Monday, April 11, 2016
Södra Wood acquired the remaining shares in Crown Timber Group Plc (Crown Timber) on March 31, 2016. Södra previously held approximately 20 percent of the shares in the company.
Crown Timber is a market-leading distributor of structural timber products to the UK and Irish timber engineering sector and to timber and builders’ merchants. The company reported sales of nearly GBP 120 million in 2015.
“The UK is our principal export market. This acquisition gives us valuable control over the entire supply chain – from the forest to the end users – and provides potential for growth,” says Jörgen Lindquist, Interim President at Södra Wood.
Crown Timber will become part of the Södra Wood business area within the Södra Group. It will incorporate all of Södra’s activities in the UK and Irish markets, including those to be conducted by the sales company that Södra was planning to launch in the UK in the first quarter of 2016.
Jörgen Lindquist added, “Crown Timber has been operated as a very successful business for many years and our intention is to continue using the same business model, while also being firmly integrated with Södra. In other words, it’s business as usual.”
Crown Timber Group’s chief executive and largest shareholder Stuart McIntyre, who will be leaving the company, commented “We have been a customer of Södra for close to thirty years and we know the company well. We believe that Södra is well placed to take this company forward, and it is inheriting a great workforce and management team who can help it move from strength to strength in the period ahead.”
Södra already has sales offices in China, Germany, the Netherlands, the US, Norway and Denmark.
The acquisition will take immediate effect and Christer Thörn, HR Director at Södra, will serve as Interim President until a permanent replacement has been found.
Tags: acquired, acquisition, business, Christer Thörn, Crown Timber, interim president, ireland, Jörgen Lindquist, markets, sales, sodra wood, Stuart McIntyre, UK
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