Jan 23, 2009. /Lesprom.com/. Södra subsidiary Gapro is acquiring WernerTrä, Scandinavia’s biggest hardwood sawmill which has an annual production capacity of 42 thousand cubic metres of sawn timber, Södra said in a statement received by Lesprom Network. The company has 20 employees, annual sales of SEK 40 million ($4.8 million), and is located at Södra Vi in north-east Smaland. “We hope this acquisition will enable us to make better use of the hardwood forest belonging to Södra’s members. There is great potential in alder, birch, asp and oak in terms of developing new products. Development of the business will take time but is strategically important,” says Södra CEO Leif Brodén. “For Gapro this is an important move to integrate upstream. We gain an internal supply of much of the hardwood we need for our factory in Grimslöv and we can control volumes, qualities and range in a more effective manner. Instead of purchasing ready-planed items, the mill can now process hardwood within the business the whole way from log to consumer end-product. We’re counting on replacing imports with a higher proportion of Swedish hardwood,” says Gapro President Håkan Svensson. WernerTrä’s current President and minority owner, Egil Freitag, will continues as President of the company, which becomes a Gapro subsidiary.