One of the companies that manufactures demining equipment in Latvia is located in the Latvian city of Talsi, reports Latvian Radio.
The company "Teters" in Talsi is small, with just 10 employees. However, the company has been operating in the military field since 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea. Even closer cooperation with Ukraine was established from 2019.
Neils Sniedziņš, a member of the company's board, says that mines are found by sappers, but they are neutralized with demining equipment.
"They are small, the caliber for us is from 30 to 50 millimeters. They destroy unexploded ordnance. That means, with one of these devices, you can destroy only one specific mine. Different mines, different calibers, different sizes, yes. Well, we now have four [models], there will be more in the near future," Sniedziņš explains.
When asked if the company also has a grant from the Ministry of Defense, he answers in the affirmative: "We have had several grants that we have successfully applied for, we will definitely look again for another grant. We use the grants for development and testing." The company uses such opportunities to gain access to the National Armed Forces firing ranges, where it can test its products.
"We also have other more innovative products, which we are now designing and will test in Ukraine in the near future. We want to develop them in Latvia, create innovative products that may not exist anywhere else in the world," Sniedziņš says.
Elīna Egle, chairman of the board of the Federation of Latvian Security and Defense Industries, a trade body for the defense sector, states that demining equipment is also produced by other companies in Latvia. For example, equipment for demining at sea is being developed.
"In the Baltic Sea, there are still many mines lingering from the Second World War. Well, these are perhaps the first devices that we can talk about concretely, since there are definitely companies that have looked a little ahead, and this field is also very, very much in demand at the moment. And Ukraine, even hoping for a quick victory, will need support in the field of demining for a very long time," explains Egle. For example, currently in Ukraine mines are a particular danger around educational institutions and kindergartens.
"Western countries have lived in peaceful conditions, and so there has not been such demand, but it is a growing market, and there will definitely be a demand, so I strongly believe that the work of Teters will be appreciated and they will also be able to offer their competences in the future," said Egle.
Sniedziņš says that the company has established a good cooperation with the charitable organization "Ziedot.lv", which buys demining equipment with the money donated by citizens and sends it to Ukraine.
"In my opinion, there are many residents who do not support the war as such, they do not want to donate for weapons, but they gladly support what we produce – demining, so that it saves people's lives," Sniedziņš says.
Asked whether the company will continue to operate in this field after the war in Ukraine ends, he replies that demining will take at least 50 years and it's not only required in Ukraine. Afghanistan and other hotspots will also need to be neutralizing mines for decades to come.
