The Swedish company Södra is setting up a cross-laminated timber (CLT) production plant at its Väro facility by the beginning of 2019; at 5000 m³ per year in single-shift operation, the works will be comparatively small, however. According to a release published by Södra, the investment decision is part of a strategic process designed to establish the company in the value-added wood products division as well. The decision to go ahead with the investment project was preceded by a twelve-month or so examination of the existing sawmilling activities and product range. Södra has so far been concentrating mostly on producing spruce and pine timber as well as planed products. Glued products have not been part of the “Södra Wood” division’s range of products before.
According to the head of Södra Wood, Jörgen Lindquist, the addition of CLT to the product range opens the door to multi-storey construction in particular. Project manager Fredrik Gellerstedt says the planned facility is being designed to produce CLT elements with a maximum width and length of 3 m and 12 m respectively in the first phase of its development. Södra is currently conducting the final negotiations with the plant and machinery suppliers. Depending on how the market unfolds, plans have been made for the near-term addition of more machine capacity and production of even larger element formats. Södra also intends to create internally, by the time the works opens, the human resources required in the construction planning, structural engineering, and work preparation segments for processing the projects. Spruce timber is to be used as the primary raw material, obtained from the group’s neighbouring sawmill.