Two Swedish sawmills operated by Royal Star Wood Products are to be shut down next summer as part of restructuring designed to help the company withstand growing competition at home and abroad.
The firm has started negotiations with trade unions about the closure of its Skogstorp and Katrineholm mills. It will also invest SKr7.2m increasing the capacity of its batten planing plant in Kvarnåsen.
Skogstorp employs 51 people, while Katrineholm has just 13 staff. Royal Star aims to complete the closures at the end of June 2004.
Customer requirements and long-term supplies of raw material will be secured via the company’s 12 other mills, nine of which are in the same region.
The investment at Kvarnåsen means its cutting and finger-jointing facility will be relocated to another mill. Some redundancies may also be necessary.
Royal Star says it plans to further reduce costs and raise productivity during the next two years.
