Closures and production cuts have dominated the sawmill industry this year, but two smaller operators are moving in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n
Stockhult Group has brought a completely rebuilt sawmill into production in Kalix and is increasing activity at Glommers Timber, while Bjernareds is preparing for a substantial increase in output after another round of investment.<\/p>\n
Stockhult\u2019s biggest project is Rolfs S\u00e5g in Kalix, where production resumed in September, 716 days after a fire destroyed the main sawmill building in 2024. The replacement plant has been built from the ground up at a cost of around SEK 500 million (\u20ac44 million) and is being described by the company as a new generation of the former operation.<\/p>\n
The sawline can process as many as 68 logs per minute and is designed around small-diameter pine, locally known as kubb. These dimensions generate a high number of individual pieces for every cubic metre of lumber, putting greater demands on sorting, material handling and line availability than in conventional larger-log production. The new plant therefore includes a highly automated setup and a raw sorting system supplied by Almab.<\/p>\n
Furniture remains a central market. Stockhult says its two operations in Kalix and Glommerstr\u00e4sk work exclusively with northern Swedish pine kubb and produce sawn timber as well as finished furniture components including bed sides, bed slats and panels. Products are sawn to order and adapted to customer dimensions rather than being built around a broad standard lumber programme.<\/p>\n
Paul Bj\u00f6rnsson, CEO of Stockhult Group, has made flexibility one of the main arguments for the new Kalix mill. His description of the investment is straightforward: at many sawmills, the products have to fit the sawline; in Kalix, Stockhult wants the sawline to fit the product. The company is therefore building around shorter runs, different dimensions and more specific customer requirements rather than maximising output of a narrow commodity range.<\/p>\n
Stockhult also had to rebuild its workforce. Around 25 positions were opened ahead of the restart, with the company seeking new skills for a plant that differs substantially from the facility lost in the fire.<\/p>\n
Glommers moves to two shifts<\/strong><\/p>\n The second part of Stockhult\u2019s expansion is taking place around 230 kilometres away at Glommers Timber in Glommerstr\u00e4sk.<\/p>\n The mill currently employs around 15 people but will move to two shifts from January 1, taking the workforce to between 25 and 30. Bj\u00f6rnsson says demand for its products is strong, particularly for the short and thin logs used as raw material in furniture manufacturing.<\/p>\n Glommers had already been receiving investment before the latest production increase. A new sorting line costing around SEK 25 million (\u20ac2.2 million) was commissioned in 2024 to improve efficiency. That equipment arrived at an important moment: when Rolfs S\u00e5g burned down, some employees and production were moved to Glommerstr\u00e4sk and the mill temporarily increased activity while Stockhult worked on the Kalix rebuild.<\/p>\n The relationship between the two mills has therefore become closer over the past two years. Glommers provided production capacity after the fire; Kalix has now returned with a new and more automated plant, while Glommers itself is moving to higher utilisation.<\/p>\n Stockhult describes the two operations as part of one value chain based on northern Swedish pine. Alongside sawn timber and furniture components, the group uses residues for bioenergy, with the stated aim of finding an outlet for the whole log rather than relying only on the main sawn product.<\/p>\n Bjernareds prepares to double production<\/strong><\/p>\n Bjernareds, outside Falkenberg in Halland, is expanding on a smaller scale but has been putting significant capital into the sawmill for several years.<\/p>\n The latest project is a new boiler plant costing more than SEK 30 million (\u20ac2.6 million). Woodnet reports that the investment is expected to create the conditions for Bjernareds to double production. Since Oskar Joelsson returned from the US in 2019 to join the family business, total investment at the sawmill has exceeded SEK 100 million (\u20ac8.8 million).<\/p>\n The company is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year and remains family-owned. Joelsson represents the next generation of the business after returning to Halland following a career in the US.<\/p>\n His strategy is deliberately different from building a large-volume sawmill. Bjernareds has no ambition to become one of the industry\u2019s biggest producers and instead intends to stay within the segments where it believes the operation has a competitive position and can maintain profitability.<\/p>\n The new boiler investment follows a broader modernisation programme rather than a single capacity project. More than SEK 100 million invested since 2019 is substantial for a mill of Bjernareds\u2019 size, particularly during a period in which much of the Nordic sawmill sector has been dealing with high log costs and weak construction markets.<\/p>\n For Bjernareds, the planned production increase is therefore being built around an existing niche rather than a move into mass-market output. The company intends to produce more through the same specialised model, with the new energy infrastructure providing the capacity required for the next stage of the expansion.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Closures and production cuts have dominated the sawmill industry this year, but two smaller operators are moving in the opposite direction.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100143,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n