Egger has announced it is interested in acquiring the closed Swiss Timber sawmill in Domat/Ems.
The mill is the largest in Switzerland and was operated by Mayr-Melnhof before its recent bankruptcy.
Several other players are believed to be interested in the assets of the mill, though Egger’s plan is to re-open the mill and continue production as before.
Egger is primarily a wood-based panel producer but it opened a softwood sawmill in Brilon in 2008 and recently combined its OSB and solid timber operations under the new division Egger Building Products.
A lack of timber supply was one of the reasons Domat/Ems closed but Egger is proposing a new pricing model to forest owners aimed at providing security for both parties. The model is similar to a fixed-rate mortgage and allows forest owners to calculate their long-term sales and eliminate market risks.
Egger said it would be able to use the whole part of the log, with chips being transported to its St Johann mill for use panel production.
An Egger spokesperson told TTJ that the company would make a decision on making an offer by the end of June. One of the conditions would be a binding commitment of log supplies of 150,000m³ from the Grisons region and a similar volume from the rest of Switzerland.
