On completion in 2007, the new GroGlass glass tinting factory in Riga, Latvia will be able to process up to 1.2 million square meters of glass per year to help Dutch tomato growers improve their crop …
On completion in 2007, the new GroGlass glass tinting factory in Riga, Latvia will be able to process up to 1.2 million square meters of glass per year to help Dutch tomato growers improve their crop yields. At a ceremony on 12 October 2006, the director-general of the Latvian-Dutch joint venture, Aleksandrs Kelbergs and Riga Mayor Aivars Aksenoks, immured a time capsule in the new plant“s foundation stone. Kelbergs said that the new plant was the largest high-tech investment in Latvia since the restoration of independence. Equipment for the GroGlass plant was made at the nearby Sidrabe joint-stock company. The construction of the 4,000-square-meter glass-processing factory was launched with backing from the Latvian Investment and Development Agency and European Union structural funds; the total investment amounts to LVL 16 million. The plant will coat glass with a special anti-reflective layer that will increase light transmission by about 8%. The processed glass will be exported to the Netherlands, which is one of the world leaders in vegetable growing, and where lack of light is the main obstacle to achieving the maximum crop yield. Greenhouses cover 10,000 hectares of the Netherlands. While some produce 70 kilograms of tomatoes per square meter, the biological maximum is around 120 kilograms per square meter. GroGlass is expected to begin production at the end of 2007. The company will undertake research aimed at expanding the product range: the firm could also produce thin-layer solar panels, one of the most rapidly growing high-tech markets. Aksenoks pointed out that the new plant will be environmentally-friendly and safe, and will help attract high-tech industry to Riga. He also said that the new facility will create 60 jobs. Investments in the new Latvian-Dutch joint project will be made by two companies from the British Virgin Islands: Target Capital Corporation and Endeavor Capital Corporation. International investment company New Century Holding has been attracted to the project as manager. The Dutch company HortiLight Development will also invest in the project.