New manager, new structure

Jöbstl has been with Stora Enso since the group’s entry into the Central European market and has managed production in the Wood Products segment for many years. His activities in national and international industry associations make him a well-known person far beyond the company.

Jöbstl will be succeeded by Eduard Reutner, an industry expert who began his career in Ybbs 30 years ago.

Previously: Focus on further processing

With an annual production output of 390,000 m³ of cross-laminated timber (CLT), Stora Enso is Europe’s largest manufacturer. A significant part of this – 80% to be precise – will be produced by production sites of the Southern Business Unit. With a total output of 5.4 million m³ a year, the company is also a leader when it comes to lumber. Of this volume, 3 million m³ a year are produced “in the South”.

In addition to the DACH region, Eastern Europe and all overseas markets represent the core markets of the production sites managed by Reutner. The Northern Business Unit, on the other hand, serves Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Western Europe, and the MENA markets. “Together, we have the most international sales team. We are present in 35 countries – which ensures market transparency and flexibility,” Reutner emphasizes.

According to Jöbstl, the division into North and South was done based on one key difference: “In the South, there are no cardboard and pulp mills connected to the sawmills.” The seven southern production sites are now under Reutner’s management. “Our goal remains to operate the sites profitably through high-quality products and services – even with suboptimal capacity utilization. Given the volatile supply of raw materials, this is essential,” Reutner adds.

The new manager intends to continue down this path: “Instead of standardized products, we are increasingly striving for customized construction solutions, for example, through just-in-time delivery of ceiling elements for specific construction projects.”

Now: Acquisitions driven by raw material supply

Last year, Stora Enso made significant investments, especially in the north. Among others, around €1 billion was invested in a new production line for consumer packaging board at the Oulu/FI site. “The three Junnikkala sawmills near Oulu were acquired in May in order to secure raw material supply for this board production facility,” Reutner explains. With Junnikkala, we will add 700,000 m³ a year of lumber to our existing output, but above all, a substantial volume of sawmill byproducts.”

“We are also examining the construction of an additional sawmill at the Imatra/FI site,” Jöbstl adds. This project also primarily serves to secure raw materials.

Going forward: Further increasing efficiency

The central goal of all measures adopted within the Group remains to increase raw material efficiency. “The Northern and Southern Business Units are by no means operating in an isolated way. The challenge of optimally utilizing a scarce and valuable raw material is the same across all locations,” Reutner concludes.