The Mönsterås pulp mill- Södra’s first pulp mill.
The forestry industry in southern Sweden was small, holding back consumption and timber prices. Forest companies considered that the wood was insufficient for pulp production, but this view was not shared by Södra's founder and CEO, Gösta Edström. He believed the wood was more than sufficient and was prepared to take matters into his own hands by expanding the pulp industry. There was little money to invest when plans for a factory in Mönsterås were presented to the board in January 1952. However, Södra, thousands of forest owners across the country, and their associations contributed to a share capital of 50 million.
In November 1958, the first pulp was produced in Mönsterås. It marked the beginning of investments in the cellulose industry. Bold investments over the years have borne fruit in increased wood consumption, better timber prices, and good profitability in the factories. The profits have built the company and been distributed to the owners.
But agreeing with all shareholders in the Mönsterås factory wasn’t easy. The solution was for Södra to take over the factory alone, which was then gradually expanded. In the 1970s, an entirely new factory was built, and further expansions were made in the 1990s.
The mills in Mörrum and Värö
Competition with the Wallenberg forest company was significant when planning the Mörrum mill. Södra had already bought land, but more was needed and acquired in fair competition with Wallenberg, who retreated and built in Nymölla.
In December 1959, the starting signal was fired literally, with the detonation of a substantial dynamite charge. Seventeen months later, the first pulp was produced. Prince Bertil inaugurated it in 1962 in front of more than 6,000 guests. Gösta Edström emphasized the significance of the factory: "He who remains a raw material producer and lacks the power to take charge of refinement is doomed to belong to the underdeveloped. The factory is only a waypoint; more follows," was a message from Edström who had Värö in mind. But Mörrum was expanded first. By 1970, separate lines for conifer and hardwood pulp produced 300,000 tons annually.
The establishment of the Värö pulp mill was linked to the merger of forest owner associations in the area, whose members needed a market for their wood. But it took time before the factory was completed. Opposition was strong from various quarters. The environmental movement found momentum, the debate and protests took time. Obtaining authority permits and court proceedings took several years. But summer 1972 saw trial operations start, followed by the inauguration. By the following year, 220,000 tons were produced.
Chlorine-Free pulp
In the early 1990s, Södra chose to invest in a new pulp product, the entirely chlorine-free fully bleached pulp. The so-called Z-pulp presented in 1992 was made in an environmentally friendly ozone plant. Chlorine bleaching had been a significant environmental issue for a long time. Södra led the way and removed chlorine. Södra's investment agitated many colleagues in the industry. The entire forest industry had long defended itself against the environmental movement, claiming it was safe with chlorine since it occurred in drinking water and other things.
Pulp mill in Norway
In summer 2000, the Norwegian pulp mills Tofte and Folla were acquired from Norske Skog. Södra thus grew to become the third-largest pulp supplier globally, with a total of over 2 million tons annually. In conifer pulp, they were in the lead.
In autumn 2012, Södra decided to wind down operations at the Folla pulp mill, and a few months later, in early 2013, it announced the divestment of ownership in the Tofte pulp mill.
Textile pulp and new investments
Södra continually develops new pulp qualities, and in 2012, production began in earnest of a completely new product for Södra – textile pulp – at the Mörrum mill. Textile pulp is an alternative to cotton and doesn’t require as many environmental resources to produce.
In 2014, Södra’s board decided on the largest industrial investment in Södra’s history – Expansion Södra. In total, 6 billion kronor was invested across the three pulp mills: 4 billion to increase production capacity at Södra’s pulp mill in Värö from 425,000 to 700,000 tons of pulp annually; just over 1 billion in Mörrum to increase capacity by 45,000 tons so that the total production of paper and dissolving pulp would reach 470,000 tons, as well as just over 300 million kronor for more efficient energy use and increased productivity at the Mönsterås mill