Södra's New Sawmill Provides Benefits for Värö Pulp Mill
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The new Södra Timber Värö facility in Sweden was inaugurated this week by Swedish Minister for Trade Ewa Björling. A key part of the project is the location of the new sawmill adjacent to Södra's Värö pulp mill. The combination with the pulp mill offers unique coordination opportunities between Södra Cell and Södra Timber, the company notes.
Through its subsidiary Södra Timber, the Södra Forestry Group has invested SEK 1 billion in the new sawmill in Värö which has been relocated from Germany.
The combined facility generates cost advantages in terms of energy, wood chip transport, and overheads. The pulp mill will provide energy for the sawmill, while receiving 30% of its wood chip requirements for pulp production from the sawmill. Another benefit is the proximity to rail lines, the E6 European Highway, and the harbour in Varberg. The sawmill will use about 1.5 million m3 of timber at full capacity, thus requiring a large harvesting area, from Skaraborg and Dalsland in the north of Sweden to Oskarström in the south. Due to the long distances involved, rail transportation of logs will be used where possible.
The new sawmill is one of the largest and most modern in Europe and represents an investment that will increase competitiveness in terms of both the market and raw material, the company says. The sawmill has created new job opportunities and will also generate employment in the forestry and transport sectors. The project involved replacing an existing sawmill in Värö, resulting in a threefold increase in production at Värö to 750,000 m3.
The following photo shows the interior of Södra‘s new facility at Värö.
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