Swedish sawmilling group Vida is increasing downstream processing capacity at several of its plants as it handles larger volumes and continues to push a greater share of production into higher value-added wood products.<\/p>\n
The largest individual expansion is at Hj\u00e4ltevad, where Vida has brought a new high-speed planing mill into operation. The first shift started at the beginning of 2026, and by the summer the facility had reached around 70% of its intended capacity. The company expects the line to reach full operation around the turn of 2026\/2027.<\/p>\n
The new planer can run at speeds of up to 1,200 metres per minute, equivalent to around 200 pieces of timber per minute. At full output, Vida says the facility is designed to produce one finished package every minute, corresponding to roughly three truckloads per hour.<\/p>\n
The Hj\u00e4ltevad line processes both spruce from the local sawmill and pine supplied from nearby Vimmerby. This gives the plant greater flexibility across dimensions, species and end markets, while also allowing Vida to move more of its sawn timber into processed and planed products.<\/p>\n
Standard dimensions currently handled include products such as 47x150 mm and 40x188 mm, with the new line intended to improve both throughput and product flexibility.<\/p>\n
Vida has said the investment is not only about increasing physical production capacity, but also about raising the value generated from each cubic metre of raw material. By expanding planing and finishing capacity, the group can direct more output towards products with higher processing levels and potentially stronger margins.<\/p>\n
The company is still optimising the Hj\u00e4ltevad line as production ramps up, with further efficiency gains expected as the plant approaches full utilisation.<\/p>\n
Capacity is also being increased at Alvesta and Vislanda<\/strong><\/p>\n At Alvesta, Vida introduced a night shift at the planing mill in May, extending operating hours and lifting available processing capacity without the need for a completely new production line.<\/p>\n At Vislanda, the group is preparing to move the grading plant to a two-shift system. The expanded operation is scheduled to start in October and is intended to handle higher volumes coming from the sawmill.<\/p>\n The measures at Alvesta and Vislanda are more operational than structural, but they still represent a clear increase in effective processing capacity. Additional shifts allow Vida to raise throughput relatively quickly while making greater use of existing equipment.<\/p>\n The expansion at Vislanda is linked directly to higher sawmill output and the need to ensure that downstream grading capacity keeps pace with increased production.<\/p>\n Taken together, the developments at Hj\u00e4ltevad, Alvesta and Vislanda point to a broader strengthening of Vida\u2019s processing network in southern Sweden.<\/p>\n Hj\u00e4ltevad adds a major new high-speed finishing facility, while Alvesta and Vislanda are increasing utilisation through extended shift systems. The combined effect is greater capacity to process, grade and finish sawn timber before it is sold.<\/p>\n For Vida, the strategy also improves flexibility between plants. Timber can be directed between sawmilling and downstream processing operations according to species, dimensions, customer demand and available capacity.<\/p>\n The expansion comes at a time when Nordic sawmills are under pressure from high raw material costs and relatively weak margins. Increasing the share of processed products is one way for producers to improve value recovery and reduce dependence on standard commodity lumber markets.<\/p>\n Vida is one of Sweden\u2019s largest privately owned sawmilling groups, with a production network focused mainly on softwood lumber and further processing for export markets. The latest investments indicate that the company is continuing to prioritise downstream capacity even in a difficult market environment.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Swedish sawmilling group Vida is increasing downstream processing capacity at several of its plants as it handles larger volumes and continues to push a greater share of production into higher value-added wood products.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100152,"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-100151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n