The sawmill was envisioned to, quoting Förbundskontakt no. 3 1966, "ease Östergötland's difficult and price-pressuring log situation." The location to Kisa was not obvious, but since Kisa was a depopulating area, Governor Per Eckerberg was in favor of the sawmill being built there. And so it was.
Extensive project work
The project work for Kind sawmill was extensive. Many different considerations had to be correctly weighed. An important choice was whether to choose frame or band saw. This choice involved many long discussions before deciding on frame saw. The saw was equipped with two lines, one for small wood and the other for wood 8-26 inches. It also received technology to handle mixed species logs, the kilns were dimensioned to dry the entire production, and technology for packaging the sawn product was installed. The timber was to be stored in the adjacent lake to avoid quality deterioration that can occur with land storage.
At full production, Kind sawmill was estimated to have a capacity of approximately 10 cubic meters per hour, or 38,000 cubic meters per year*. Simultaneously, approximately 60 m3 of chips and about 35 m3 of sawdust were planned to be produced per hour. Timber consumption was estimated at about 500 logs per hour. Beyond the 140 people at the sawmill itself, approximately 75 were needed for transportation to and from the sawmill, and the timber needs were expected to employ about 500 full-time jobs.
The first logs began being sawn at Kind sawmill in 1968, and on June 4, 1969, the sawmill was inaugurated by Governor Per Eckerberg. It was a significant day for the forest owners in Östergötland, who had long looked forward to a better market for their timber.
It turned out, however, that the technology used wasn't entirely "proven technology." Several problems arose when the different production chain steps were coordinated into a functional unit. Among other issues, there were difficulties with timber retrieval from the lake storage and timber storage.
Many investments
Over the years, a number of investments have been made to improve or replace parts of the sawmill facility in Kisa. A new small log line was added in 1974. In 1990-91, an entirely new saw line was installed, replacing the original lines from 1968 and the small log line from 1974.
Investments to increase kiln capacity have occurred in various rounds, but so have investments to increase the refinement level. Among other things, a finger-jointing plant was erected, later dismantled. Another measure was building a new planing and processing plant at Kind sawmill in 1993. Meanwhile, the planer long found in Hultsfred was closed. From the mid-1990s, the refinement level progressively increased. In 1995, 30 percent of production was processed, two years later 37 percent.
District heating from the sawmill
During the 2000s and 2010s, investments in the sawmill in Kisa continued. As part of Södra's bioenergy initiative, the biomass boiler was rebuilt in 2007 so that the sawmill's waste heat could become district heating in the Kisa urban area. The following year, a major investment was made in two continuous drying kilns, and during 2010-2011, the sawmill invested in a new edger and new stacking. In 2012, automatic sorting in the trimming plant was introduced—a 24 million kronor investment.
Today, Kind sawmill produces 240,000 m3 of sawn timber annually—60 percent spruce and 40 percent pine—and the products are mainly sold on the Swedish market. The sawmill has 92 employees.
2018 marks 50 years since production started at Kind sawmill. At the end of summer 2018, the anniversary was celebrated with an open house at the sawmill, which was visited by over 1,000 people.
Massive investment in Kinda sawmill
In 2025, a decision was made to invest over SEK 1.5 billion in Kinda sawmill. This initiative is part of our long-term strategy to strengthen competitiveness and increase the capacity of sawn timber by 50 percent when the facility is completed in 2028.
*1 cubic meter corresponds to 4.672 cubic meters.