Moelven to Discontinue Sawmill Operations in Årjäng, Sweden

Moelven Årjäng Såg AB recently announced that it has decided to discontinue sawmill operations in Årjäng, Sweden. The company said the decision reflects challenging conditions in the sawmill industry and the need to use timber raw material as efficiently as possible.

Moelven said several measures had been implemented to improve profitability, but the company was unable to establish the financial conditions needed to continue operations on a long-term sustainable basis. It cited geopolitical unrest, high raw material costs relative to finished goods prices, and inflation as factors weighing on industry profitability.

Moelven will offer support to affected employees as the closure process begins, starting with union negotiations.

In a statement, Moelven Timber President Anders Lindh said:

“We have implemented several changes to strengthen the profitability of the business, and the employees at Moelven Årjäng Såg have done everything they could based on the conditions that exist. Despite this, we have not succeeded in creating the financial conditions required for the Group to be able to continue its operations in a long-term sustainable manner.

The sawmill industry has been in a challenging market situation for several years. Geopolitical unrest, high raw material costs in relation to finished goods prices and inflation have affected profitability in the industry. We must focus on what we can influence. With the conditions that prevail today, we need to concentrate timber consumption on the facilities where we have invested and which have the best conditions to be competitive in the long term.”