Södra Wood Announces Changes to Its Industrial Structure to Further Strengthen Competitiveness

Södra Wood, Sweden’s largest forest owners association and an international forest industry group, announced on Wednesday that the company was changing its industrial structure to further strengthen its competitiveness. Södra said it would consolidate its sawn timber operations to achieve economies of scale by relocating production volumes to its larger production units.

According to the press release, in recent years, Södra has experienced major external changes that have affected the market for wood raw material, while demand for sawn timber has slowed.

To strengthen and future-proof Södra Wood’s competitiveness, the industrial structure will be changed in 2024 and the units in Åtvidaberg and Ramkvilla will be closed down. The unit in Klevshult will be converted to a processing unit developed towards planing, and the sawmill operations will be discontinued. Parts of Södra’s unit in Torsås will be closed down and the remainder put up for sale. The assessment is that these changes will make 61 employees redundant, Södra said.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Marcus Åsgärde, President of the Södra Wood business area, said:

“We operate in a competitive industry where it is important to keep our eyes on the horizon and work with continuous improvement. This decision has been made to strengthen our position and to gradually build up an even more competitive operation, where the offering to Södra Wood’s customers is at least as attractive tomorrow as it is today. It is always difficult when a change affects employees, and we will offer the best possible support to those affected throughout the process.”