P R E S S
R E L E A S E
SCA TIMBER AB
Communications
SE-851 88 SUNDSVALL
Tel + 46 60 19 30 00
Fax +46 60 19 31 75
www.scatimber.com
SCA to close the Vilhelmina and Holmsund sawmills
SCA will terminate production in the sawmills in Vilhelmina and Holmsund in Northern
Sweden. This means that 98 employees at the two sawmills will become redundant.
”We experience what are the most severe conditions for Swedish sawmill industry in 40
years”, says Jonas Mårtensson, president of SCA Timber. “The demand for sawn timber
products is weak and prices are low. At the same time the price for raw material remains
high. Finally we have a currency situation that is challenging for Swedish forest industry. This
means that we need to cut down production and concentrate our operations to the most
competitive units. Vilhelmina and Holmsund are our two smallest sawmills and the ones with
the weakest profitability.”
SCA’s sawmill in Vilhelmina has a production of 115,000 cubic metres of Nordic spruce
wood products. Vilhelmina also has value adding operations in the form of 30,000 cubic
metres of planed wood products. The sawmill has 45 blue-collar and 8 white-collar
employees.
Holmsund sawmill outside Umeå has a production of close to 90,000 cubic metres of Nordic
pine wood products. The sawmill has 43 blue-collar and 2 white-collar employees.
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“We plan to close the two sawmills permanently from July 1 next year”, says Jonas
Mårtensson. “We will do whatever we can for the staff that now will lose their jobs, but our
options are very limited. We will cooperate with the local communities and other authorities
for limiting the consequences and we will contribute if we can to introduce other business on
the two sites.”
SCA TIMBER is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of wood-based products, with an annual
production of 2.2 million cubic metres. The product range is supplemented with service and distribution
solutions for customers in the wood industry and builders’ merchant sector.
SCA Timber is part of SCA’s Forest Products business area, which produces publication papers for
newspapers, magazines and catalogues, as well as pulp and renewable energy. SCA Forest Products
also manages SCA's extensive forest holding and supplies SCA's Swedish industries with wood raw
materials, in addition to offering cost-efficient transport solutions to SCA's units.
P R E S S
R E L E A S E
2
SCA TIMBER AB
Communications
SE-851 88 SUNDSVALL
Tel + 46 60 19 30 00
Fax +46 60 19 31 75
www.scatimber.com
Since 2004 SCA has invested SEK 1.8 billion in its sawmill operations.
“We strongly believe in the future for solid wood products”, says Jonas Mårtensson. “But we
need to have competitive sawmills in par with the best mills among our competitors. We
have invested almost two billion kronor in eight years, but we have been forced to develop
some sawmills while others have been held back. There is not wood raw material enough for
all sawmills to develop and we have had to focus our efforts on the ones with the best
prospects. It is important for the forest owners that the wood raw material is used by the
sawmills that can fully utilize it and thereby over the long term pay the best price for the
timber.”
Sundsvall, 4 December 2012
SCA TIMBER AB
Communications
For further information please contact
Jonas Mårtensson, president SCA Timber, tel. +46 60-19 32 58
Björn Lyngfelt, VP communications SCA Forest Products, tel +46 60-19 34 98