SCA Wood Magazine 2/2020, ENG

SCA

Wood Magazine 2/2020

What Tech Can Teach Us Hélène Barnekow, CEO of Microsoft Sweden, on innovation, collaboration and how the forest relaxes her.

TIME MACHINE OF THE WOODEN INDUSTRY FOUR B’S OF INNOVATION WELCOME TO THE DIGITAL FOREST

An innovation that is expanding

The batteries of the future can be produced using forest materials. For other innovations from the growing forest, visit www.swedishforest.eu

Improving people’s lives with technological innovations, that is what motivates Microsoft Sweden CEO Hélène Barnekow.

20 New cultural centre in northern Sweden pushes the envelope for wooden buildings.

10 Digital opportunities enhance the refinement of forest resources.

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HISTORY OF THE WORKBENCH

“Get out into the forest”. That’s one of brain researcher Katarina Gospic’s best pieces of advice for anyone racking their brain for solutions.

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Ingenious carpentry with deep roots.

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A STATE OF FLUX

Computerised tomography sharpens sawmill’s precision.

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The CEO of Microsoft Sweden on her passion for innovation.

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HEAVENLY GARDENS

TOUCHING THE SKY

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THE DIGITAL FOREST Innovative research for smarter forestry.

HOW TO BE INNOVATIVE Practice your creativity with brain researcher Katarina Gospic.

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Cultural centre in timber attracts global attention.

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VISIONARY WITH A FEEL FOR THE FOREST Community builder Jan Wejdmark invests heavily in hometown.

Swedish wood adorns China’s concrete balconies.

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THE TIMBER INDUSTRY’S TIME MACHINE

A TASTE OF NATURE Restaurant Naturaj lets the forest flavour the menu.

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REFINING THE FOREST SCA’s innovation manager on product development.

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Head in the clouds, feet on the ground

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S A DOWN-TO -E ARTH PERSON ,

I'm closer to the soil than the sky. Of course, I also appreciate big ideas and high-flying plans; however, I prefer to focus on those first small steps, on how we actually turn ideas into reality. This may be a matter of making a seemingly mundane change, the importance of which only becomes apparent later, when we look at the big picture.

The word innovation, from the Latin innovatio, means to introduce change, do things differently or renew. It is therefore not necessarily a matter of invention but rather of thinking outside the box and making the new ideas we come up with useful. This is the theme of this issue of SCA Wood Magazine.

You will meet Hélène Barnekow, CEO of Microsoft Sweden, who stumbled into the telecom sector 25 years ago and introduced the mobile phone to a public previously satisfied with its landlines. The way Apple subsequently completely transformed the mobile market proved to be one of her most valuable lessons.

We also discuss timeless objects that seem to have been with us forever but that were innovations in their time, such as the workbench, the only task of which was and remains to hold the board in place, leaving both of the carpenter’s hands free.

Read about tomorrow’s digital forestry, about how the forest industry is using computer tomography to sort timber and how we can all train ourselves to be more innovative.

The latter may prove to be especially beneficial reading for a down-to-earth individual like me; speaking of which, the best definition I have found of the word innovation is practical creativity. To me, this is the essence in its combination of having one’s head in the clouds and feet firmly on the ground.

This is why we need all kinds of people in our organisations. So we can both plant the seeds of ideas and reap the benefits.

That is true innovation.

Pleasant reading!

JERRY LARSSON P R E S I D E N T, S C A W O O D

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PHOTO BJARKE INGELS GROUP

T I M B E R FA C A D E AND ROOFTOP FOREST ON GOOGLE’S LONDON HQ be moving in behind the largest timber facade on earth, covering 23,300 square metres. The new British HQ, currently being built in King’s Cross, London, will have space for 7,000 staff members and will make quite an impression with its Accoya glulam pillars in varying heights. The pillars make their mark on both the exterior and interior, with each one spanning several floors of the 11-storey building. The building’s roof will have a garden terrace planted with 250 trees, not to mention a running track and swimming pool. The design is the work of the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).

