News in international markets

Donaldson Group, a Scottish timber specialist that was founded in 1860 and continues to be operated by the original owner’s family, has announced that they have bought the timber frame arm of housebuilder Stewart Milne for an undisclosed sum. Milne put the business division up for sale in October as part of an ongoing restructuring and refinancing process by the Scottish homebuilder.

The Mayr-Melnhof Holz Holding Group, one of the leading companies in the European sawmilling and engineered wood products industry, has signed an agreement to acquire the Swedish sawmill group Bergkvist Siljan from ESSVP IV. This continues the consistent expansion and growth strategy of the Austrian wood-processing group.

UPM, a frontrunner in the forestry industry providing renewable solutions for various end-uses, has announced that it intends to invest 10 million Euros in the development of their plywood mill in Joensuu, Finland. The investment now being made is a continuation of the development projects of recent years at UPM Joensuu mill.

Greenlam Industries, Asia’s largest laminate manufacturing company, announced today (12-13-21) that is planning on investing Rs 959 crore over the next 2–3 years to set up a third laminate plant. It will also venture into the plywood and particleboard business. The company says the expansion will help move the company from being a decorative surfacing manufacturer to a leading player in the wood panel industry.

New Zealand’s forestry industry continues deal with significant declines in the demand for export logs. China remains New Zealand’s largest customer for logs. Chinese construction companies, several with copious amounts of debt, are teetering on failure, without government intervention. As a result, the expectation for construction activity in China in 2022, is approximately 20% or more below 2021 levels.

China is New Zealand’s largest overseas market for logs. Currently, China accounts for 70-90% of all log exports. Earlier this year, log prices were at near record high levels in New Zealand. In November, the price of logs had sunk to lows not seen since late 2015. The lower prices have resulted in a significantly reduced number of logs heading to ports.

Holmen has announced they are investing 400 million SEK in their Iggesund Sawmill. The investment will increase production at the sawmill by 20% and will enable the mill to switch from lower grade joinery spruce to construction timber in both spruce and pine. This will increase the value added and improve the market mix by increasing the share sold to Scandinavian builders’ merchants.