Many businesses pursue quick results and focus on immediate gains – how much they have managed to produce, sell and earn. Mārtiņš Zvirbulis, owner and CEO of SIA “Timber Trade Development”, takes a different approach to developing his company. In his view, the greatest value lies not in generating profit as quickly as possible, but in creating the conditions for the company to remain efficient, stable and competitive five, ten and even twenty years from now. That is why he is prepared to invest today in projects whose full benefits will only become apparent several years down the line.
Company: SIA “Timber Trade Development”
Business activity: Production and export of firewood
Number of employees: 17
Location: Biksti Parish, Dobele Municipality
Markets: 100% of the company’s production is exported to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Scandinavia and other markets
Challenge: High energy costs and the need to increase production efficiency in the long term while reducing dependence on disruptions to the electricity grid
Solution: A 0.5 MW solar power plant with a battery storage system for self-consumption; the company has also invested in an energy-efficient boiler house, heat recovery system, production equipment and electric forklifts
Investment: EUR 753,000 in the solar power plant and battery storage system
ALTUM support: EUR 186,000 capital rebate under an EU co-financed programme
Benefit: Self-generated electricity and lower energy costs; the batteries provide energy storage while also allowing production to continue in the event of disruptions to the electricity grid
Additional benefit: The heat recovery system has reduced woodchip consumption for drying by approximately 30%, while self-generated electricity is enabling the company to gradually transition from machinery with internal combustion engines to electric equipment
The entrepreneur’s approach: Energy efficiency is not a separate “green” project but part of a long-term development plan – each investment creates opportunities for the next and helps the company become more efficient and competitive.
SIA “Timber Trade Development”, based in Biksti Parish, Dobele Municipality, produces and exports firewood. None of its products are sold on the domestic market – everything it produces is exported. Zvirbulis is a civil engineer by education. In 2014, alongside his work in construction, he began developing a firewood production business, while in 2018 modernising production technology and developing the company’s operations in Biksti became his priority.
The company has grown step by step. With the help of various European Union (EU) support programmes, it has expanded its production facilities, including the construction of drying kilns and a boiler house, and introduced energy-efficient technological solutions. One of its latest projects is a 0.5 MW solar power plant with a battery storage system for self-consumption. The total investment amounted to EUR 753,000, with significant support provided through ALTUM’s business greening programme in the form of a capital rebate. The total loan rebate amounted to EUR 186,000.
“It should be said from the outset that the solar panels are not a separate, suddenly conceived ‘green’ project. They are one stage in a much larger company development plan. I do not view support programmes as a reason to start investing. First, I have an idea and a specific objective, and only then do I look at whether there is a programme available that can help me implement it. In this case, ALTUM support was a tool that allowed us to implement the project faster and with a lower financial burden, as a 30% rebate was applied to the overall loan,” says the owner of “Timber Trade Development”.
Efficiency Is Not a Luxury but a Matter of Survival
Zvirbulis has been thinking about energy efficiency since the very beginning of his career in construction. Over the years, he has seen attitudes towards energy consumption change, with simpler solutions gradually giving way to energy-efficient windows, thicker insulation and other technologies.
“Energy is not getting cheaper – it is becoming increasingly expensive. That is why it is worth paying a little more today in order to reduce costs in the long term,” he says.
He has applied the same principle to his own company. In Zvirbulis’ view, the primary objective in business should not be to maximise production volumes. It is far more important to ensure that each unit produced is as cost-efficient as possible, thereby improving the company’s competitiveness and profitability in the long term.
“Even when demand exceeds what we are able to produce, we still have to work efficiently. But when competition is intense, efficiency becomes a matter of survival. If you operate inefficiently, every cubic metre you produce can generate a loss. And consequently, the more you produce, the greater your losses become.”
Mārtiņš Zvirbulis, CEO of SIA “Timber Trade Development”
The solar power plant and batteries are only one part of the overall system. At the same time, the company is investing in modern production equipment, automation and technologies that reduce the consumption of energy, labour and other resources.
“What we have implemented under ALTUM’s greening programme is just one of the ways in which I am systematically improving the company’s overall efficiency. Electricity costs, heating costs and labour costs all need to be reduced. New equipment is often more energy-efficient as well, and when you put everything together, the solar panels and batteries are one piece of the puzzle that helps increase overall production efficiency,” the entrepreneur explains.
Solar Panels with Battery Storage – One Stage in a Larger Plan
The idea of installing solar panels is not a recent one for Zvirbulis. As early as 2018, when another project was being implemented and the production facility expanded, he already had a clear vision of how the company would develop further.
In 2023, in cooperation with ALTUM, a new woodchip boiler house and two drying kilns were built, helping to reduce CO₂ emissions by 30%. But the entrepreneur did not stop there. His experience as a civil engineer allowed him to identify another opportunity – reusing the heat that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere during the drying process. In cooperation with SIA “Baltbrand” and the Mechanical Engineering Competence Centre, a heat recovery system was developed to capture and reuse this heat.
The results are impressive. Even in extremely cold weather, when outdoor temperatures fall to –20°C, the temperature of the air entering the drying kilns can reach +65°C. Zvirbulis notes that the air exchange rate is approximately 20,000 cubic metres per hour, meaning that heat recovery has a significant impact. Any surplus heat can also be used to heat the production building. Thanks to the more efficient system, woodchip consumption in the drying process has been reduced by approximately 30%.