GOOGLE WILL SOON

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T E X T M AT S W I G A R D T

PHOTO BOSSE LIND

An innovative solution TO THE CARPENTER’S DILEMMA

There are images in Ancient Egyptian tombs showing how to tie pieces of wood between poles while working them. From there, the step to the important tool we call a workbench is not far; in principle, it is only a matter of keeping a piece of wood still while it is sawn or planed.

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from the workshop at school? A mild and pleasant form of anarchy at the workbench – the hub around which the woodworking lesson revolved.

The workbench was no ordinary school desk.

One did not sit down at it to count or write, on the contrary; at that worn, paint splattered workbench one stood up to saw, sandpaper or plane.

And to do so, you might hold the piece of wood in place with wooden screw clamps. It would sit there firmly, almost no matter what you did to it.

Other boards to be worked could be fixed between the bench stops that were sunk into a row of holes in the worktop. Or they could be gripped in a vice. Shavings curled up resting in long strips on the floor and sawdust itched in your nose. The air was fragrant with the smell of fresh wood. Woodworking class flashed by.

For Swedish carpenter Tomas Karlsson in Stigtomta just outside Nyköping, Sweden, the workbench has been a lifelong companion. He has an enormous, long-standing interest in historical carpentry and spent many years teaching at the Dacapo craft school in Mariestad, Sweden.

He has also researched old carpentry techniques and traditional tools predating the mechanisation of the carpentry trade. One side track involved a study of the history and design of the

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O YOU RECALL THE FEELING

workbench conducted with Norwegian colleague Roald Renmælmo.

“There has always been a need for an aid to hold the workpiece in place, rather than holding it in place with a hand or foot,” says Tomas.

In his own carpentry workshop, housed in a converted outbuilding dating from 1910 with knotted apple trees outside the window, there are tools and timber of all kinds.

There are also two sturdy workbenches; one a copy of a workbench found onboard the sunken seventeenth-century Swedish warship Vasa and the other a more modern version built in the late 1930s by a master carpenter in Tierp.

“They function roughly the same and I use both of them in my day-to-day work,” says Tomas.

The blog the pair ran during their study received a number of tips regarding aging workbenches in Sweden and Norway. Many of these were measured and registered. Replicas of a number of these finds were made by Tomas and Roald and used in their work as carpenters, including the workbench from the Vasa.

They were also quickly able to confirm that what we now call the workbench has a history dating far back in time, to the seventeenth century at least and probably even further – perhaps all the way back to the Ancient Egyptians. Or to Ancient Roman, where they identified workbenches that may have been used for woodwork.

FACTS

“The same appearance and function for 300 years.

That says it all.””

A workbench or woodworking bench is a sturdy bench used by carpenters to hold pieces of wood of various kinds, thereby making them easier to work with. It consists of a worktop and often one or two clamping devices designed to hold the workpiece in place.

JAN MÖLLEFORS

Workbenches are manufactured from hardwood such as beech, oak or these days even ash. It was once common for carpenters to make their own workbench.

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Holes, bench stops and clamps; the workbench has remained largely unchanged for centuries.

The replica of the Vasa bench in Tomas’ well-filled workshop consists of one rough, three-metre long oak board resting on a sturdy frame. The worktop is equipped with holes for iron bench stops for holding the workpiece. At the front, there is a stop, a grip, for use when working longer boards.

The legs too have holes for bench stops or wooden plugs on which to rest large workpieces for sawing or planing edges. All ingenious and well-thought-out aids that remain completely functional to this day.

In the mid-eighteenth century, European cabinetmakers brought a workbench north with them that is more reminiscent of the workbenches we use today. Tomas Karlsson’s second workbench clearly demonstrates the differences between the two designs.

“The German bench is notable for having both back and front screw clamps for holding the workpiece, unlike older workbenches with only a single open grip at the front without a screw,” Tomas summarises.

Since then, the workbench has retained the same appearance. Until the later half of the nineteenth century, it was a standard piece of equipment in every joinery workshop; however, as machinery moved in, so the workbench moved out.

