During a visit to the high-tech company Light Guide Optics International in Līvāni, specialists from the Latgale Planning Region and the Latgale Special Economic Zone (Latgale SEZ) administration confirmed that the decision taken three years ago to implement a large-scale investment project within the special economic zone has become one of the most prominent examples of industrial development in Latgale.
The investment agreement signed on 9 November 2022—at the time the largest in the history of the Latgale SEZ—marked a new stage of development for both the company and the Latgale SEZ. Today, this decision has materialised in a modern production facility featuring cleanrooms that meet the highest standards for medical product manufacturing, state-of-the-art technologies, and a rapidly growing team of highly qualified specialists.
Over the past three years, the company has implemented the investment project “Expansion of Production Capacity of the Medical Fiber Bundles Unit”, creating additional production premises through the reconstruction of the former medical unit building. The project included the adaptation of premises to ensure the production process and compliance with medical product manufacturing standards, as well as the acquisition of new technical equipment. The total value of the investment project amounts to nearly EUR 17 million.
Light Guide Optics International is one of the world’s leading companies in the development and manufacturing of silicon dioxide optical fibers and fiber-optic products. The optical fibers produced by the company are used in the manufacturing of minimally invasive medical instruments, as well as in industrial and scientific equipment. More than 99% of the company’s production is exported to countries such as the United States, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Germany, and others.
The Chairman of the Management Board of Light Guide Optics International, Daumants Pfafrods, emphasises that the new production facility symbolically connects the company’s origins with its future ambitions:
“At the moment, we are standing in the newest production hall that has been commissioned. This is the building where we started our operations back in 2004. Today, it has been expanded, revitalised, and transformed into a highly modern manufacturing facility with excellent cleanrooms, elegant design, and advanced technologies, which gives me great satisfaction.”
He notes that the company’s growth in recent years has been particularly rapid:
“This year alone, we have created more than 40 new jobs, and we are currently working on projects that could potentially result in more than 500 new jobs in Līvāni. This is both a great achievement and a challenge at the same time, for example in terms of the availability of housing in Līvāni.”
Daumants Pfafrods also highlights the importance of regional policy:
“It is important that both the state and financial institutions focus more on the regions, not only on Riga. GDP per capita in Līvāni Municipality is among the highest in the country, and a unique environment has developed here where high-tech industries are growing successfully.”
The Future of Latgale as a High-Tech Region and the Role of Human Capital
The Chairman of the Development Council of the Latgale Planning Region, Aldis Adamovičs, notes that Light Guide Optics International is a vivid example of Latgale’s competitiveness at the global level. Over the past years, more than EUR 30 million has been invested in the company, new production facilities have been established, and the average salary has reached approximately EUR 3,500, creating high value-added jobs in the region.
At the same time, Aldis Adamovičs emphasises that further growth is closely linked to the development of human capital:
“In the future, the company will require an increasing number of highly qualified employees. Therefore, we encourage young people in Latgale and throughout Latvia to purposefully pursue education in STEM fields—engineering, natural sciences, and technologies. Knowledge and skills in these areas are the foundation that enables new high-tech manufacturing facilities to operate at full capacity, and they also encourage people with such education to return to the Latgale region from abroad.”
Architectural Excellence as Part of the Development Story
The company’s development and the quality of its new production building have also been recognised at the national level within the architectural profession. In 2025, the reconstruction project of the production building and surrounding area of Light Guide Optics International in Līvāni received the Final Jury Award of the Latvian Architecture Annual Award 2025, becoming one of the three Grand Prize laureates in Latvia.
The project was designed by architect Antra Saknīte (Mindaro Arch), and the jury evaluated it as a well-considered, functionally and aesthetically outstanding solution for a high-tech manufacturing environment. As the architect has emphasised, the overarching goal of the project was to create an energetic and convincing benchmark for both interior and exterior workspaces that encourages employees to remain with the company in the long term.
This recognition confirms that investments in Latgale are being implemented not only with high technological and economic ambition, but also with architectural quality that is competitive at both national and international levels.
The operation of Light Guide Optics International within the Latgale SEZ demonstrates that the selected investment mechanisms are effective in the long term—fostering innovation, exports, and the creation of high-quality jobs, while strengthening Latgale’s position as one of Latvia’s key centres for high-tech development.
Since the establishment of the Latgale SEZ, 98 investment agreements have been concluded in the territory of the Latgale SEZ, with a total investment volume of EUR 112.7 million, providing for the creation of at least 748 new jobs. Currently, 39 companies operate within the Latgale SEZ, covering a total area of 156.25 hectares, and 687 new jobs have already been created.
Additional Information
Latgale SEZ Administration
Email: lsez@lpr.gov.lv
Phone: +371 29957750
