Swedish forest owners association Södra has announced that it is investing around SEK 35 million (≈ EUR 3.6 million) in a new biomass boiler and drying facility at its small-diameter sawmill in Orrefors, Sweden.
According to a statement from Södra Wood, the sawn wood business area of Swedish forest owners association Södra, the investment will enable future lumber production increases. The contract has been awarded to Fröseke Industriservice AB with the new boiler and dry kiln chambers slated to be operational in 2018.
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 kiln dryers. The two existing biomass boilers that currently serve the sawmill are to be replaced by a new, larger 6 MW biomass boiler, over double the current thermal capacity of 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, said Lindquist.
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. Presented in June 2016, the restructuring programme includes an SEK 200 million (≈ EUR 20.44 million) investment package at the sawmills in Långasjö, Värö and Orrefors.
Fakta
About Södra Wood
Södra Wood is one of the largest solid wood products producers in Sweden and currently operates six sawmills in Sweden and one in Finland the process over 3.9 million m3 sub of sawlogs producing around 1.9 million m3 sawn wood annually. Of this, around 1.3 million m3 is subject to further processing in seven planing facilities in Sweden, Norway and Lithuania that produce a range of wood products for indoor use, such as mouldings, panelling and flooring, with mouldings as the primary product along.