When woodworking was introduced in many schools in 1878, the workbench enjoyed a revival.

It was even more in demand during the 1950s when woodwork became a compulsory school subject in Sweden, as it still is today.

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Since 1907, workbenches designed for school workshops have been manufactured in Målilla, southeast Sweden. The factory is still there, with largely the same equipment and tools its had in the 1940s. Leif Karlsson, whose great-grandfather founded the factory, manufactures six workbenches a year for discerning customers around the world.

“Everything is handmade from carefully selected timber and the workbenches look exactly the same as they have always done: the wooden screws are made of the end part of birch root, the top layer is made of beech, the thread block of birch and the base frame of pine,” explains Leif.

Sjöbergs in Stockaryd, Sweden, also manufactures workbenches, if on a somewhat larger scale than Leif Karlsson’s modest workshop in Målilla. Sjöbergs is the only company in the world that solely manufactures workbenches and accessories, turning out 10,000 benches a year in 15 different models, half of which are exported.

“The same appearance and function for 300 years,” says managing director Jan Möllefors.

“That says it all.”

Tomas Karlsson in Stigtomta, agrees that it is difficult to determine the age of a workbench; 1870 or 1960, it makes little difference, the bench remains the same: innovative and ingenious.

“And still very much a practical aid in the carpentry workshop that I personally wouldn’t be without,” says Tomas.

PHOTO REVER OG DRAGE ARKITEKTER

T H E H O U S E T H AT GROWS WITH Y O U R F A M I LY that, while suited to their current modest existence, could be expanded as their family grew: that was the wish of a young couple from Sunndal in Norway. Architects Rever & Drage took on the task and created a building in which the timber house takes up only one third of the total footprint.

The minimalist design stands out in this area of natural beauty; however, with time the house can be expanded until it finally resembles a traditional farmhouse with space for a large family. The roof, which already covers the entire footprint of the building, is supported by triangular glued laminated timber panels integrated with the timber panels that make up the walls of the current house. The space, with its triangular openings, is currently used by the couple as a garage, storage space, work area and for entertaining. As and when the budget allows and the need arises, the house can grow.

A HOME OF THEIR OWN

Live among the treetops takes the childhood treehouse to a completely new level. Modern architecture meets nature in a cultural-heritage landscape some 10 metres up in the air, in huts that sleep five and offer panoramic views across the lake. The light wood was selected to bring the constantly shifting colours of the surrounding forest into focus. The design is the work of architects Tord Kvien and Anne Katrin Taagvold and interior stylist Kirsten Visdal. Their aim was that the building should highlight and enhance the singular landscape – from the winding staircase that begins on the verdant forest oor and leads up to the treetops, to the open-plan huts and glazing that emphasise the height in a manner that takes away the breath of the guests who book in at totentretopphytte.no.

TOTEN TRETOPPHY TTE IN NORWAY

PHOTO NADIA NORSKOTT

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WITH A PASSION FOR

INNOVATION TEXT JENNIE ZETTERQVIST

PHOTO KRISTOFER LÖNNÅ

“Love being a part of the change”.

When presenting herself on social media, Microsoft Sweden CEO Hélène Barnekow emphasises her passion for change. Having stumbled into the telecom sector before it had a name, for the past quarter of a century she has found herself working internationally with innovation in the midst of a digital revolution.

“My perpetual motivation is curiosity about how technology can change and improve people’s lives,” she says.

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“Strong leaders who listen to their employees and have the courage to unleash innovation are the foundation of a creative climate.”

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HE YE AR IS 1993 . Hélène Barnekow is newly installed in her job as marketing manager at Microsoft’s Malta office when she slides a CD-ROM into her computer. It’s title is Encarta. When her screen offers up content equivalent to an enormous encyclopedia, she is dizzied.

“I still remember how the discovery felt in the pit of my stomach; after all that time spent in libraries, both as a student writing essays and for research in my working life, it seemed unfathomable that all of this – an entire library – was suddenly gathered on a tiny disc. It was a vertiginous feeling and I had a premonition of the revolutionary changes that were underway,” she says.

