Estonian defence company Wolfram Europa plans to invest €200M in an explosives manufacturing complex near Jēkabpils, Latvia, with production scheduled to begin in stages from 2027.
The project will be built on a 40-hectare site secured through a long-term land-use agreement with Latvijas Valsts Meži, Latvia’s state forestry company, according to ERR Majandus. At full capacity, the complex is expected to create 200 highly skilled jobs in the region.
Latvia plant to produce explosives and warheads
Construction and commissioning are planned in three stages. The facility will combine explosives synthesis, the preparation of finished explosive mixtures, and the loading and assembly of final products at one site.
Once fully developed, the complex will be able to synthesise up to 300 tonnes of RDX, also known as hexogen, or 100 tonnes of HMX, a denser and more expensive explosive compound. The planned production volumes can be expanded in the future.
The plant is also expected to load and assemble up to 100,000 anti-tank mines and 200,000 warheads each year. Its storage capacity will reach up to 1,200 tonnes of explosives by net mass, providing reserves for deliveries during disruptions and crises.
Wolfram Europa targets European explosives gap
Wolfram Europa describes itself as an Estonian defence-industry and research-and-development company. Magnus-Valdemar Saar, the company’s chief executive, previously served as director general of Estonia’s Centre for Defence Investment.
“This is our first major plant, but certainly not our last,” Saar said in a company statement.
The company said Europe has reduced its explosives and ammunition industry over the past 35 years, leaving investment focused mainly on weapons platforms and final assembly while production of the materials needed for munitions has lagged behind. “Europe is rearming, but investment is still focused mainly on platforms and final assembly. That is the explosives gap: Europe is scaling its weapons faster than the explosives and warheads that make them effective,” Saar said.
Export-oriented defence manufacturing
Latvia’s government has backed the project as part of the country’s effort to develop its defence industry and attract strategically important manufacturing to regional areas.
“Investments of this scale represent a significant step forward in the development of Latvia’s defence industry and demonstrate Latvia’s ability to attract strategically important industrial projects to its regions,” said Latvian Economics Minister Viktors Valainis.
Wolfram Europa said the Jēkabpils complex will be export-oriented and intended to serve customers beyond Latvia. The company’s objective is to build a competitive European defence manufacturing business with production capacity located closer to the markets it serves.
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