Holmen has decided to invest SEK 170 million ($19 million) to increase the production of wood products at Braviken Sawmill in Sweden. At the same time, a rail-based solution is being set up to transport raw material from Holmen's own forest in northern Sweden to the industrial facilities in Norrköping, as the company says in the press release received by Lesprom Network.
Braviken Sawmill was opened in 2011 and has since been expanded in several stages, most recently with the addition of a new wood treatment plant which was taken into use in spring 2018. The next step in the mill's development is now being taken with an investment in dryers and a new trimming saw for sorting.
The new dryers and trimming saw are expected to come into operation in 2020. After the investment, Holmen's total production of wood products will increase to just over 1 million cubic metres. The raw material for the increase in production will come from Holmen's own forest holdings in northern Sweden and will be transported by rail.
"We are already in a strong position in the wood products market and we have constantly strengthened our range for builders' merchants. It makes sense now to use a larger proportion of our saw capacity by increasing production by 150,000 cubic metres. The fact that we are able to do this using logs from our own forest in northern Sweden and with only marginally higher staffing levels, was crucial in reaching this decision," says Johan Padel, Senior Vice President Wood Products.
