Forester, forest owners' cooperative

What Forester, forest owners' cooperative does

Meža īpašnieku kooperatīvs Mežsaimnieks is a member-owned forest owners' cooperative founded in 2011 in Kuldīga, Latvia, providing full-cycle private forest management services. As of April 15, 2026, the cooperative has 1,242 members managing 22,971 hectares of forest land across Latvia via three regional offices in Kuldīga (Kurzeme, headquarters), Valmiera (Vidzeme), and Rēzekne (Latgale). It is recognized as the first and largest forest owners' cooperative in Latvia, modeled on the Nordic tradition of forest-owner cooperation.

The cooperative's service portfolio comprises six pillars: (1) forest consulting, (2) timber harvesting (mežizstrāde), (3) silviculture (mežkopība), (4) centralized seedling procurement, (5) timber trading (koksnes tirdzniecība), and (6) EU project documentation. Supporting digital infrastructure includes the 'Mans mežsaimnieks' member portal that tracks timber sales, volumes, prices, and logging progress in real time and is linked to the cooperative's accounting system; the 'Cirsmas ieņēmumu kalkulācija' cutting-revenue calculator; a regional wood market price reporting service; and an emerging drone-based young forest stand monitoring system developed with Riga Technical University under an ELFLA project. The cooperative integrates with the State Forest Service's LVM GEO forest planning system and aggregates demand across approximately 1,242 members to negotiate bilateral supply contracts with buyers including AS Latvijas Finieris for birch veneer logs.

Commercially, the cooperative earns revenue primarily through transaction-based commissions on member timber sales (2-3 EUR/m3 plus 2% of sales value, scaled by volume), area-based fees for silvicultural work organization (35 EUR/ha), unit fees for EU project documentation (40 EUR per forest management plan, 20 EUR per Rural Support Service application), one-time membership fees (70 EUR), and share capital contributions (1.42 EUR per share, up to 568 EUR per member for the first 100 hectares). Reported turnover reached approximately 10.2-11.0 million EUR in 2022 and 2024, with timber sales volume of 140,386 m3 in 2023. Major upstream and downstream counterparties include AS Latvijas valsts meži, Lithuanian State Forests, Polish private nurseries, AS Latvijas Finieris, and various sawmills and ports; the cooperative also relies materially on ELFLA, Forest Development Fund, and Erasmus+ project funding for capability development.

Name

Forester, forest owners' cooperative

Legal name

Mežsaimniecības pakalpojumu kooperatīvā sabiedrība "Mežsaimnieks"

Website

https://mezsaimnieks.lv

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mežsaimnieks is Latvia's first and largest forest owners' cooperative, providing full-cycle private forest management — consulting, timber trading, harvesting, silviculture, seedling procurement, and EU project support — to 1,242 members managing 22,971 hectares through regional offices in Kuldīga, Valmiera, and Rēzekne.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Forestry Services / Private Forest Management

NAICS

Timber Tract Operations (11311), Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Logging (11331)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Timberland Asset Management (Institutional/Private) (AFAMAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Timberland Asset Management & Consulting (AFAMAAAI), Forest Management & Silviculture Services (Cruising, Planning, Compliance) (IMAMAAAD), Timberland & Forestry Properties Brokerage (BPAJADAC)

Keywords

• Forest management services
• Timber trading
• Silviculture services
• Private forestry cooperative
• EU forestry funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Kuldiga

HQ country

Latvia

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Timber Trading Commission: The cooperative organizes timber harvesting, sorting, transport, and sale on behalf of members. For fully cooperative-organized harvesting, deductions are: up to 200 m3 - individual agreement; 200-500 m3: 3 EUR/m3 + 2% of total timber sales sum; above 500 m3: 2.50 EUR/m3 + 2% of total timber sales sum. For member-organized harvesting where cooperative only purchases finished assortments at roadside: up to 200 m3: 2 EUR/m3 + 2%; 200-500 m3: 1.75 EUR/m3 + 2%; above 500 m3: 1.50 EUR/m3 + 2%. Additional bonuses from buyers for delivery volume agreements may be passed to members.
2. Forest Management Services: Organization and supervision of silvicultural works (planting, soil preparation, seedling protection, tending). Fee is 35 EUR/ha + VAT for organization and supervision. Stumpage residue chipping and sales organization: 1 EUR/ber.m3.
3. EU Project Documentation: Preparation of European Union forestry project documentation for members including forest management plans (40 EUR + VAT per document), applications to Rural Support Service (20 EUR + VAT), and surveying and sketch preparation (35 EUR/ha + VAT, minimum 50 EUR + VAT).
4. Membership Fees: One-time membership fee of 70 EUR per member (non-refundable). Share capital contributions: 4 shares (1.42 EUR each) per hectare where main felling is permitted, 1 share per hectare where main felling is not permitted, up to 100 hectares maximum. Share capital is refunded upon exit.
5. Seedling Procurement: The cooperative aggregates members' seedling needs and procures collectively from suppliers including AS Latvijas valsts mezi (Latvian State Forests), Lithuanian State Forests, and private nurseries in Poland. Revenue is embedded in the price spread on bulk purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Mežsaimnieks is a member-owned cooperative that provides full-cycle private forest management services to its 1,242 member forest owners across Latvia. Its core offerings comprise six integrated service pillars: forest consulting, timber harvesting organization (mežizstrāde), silviculture (mežkopība), centralized bulk seedling procurement, collective timber trading (koksnes tirdzniecība), and EU-funded project documentation. Members access on-site forestry operations supervised by regional foresters (mežkopji) and logging masters (mežizstrādes meistari), consolidated timber sales to large buyers such as AS Latvijas Finieris, and digital tracking of every sale via the 'Mans mežsaimnieks' member portal.

