As reported earlier by LSM, at the end of May, Defence Partnership Latvia unveiled a new military industry factory in Valmiera to produce 6x6 Patria vehicles.
While on the opening day at the end of May, there were 19 mechanics and six administrative staff, the workforce has grown to around 30 employees.
Juta Kandere, Quality Specialist at Defence Partnership Latvia, said that the employees have also received training in Finland. They also spent time in Finland to gain experience from their Finnish colleagues, to be able to fully carry out assembly work on their own."
To assemble one armoured personnel carrier, five employees have to work around 1,000 hours. The price tag for such a machine is one million euros.
Part of the Patria fleet is manufactured here in Latvia.
"The hull, the windows, the doors, the hatches, the main chassis - all of it is currently made in Latvia. So we are trying to have more of this local production, but of course a lot of parts are imported from Finland, which is the parent company. Finland procures from other European countries and non-European countries," Kandere said.
At the moment, the plant is only fulfilling orders from the National Armed Forces, but the time is not far off when it will also produce for other countries, said Uģis Romanovs, chairman of the board of Defence Partnership Latvia:
"Currently, the total order exceeds 700 armored personnel carriers, including the Latvian order. The Patria Group has two companies that can assemble armored personnel carriers - one in Hameenlinna, Finland, and one here in Valmiera. From a resource efficiency point of view, we will definitely be involved in other countries' orders in the near future."
Another building is being constructed next to the factory. Testing of armored personnel carriers will start there at the end of the summer.
"There will be a swimming pool. Not one where you can swim, but one where you can test the swimming ability of armored personnel carriers. There will be a warehouse and other types of testing infrastructure," Romanovs explained.
Given the current situation, the company's representatives estimate that demand for military equipment, armaments and ammunition will remain high in the years to come.
