Lastrada is a road construction company founded in 2018, with its registered office in Saulkrasti and a technical base in Bīriņi, Limbaži Municipality. The company specializes in road construction and, since the start of its operations, has implemented projects of various scales in the Riga region and elsewhere in Latvia, including cooperation with municipalities and private clients, while also regularly participating in public procurement tenders. In recent years, the company has experienced rapid growth, significantly increasing its turnover and expanding its technical capacity.
To improve work efficiency and reduce dependence on human resources at construction sites, the company used support from the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) Digitalisation Programme by implementing two projects focused on equipping road construction machinery with automation solutions. “We had already been considering this direction of digitalisation before, but the investments are quite substantial. If everything has to be financed entirely from our own resources, the decision is not easy. The moment the opportunity to receive co-financing appeared, the decision was made immediately,” says the company’s founder and CEO, Mārtiņš Mednis.
The support provided by Investment and Development Agency of Latvia has enabled the company to introduce solutions that significantly improve the quality and speed of work processes. The automation systems ensure more precise execution of work, reduce the risk of errors, and allow a larger volume of work to be completed within the same amount of time.
The company evaluates its cooperation with Investment and Development Agency of Latvia during the implementation of the project very positively. Although preparing the documentation required some effort, as acknowledged by M. Mednis, the company managed the process independently, while supportive communication was available whenever needed. “If there were any questions, LIAA was always responsive and provided explanations. Everything can be managed independently — the main thing is simply to start,” emphasizes M. Mednis.
He also notes that over time the programme conditions have become more business-friendly — the administrative burden has been reduced and the project evaluation process has become faster. Sharing his experience, the company’s CEO encourages other businesses to make use of the available support instruments: “If you have an idea and a clear goal, then these kinds of projects should be implemented. It is a great way to accelerate development.”
This informational material was prepared with financial support from the Recovery and Resilience Facility project “Digital Services Platform for Business Development Promotion.” The author alone is responsible for the content of the article. The views expressed in this material do not reflect the official position of the European Union or the European Commission.