Solar panels became the next logical step, with the availability of ALTUM’s business greening support and capital rebate providing an additional incentive. Half of the solar power plant has already been installed on the roof of the existing production building, while the other half is planned for the roof of the new production building. One important advantage is that the company does not have to devote approximately half a hectare of land to solar panels. Instead, energy generation is integrated into the existing infrastructure.
Initially, Zvirbulis planned to install solar panels without a battery storage system. However, the specific nature of the company’s operations and the desire to reduce risks led him to revise the plan. The production facility consumes a substantial amount of electricity, and power outages can cause serious technical problems. The woodchip boiler operates at high temperatures, and in the event of a power failure, pumps and circulation systems can stop operating. Preventing these risks would require a very powerful uninterruptible power supply (UPS), costing tens of thousands of euros. Zvirbulis chose a different solution – a battery system that serves both as energy storage and as a safeguard for production continuity.
“In my case, the batteries also provide security. If power from the grid is lost, the production facility can continue operating on its own internal network. The solar panels continue generating electricity, the batteries are charged, and if there is not enough solar power, energy is drawn from the batteries. Once grid voltage is restored, the system reconnects. So the batteries are not merely a way of using electricity generated during the day at a later time – they also reduce the impact of grid disruptions on the operation of the production facility. These situations do not occur often, but a stable electricity supply is critically important for ensuring continuity of production. It means I can sleep peacefully at night without worrying about unexpected situations,” the entrepreneur adds.
The Return on Investment Must Be Viewed in the Long Term
An investment of EUR 753,000 is significant for the company, so the question of its return had to be answered with concrete calculations rather than intuition.
“A rational choice based on calculations,” is how Zvirbulis briefly describes his approach.
He estimates that the solar panels and batteries could pay for themselves in approximately four to six years. At the same time, however, he stresses that investments of this kind should not be assessed solely in terms of the number of years required for payback.
“When it comes to developing the company, I do not make short-term decisions. Although short-term solutions are important, what matters much more to me is where I will be in five or ten years. I begin by creating a long-term plan that sets a direction for where I want to be in, say, 20 years. Short-term projects are then aligned with that plan and implemented one after another, gradually taking us towards the overall objective.”
Mārtiņš Zvirbulis, CEO of SIA “Timber Trade Development”
As Zvirbulis explains, this perspective also makes it possible to take decisions on major investments. For example, the company’s new boiler house cost approximately EUR 1.2 million – a very substantial investment relative to the company’s turnover. Viewed over a 20-year period, however, the investment becomes much easier to justify.
Moreover, the benefits are not purely financial. The automated boiler house has significantly reduced the need for human resources. Previously, several boiler operators were required to maintain heating, including during night and weekend shifts. Today, the system operates almost entirely autonomously.
“Turnover Makes You Proud, Profit Makes You Rich”
Zvirbulis believes that one of the greatest challenges for entrepreneurs is resisting the temptation to focus only on quick results. His experience shows that growth is slow at first – and that this is entirely normal.
He compares company development to rolling a snowball. At first, the snow sticks only gradually and some of it falls away, but over time the snowball becomes larger and more snow begins to stick. Once a company reaches a certain scale, implementing major projects also becomes easier.
“Latvians are good at getting things done quickly and achieving good results fast. But sometimes that can also be a disadvantage, because by focusing on quick results we may fail to achieve strong long-term results. An entrepreneur has to be prepared for the fact that the first few years after a major investment may not be the brightest. You may have to operate with lower profits or even small losses during the first few years, but later the investment begins to generate a greater return. And even if a project does not pay for itself within five years, that does not mean something has gone wrong. Perhaps it will pay for itself in seven years – and seven years is still very good. The question is: in five years’ time, do we want to be in exactly the same position as we are today, or would we rather be in a better one?” Zvirbulis says, sharing his perspective on entrepreneurship.
For Zvirbulis, energy efficiency also has another dimension that cannot be measured purely in financial terms.
“I want my children to grow up in the kind of environment I grew up in – with green grass and blue skies. If another manufacturer chooses to operate using environmentally unfriendly methods, that is their strategy, but it does not reduce my motivation to continue reducing environmental pollution. I always say: start with yourself.”
Mārtiņš Zvirbulis, CEO of SIA “Timber Trade Development”
This philosophy is reflected very practically in the company’s operations. Solar panels, batteries, a heat recovery system, a modern and efficient boiler house, wood-drying kilns equipped with highly advanced software, and modern production equipment all help reduce energy consumption, costs and the company’s environmental impact.
Interestingly, after installing solar panels on the roof of the production building, Zvirbulis noticed another benefit that he had not initially anticipated. In summer, the panels shield the roof from direct sunlight, reducing heat build-up inside the building. In winter, snow accumulates between the panels and acts as an additional layer of thermal insulation.
Solar energy has also opened the door to the next stage in the company’s development – using self-generated electricity to replace forklifts powered by internal combustion engines with electric models. With support from ALTUM’s greening programme, the company has replaced three internal-combustion-engine forklifts with electric forklifts.
Because the company can generate the electricity it needs itself for much of the year, operating these vehicles also becomes considerably cheaper. This clearly illustrates why company development needs to be viewed from a long-term perspective, with each project acting as another piece of the puzzle that contributes to the bigger picture.
“One investment creates an opportunity for the next, and over time you build a system in which energy and other resources are used increasingly efficiently. Turnover makes you proud, profit makes you rich. And efficiency is the tool that allows you to increase the share of turnover that becomes profit,” the company owner adds.
