Roberts Strīpnieks continues the LATRAPS success story started by Edgars Ruža

Valters Bruss, Chairman of the Council of the Agricultural Services Cooperative Society LATRAPS, announces that the next head of LATRAPS will be Roberts Strīpnieks, the previous JSC “Latvian State Forests” Chairman of the Board.

Changes to the board of directors of Latvia's largest agricultural company LATRAPS will take place from January 17, 2022, as its founder and long-time manager Edgars Ruža announced last week his decision to continue working only with strategy and development projects.

“LATRAPS is not only a success story for the industry, but also for Latvia. This has been achieved with a strategic view of the future, with innovations and challenges, with excellent management of the joint business,” says Valters Bruss, Chairman of the LATRAPS Council. “We have grown to such a scale that it requires the separation of operational management and development management. Therefore, I am very pleased that we have attracted an extremely strong and smart leader, Roberts Strīpnieks, to the operational management, while Edgars Ruža continues to work in the area of strategy and development, on already launched and new projects. The achievements of these two leaders so far speak for themselves. LATRAPS is becoming even stronger!” says Walter Bruss.

LATRAPS is the largest agricultural company in the country, and grain farming is one of the strongest sectors of the national economy in the country, providing a significant part of the total expert volume in Latvia. LATRAPS has been recognized as the largest agricultural company in Latvia for several years, as it achieves the largest annual turnover, and has also been one of the TOP3 private equity companies in Latvia for many years.

“It was extremely important for us to find a strong company leader whose scale and values would align with LATRAPS’s values and goals, so it is a true joy and satisfaction that Roberts Strīpnieks decided to join our team," emphasizes Edgars Ruža, Chairman of the Board of LATRAPS. “I am confident that under his leadership, LATRAPS will become an even stronger national company on a global scale.”

The company is already exporting almost 70% of cereal products to more than 30 countries around the world, is a partner of the SIA "Alpha Osta" terminal, and has launched a project to establish a pea protein production plant in Jelgava, which will be the first plant of this type in Eastern Europe.

“For a long time, when considering a new and challenging job, my most important criteria were a national capital company that is important to the Latvian economy, in which I saw opportunities for future growth for both the company and myself. The offer to lead the LATRAPS board was unexpected, yet very interesting, and I want to express my gratitude for this very high assessment,” says Roberts Strīpnieks.”

“LATRAPS is a combination of traditional industries with the most modern business approach in production, trade, logistics, innovation implementation and use of financial solutions. LATRAPS is a Latvian agricultural ecosystem with solid, deep, outstanding values, and enormous potential! The task of the company's management is to realize this potential - effectively and sustainably, based on the principles of mutually beneficial cooperation. This is a company with broad development opportunities and I am determined to take on this challenge,” says Roberts Strīpnieks.

About LATRAPS:

Agricultural Services Cooperative Society LATRAPS (LPKS LATRAPS) was founded on April 22, 2000, by uniting the most progressive farms from Zemgale. From a few dozen members in the first year of the company, LATRAPS has grown into the largest agricultural company in the country, uniting farms from all regions of Latvia. LATRAPS's main areas of activity are grain and rapeseed trade and export, provision of agricultural raw materials to farmers, sale of agricultural machinery, crop insurance, fuel trade, freight transportation and other services necessary for successful agriculture. Currently, LATRAPS unites 1,119 farmers from all over Latvia. LATRAPS is proud to be the 1,00% Latvian agricultural company. The cooperative continues to grow, raising the welfare of Latvian farmers and promoting the development of the industry and the rural environment.