Sodra Announces Further Expansion of Varo

Södra is planning a new investment for its state-of-the-art pulp mill in Värö which will allow the mill to increase capacity yet further, in steps toward 850,000 tpy.

“The investment is part of Södra’s new Group strategy and means that we can continue to follow our chosen path and grow together with our customers. Increasing production will strengthen our competitiveness and our position in the global market as a long-term and secure partner,” said Peter Karlsson, Interim President and CEO at Södra.

In 2016, Värö was completely rebuilt to become one of the world’s most modern and largest softwood pulp mills with a capacity of 700,000 tpy but it has the potential for 850,000 tpy.

“It was soon apparent that the new line had even greater potential than we had anticipated. We now see a possibility to further increase production in a cost-efficient way by the end of 2022. This is a major first step toward the 850,000 tpy that is within the framework of the existing environmental permit,” said Marcus Åsgärde, Mill Manager for Södra Cell Värö.

A secure fibre base for the additional capacity is guaranteed as Södra will source the wood needed from the forest estates of its 53,000 members. The project is scheduled to start up in April 2022 and will ramp up until the end of the same year.

“Our control of the value chain, from seedling to value-added products and services, makes Södra a unique business partner. We invest in growing our industrial operations, but only in parallel with ambitious sustainability targets to increase the growth of our members’ forest estates. This investment also facilitates future investments in optimizing pulp quality – that’s important because we know our customers’ expectations will only increase in the future,” said Magnus Björkman, Business Area President for Södra Cell.

“We are a leading player in a global market and Värö is ideally placed to supply nearby European markets as well as the rest of the world”, added Henrik Wettergren, Vice President Södra Cell International.

Source: Sodra Skogsagarna ekonomisk forening