News in international markets


Swedish Sawmills Set New Production Records in 2021

According to a press release from Swedish Wood, a publication that represents the Swedish sawmill industry and is part of the Swedish Forest Industries Federation, 2021 was a record year for Swedish sawmill production. The expectations for 2021 of 18.8 million cubic meters were exceeded, and the year ended at just over 19 million cubic meters of production.

Ireland’s Forest Crisis Continues to Grow

According to the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), Ireland’s forest industry remains in crisis. Delays in issuing licenses needed to plant, harvest, and transport trees to facilities for processing have been ongoing for over three years. The bottleneck is hitting house building, slowing the supply of timber and forcing many to import lumber. It has also contributed to the rise in the costs of new homes.

Al Talah Board Company Producing OSB from Recycled Date Palm Tree Waste in the UAE

Al Talah Board Company, with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), produced its first branded “Desert Board” OSB on December 14th, 2021. The Desert Board was produced in a new Dieffenbacher plant, which is using recycled date palm tree waste to manufacture the OSB boards. Al Talah Board contracted with Dieffenbacher in 2019 to create the unique OSB plant.

HS Timber Group GmbH Announces the Restructuring of its Romanian Operations in the Suceava Region

Parts of the operations in Rădăuți, specifically the sawmilling operations, will cease. However, the production of posts and beams at the site will remain in operation. The panel plant in Siret, which processes sawn timber from the Rădăuți mill, will be closed down in its entirety. With this step, the cutting capacity of HS Timber Group’s sawmills in Romania will be reduced by 30%.

Jartek Invest Oy to Provide New Green and Dry Sorting Lines to Segezha Group’s JSC Onezhsky LDK Wood Processing Facility in Arkhangelsk, Russia

Jartek Invest Oy, a leading supplier in Finnish sawmilling technology, has announced that it has just signed a contract to deliver green and dry sorting lines to Segezha Group as part of a large-scale modernization of their JSC Onezhsky LDK wood processing facility in the Arkhangelsk region of Russia. The new lines will make the operation more efficient and help to develop wood processing and improve product quality.

Binderholz Group Completes Acquisition of British BSW Timber Company

Binderholz UK Holding GmbH, a subsidiary of the Austrian Binderholz Group, is reporting that it has successfully completed the acquisition of the British BSW Timber Company, based in Earlston, Scotland. With the purchase, Binderholz Group becomes Europe’s largest sawmill and solid wood processing industry company. It is estimated that with the acquisition Binderholz Group, in 2022, will have a cumulative annual turnover of €2.6 billion and around 5,000 employees.

Segezha Group’s Sokol Plant Earns Conformité Européenne (CE) Certification for CLT Panels

The Segezha is reporting that their Sokol CLT plant has successfully passed its Conformité Européenne (CE) certification for its cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. The CE certificate was obtained after a field audit performed by employees of HolzForschung Austria, the largest Austrian wood research and testing institute. The certificate confirms that the enterprise has deployed modern practices to verify that the quality of its products meets European requirements.