This year, the Golden Pine Cone award was presented to Uldis Biķis, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Latvijas Finieris AS, in the nomination “FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY”.

“What is the forest industry? The absolute largest positive contribution to Latvia’s export-import balance comes from our industry. Latvia as a manufacturing country? We are the largest manufacturing industry. Contribution to added value? The forest industry is twice the size of Latvia’s defence budget. We, the forest industry, were the first to provide support to Ukraine. Thanks to everyone for this!
I am sure that in the hour of need, the forest industry will be the first to go to the defence of our Latvia, our country. Let us remember that once, 33 years ago, our forest machinery was at the barricades – at the front line. There are true patriots in our industry, and I am proud to be one of you.
Let us stand up to hate speech and demagogues with clear minds and our heads held high! Let us continue to build a clean, independent and prosperous Latvia!
Our industry is as great as the Latvian oak, as tough as the Latvian pine and as powerful as the Latvian birch.”

In the nomination “FOR SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY”, a diploma was awarded to the team led by Dr.sc.ing. Jānis Rizikovs and Dr.sc.ing. Aigars Paže from the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry for the solutions developed for the application of birch processing residue (suberic acid) for the substitution of petroleum products in various polymer systems. The team also includes experts Ainārs Bobulis and Artūrs Raimonds Feldmanis from Latvijas Finieris AS.

“The study is still in progress, but the first results are very convincing. We believe that we will be able to bring these products into production. We are grateful to Latvijas Finieris AS for the successful cooperation so far and will be happy to continue it in the future!”

says Jānis Rizikovs.

In the nomination “FOR INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP”, Latvijas Finieris AS received a diploma and recognition for innovation in the new veneer plant in Kuldīga.

Continuing to implement the development strategy of the Group and investments in increasing production capacity, a new veneer plant, Kuldīga fabrika, was opened in Kuldīga this summer, equipped with globally unique technology, enabling the maximum possible veneer yield from each birch log.
A unique hybrid peeling machine has been built for the plant, combining two technologies traditionally used in veneer peeling – shaft and shaftless, enabling the peeling of veneer logs down to a 25 mm core and maximising the use of birch raw material.
In Latvia, peeling of smaller diameter and lower quality birch logs, without increasing the current harvesting volumes, allows an additional 300 000 cubic metres of birch wood per year to be channelled into plywood production.
Approximately 16 million euros has been invested in the production building, machinery, technology, and site improvement.

The annual award Golden Pine Cone is a joint initiative of the Latvian Forest Owners’ Association, the Latvian Forest Industry Federation and the Ministry of Agriculture. It is the forest industry’s highest annual recognition for significant achievements and contributions to the industry. The award was established to recognise and thank Latvia’s best forest workers for their achievements, as well as to introduce Latvia’s best foresters, woodworkers, scientists and educators to the public. Over the years, more than 200 Latvian foresters, researchers, entrepreneurs and associations have been awarded the Forest Industry Award.

The forest industry is important for Latvia’s national economy. The economic basis of forestry in Latvia is timber production, which provides economic stability through jobs and tax contributions, and contributes significantly to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), exports and the extraction of renewable resources. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the value added (in real prices) of Latvia’s forest industry in 2023 was 6.4% of GDP. The forest industry employs 40 000 people, of whom 16 000 work in forestry and logging, 21 000 in wood processing and 5000 in furniture production. The forest industry exports EUR 3.5 billion, accounting for 17% of the country’s total exports.