The company will be based at the production site of Mondi Swiecie in Poland and will start its work on July 1st. Mondi Swiecie is said to hold 34% of the joint venture, while Mercer Holz holds 26%, Wood & Paper 25% and Slovwood 15%. The parent companies of the involved shareholders operate two sawmills and five pulp mills in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Austria.
The project was registered in January at the Polish competition authority Urzad Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentow in Warsaw, the German Bundeskartellamt in Bonn and at the Federal Competition Authority in Vienna. According to Wolfgang Beck, Managing Director of Mercer Holz in Rosenthal am Rennsteig/DE, the joint venture has obtained the official approvals in all three countries.
In addition to Poland, the purchasing area is also going to include Belarus and Lithuania. An overall purchasing volume of 3 million m³ per year, which includes all the required assortments, is planned. “The aim of this joint venture is to optimize transport logistics for the entire range of products. There are no plans to expand PLWD’s purchasing area to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany or Austria, because the parent companies’ wood purchasing organizations are already operating in these countries,” emphasizes Beck.
Mondi Swiecie is a company affiliated with British Mondi Investments Limited of Addlestone/GB. Slovwood acts as supplier of the pulp and paper mill Mondi SCP, which is located in Rufomberok/SK. Wood & Paper has the pulp mill Mondi Steti of Steti/CZ, Papierholz Austria of Frantschach, and Holzindustrie Maresch of Retz as shareholders. UPM is a strategic partner.
The group of shareholders of Papierholz Austria in turn includes the pulp mills Sappi Austria Produktion of Gratkorn, Zellstoff Pöls which is part of the Heinzel group, the paper and pulp mill Mondi Frantschach and the paper mill Norske Skog Bruck.
Mercer Holz’s main customers are the German pulp mills Mercer Stendal of Arneburg, Mercer Rosenthal of Blankenstein, which are part of the parent company Mercer International of Vancouver/CA, and the softwood sawmill Mercer Timber Products of Saalburg-Ebersdorf.
