THE PEAT FACTORY IN LIEPAJA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00047R000400220003-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 29, 2013
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: March 17, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/04/29 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400220003-9
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION REPORT CD NO.
COUNTRY USSR (Latvia)
505'6BJECT The Peat Factory in Liepaja
PLACE
ACQUIRED
^'TE
50X..1QU I RED BY SOURCE
DATE OF INFORMATION:
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTINO THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNI WITHIN TUE MEANING OF TITLE IS, SECTIONS 793
AND 794, OF THE U.S. COOS, AS AMENDED. ITS TEASESIESIOS OR ROVE.
LOTION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR NECEIPT SY AN UNAUTHORIZED RRRRRR IS
FRONISITED SY LAW. THE REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PRONIOITIO.
DATE DISTR. / 7 .1%,.far 1954
NO. OF PAGES 2 50X1
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
SOURCE
1.
The name of the peat factory in Liepaja was "Plotse Peat Factory".
It was located 22 kilometers northeast of Liepaja at the 750 rum
gauge railroad Station of Plotse (57 01 NI 21 08 E). The factory
obtained its raw Material from the 200 hectare Vergale bog. The bog
was drained with open ditches and its bottom was approximately 6 meters
above sea level. It was approximately 4 kilometers from the sea.
A narrow-gauge railroad, built on iron ties, was constructed across
the bo ri was about 30 kilometers in length. Dump cars, drawn by
small Diesel locomotives, carried the cut peat to the factory site.
50X1
2. The factory consisted of three sections: the litter peat, insulation
plates, and fuel peat sections. The main output of the factory was
litter peat, used by agricultural and horticultural facilities as a
fertilizer and also used for packing fruit and vegetables. Approximately
25% of the produced litter peat was exported through the Swedish Peat
Trust to Holland, France, and the US. The section for producing litter
peat was housed in a wooden building that had a floor area of approxi-
mately 20 x 50 meters. Peat was ground, screened, dried) and then pressed
into 1 x .60 x .50 meter blocks) each weighing about 60 kilograms. They
were produced on a conveyor line system. The top layer of mossy peat
was used. After it had been cut by hand shovels from a drained bog, it,
was dried by the sun and wind. Prior to the Soviet occupation,
approximately 100,000 blocks were produced each year. The capacity of
the factory, working three shifts, was 250,000 blocks per year.
3. The peat insulation plates were used for construction purposes,
refrigerator insulating and for insulating concrete ceilings and floors.
The plates produced were of the fireproof, moisture-proof, and terite-
proof type. The majority of the termite-proof type plates were exporteia
to India. This section was housed in a brick building and a briekware-
house. A stationary high-pressure steam boiler with a heating surface
of 5,000 square feet was used. The steam-heated drying chambers had a
temperature of plus 200 degree centigrade. Thetinsulation plate shop
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
DISTRIBUTION
Fl
ORR Et/
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/04/29 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400220003-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/04/29 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400220003-9
CONFIDENTIAL
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also had hydraulic presses. Its annual output was approximately
40,000 square meters of plates of various thicknesses. The capacity
of the plate shop was 100,000 square meters a year. Raw material
to produce insulation plates was the to layer of the extracted peat
with a proper chemical admixture.
4. The fuel peat section used only the lower layers of peat. It was
extracted by electric power driven excavators. Fuel peat was produced
mainly for use in factory's insulation plate shop.
5. The enterprise had all the necessary buildings such as warehouses,
repair shops, and office buildings. These were constructed of
brick. Three buildings for seasonal workers, as well as a store,
were built of wood. The management personnel were housed in a three-
story brick apartment building. Some of the workers lived in their
own homes located near the factory.
6. The entire plant employed approximately 800 workers and operated
on two shifts. All of the machinry used was of German origin.
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CONFIDENTIAL
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/04/29 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400220003-9