Södra initiates process to close down Berg & Berg
Södra is initiating a process to close down Berg & Berg in Kallinge. Trade union negotiations will begin as soon as possible, and will affect all 60 employees. Berg & Berg has been on the market for some time but Södra has been unable to sell the company, and this is the reason for the closure. “This is a regrettable decision to have to give to all of our coworkers at Berg & Berg,” said Jörgen Lindquist, President of the Södra Wood business area.
Södra acquired Berg & Berg in 2012. It is a unit in the Södra Group that manufactures parquet flooring and has a strong brand, particularly in Germany and Austria.
The background to the closure is Södra’s decision last summer to withdraw from the interior wood segment, which includes parquet flooring, and the sale of its other operations in the segment. An announcement was made at that time concerning the sale of Berg & Berg.
“We had hoped to find a new owner and have long been discussing with various interested parties in an attempt to find a good solution, but this was unfortunately unsuccessful. Berg & Berg is currently not profitable and is facing major investments. However, the unit is still not expected to generate satisfactory profitability even after these investments, which was also the conclusion drawn by the interested parties. We must therefore now initiate a process to close down our parquet flooring operations in Kallinge. As a result, there will be no units left in the interior segment,” said Peter Karlsson, Head of the Södra Interiör segment.
“This is a tough decision to give to our employees. We will now do everything we can to ensure that this process is managed as well and as swiftly as possible,” said Peter Karlsson.
For more information, please contact:
Jörgen Lindquist, President of the Södra Wood business area
Phone: +46 (0)470 892 27
E-mail: jorgen.lindquist@sodra.com
Peter Karlsson, Head of the Södra Interiör segment
Phone: +46 (0)470 890 28
E-mail: peter.ma.karlsson@sodra.com
Södra’s Pressroom
Tel: +46 (0)470 890 90
E-mail: press@sodra.com
Södra was founded in 1938 and is the largest forest-owner association in Sweden, with a membership of more than 51,000 forest owners. We engage in modern and responsible forestry, and operate state-of-the-art mills in which we process our raw material. Net sales in 2017 were 20.5 SEK billion and there were 3,400 employees. Through value-generating relationships and a long-term approach, Södra is leading the way for the future of sustainable forestry.
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