Lars-Eric Åström does not hesitate when asked about the most important events in Södra's long history. First, there is Gösta Edström. Of course. Without him, no Södra.
"Then it is that we managed to buy out the state in January 1985," says Lars-Eric. If we hadn't done that, there would hardly have been any Södra today. The government that came to power in 1982 really did not want to sell the state's part of Södra, but instead merge us with Assi, NCB, and Domänverket. That would have been utterly devastating for the southern Swedish forest farmer.
A New Antitrust Law
Another milestone Lars-Eric reminisces about is from 1996. The Swedish Competition Authority decided to ban Södra's operations.
"A completely absurd story targeting our timber trade. To comply with antitrust laws, we would have had to either shut down the sawmills or expand and process all the saw logs ourselves. To make the politicians rethink, I practically lived in the parliament when this was relevant. In the end, there was a vote in parliament, and a new competition law could be passed. It provided protection for Södra and similar associations.
Good Argumentation
Before Sweden's entry into the EU, the government wanted forest owners to participate in paying the EU fee with a special property tax of 0.5 percent of the forestry value.
"It was definitely not reasonable for forest owners to be subjected to special taxation in that way," Lars-Eric says. It involved large sums of money each year for our members, but with good argumentation, we managed to get the government to withdraw the proposal.
Waiting with Mönsterås
It wasn't all economic policy during Lars-Eric's time as chairman. Among the strategic future investments he remembers, the expansion of the pulp mill in Mönsterås stands out.
"Despite a significant surplus of pulpwood and the need for increased capacity, we waited for the downturn. Many wanted to start building, but we held back so that the money would be sufficient for an even more competitive facility. The expansion then took place in two stages, with the first adding another 100,000 tons and the second 200,000 tons. By 2000, everything was completed, and Mönsterås could then produce 750,000 tons of papermaking pulp.
Since 2013, Lars-Eric Åström has been the chairman of Bergvik Skog. He also stays active on his own estate in Rejmyre in Östergötland, with activities like planting and clearing.