AT HOME WITH CHANGE

A few years earlier, having just graduated with a degree in international business, Hélène Barnekow had followed her yearning to see the world, accepting a job with Citibank in Geneva, Switzerland – a traditional career choice that did not suit her in the least. Nor did a brief interlude working for the United Nations offer what she was looking for. It was only when she took an unforeseen step into the nascent tech industry that the pieces fell into place and she found her calling.

“I found it incredibly fascinating! I found my passion in being in a context where we constantly pushed the boundaries and created change. The industry was all about innovation, largely because the technology allowed it,” she explains.

While at Ericsson, she took on the task of making the mobile telephone attractive to a public that barely understood what use they might have for it. Through the design of Ericsson’s classic models, such as the GF 788 and GF 768, she was involved in starting the revolution that resulted in most of us having our mobile phone within reach around the clock.

In 1997, she was promoted to her first senior management position at Ericsson Mobile Phones, after which she quickly climbed the executive ladder at Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications

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and American IT company EMC. After a period as CFO and then CEO of Telia Sonera, she finally returned to Microsoft. The circle may be complete but the world has changed.

“Today it is almost a struggle to recall how different the world was before the era of mobile phones. My children are 20 and 17 and of course they have no memory whatsoever of a world without mobile phones, where life didn’t revolve around texting, calling and constant access to information. It is almost incomprehensible that so much has happened in such a short time,” says Hélène Barnekow.

APPLE CHANGED THE RULES OF THE GAME

By the early 2000s, the appetite for constantly upgraded mobile phones was awakened and the trend was very much to design them as small as possible. Then came the revolution. In January 2007, Apple founder Steve Jobs climbed on stage clutching an iPhone and announced: "Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone."

At the time, Hélène Barnekow was working for Sony Ericsson in the United States; once again, she found herself with butterflies in her stomach facing the insight that a revolution was underway.

“That was a fascinating moment. Fascinating!

When I got my hands on an iPhone I saw that the design was fantastic, just like the interface and application software. It was a small computer that completely changed the definition of what a mobile phone was,” she says.

Although Sony Ericsson also had a smartphone, in its present form it lacked the capacity to deliver the same customer experience. While Hélène Barnekow pondered how quickly they might be able to catch up, others were entirely dismissive of the upstart newcomer.

“Many people in the established companies felt that the iPhone was too big, with an inadequate antenna that degraded call quality. And of course, that was all true, but they were too sure of themselves and lost focus. Apple redefined the market, thereby outcompeting the market leader Nokia, as well as Sony Ericsson and Blackberry.”

HÉLÈNE BARNEKOW, CEO OF MICROSOFT SWEDEN Born in Kävlinge, Sweden, now living in Stockholm.

Career in brief: Master’s degree in International Business from Lund University, worked for Citibank and the UN in Geneva, as marketing manager for Microsoft (Malta), in senior management roles at Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and IT company EMC (Boston, USA), as CEO of Telia Sweden and, since 2018, as CEO of Microsoft Sweden.

Hélène Barnekow began working at Ericsson in Lund, Sweden, in the mid-90s, surrounded by engineers and tasked with making the mobile phone attractive. “I don’t have an engineering background – my passion lies with the customer benefits.

What I really get excited about is constantly asking myself: what use does the customer have for this technology?” Over subsequent years she participated in the development of a number of innovations, including the integration of the MP3 player in phones.

This turnaround provided Hélène Barnekow with one of the greatest lessons of her professional life: it is dangerous to get too secure.

“Apple did a total reset of what the mobile phone was all about and that opportunity or risk exists everywhere, even in the forestry sector. Since then, I always assume that right now, someone somewhere is refining an innovation that may make whatever we’re working on obsolete. Actually, this makes me more open and I find it easier to glimpse threats or opportunities that we can incorporate into our own ecosystem,” she says.

