SCA Forest Products president Ulf Larsson flew in to the UK for the inauguration of the company’s new £5m plant at Melton on Humberside on March 18.
He and other senior SCA Swedish and UK executives also took part in a tree planting ceremony outside the £5m, 40,000m3 facility.
The investment has created 32 jobs, with the potential for more to follow in the summer.
“We’re pleased to be putting more roots down on Humberside, helping create an efficient flow from our importing base through to the manufacture of wood products,” said Mr Larsson. “We’re also happy to be recruiting employees from the local area.”
The plant has two planing lines, featuring a Weinig moulder and a high-speed Waco machine, capable of processing up to 200m/min. It will work in conjunction with SCA’s processing facilities at Welshpool, which services the merchant sector, and Stoke-on-Trent, which supplies the DIY market.
Part of Melton’s output will service SCA’s supply agreement with Travis Perkins, which previously announced that it would not be reinvesting in its own machining facilities.
“But we’re keen to stress that the plant will also be serving the wider merchanting and joinery market; Travis Perkins is a key customer, but does not have exclusivity on the plant,” said SCA commercial director Stephen King.
The annualised capacity of the new facility is 50,000m3, and Mr King said the company expects it to achieve the figure this year.
“And the size of the facility does give us the flexibility to develop and expand with market demand,” he said. “There is room for another planing line, or perhaps to introduce other processes, such as treatment.”
The overall expansion of SCA’s planing resource, he added, also helped make its UK outlook more predictable.
“The sawn timber market is by definition more volatile,” he said.
Timber supplies for the plant come from SCA Timber Supply Ltd’s importing hub on the King George Dock at Hull.
