Focus on OSB: Rest of the World | 25


Above left: Orsolya Kázmér Szabadné, manager of the Swiss Krono Hungarian operation, leads a tour of the Vásárosnamény facility with Martin Brettenthaler Above right: Kronospan Rivne OSB plant takes shape


million m3 , so it will be interesting to see how


close to reality that is. One of the stats worth noting in the 2022 EPF report was the fact that the UK became the largest OSB supplier to the EU-27 with 45% of extra-EU imports) due to European imports from Russia and Belarus receding by 54% and 68% respectively in 2022 due to sanctions. Germany, Romania and Poland are the top


three OSB producers in Europe. Germany as the largest European OSB producer manufactured just shy of 1.2 million m3


in 2023, according to official government statistics, a very slight growth on 2022.


PROJECTS


Kronospan has been focusing significant investment at its Tortosa site in Spain. It built a 25-hectare particleboard factory in 2023 that has a 720,000m3


annual production


capacity. Now it is developing an OSB production operation at the site with expected completion in 2025-2026 and an estimated capacity of 360,000m3


.


Catalonia Trade & Investment issued an announcement on the project in July 2023, outlining the €150m project and the creation of 75 jobs. In total, Kronospan’s overall investment in Catalonia amounts to more than €600m. The announcement was made at the


Tortosa site by the Minister of Business and Labour, Roger Torrent, the Minister of Territory, Ester Capella, and the General Manager of Kronospan, Javier Macicior. According to minister Roger Torrent, the


governmental support for the project was because “it contributes to the objective of


reindustrializing Catalonia with sustainable industry” and “it will help to boost the local economic fabric and the whole of Terres de l’Ebre.”


An urban development master plan for the area also intends to reorganize a sector of 675 hectares of economic and logistics activity, with a future access to the railway network, and to enable the implementation of an intermodal goods terminal. General manager of Kronospan Javier Macicior also announced the future creation of a wood cluster for which more than one million square meters of land have already been acquired. He also emphasized Kronospan’s commitment to the circular economy and green energy, utilising recycled wood for raw material.


Swiss Krono is also currently engaged in largescale investment in its Western European plants. Former Swiss Krono CEO Martin Brettenthaler had previously explained to WBPI how the Group was increasing its plant sizes to a similar level of 500,000-600,000m3


of renewable wood in the region, including pine, oak, poplar and chestnut. The investment plan is believed to be


approximately €340m, generating 130 direct jobs and nearly 500 indirect jobs. Transport infrastructures such as the proximity of a freight station in Tonneins and a motorway exit are among the reasons the location is favourable.


Plans outline a factory and storage site of 40-50 hectares, with a second site of nearly 15 hectares in the commune of Houeillès. Annual production capacity is believed


to be similar to other Swiss Krono mills – around the 600,000m3


mark. , in part due to the ending


of its Sharya OSB project in Russia due to the Ukraine war. The latest news from Swiss Krono is


the confirmation of a new greenfield OSB investment. The company had previously flagged up that it was considering a completely new plant and the result is the Orpinia project in France, with details being shared in the French news media last summer.


Incidentally, Orpin stands for the Alpine


flower and Pinia for the Landes pine. The focus is the Lot-et-Garonne region southeast of Bordeaux. Fargues-sur-Ourbise has been chosen due to a significant resource


Swiss Krono was carrying out various permit applications in late 2023 and we await further confirmation on a building permit and a final commitment to the site by the company. Meanwhile, Swiss Krono’s expansion plans at several of its other European plants have progressed and we expect these to be finished during 2024 and for the additional capacities to be added to the main listing next year.


These projects include increasing the plant at Sully-sur-Loire, France from the current 400,000m³ to 550,000m³. A mat pre-heating system on the production line is one of the technologies being employed to boost output.


The expansion at the Vásárosnamény plant in Hungary has continued and an additional 250,000m3


line to give it a 600,000m3


capacity will be added to the capacity. Again,


we expect to be able to add this additional capacity to the main listing next year. The company’s Siempelkamp line is being extended from 28.8-metres to 38.7 metres,


www.wbpionline.com | April/May 2024 | WBPI


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