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Climate-smart raw material – Progress with Grönsamhet
Responsibility for the raw material at every stage
Climate-smart raw material
The wildfires that struck the forests of Hälsingland in summer 2018 were a real trial, not least for the forest owners who saw much of their holdings go up in smoke. It was a huge relief for those affected, when Setra’s plant in Färila stepped in to saw the fire-damaged logs. An undertaking that would continue well into 2019. ALMOST TWO years have passed since the forests
of Hälsingland suffered extensive wildfires. People were forced to flee their homes and the fire and rescue service fought tirelessly for weeks against a fire that would turn out to be the biggest in modern Swedish history. The area of forest damaged in the municipality of Ljusdal amounted to around 8,000 hectares, a significant proportion of which belonged to Sveaskog and members of Mellanskog, who jointly own the majority of Setra’s shares. “Visibility was poor and there was smoke everywhere, when we heard that we would have 25 minutes to leave our house if the fire came any nearer. At that point, I could see that it was serious, but I had no idea what lay ahead of us,” relates Mattias Forslund, Mill Manager at Setra’s sawmill in Färila. Like a military operation The sawmill’s local management team quickly convened a crisis meeting. They drew up a plan for the worst-case scenario and what action they would take if the fire reached a certain point, close to the sawmill. The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency needed to use Setra’s site for its countermeasures. The area was cleaned up and in just a few hours it was essentially transformed into a disaster control centre. “It was obvious to us that we should help deal with the wood and recover as much value as possible. Our owners Sveaskog and Mellanskog were hit hard by the fires and our plant in Färila is only 25 km from the main sites affected,” says Mattias Forslund. The intervention came to resemble a military operation and faced a number of challenges – not least logistically, since the fire-damaged logs could not be mixed with the existing stock. A few weeks after the fires had been put out, Setra Färila was ready to start sawing damaged logs and keep them separate from the rest of the production. At the beginning of December 2018, the regular intake of spruce was stopped and work began on the firedamaged logs. “One of the many challenges was getting a clear idea of the scale. The initial figure was over 200,000 cubic metres solid volume, which for us is more than half a
Sustainability Report 2019 — Setra Group
year’s production. However, we ended up dealing with 130,000 cubic metres,” says Mattias Forslund. No time for detailed planning While the fires were ongoing, Setra Färila had received indications from Mellanskog and Sveaskog that the majority of the fire-damaged wood was pine. In fact, 80% of the wood turned out to be pine. This represented a major undertaking for a sawmill that usually only saws spruce and does not have a prepared market for pine products. During both the fires and the sawing of the fire-damaged logs, Setra’s raw material coordinator Magnus Olsson worked closely with Mattias Forslund in Färila. Magnus was on site early and remembers the devastation in the fire-hit area. “It can best be described as a lunar landscape. Everything was so fiercely burned that gravel, rock and black soot were the only things left. In these circumstances, there was no time for any detailed planning. We just had to roll up our sleeves and get to work. “Sawing fire-damaged logs is a prime example of Grönsamhet. We recovered considerable value in a cost-effective way and managed to produce perfectly good sawn wood products. As the climate changes, extreme weather events are likely to become increasingly common. We now have valuable experience in how to react to unforeseeable situations, which will prove a real strength moving forward,” concludes Magnus Olsson.
Climate change poses a challenge for forestry Global warming is changing the temperature and rainfall patterns that we are used to. Heatwaves lasting several weeks may become common in low-lying areas, increasing the risk of forest fires, as well as damaging seedlings and providing an opening for insect pests and fungi. Increased rain and snowfall will be a challenge in places that already have problems with sea levels, flooding and drainage.
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