Setra acquires Barkevik Bruk

Setra, Sweden’s largest wood products company, is acquiring all the shares in Barkevik Bruk AS, a Norwegian producer of mouldings.

Barkevik Bruk is one of Norway’s leading manufacturers of mouldings in redwood and oak. The company employs 45 people and offers its products to the building materials trade and industrial customers. Sales have doubled over the past three years and today amount to just over SEK 125 million. The business is concentrated in Helgeroa outside Larvik, around 150 kilometres south of Oslo.

“Barkevik is a dynamic company with a high quality profile within wood processing. The acquisition clearly strengthens Setra’s position on the Norwegian market and supplements our current offering of interior and construction wood for the Norwegian building materials trade,” says Kent Torwald, President and CEO of Setra. “In addition, the acquisition creates a platform in Norway for Setra’s continued progress towards being a full-range supplier to the Scandinavian building materials trade.”

Today Setra has good geographical market coverage in northern Norway, particularly as regards interior and construction wood. Barkevik enjoys a strong position in the south of the country. The two companies complement each other on the Norwegian market in terms of both products and logistics. Setra is also an important supplier to Barkevik of high quality wood products for redwood mouldings.

“The major chains serving the building materials trade are growing and setting new requirements. This development is creating a need for large, strong suppliers able to meet these chains’ needs,” says Eivind Funnemark, Managing Director and principal shareholder of Barkevik Bruk. “Together with Setra we will drive forward this development in close cooperation with our customers, thereby creating continued growth and increased competitiveness throughout the value chain.”

Barkevik Bruk will be run as an independent subsidiary within the Setra Group under the new name Setra Barkevik AS. Eivind Funnemark will remain Managing Director of the company and will be a member of the management team for Setra’s marketing organisation.