2012

LVM to expand cooperation with universities

JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” has signed a cooperation agreement with Riga Technical University (RTU) on cooperation in developing higher education and science.

Both sides have established mutual interest in developing such areas as drafting and introducing forest road construction standards, possibilities for using new materials and structures in road construction, assessing round wood transport impact on road infrastructure, reducing tire pressure on low load-carrying capacity roads. Taking into account the ever-increasing role of information technology, JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” is interested in wider use of IT opportunities in the company’s operations and the entire forest sector. The sides have been indirectly cooperating for a long time, working on the research of glued wood constructions and possibilities for using various types of wood biomass in energetics, which, taking into account the potential of wood as a renewable resource, will be topical in the future as well.

JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” Board Chairman Roberts Strīpnieks: “Even though around 70 percent of our employees have graduated from the Latvia University of Agriculture, cooperation with RTU is highly important to us. Road and bridge construction, logistics and information system development are only some of the many areas where both sides can cooperate closer.”

Riga Technical University Rector, Professor Leonīds Ribickis: “Energetics could be one of those areas, where our cooperation with LVM could grow ever closer in the future. The utilization of low quality wood in the form of woodchips is a common practice nowadays. In the future, hydrogen, electricity or even mineral fertilizers, cosmetics and food additives could be produced from wood processing leftovers.”