Product overview

Mežsaimnieks is a forest owners' cooperative providing a full-cycle forest management service to its members across Latvia. The offering is structured as a comprehensive suite of integrated services organized around six core pillars: (1) Forest consulting — expert advice on all aspects of forest management delivered by qualified forestry specialists, often funded through EU projects; (2) Forest harvesting (Mežizstrāde) — the full timber extraction cycle including felling, bucking, forwarding, and transport, or coordination of timber sales for self-harvesting members; (3) Silviculture (Mežkopība) — tending services including planting, weeding, protection, and young stand thinning, organized through vetted contractors; (4) Seedling procurement (Stādu iegāde) — annual centralized bulk purchasing of seedlings through partnerships with LVM, Lithuanian state forests, and Polish private nurseries; (5) Timber trading (Koksnes tirdzniecība) — purchase and resale of ready-prepared timber and harvesting residues, leveraging collective volume for better member prices; and (6) EU project support (Eiropas projekti) — preparation of full documentation for EU-funded forestry measures. Supporting the service portfolio are digital tools including the 'Mans mežsaimnieks' member portal for tracking harvesting operations and settlements, the Cirsmas ieņēmumu kalkulācija online calculator for estimating site revenues, and the Koksnes tirgus cenu apskats market intelligence service providing regional timber price statistics. The cooperative also participates in emerging drone-based monitoring technology developed with RTU for automated seedling stand assessment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forest Consulting (Meža konsultēšana) Qualified forestry specialists provide consultations on forest regeneration, tending, afforestation, and harvesting questions. Available free to members (currently funded by an EU project) and on a case-by-case basis to non-members.
• Forest Harvesting (Mežizstrāde) Full timber extraction cycle for members: felling preparation, documentation, tree felling and bucking, forwarding to landing, and transport to buyers. The cooperative performs the full cycle, or coordinates timber sales for members who self-organize harvesting.
• Silviculture (Mežkopība) Forest tending services including regeneration/afforestation, agrotechnical tending (weeding), wildlife damage protection, and young stand thinning. Organized via the cooperative's selected contractors and supervised by regional foresters.
• Seedling Procurement (Stādu iegāde) Annual centralized bulk procurement of forest seedlings for members through partnerships with AS Latvijas valsts meži, Lithuanian state forests, and private Polish nurseries, ensuring consistent high-quality supply at aggregated pricing.
• Timber Trading (Koksnes tirdzniecība) Collective purchase and resale of ready-prepared timber and harvesting residues (branches) from landing sites. The cooperative acts as a regular supplier to timber buyers (sawmills, ports, processing plants), enabling members to receive better prices through aggregated volume — including an exclusive partnership with AS Latvijas Finieris for birch veneer logs.
• European Projects (Eiropas projekti) Preparation of complete documentation for EU-funded forestry projects including forest management plans (€40 + VAT), Rural Support Service applications (€20 + VAT), and organization of eligible silvicultural works (soil preparation, seedling procurement, planting, tending).