TO DEVELOP, LISTEN INTERNALLY

Many other market leaders have also succumbed, having held on so tightly to their business idea that they have ignored possible innovations with greater appeal.

“I am thinking of Sony, for example, a fantastic company with widely admired products. I well remember the close relationship I had with my first Walkman. So, why didn’t Sony maintain control over music listening by inventing the iPod, when they also had the enormous resources of Sony Music? And Kodak, who owned the camera market in the analogue world. I am absolutely convinced that they came up with plenty of sensible ideas about digitisation internally, that some financial manager axed because they

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The pandemic has opened many people’s eyes to the possibilities of digital meetings, something that has put pressure on Microsoft’s R&D. As the company puts it: “Closing down the world, really opened it up”.

CEO Hélène Barnekow does not see the world returning to the pre-pandemic situation after this unexpected boost to digitisation.

were making so much money from rolls of film,” says Hélène Barnekow, who believes that strong leaders who listen to their employees and have the courage to unleash innovation are the foundation of a creative climate.

“As a leader, the important thing is to breed a culture in which employees feel that thinking about development is part of their job. Those closest to the day-to-day business will come up with the most sensible proposals, as long as they feel mandated to do so. So, encourage them! As a leader, I must ensure that I am not viewed as a brake block,” says Hélène Barnekow.

She emphasises that anyone who only looks at their own area will miss many opportunities.

Because innovation arises when organisations and people meet, she wants to tear down the barriers that so easily grow in large corporations.

This can be achieved with modest means, such as the Friday breakfast meetings she instituted at Microsoft.

“I invite someone from each department and have an open agenda. Not once have I left one

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of those meetings without new ideas. For me, this is the kind of thing that breeds culture: that I demonstrate what I consider to be of value to the company. It sets in motion a dynamic and an attitude that is impossible to impose, but that arises when employees are allowed to identify their own forms of collaboration.”

DIVERSITY BREEDS SUCCESS

Hélène Barnekow is renowned for promoting diversity in her management teams, something that she considers crucial to successfully driving change.

“While diversity is important for many reasons, it is absolutely crucial to creativity and innovation. I have seen so much evidence of that! If you can succeed in creating a diverse group in which everyone feels included, you will gain so much valuable experience in an environment where everyone’s input is appreciated. This naturally creates a whole new level of openness that makes more possibilities visible than in a completely homogeneous organisation. I am always much

“The scent of pine is the scent of my childhood.

In Sweden we take our access to the forest so much for granted that we barely speak about it, but it is a tremendous wealth! I have lived in various countries, sometimes in places where I had no opportunity whatsoever to get out into nature. That has a negative impact on your wellbeing. The scent of the forest, the calming effect it has on the mind, is unobtainable in any other way. It is marvellously beneficial to mind and body.”

HÉLÈNE BARNEKOW

more worried about the questions that go unasked in the room than those asked. If you have a team lacking in diversity, you know that you are missing something – possibly the most important issues.”

FINDING THE DIGITAL BALANCE

This year’s pandemic has given digitisation new momentum, and interest in Microsoft’s products and services has increased rapidly. R&D initiatives planned to take two years had to be completed in two months and Hélène Barnekow is delighted that more people have discovered how efficient digital meetings can be. She believes that, to some extent, this change of habits is here to stay.

There are many positive effects to holding fewer physical meetings, not least environmentally. That said, there are also challenges to working entirely digitally.

“Here at Microsoft, we were already working flexibly before the pandemic and had all of the equipment we needed to do so; however, we were not prepared for going five months without seeing a single colleague. This is highly negative and I

have had to practice my leadership everyday to find out what the team needs to function properly and feel well. I feel that I’m still learning,” she says.

Hélène Barnekow also believes that our obsessive use of mobile phones will become more nuanced. She recalls during the 1990s when a team at Ericsson first presented a survey of the as yet unarticulated trend in the early development of mobile phones – what we now know as instant gratification – something that causes us to constantly pick up our smartphones to see if we have received more likes.

“This is incredibly addictive but I do believe that we will get over it. We know that it’s unhealthy to stare at our mobiles all the time.”

