The wooden bridge manufactured by IKTK is installed over a mountain river in Norway :: Dienas Bizness

The manufacturer of wooden constructions SIA “IKTK” has implemented a project in Norway – an environmentally friendly wooden constructions bridge has been installed over a mountain river on the European highway E16 between Oslo and Bergen, informs the company.

Building constructions manufactured in Latvia are increasingly in demand outside Latvia and are being supplied further and further, the executive director of SIA “IKTK” Gatis Eglītis has observed in the trends of the last couple of years.

This summer, the glued wood structures produced by IKTK were also used in road bridge structures in Norway, the final customer of which was the Norwegian National Road Administration. It is a crossing over a mountain river on the European motorway E16, which connects Oslo with Bergen in Norway, but generally crosses Northern Ireland, Scotland in Great Britain, Norway and Sweden with a sea break.

For the Tveit bru bridge over the Storåne river, the large bridge components were manufactured and partially assembled at the plant in Ozolnieki municipality, from where they were delivered to the site in nine cargoes – with the last cargo on March 20 this year, but on June 10. bridge opening. This means that from the constructions manufactured in Latvia, the 40-meter-long and 9.5-meter-wide bridge was completely assembled and covered with asphalt in about 80 calendar days.

Looking at the final customer’s demand for “ICT” constructions during the last couple of years, in relation to the domestic market, foreign demand has grown from about 70% in 2019 to about 90% in 2020, G.Eglītis estimates. This tendency is related to the end customer and users, because the builder or supplier could also be a Latvian company. He points out that in many countries in many buildings they want to replace concrete with wood, it is widely chosen by public and state institutions.

“New technologies, innovations, completely new engineering solutions are very important in this” revolution “of wooden structures, which is undoubtedly also promoted by ecological” green “policies and solutions to climate change. Many objects are like discoveries of architects and civil engineers, some even sensations. , and just like electronics and programmers once created the first computers, engineers are now continuing to discover new capabilities for wood. Therefore, logically, the focus is on innovation and discovery, but the secondary results are financial results, because we are at the beginning of a large journey, “says IKTK Ltd. Chairman Maris Peilans.

The businessman has concluded that, unlike manufacturers in various fields, Latvia is technologically slowed down, slow, modest and does not appreciate the advantages of wood over reinforced concrete. “It is completely different with manufacturers. I am glad that not only in the case of drone and complex equipment manufacturers, but also in the case of wooden building construction manufacturers, we can say: ‘Latvia can!’,” M. Peilāns is satisfied.

He points out that the wood glued to the construction continues the winning process in Canada, Austria, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain, as well as Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia. Recently, the demand for wood in construction in the United States has been growing very rapidly.

In addition, the technology is such that structures can be made in one country and conveniently transported to another country in the opposite hemisphere. Also from the ICT plant at the end of October, the first set of building structures for a wooden building will start on the way to the USA.

In addition to the Tweed Bridge in Norway this year and in 2019, the works of SIA “IKTK” also promoted wooden structures in other structures on an international scale, for example, separate solid wood structures were created for a nine-storey wooden building in Stockholm, wooden structures were made for several large projects – “Amberton green SPA” hotel In Lithuania, for a school building in Norway and elsewhere.

Wooden constructions of several Latvian objects have also been made for “IKTK”, for example, for Valmiera Viesturs Secondary School. Several objects with constructions manufactured by “IKTK” have been praised in construction tenders – Mītava Concert Hall in Jelgava, Bikstupe Bridge in Jaunpils, reconstruction of Rūmene Manor and others.

Last year, the production of new, technologically complex products was started and this year was completed – acoustic panels of bent glued plywood for Mežaparks stage. The sound reflection system of Mežaparks stage, which uses 510 curved surface shields in 16 different sizes, is currently the largest in the world, concluded Andris Zabrauskis, one of the leading Latvian acoustics specialists.

In 2019, the 2nd production building of SIA “IKTK” was completed, in which self-produced bent glued wooden constructions were used.

In 2020, SIA “IKTK” will continue to see itself in projects with an individual approach, innovative solutions and challenges, as well as in the promotion of “green construction”, providing facilities with such structures that promote the use of renewable resources in construction, as well as reduce carbon emissions. construction work.

Among the newest objects of this year, which use wooden constructions manufactured by “IKTK”, is the school building in Stavanger, Norway, in the construction of which Latvian companies are participating.

This year, it has been summarized that after four years of operation, the preliminary turnover of SIA “IKTK” last year was about 1.3 million euros, but more than 80 thousand euros were paid in taxes. In connection with the paid labor force, personal income tax was paid in the amount of 27.27 thousand euros, but mandatory state social insurance contributions were made in the amount of 56.26 thousand euros.

SIA “IKTK” was founded in 2011, but started operating only in 2015, initially engaged in industrial research and prototype development, but later also expanded production.

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