Summary

  • SCA is focused on bringing new talent into the forest products sector.
  • Recent investments reflect the company’s emphasis on adding value.
  • In the past two years £19.7m has been invested in Tunadal.
  • Tunadal sawmill manager Jerry Larsson recently won a business award for leadership.

In 150 years of existence, SCA Tunadal Sawmill has seen many changes in the markets for its products. Under the auspices of Jerry Larsson, one of the cadre of younger sawmill managers now coming through in Swedish industry, Tunadal has received substantial investment in new technology in the past two years, giving a vote of confidence for its future in the global market place. “There’s a good working spirit at Tunadal these days, and this helps us to attract the right calibre of people,” said Jerry Larsson, who has just won a business award for leadership. “Excellence in leadership involves instilling confidence in the workforce, delegating responsibility and providing scope for development.”

Attracting the best and brightest talent from senior management to operational staff level is part of SCA’s strategy to steal a march over its international wood products competitors. Well-known in the UK for its promotion of training, and sponsorship of the TTJ Career Development Awards, SCA Timber in Sweden is similarly focused on bringing new talent into the forest products sector, and is reaping consequent benefits. “In recent years, SCA has employed many more Masters of Science in timber technology and forest products: this helps us to compete in a global knowledge economy. The combination of human potential and high technology drives our future, and we are developing this sawmill for the long term,” said Mr Larsson. SCA Tunadal produced 350,000m3 of spruce wood products in 2006, with 155 employees and sub-contractors.

Planned expansion

Tunadal’s expansion has been planned for a number of years. In 2006, SCA invested £15m in new sorting facilities and in 2007 around £4.7m has been invested in this now exclusively spruce mill. The combined investments cover a new cutting line for producing precision components, seven new chamber kilns, and a progressive kiln with a capacity in excess of 100,000m3. These developments dovetail with SCA’s business focus on developed timber products tailored to the specifications of wood product manufacturers. Producing window, door, shutter and building components means adding value to the raw material. It also benefits the customer by cutting the number of process stages production waste and energy used in manufacture. It also benefits the wider environment through less material being transported.

The increasing focus of the global business community in the role of transport as part of product lifecycle is exercising minds among supply chain partners in many industries. Jerry Larsson has his eye on the possibility of logs arriving at Tunadal by rail and is currently running trials. “We also have our own port here at the mill so we can load directly onto ships for the UK. Shipping is by far the best form of transport for timber products.” SCA has calculated that less CO2 is emitted per kilometre in shipping wood products to London from its Munksund sawmill near the Arctic Circle than by transporting a full load by lorry to London from the north of Scotland.

Investigations into rail deliveries of logs are also under way at nearby SCA Bollsta sawmill, which recently received an additional £700,000 investment for a new green-split products line, dedicated to producing window industry components. “We are looking at the costs and benefits of re-building or investing in new rail sidings to bring in raw materials, which will further reduce our part in our customers’ supply chain carbon emissions,” said sawmill manager Jonas Martensson. “Some 70% of our production leaves Bollsta by ship, which also helps carbon calculations.”

As at Tunadal, SCA Bollsta’s focus is on developed timber products, customised for further manufacturing processes. SCA’s strategy is to raise the value-added proportion of its 1.7 million m3 annual output from the current 50% to 70%, using its knowledge capital to increase its worth to its customer base.

“The process starts with visiting the customer and understanding the way they use our material,” said Mr Martensson. “We can then apply our knowledge and adapt products accordingly. We start our investigations with the forests, asking which is the best material to cut to achieve the customer’s desired outcome, which lengths and which qualities are required. At log-sorting stage we pick out the raw materials which will best maximise yield for the manufacturing customer. We then process and kiln it to requirements.

“It’s up to us to suggest new ideas and methodologies which advantage the customer’s business. Our wood fibre expertise can help to cut their costs and improve their products. This is why we have a programme of increasing our investment in people as well as machinery. Technology does not function without human input so we need well-educated people right through to the production operators on the sawmill floor. We are also empowering our employees to take responsibility and suggest improvements and actions, and this is really producing results for our mill.”

Producing the best

Neither Jerry Larsson nor Jonas Martensson see their SCA sawmills as being in the same marketplace as low-cost wood producers. “Investing in people with four to five years’ university qualification behind them gives us an edge in the theoretical and practical application of our wood fibre,” said Mr Martensson. “We are therefore more likely to produce the best outcomes for customers.” SCA Bollsta is a dedicated pine mill and produced 410,000m3 last year, 40% of which was developed timber products. It has 145 employees and subcontractors.

The president of SCA Timber AB, Ulf Larsson, said the Swedish sawmilling industry was in a good position, but SCA was not complacent. “It’s important that we keep up the pace of our integration with customer supply chains by maximising the potential of our accumulated knowledge. Research and development are key factors in developing the high added-value products which drive profitability. We must continue to investigate how best we can utilise the structure of wood fibre, and therefore play a profitable role in our customers’ business development.”