In southern Sweden, unlike Norrland, there was a surplus of timber after World War II. An industrial expansion was needed to manage the surplus, especially small wood. There were no market opportunities for sawmill waste either. It was realized that it was wasteful not to use all by-products. After the war, demand for firewood decreased since coal and oil imports resumed, making it hard for farmers to find a market for small wood. In 1944, firewood accounted for 61 percent of timber transactions; by 1950, it accounted for just 8 percent.
The expansion continued, and in 1974 Södra’s sawmill in Värö was completed. It was built adjacent to the pulp mill where shared resources could be exploited. 1999 saw the first log sawn in Mönsterås. This sawmill too was placed by one of the group’s pulp mills (Mönsterås mill) with the advantages it entailed.
In 2011, Södra erected an entirely new sawmill in Värö – Europe’s most modern – with a capacity of 600,000 cubic meters. The production of sawn timber increased even more with the purchase of Geijerträ in 2012, which included four sawmills.
Today, construction timber and other building materials are the largest product areas for Södra’s sawmills and processing such as planing, drying, and strength grading are standard. Further processing expanded in 2013 with pre-painted outer panels, and in 2018 colored painted outer panels were also introduced.
Particle Boards and House Manufacturing
In 1958, production of particle boards started at a new factory in Åryd. The particle board factory in Laholm came into Södra’s ownership through the merger with Halland’s Forest Owners Association in 1964. In 1972, another particle board factory was inaugurated, this time in Hultsfred. At the peak of production, Södra produced approximately 290,000 cubic meters of particle boards, accounting for 40 percent of the total production in Sweden. After many years of manufacturing particle boards, Södra formed Swedspan in 1981 together with State Forest Industries and Swedish Match. It was the beginning of the end for its involvement in the particle board industry. Within a few years, Södra left the ownership circle.
Södra acquired Hultsfred’s Timber Processing, Standard-hus, and Svenska Ideal-hus back in the 1940s. The three companies were merged and named Hultsfreds-Hus. Between 1965 and 1973, the factory delivered more than 2,000 wooden houses annually. Hultsfreds-Hus was northern Europe’s largest house manufacturer, engaging the entire district during its heyday. The factory received building materials from the particle board factory in Laholm. The fiber board was specially developed for the purpose. It was easier to assemble and lighter to carry.
Hultsfreds-Hus remained in Södra’s possession until 1981. Since October 1, 2009, house manufacturer Trivselhus instead became part of the forestry group Södra.
Interior Wood Products
In 2002, when Södra acquired Geijerträ, it included the interior wood group Gapro, with several factories that manufactured floors, moldings, panel boards, and railings. The purchase brought new refining skills to Södra. Due to poor margins and increased competition, interior wood operations gradually phased out, and by 2018, the interior operations ceased entirely.
Timber Surplus and Pulp Production
The annual timber surplus in southern Sweden at this time was estimated to 2–3 million cubic meters. Within the South-Eastern Federation, it could supply a pulp factory with a capacity of over 100,000 tons, according to Gösta Edström’s speech in Jönköping in September 1949. Private interests did not want to expand the industry without a guarantee of buying forest owners' land or otherwise securing wood supply to the pulp mills. Quote from Gösta Edström: "… should the private risk-bearing capital not show interest in our problems, we are also ready to take matters into our own hands and contribute to an expansion of the timber-consuming industries." This was not empty words – a proposal for a pulp factory in Mönsterås was presented to Södra's board in January 1952, and in November 1958, the first pulp was produced.
Subsequently, pulp production expanded with a pulp mill in Mörrum, inaugurated in 1962, and a pulp mill in Värö, whose production started in 1972. In 2014, Södra’s board decided on the largest investment in Södra’s history. This resulted, among other things, in a completely new pulp factory in Värö completed in 2016.
Sawn Timber
More and more of the timber in the southern Swedish forests came to use when sawmills increased production after World War II. The need for timber placement has always underpinned investments in sawmills, as saw logs account for the most significant part of the income in forestry. Södra’s sawmill history begins in 1943 when it took over a sawmill in Hallabro, Blekinge.
The capacity and production at the sawmills steadily changed in line with market demands. Small saws were replaced by large ones with modern equipment, and processing and refining became more common. When Södra’s sawmill in Kinda started in 1968, it was a milestone in southern Swedish sawmill history. It was the first sawmill built in a very long time.
The Forest is the Future
At the pulp factory in Mörrum, there is a line manufacturing textile pulp from hardwood. Hardwood provides better fiber for textiles—it’s a shorter fiber than from conifer trees used for paper. Customers further process the pulp into textiles. Examples of textiles made this way are tencel, biocell, and viscose. Several Swedish clothing chains use cellulose in their clothes. Södra has also developed the biocomposite material durapulp, which in the future could replace environmentally harmful plastic.
Even high-rise buildings can be made of wood today, as there are now wood-based materials that can replace steel and concrete. Until 1994, it was not permitted to build wooden houses with more than two floors due to fire risk, but new wood products and building techniques now allow the construction of large and tall wooden houses with high fire safety. There are many examples of houses in Sweden built using this technique. In Växjö, more than 50 percent of the newly built multi-family houses are made of wood.
Building with wood at height is a growing market, driven by economic and sustainability aspects. Södra is now investing in cross-laminated timber, a flexible, transport-efficient, and lightweight material with high environmental quality. The first facility for cross-laminated timber is scheduled for production in Värö in summer 2019.
The Key to Sustainable Success
The forest is a crucial component in shifting the world to a sustainable bioeconomy. Today, smarter forest-derived products can be made than ever before. Already, clothes, food, new packaging materials, various filters, and biofuels are made. But at Södra, we are convinced that more solutions and innovations can yet be developed from the forest. Refining the forest is the key to sustainable success today.