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

HS Timber Group GmbH, a long-established wood processing company of Austrian origin, announced today (1-18-22) the restructuring of its operations in the Romanian region of Suceava starting at the end of Q1 2022.

According to the announcement, 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%.

HS Timber said that one of the primary reasons for the restructuring is the ever-increasing challenges in wood production in Romania. The purchase of Romanian roundwood has been restricted for HS Timber Group since 2016. Ukraine and Russia are not available markets for raw material purchases, due to export bans in force there.

Furthermore, pending modernization of railway infrastructure in the region, as well as laborious import bureaucracy, make timber imports from other member states of the European Union challenging. In addition, the production of green energy and selling of green certificates has been made more difficult.

Larger investments are required at the Siret site, which are not economically feasible under the current framework conditions.

HS Timber Group GmbH will continue to operate two sawmills and one blockboard factory at other locations in Romania, which will employ approximately 2,400 people. These factories are not affected by the restructuring and will be further strengthened.