RERE Grupa participates in the discussion on the promotion of the construction of wooden buildings in Latvia organised by the Ministry of Economics

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On 7 February, a discussion for sectoral professionals on the promotion of the construction of wooden buildings in Latvia took place at the Ministry of Economics. The purpose of this discussion was to promote the construction of wooden buildings by mitigating myths and demonstrating the capacity of the wood industry sector to implement the qualitative manufacturing and construction of wooden buildings in Latvia. This event was also attended by the Chairman of the Board of RERE Grupa Guntis Āboltiņš-Āboliņš, the expert of restoration works Roberts Vecums-Veco and the restoration project manager/wooden structures specialist Eduards Krilovs. 

During the discussion, answers to the following questions were sought: 

• What prevents customers from ordering wooden structure buildings?
• How to dispel the myth about wooden buildings by emphasising the advantages of wood material?
• What support measures should be implemented to promote the development of construction designs, where a significant proportion of bearing structures are made of wood material?
• What would be contributing factors for young people to specialise in wooden structures during their construction studies?
• What requirements should be set in construction standards to significantly increase the proportion of wood materials in the bearing structures of buildings?

The Chairman of RERE Grupa Guntis Āboltiņš-Āboliņš emphasised that everything has to be done step by step, starting from the smallest aspects and moving towards the largest. Sharing the experience of RERE Grupa, Guntis reflected the current reality:
“Wooden buildings require materials. At the moment, Latvian companies are unable to provide suitable wood materials in the required amount and at the respective quality. Example – Mežaparks open-air stage. We selected a supplier of wood materials from Estonia because it turned out that there are no companies in Latvia which can supply wood materials at a specific quality and within a specific amount and time. Another problem is related to the certification of wood materials, which is a very bureaucratic and long process. Constructors prefer to choose reinforced concrete structures to avoid the complicated paperwork,” said Guntis Āboltiņš-Āboliņš.

Whereas the restoration project manager/wooden structures specialist Eduards Krilovs emphasised that the quality assessment process of sawn wood materials with CE marking appropriate for the European market has to be made accessible in each factory and in each sorting location. The circle of specialists who are granted such rights has to be widened, and the external assessment procedures have to be simplified and made accessible. The sales and export of unsorted and uncertified wood materials cause financial losses.
“In the construction of wooden buildings, the construction of traditional wooden buildings with solid wood sawn materials has to be distinguished from industrially manufactured wooden construction products. These segments need to have different requirements for the preparation of construction designs. The designers of industrially manufactured wooden building structures need to have an appropriate specialisation and work on standard solutions,” indicates Eduards Krilovs.