Södra is divesting Södra Wood Grimslöv to German-based Soernsen Group. Trade union negotiations have been initiated regarding the transfer of the operation. Handover is expected to take place on 1 January.

Södra Wood Grimslöv produces high-grade architectural mouldings and special moulding profiles for industrial customers and has 31 employees. The main markets for its products are the Swedish and Norwegian building materials trade.

"Grimslöv is a small-scale operation with niche specialty products. We believe that Grimslöv can develop better under the management of Soernsen, which applies a similar concept. Soernsen is currently a contract supplier of mouldings to Södra, and this situation will remain unchanged," said Jörgen Lindquist, Business Area President of Södra Wood.

The purchaser is Soernsen Group, which was founded in 1945 and has several production sites in Germany and Estonia. The company produces a broad range of mouldings; its standard range contains more than 3,000 items in various types of wood and it delivers to countries worldwide. It has sales of EUR 50 million and 300 employees.

"We want to establish operations in Sweden to move closer to the Nordic market. Grimslöv is a well-organised production site. With its motivated and competent staff, we will be capable of producing high-quality mouldings for the Nordic market. This move will also generally enhance the business relationship between Södra and Soernsen," said Robert Sörnsen, President of Soernsen Group.

Södra is implementing structural changes in its sawmill and interior wood products operations to strengthen the company's long-term competitiveness. Several structural changes have been made in the sawmill operations and, with respect to the interior wood products operations, Södra Wood Rottne was sold to Ess-Enn Timber before the summer. In October, Nordingrå Trä AB was sold to Pro Unica AB and Södra Wood Föllinge to Rikard Eriksson.