She believes that, just as being constantly connected became a status symbol, it will become a privilege to be able to disconnect from the mobile.

“When everything moves as rapidly as it does today, I see it as absolutely crucial to find one’s own way of resting the mind and gaining vital recovery time,” says Hélène Barnekow.

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FROM CONCRETE BALCONY TO GARDEN IN THE SKY TEXT HÅKAN NORBERG

PHOTO FERNZ

Some 200 million balconies are waiting to be decorated in China.

Lazy Cat, the retail chain of timber products manufacturer Fernz, has the solution.

“We offer a one-stop-shop for balcony design based on Swedish pine,” says Rick Rosewarne, business development manager at Fernz.

IN A COUNTRY OF 1.4 BILLION inhabitants, most of whom live in tower blocks in multi-generation homes in often cramped conditions, a balcony can provide a valuable extra room.

Timber products manufacturer Fernz has taken this on board with its brand Lazy Cat, which specialises in balcony furnishings for the Chinese market.

“Fernz is rooted in Australia where, like many European countries, we take outdoor spaces such as gardens and wooden decks for granted. We have carried that concept with us into the Chinese market,” says Rick Rosewarne.

In Chinese cities, however, space for outdoor environments is severely limited. This is why the company has set its sights on balconies.

DESIGN STORES FOR BALCONIES

Lazy Cat has 60 stores offering planning, design and construction of balcony fixtures and fittings, including the installation fo water and electricity. Much of the material is timber treated for outdoor environments, which happens to be Fernz’s core business.

Just like any other furniture showroom, Lazy Cat stores display examples of fixtures, fittings and furnishings. They have floors, wall panels, furniture and plants – all specifically designed and manufactured for balconies. And the market is enormous. There are approximately 200 million unfurnished balconies in China and interest in this form of outdoor interior design is increasing among the growing middleclass.

“We are expanding our customers’ living area by demonstrating that balconies can be used as a functional space instead of simply for storage or as a laundry room,” says Rick Rosewarne.

SWEDISH RAW MATERIALS

To source raw materials for their balcony products, Fernz has turned to Sweden. Rick Rosewarne describes a Chinese market that is becoming increasingly aware of quality and environmental considerations, something that Lazy Cat needs to live up to.

“Once we came into contact with SCA, we found ourselves with access to a steady flow of durable, high-quality pine in a long-term business relationship. This makes it possible for us to realise Lazy Cat’s vision of ‘gardens in the sky’ on Chinese balconies.”

FERNZ THREE COMPANIES Fernz Garden Wood offers timber products for and construction of outdoor environments. Fernz Decking sells and installs decking. Lazy Cat Wood Balcony designs and furnishes balconies.

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TEXT JENNIE ZETTERQVIST

PHOTO VIVEKA ÖSTERMAN

Swift, stylish and smart urban facades A smart, stylish pine facade system for high-rise buildings, this unique concept has been realised by researchers and has now been installed on two buildings in Luleå.

“This could change everything going forward, from how we plan and purchase timber facades to how we deliver and install them,” enthuses project manager Karin Sandberg of Rise, The Research Institutes of Sweden.

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brick remain common facades in urban environments, in the near future efficient timber facade systems can become a competitive alternative even for high-rise buildings. For the past three years, the innovation project The Facade of the City: Swift, Stylish, Smart has been refining a prototype involving an entirely new initiative for the Swedish market.

“The demand for a climate-neutral, bio-based facade system already exists among developers and architects who are looking for opportunities to create an architectural design language for timber that is less constrained than previously,” says Karin Sandberg.

HILE RENDER AND

AMBITIOUS WISH LIST

The level of ambition is high: the three Ss in the project’s name – Swift, Stylish, Smart – describe a facade system that is functional, architecturally interesting, durable, economic, can be efficiently installed and has a strong environmental profile.

“We believe that we can fulfil the entire wish list!

We have worked on a great many prototypes in a laboratory environment and so far, having reached the point of installation, we feel satisfied with the results,” says Karin Sandberg.

