Södra Timber is nearly trebling production at its Värö mill, with production equipment purchased from Klausner’s year-old plant in Adelebsen, Germany.
Currently Värö’s output is 275,000m³ a year. Following the expansion it will be 750,000m³.
As part of the deal with Klausner, Södra says that the two will also form a “marketing partnership” in their main markets.
The Swedish company announced plans for its giant new plant late last year.
“With the investment in Värö, we get a cost-effective, flexible mill,” said Södra CEO Leif Brodén. “This strengthens our competitiveness in both the timber and raw materials markets.”
He said work at Värö would begin in the summer, with production due to start next spring. Klausner technicians will be responsible for the transfer of equipment and start-up of the plant.
The German company’s Holz Niedersachsen mill in Adelebsen is one of the industry’s biggest recession casualties. The pine and spruce facility ranked as one of the largest in Europe and had annual planing capacity of 900,000m³.
Klausner CEO Leopold Stephan said the company regretted the closure. “But existing timber [demand] volume is not enough to supply capacity,” he said. “There was no other choice.”
Owner Fritz Klausner said he was looking forward to working with Södra. “We complement each other and a joint approach to sales and logistics in our main markets will provide value to all stakeholders,” he said.
