Growing for the long term: A foothold in Latvia

Södra is buying Bergvik Skog’s forest holding in Latvia, a total area of 111,100 hectares, of which 80,300 is forest land. Magnus Björkman, Södra Cell International’s President, says that the acquisition is all about thinking for the future. “We are planning for the long term,” he says, “both for Södra’s future expansion, to enlarge our fibre base, but also to give us added flexibility, competitiveness and security within our existing fibre supply. At present we rely mainly on our members, but we still import some wood to complement our members’ deliveries, especially in more difficult times, such as when harvesting conditions were so difficult earlier this year.” 

The new wood source will be managed locally and already employs 24 people, but it will receive all the support it needs from Södra’s forestry services in Sweden. Södra already owns 15,000 hectares of forest land in Latvia, and this acquisition will substantially strengthen the company’s position there, as Magnus explains: “This is another building block in our armoury with the aim of creating a stable wood flow. That’s good news for both member and customers.”