Reinventing the timber industry

10 March 2020

Leading timber corporations – such as SCC members SCA and Stora Enso – have made a determined effort of reinventing the conventional industry in the last decade, by intensively investing in innovation, research and development. Anders Petersson, Innovation Director at SCA Wood and Greg Pickett, Sales Director UK & Ireland at Stora Enso, disclose the main focus of the timber industry’s ambitious innovation agenda.

By introducing renewable solutions, SCA and Stora Enso are driving the transition from a society largely depending on the consumption of fossil-based materials to a sustainable future based on bioeconomy. The timber industry is rapidly approaching a future in which anything that is made of fossil-based materials also can be produced from a tree. “The fossil world is about to come to its end. The world needs a new approach to materials, so there is an increasing demand for raw materials that are renewable, recyclable and fossil-free,” says Greg Pickett.

As the largest private forest owner in Europe, SCA influences the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in two ways. The net sequestration of the vast and growing forests of SCA amounted to 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2018. Also, the products made of renewable fibre can replace materials, products and fuels with a higher carbon footprint. “The combined effects are equivalent to a positive climate effect of 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – an amount corresponding to the combined climate impact of all domestic flights and truck transports in Sweden,” says Anders Petersson.

Aligning with global sustainability goals
For Stora Enso, it is essential to align business operations with global sustainability goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Greg describes: “Sustainability at Stora Enso covers the social, environmental and economic responsibility of our operations throughout the value chain.” Stora Enso contributes by minimising the use of fossil-based fuel at the production units, reducing travelling and using less wood for more products. Similarly, the UN Sustainable Development Goals make up the map of SCA’s sustainability agenda. “We take a holistic approach and base our work on the whole value chain, from forest resources through our various processes and to our products, used by our customers and often reused, recovered or recycled,” says Anders. SCA recognises that the timber itself has a considerable impact on the possibility of achieving these goals: “Wood is a key component in this value chain, not least by being a climate friendly material from a climate friendly production process replacing materials with a much heavier carbon footprint.”

The future skylines are made of wood
Timber has the capacity of completely transforming the construction industry as well as the urban development of modern society, according to Greg. “We see a rising global demand for timber, so we aim for future skylines to be made of wood. With timber and massive wood, it is possible to build higher, stronger and lighter than ever before.” The principally engineered wood products of Stora Enso include CLT and LVL – cross laminated timber and laminated veneer lumber – enabling creative and modern architecture from a renewable resource. Another example of an innovative material is the so-called LVL-G, which is 15% thinner than CLT wall panels and therefore adds valuable additional gross internal floor area in the same building footprint. According to Greg, these innovative products are increasingly suitable for pioneering projects around the world: “We believe that we can take market share where existing materials have reached their limits.” For example, Stora Enso has developed massive wooden elements, which replace steel and concrete in high rise buildings and lignin, which replaces phenols in glue and paint.

Innovation, research and development
With a heritage dating back to 1288, Stora Enso regards continuous innovation as a key to longevity in business. The business spends approximately €150mn annually on projects aimed at research and development. “The significant focus and investment into R&D and innovation is a strategic move aimed at meeting growing urban construction needs and enabling Stora Enso to serve new geographic areas and markets globally,” says Greg. This is further demonstrated by the fact that the share of totally new products has increased from 1,5% to 9% of the total sales revenues, from 2015 to 2018.

The Stora Enso production site Sunila Mill in southern Finland will start producing batteries from 2021 and onwards. Other recent crossindustrial collaborations include supplying the textile industry with dissolving pulp, as well as having developed a biodegradable straw to replace plastic straws in partnership with the start-up Sulapac. Stora Enso has collaborative projects with Lendlease in the UK and in Australia, for its building concepts with consulting engineering groups such as Scott Brownrigg, Gardiner, JLL and Ramboll. “Our aim is to make the best possible solutions available for our clients – therefore, partnerships with various kinds of suppliers and construction companies are key to our transformation from a sawmill producer to a provider of innovative wood-based solutions,” says Greg.

SCA runs its own research and development centre in Sundsvall in the north of Sweden. They too run various collaboration projects, such as with RISE – the industry’s common development centre and Wood Centre North. SCA operates a pilot plant in the Obbola mill in Umeå in the north of Sweden, where black liquor from the kraft pulp process is being used as raw material for green chemicals, such as liquid biofuels – a crucial component in the transition from fossil-based transport to transport fuelled by renewable resources. The process of extracting green chemicals and liquid biofuels from black liquor will be further duplicated in the northern Swedish city of Timrå, where SCA will inaugurate a full scale biorefinery in connection with the Östrand pulp plant.

New technologies as a key to success
From Stora Enso’s point of view, new technologies in the wood industry result in more extensive design opportunities than ever before. The emergence of new technologies makes it easier for architects, engineers and site managers to design and build with mass timber. “Our current focus is on ‘end-to-end’ design and delivery with digital tools, which enables site managers to easily and accurately locate panel positioning, and capture site data during the build,” says Greg. It is also developing specialised sensors, which will be able to monitor the levels of moisture, volatile organic compounds, humidity and carbon dioxide during the lifetime of a building. “This means that important performance data of the building can be monitored for further future improvements in building physics design.”

There is a surprisingly wide variety of technological methods and equipment in use at the sawmills of SCA, such as complex vision systems, X-ray and laser technology. “The use of technology is important to ensure that we make the right choices as early as possible on how to produce, what products to use and to give the customer a stable and consistent quality.” For instance, SCA extensively utilises innovative technologies in order to deeply analyse the properties of the timber, where after the log is enriched with the required properties. “This will result in completely new possibilities in the future in terms of getting the right properties to the end-consumers. It will be a true game changer, although it may take a while due to heavy investments,” says Anders.

The future of the timber industry
There will be two main routes defining the future of the timber industry, according to Anders. First of all, there will be an increased industrial building of wood, with a variety of solutions in an increasing amount of countries. Second of all, an intensifying pace of urbanisation will result in a greater customer demand fully finished products, which are low maintenance and entail a wide variety of options. In order to meet the increasing customer demands, SCA is in close dialogue with its customer base: “We need the input and influence from the market and the customers. We must explore what their real demands and needs are.

Stora Enso has an optimistic view of the future. “Stora Enso’s global position gives us a unique worldview and we can see international trends and attitudes evolving,” says Greg. He states that the company is working at the cutting edge of the switch from traditional construction materials to wood. The trajectory is based on the sustainability agenda of metropolitan cities, as well as the priority from investors to invest in long term sustainable targets. Greg concludes: “Key to the industry’s ability to stay onboard with this trajectory is the need to be open to modernisation and investment in R&D to fully meet the ever changing needs of consumers and the construction industry, especially in terms of digital and design advancements.”

About SCA
Founded in 1929, SCA is a timber, pulp and paper manufacturer headquartered in Sundsvall in the north of Sweden. It’s product portfolio includes solid-wood products, pulp and forest-based biofuel. SCA is Europe’s largest private owner of forest and has 4,100 employees, with operations across Europe.

About Stora Enso
Stora Enso provides renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper. The Stora Enso group has some 26,000 employees in more than 35 countries and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. Stora Enso manages converting plants in China, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden.

By: Sara Apéria