French sawmill group Siat will close its Niederhaslach planing plant in Alsace at the end of 2026 after Leroy Merlin ended its supply agreement with the company. The DIY retailer accounted for 92% of the plant\u2019s production.<\/p>\n
The Niederhaslach operation employs 48 people and produces solid wood products for interior applications and the DIY market, including battens, strips, skirting boards and mouldings. Leroy Merlin had sourced these products from Siat for several years and absorbed almost all of the plant\u2019s output.<\/p>\n
Siat said the products manufactured at Niederhaslach have been losing ground to cheaper substitutes as consumer demand changes. With the Leroy Merlin contract ending, the group decided not to seek enough new business to replace the lost volumes and will shut the operation at the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Siat concentrates on lumber production<\/strong><\/p>\n Siat will concentrate on its core lumber business, where the company says demand is growing. At Urmatt, around 4.5 km from Niederhaslach, a new sawmilling unit is currently being ramped up.<\/p>\n Almost all of the 48 Niederhaslach employees are expected to move to Siat\u2019s sites at Urmatt and Heiligenberg. The two sites currently employ 345 people. The group plans to accommodate the transferred workers through higher activity at Urmatt and reduced use of temporary labour.<\/p>\n Investments continue in Tarn and wood energy<\/strong><\/p>\n Siat is also developing the two sawmills it acquired in the Tarn department in 2020. At Labrugui\u00e8re, the group invested EUR 8 million in a production unit for battens with annual output of around 40,000 m\u00b3.<\/p>\n Wood energy is another substantial business for the group. Siat produces pellets from sawmill residues and operates cogeneration capacity alongside its wood processing operations.<\/p>\n About Groupe Siat<\/strong><\/p>\n Groupe Siat is one of France\u2019s largest softwood sawmilling groups. The family-owned company traces its origins to 1818 and operates five production sites in Alsace and Occitanie, with activities covering primary sawmilling, construction lumber, further processing and wood energy.<\/p>\n The group produces around 430,000 m\u00b3 of finished wood products per year and 120,000 tonnes of wood pellets, employs more than 450 people and generates annual revenue of more than EUR 175 million. It supplies more than 2,000 customers in France.<\/p>\n Siat\u2019s main primary-processing sites are Urmatt in Alsace and Brassac in the Tarn, while Labrugui\u00e8re specialises in roofing products and battens. Niederhaslach handles interior wood products. The Urmatt complex also includes pellet production and cogeneration.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" French sawmill group Siat will close its Niederhaslach planing plant in Alsace at the end of 2026 after Leroy Merlin ended its supply agreement with the company. The DIY retailer accounted for 92% of the plant\u2019s production.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99756,"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-99755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n