Headquarters Latvia | Founded 1959 | |
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Stock price VSS1R (RSE) € 3.08 0.00 (0.00%)30 Mar, 3:36 PM GMT+3 - Disclaimer Subsidiaries Valmiera Glass Trading USA Corp, Valmiera Glass UK Ltd, Valmiera Glass USA Corp. | ||
JSC "Valmieras stikla šķiedra" (Valmiera Fibreglass) is a fibre-glass manufacturer and a large chemical and textile industry company in the Baltic states. Located in Valmiera, Valmieras stikla šķiedra employs more than 900 people. The company supplies composite materials for the aviation industry, including glass fiber and impregnated / reinforced fabrics. It exports 96% of its products, which are sold in 37 countries.
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The company received the award "Export Champion 2011" from the Latvian Investment and Development Agency. Since 2013 the company is a part of Valmiera Glass Group.
Production
JSC "Valmieras stikla šķiedra" manufactures glass fibre and glass fibre products from two types of glass (E-glass 600 °C and SiO2-glass 1000+°C), which can be used for further processing, for thermal and technical insulation materials as well as ready-made building materials. Some of the manufactured glassfibre is further processed in Valmiera Glass UK Ltd to create architectural membranes.
History
In 1959 the cornerstone of the "Valmieras stikla šķiedra" factory was laid. It was created accordingly to the planned economy's industrialization plan to develop Valmiera city as a high tech industrial centre within the Vidzeme region.
In July 1963 the first fiberglass products were manufactured in Valmiera. At that time the operation consisted of the glass pellet plant, spooling/twisting works, weaving mill, acid treatment works, and plastic reinforcement works.
In 1972 the plant began production of decorative glass fibre fabric, and employed about 3500 people. of 21 nationalities. Leading employees were sent abroad to gain experience.
In spite of efforts at quality improvement and automation during the 1980s, after the downfall of the socialist planned economy production volumes and number of employees dropped, and the organization experienced large losses because of inflation and disruption of the supply chain during the collapse of the USSR. In 1991 the factory was taken over by the Ministry for Industry and Energetics of the Republic of Latvia as a state-owned enterprise.
In 1993 The Republic of Latvia made plans to privatize the "Valmieras stikla šķiedra" factory by attracting foreign direct investments. In 1996, the owner of the German glass fibre manufacturer Glasseiden GmbH Oschatz, Jürgen Preiss-Daimler, signed a privatization agreement for the new company, and received 49% of the company's shares. On December 7, 1996 the first meeting of the joint stock company "Valmieras stikla šķiedra" board of directors took place.
In September 2001, a modern, one-stage glass fibre production facility was put into operation. In October 2002, German Vitrulan Textilglas GmbH purchased 30.8% of the joint stock company's shares and became the second largest shareholder and partner of the JSC Valmieras stikla šķiedra. In 2003 19 000 square metre expanded facility was opened.
In 2013 JSC "Valmieras stikla šķiedra" acquired the 80-year-old P-D Interglas Technologies Ltd located in Great Britain. Also in 2013, "Valmieras stikla skiedra" was named by Latvian movement "The Red Jackets" as one of the Top25 exporting brands in Latvia.
In 2014 the company had sales of EUR 108.44 million.
Social Responsibility
The company participates in The Association of Latvian Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry, Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and is a partner of the Global Chemical Industry Program "Responsible Care". The enterprise supports the Riga Technical University, Institute of Materials and Construction, as well as the Space Technology Cluster in research and development with respect to glass-fibre manufacturing. In 2013 the company received "The Power of Region” award by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia for a significant performance in the development of regional society and environment.