during the peat extraction season.