Quantifiable outcome

• Timber sales volume grew from 19,726 m3 (2015) to 140,386 m3 (2023), demonstrating the cooperative's increasing market presence and member trust.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• AS Latvijas FinieriscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2024Strategic partnership for birch veneer log sales. The cooperative exclusively sells birch veneer logs to AS Latvijas Finieris, securing prices significantly higher than offered by other buyers in Latvia or neighboring countries. This partnership provides cooperative members with premium pricing for their birch timber, with prices around 105 EUR/m3 (Vidzeme/Kurzeme) and 100 EUR/m3 (Latgale), plus transport compensation bringing effective prices to 110-115 EUR/m3 and 105-110 EUR/m3 respectively.
• AS Latvijas valsts meži (Latvian State Forests)coreTechnology or IntegrationAnnual seedling procurement partnership. The cooperative reserves seedlings in advance from AS Latvijas valsts meži for its members' reforestation needs. Also uses the LVM GEO forest planning system developed by LVM for forest stand data management and work planning.
• Lietuvas valsts meži (Lithuanian State Forests)supportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupplier of forest seedlings for cooperative members, alongside AS Latvijas valsts meži and private nurseries in Poland.
• Latvijas Lauksaimniecības kooperatīvu asociācija (Latvian Agricultural Cooperatives Association)supportingOthersThe cooperative is a member of this association, which represents agricultural cooperatives in Latvia.
• Latvijas Meža īpašnieku biedrība (Latvian Forest Owners' Association)supportingOthersThe cooperative is a member of this association representing forest owners in Latvia.
• Latvijas Kokmateriālu pārdevēju biedrība (Latvian Timber Sellers' Association)supportingOthersThe cooperative is a member of this association representing timber sellers in Latvia.
• Riga Technical University (RTU)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in ELFLA project for automated drone-based monitoring of young forest stand quality and tending work control. The project uses drones and artificial intelligence algorithms to provide fast, objective, and cost-effective assessment of young forest conditions. Mežsaimnieks contributes practical expertise to the project.
• Latvijas Valsts mežzinātnes institūts Silava (Latvian State Forest Research Institute)supportingOthersCollaboration in Erasmus+ project 'Network for Educated European Forest Owners' (EFO) and Meža attistibas fonda projects. Silava authored the forest owners' handbook developed as part of these projects.
• Private Tree Nurseries in PolandsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupplementary seedling suppliers for cooperative members, in addition to AS Latvijas valsts meži and Lithuanian State Forests.
• Forest Development Fund (Meža attistibas fonds)supportingOthersMultiple projects funded by the Forest Development Fund in 2016, 2017, and 2019, focusing on forest owner education and cooperation.
• ELFLA (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development)coreOthersPrimary funding source for cooperative development projects, producer group formation, knowledge transfer, cooperation initiatives, digital tool development (mobile app, forest work portal), drone monitoring systems, and consultation services for members. Multiple ELFLA projects ongoing.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mellanskog: Mellanskog is one of Sweden's largest forest owners' cooperatives, providing members with timber trading, forest management, and advisory services. It is the closest direct peer to Mežsaimnieks in terms of the cooperative-owned-by-forest-owners model, Nordic-style service stack (silviculture, harvesting, timber sales), and aggregated member pricing model.
• Norra Skogsägarna: Norra is a Swedish forest owners' economic association (cooperative-like structure) representing thousands of private forest owners and providing timber trading, forestry services, and member benefits. Highly comparable to Mežsaimnieks' member-owned service model.
• Sydved: Sydved is a Swedish forest owners' association providing timber purchasing, harvesting organization, and forestry advisory services to private forest owners. Directly comparable cooperative-style member-service business model in the Baltic/Nordic tradition that Mežsaimnieks follows.

Broad incumbents

• UPM-Kymmene (UPM): UPM is a Finnish forest industry group historically rooted in a forest owners' cooperative structure, now operating globally in pulp, paper, biofuels, and forestry. It overlaps with Mežsaimnieks at the forestry/wood-supply layer and represents the scaled, industrial end of the cooperative-forestry value chain.
• Holmen: Holmen is a Swedish forest industry group with origins tied to Swedish forest-owner associations, managing its own forest estates and operating sawmills and paperboard production. It overlaps with Mežsaimnieks in private-forest management philosophy and timber sourcing, but at vastly larger industrial scale.
• Stora Enso: Stora Enso is one of the largest private forest owners globally, with roots in a Swedish-Finnish forest owners' cooperative tradition, and a major buyer of roundwood and pulpwood. It is a broad incumbent counterpart to Mežsaimnieks and a downstream buyer of comparable roundwood.
• SCA (Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget): SCA is a major Swedish forest owner and forest products company with strong roots in the Swedish forest-owner cooperative tradition. It owns large forest estates, runs industrial operations, and serves as a broad incumbent peer and potential buyer of roundwood in the Nordic forestry value chain.
• AS Latvijas valsts meži (LVM): AS Latvijas valsts meži is the Latvian state-owned forest manager, the country's largest forest owner and manager, and a partner/supplier of seedlings to Mežsaimnieks. It is a broad incumbent operating in the same Latvian forestry market with overlapping silviculture and timber-trading activities but on a much larger state-owned asset base.
• Metsä Group: Metsä Group is a Finnish forest industry group owned by Finnish forest owners through Metsäliitto cooperative, with operations spanning wood supply, pulp, paperboard, and biomaterials. It represents a deeply analogous cooperative-rooted model in a more mature, larger market — relevant as a strategic and structural reference point for Mežsaimnieks' longer-term trajectory.

Others

• Latvijas Meža īpašnieku biedrība (Latvian Forest Owners' Association): LMIB is the industry association representing private forest owners in Latvia, of which Mežsaimnieks is a member. It is not a direct service competitor but an adjacent ecosystem player — Mežsaimnieks both belongs to and serves a parallel representational role for forest owners.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Forester, forest owners' cooperative