HS Timber Group to build new Belarus sawmill

A groundbreaking ceremony on the project was held on December 18, 2020.

The mill is planned to be completed in spring 2022 and it will feature a cutting capacity of 500,000m3 coniferous roundwood per year - corresponding to an estimated 10% increase of overall production capacity of the Austria-based HS Timber Group. It will also employ around 230 workers.

The planning process for the mill, which will focus on further processing and connected pelleting, has taken three years and construction is now beginning in Svisloch.

HS Timber Group said the availability of spruce and pine raw material is favourable in Belarus, while the mill will also complement the group’s existing production sites in Germany and Romania.

“It offers excellent connection to the Polish port of Gdansk,” the group said. “Moreover, the connection to the European and Russian rail systems provides important strategic advantages.”

HS Timber Group has seven existing sawmill sites.