The Austrian Binderholz Group is acquiring 100% of shares in Vapo Timber Oy from Vapo Oy and thus also the two sawmills operated by the company in Lieksa and Nurmes at the start of January 2016. The two sites are located in the North Karelia region (Central Eastern Finland) and recently produced 400,000 m³ of dimension lumber per year with around 100 employees, all of whom have been taken over.
Binderholz is thus expanding the cutting capacity of its sawmills from the current 1.75 million to 2.55 million cubic metres per year. Apart from the volume of spruce and pine raw materials, major factors for the decision to purchase the two sawmills include the fact that they both have a good technical basis and there is also sufficient room for expansion with future investments, Binderholz stated.
| Facts and figures on the sawmills | Lieska | Nurmes |
| Type of wood | Spruce | Pine |
| Cutting capacity (2-shift operation) in cubic metres | 500,000 | 400,000 |
| Drying capacity in m³ | 250,000 | 200,000 |
| Operating area in ha | 100 | 28 |
Finnish Harvestia Oy guarantees the supply of timber, including logging and logging logistics. The company has an annual yield of 2.5 million cubic metres and supplies a pulp mill as well as the sawmills. The majority of the timber comes from Finland, with smaller volumes from Russia.
The purchase agreement was recently signed and is subject to approval by the relevant supervisory authorities. Both sides agreed to maintain confidentiality about the purchase price. The deal is expected to be closed during January.
As Binderholz states, the move is of great importance for the Austrian company, as it opens up new dimensions in terms of the quality of its machined products. At the same time, the deal enables the company to reach new milestones with regard to the addition of new high-quality products and also enter new markets. A considerable amount of dimension lumber is processed into solid edge-glued products at the company's Austrian and Bavarian sites.
Binderholz will also continue to practise its successful approach at these sites, particularly with regard to its range of dimensions, high-grade products, worldwide sales and distribution, and proximity to customers, coupled with the versatility it offers. Initially both sawmills will be technically improved followed by investment in processing and real net output ratio. Both sawmills will operate under the name Binderholz Nordic from the date of the corporate takeover onwards. The company will be organisationally integrated into the Binder Group and the management, and also its markets and products, will be restructured.
The turnover of the Binderholz Group will increase by around €100 million in 2016 as a result of the acquisition, totalling €500 million Group-wide.
The Group has a processing rate of 80%. Over 850,000 m³ of dimension lumber is processed into finished products. The Binderholz Group considers there to be excellent potential growth in the timber construction sector, which is becoming increasingly attractive.