Rise is managing the project in collaboration with Luleå University of Technology in northern Sweden. SCA is also a partner in the project, supplying timber, design knowledge and manufacturing of prototypes at its SCA Wood Scandinavia facility in Stugun, Sweden. Paint manufacturers Jotun and Teknos, painters Bergströms Måleri AB and architects Gezelius are also participating.

“It’s incredible to have access to such a good consortium, all of the partners in which are contributing to deepening our knowledge of the complexities, from choice of material and design to surface treatment and installation,” says Karin Sandberg.

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SUCCESSFUL INSTALLATION

In collaboration with property developer Lindbäcks, the system has now been installed on newbuild student accommodation with rented apartments in Luleå. Lindbäcks has taken a strong interest in the product, which makes economically sustainable building with a low carbon footprint feasible.

“We previously tested a system that was not a complete success. This constellation of group members means that we should be able to achieve a functioning solution this time,” says product manager Lars Oscarsson.

The installation of the facade went well and Lindbäcks is following the project with interest; for example, to see if the concealed mounting will lead to reduced maintenance costs. That said there are clear requirements to further improve the economic viability of the system, a task that project manager Karin Sandberg is already looking forward to with relish.

“We have ideas about how we can make the system even more efficient and user-friendly. There is strong development potential in the product and we have a solid foundation for a continued innovation project,” she says.

EVEN MORE STYLISH

With regard to the ongoing project, the main remaining concern is to expand on the concept of stylishness. The desire for the aesthetic design is that it should be possible with small means to vary the appearance and, above all, liberate the design from traditional standing panels.

“This is just the beginning! Perhaps not next year, but when we are finally able to demonstrate that we can install the system quickly and efficiently while at the same time realising all of the other benefits of timber facades, then a great deal will change,” says Karin Sandberg.

During almost three years of innovation, the product has developed from concept and prototype to an installed facade on student accommodation in Luleå, Sweden.

“It’s great to be part of launching a timber facade system concept that is new to the market,” says Rise project manager Karin Sandberg.

Property developer Lindbäcks is the first to test the product, of which much is expected. “If we succeed with this project, we will have an attractive, competitive timber facade product,” says product manager Lars Oscarsson.

ABOUT THE PROJECT The facade research is one of four subprojects in the three-year innovation project IPOS Swedish Wood - Innovation Potential for the Bio-based Society. The project is coordinated by Rise, The Research Institutes of Sweden, with SCA among the expert partners.

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TEXT JENNIE ZETTERQVIST

PHOTO WHITE ARKITEKTER

TOUCHING THE SKY

W I T H

T I M B E R

T R A D I T I O N

The Swedish town Skellefteå’s new cultural centre rises 20 storeys into the sky. The design by White Arkitekter combines arts and performance spaces with a premium hotel in one of the tallest timber buildings on earth.

“The eyes of the world are on this project,” says architect Robert Schmitz.

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PHOTO JONAS WESTLING

Sara Cultural Centre in northern Sweden will house five permanent organisations: Skellefteå Public Library, Museum, Skellefteå Art Gallery, Västerbotten Theatre and Elite Hotels. White Arkitekter’s building was selected in a competition that attracted a total of 60 entries.

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combines the Swedish town Skellefteå’s long tradition of timber building with cutting edge engineering. The opportunity to test the limits of timber construction was one important reason why White Arkitekter decided to enter the competition announced by Skellefteå Municipality in 2015.

“The aim was not to make a wooden building, it was to make a cultural centre built of wood. The material was not a requirement on the part of the municipality but we were aware that Skellefteå is a progressive municipality with a clear strategy to build in timber,” says architect Robert Schmitz, who is responsible for the project together with colleague Oscar Norelius.

They confirm that, since then, a great deal has happened in terms of interest in renewable building materials.

“The approach is entirely different now than it was only five years ago. The question back then was: why should we build in timber? Now, the question is: how do we build in timber?”

