Twenty years ago, Caljan Liepaja started with six people welding components and a practical task: to support the Group’s growing manufacturing needs. What happened next became much more than a production story.
Today, as Caljan Liepaja marks its 20th anniversary in Latvia, the site stands as Caljan Group’s largest manufacturing and engineering centre, and one of Europe’s most significant telescopic conveyor production facilities.
The story behind that growth starts even earlier, with an idea in Denmark that solved the dock.
The idea that changed logistics operations
Caljan’s story began in Denmark in the 1960s when the company developed its first Telescopic Conveyor, a solution that redefined trailer loading and unloading across the logistics industry. As the business grew, Caljan sought a new location to scale its conveyor manufacturing capacity. That search led the team to Liepaja in 2006.
Initially, the decision was practical. Liepaja offered a way to produce more efficiently. However, the site quickly proved it could offer much more. Work began in an old meat-processing plant, where a small team of six people welded components that were then shipped to Denmark. Within just two years, the team had shifted from welding individual parts to designing and constructing complete equipment, laying the foundation for what would become a fully integrated telescopic conveyor factory.
Full technical ownership and a thousand units a year
Around 2018, a technical department was formed to focus on the standard design of telescopic conveyors. By 2019, the Latvian site had taken full technical responsibility for the Classic and RollerLoader Telescopic Conveyor models.
Soon after, R&D became part of the site’s work, helping develop new telescopic conveyor solutions. This new responsibility came with higher output. In one year, the site produced more than a thousand telescopic conveyor units.
2025: The year Caljan Liepaja doubled down
In 2025, the Caljan Technology Centre opened in Liepaja. To support informed decisions about logistics automation, the centre gives current and potential customers the chance to experience Caljan solutions in real working conditions.
That same year, production capacity doubled, and more than 60 new colleagues joined the team. The site also received recognition from the Liepaja Special Economic Zone for its contribution to sustainable workforce development and practical education. The people of Liepaja named Caljan the “Most Progressive Technology Company in Liepaja.”
Caljan Liepaja today: the Group’s largest manufacturing and engineering centre
Today, the team has grown to 326 people and counting. Alongside manufacturing and engineering, the location now includes sales support, aftermarket, marketing, IT, digitalisation and sustainability functions.
The full 20-year story now has its own anniversary page. It brings together the moments, decisions, and innovations that shaped Caljan Liepaja from a small production setup into one of Europe’s most significant telescopic conveyor production facilities.