Anders Marklund, Datapolarna, and Kristian Niklasson, Timbertec (from left) after signing the contract.
"As soon as the closing takes place, we will be the global market leader," says Kristian Niklasson, Managing Director of Timbertec, in an exclusive interview with Holzkurier. "The synergies are enormous for us. We are adding modules for parcel logistics, forklift management and log management, which ideally complement our systems," says Andreas Boll, Timbertec's second managing director.
Strong in intralogistics
In its 25-year history, Datapolarna has established itself in Scandinavia in particular. But it has some German-speaking timber industries as customers as well. They mainly use the product in log management. In Sweden and Norway, this includes the who's who of the timber industry as well as SMEs such as Södra.
"Datapolarna has very good solutions, especially when it comes to packet movement and localization," says Boll. "But above all, we are looking forward to the addition of a great team around Anders Marklund."
Everything from a single source without an interface
"Especially regarding customers with Timbertec in the ERP and Datapolarna at the log yard, the joint future can be explained. In the future, all these customers will no longer have interfaces between different systems. You get a one-stop shop," says Niklasson.
For small customers and new customers, they want to put together joint "admission packages". "You then choose the supply or the logistics tool, depending on what is needed," explains Boll.
Datapolarna's product names, such as SIPal, are not yet so well known in Central Europe. They want to change that in the future – there is no rebranding here either. "In addition, Datapolarna adds value in areas such as information security and cloudification. As the wood industry continues to digitalize, these products will expand and complement our TiCom ERP offering to offer customers a unique range of solutions," says Boll. "We now have it all, from local data storage for forklift control to production and sales control in the cloud."
150 employees
Currently, the employees are being trained, which means that in addition to the 125 Timbertec employees, 25 will come from Datapolarna. "Scandinavia has been the key growth market for Timbertec in recent years. Now we have significantly more supervisors on site," emphasizes Boll, who is convinced, "that there are also advantages for customers because we come from different worlds. Datapolarna is shaped by the automation-driven Swedish mindset. So far, we have mainly been dealing with owner-managed family businesses – with significantly more individualization requests. Now the two are growing together."
More employees than anyone else
"All engineers will be able to manage the software worlds, which are still separate. Our team of wood specialists will be unique in their expertise and number," says Niklasson. After Scandinavia and the DACH region, he sees North America and Southern Europe as future markets. Language versions for all these markets are already available.
"We want to continue to grow. On the one hand, through new customers, but on the other hand, also for acquisitions," Niklasson, who was born in Sweden, concludes.
