Södra is Investing About SEK 35 Million

Stockholm, Sweden 29 June 2017 -- At its small-diameter timber sawmill in Orrefors, Södra is investing about SEK 35 million in a new boiler and drying facility, which will enable production increases in the future. The supplier is Fröseke Industriservice AB.

"This investment is necessary for profitability. Currently, there is insufficient boiler capacity, which means we must sell some goods undried. The investment will enable us to increase production and also dry the entire sawn volume," said Jörgen Lindquist, President of the Södra Wood business area.

The limiting factors for the sawmill's capacity are the boilers and wood dryers. The two existing biofuel boilers that currently serve the sawmill are to be replaced by a new, larger biofuel boiler of 6 MW instead of todays 2.5 MW.

"The change of boiler will also enable the simultaneous expansion of wood drying through the addition of six chamber dryers. Following the investment, the sawmill will go from a drying capacity of about 60,000 cubic metres to approximately 105,000 cubic metres," says Jörgen Lindquist.

The new facility will be put into operation in 2018.

Over the past year, Södra has worked intensively to increase the profitability of its sawmill operations by optimising the flows of raw materials to customers and reviewing the sawmill structure. The restructuring programme, which was presented in June last year, includes a SEK 200 million investment package at the sawmills in Långasjö, Värö and Orrefors.