AR A CULTUR AL CENTRE

INSTILLED WITH TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

White has a wealth of experience in modern timber construction technology, especially residential projects. With this competition, the next step awaited: to increase the stakes by using sustainable timber construction in more complex buildings.

By conducting research into and developing knowledge of what is still the only carbon-neutral

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building material, by 2030 White Arkitekter is aiming to achieve completely climate-positive architecture.

The complex construction of the cultural centre, which makes maximum use of timber, has provided plenty of challenging opportunities for such development. These have been met in collaboration with other driven experts in their respective fields, most of whom have local roots in a region with a strong tradition of building in timber.

“Technological innovation was instilled in this project from beginning to end. It has always been a matter of all participating parties facing new problems that we have solved together. Our experience has been of a very strong drive on the part of all involved to ensure that this would be a timber building, even though we lacked reference points,” says Oskar Norelius.

WORLD’S TALLEST TIMBER TOWER

Two different hybrid construction systems were developed for the project in collaboration with structural engineering company Florian Kosche.

The low-rise part of the complex, which houses cultural activities, consists of a glue-laminated timber post and beam system, together with loadbearing cross-laminated timber walls that help to stabilise and distribute loads from the tower.

Exposed trusses in a glulam and steel hybrid material span up to 20 metres to create a flexible open floorplan.

The high-rise consists of prefabricated

PHOTO JONAS WESTLING

The robust timber structure ensures that the cultural centre and hotel will be able to cope with Skellefteå’s harsh winters while remaining energy efficient.

PHOTO WHITE ARKITEKTER

AT THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION

The cultural centre marks the beginning of a complete urban transformation and provides the landmark building that Skellefteå has long coveted. The architects are delighted with their success in exposing the timber interior while meeting high safety standards. The exposed timber trusses spanning the foyer are one example of how the material’s function is combined with aesthetic effect.

“Of course, building the frame in timber is one thing, but the great thing about this project is how we have used the wood architecturally. The structure is also ornamental and visitors can truly experience the material and the warmth it gives off,” says Oscar Norelius.

It is planned to inaugurate the cultural centre after summer 2021 and global interest is high.

“Sweden has become an inspiration to the rest of the world when it comes to sustainable timber construction and as the responsible architects we have received a great many international invitations to talk about the project. Sara Cultural Centre is being closely examined all over the world and many people are thinking: if they can do it Skellefteå, then we can do it here too,” says Robert Schmitz.

FACTS In honour of author Sara Lidman Sara Cultural House is named in honour Sara Lidman, one of Sweden’s foremost authors renowned for creating her own literary language, who was born in Missenträsk in Skellefteå Municipality in northern Sweden. Sara Lidman (1923-2004) was the author of over 20 published works.

Responsible stakeholders Project owner: Skellefteå Municipality Architect: White Arkitekter Manufacture and installation of timber frame: Martinsons Frame project design: TK Botnia, WSP Hotel modules: Derome Energy solutions: ABB and Skellefteå Kraft Building contractor: Hent

FOTO ANDERS BOBERT

hotel room modules stacked 13 storeys high between two stabilising lift cores in cross-laminated timber. The room modules were manufactured in a factory 40 kilometres north of Skellefteå and were delivered complete with bathroom, installations and fixtures and fittings. Room-high glazing exposes the interior timber ceilings. The initial plan was to build 16 storeys; however, over the course of designing the project the tower has grown to 20 storeys, making it the world’s tallest timber tower measured in the number of floors.

“It’s great that municipalities have such strong belief in timber buildings that they are willing to take the lead. We are now seeing that commercial property developers are also interested in building in timber and, pleasingly, it is Sweden’s smaller towns that are driving this development,” affirms Robert Schmitz (right) of White Arkitekter.

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N

AN OLSSO JOH

O OT

H

P

"What benefits innovation?

Well, being open."

SVERKER DANIELSSON PROGRAMME MANAGER, MISTRA

THE ORGANISATIONS PARTICIPATING IN AND FUNDING MISTRA DIGITAL FOREST Mistra, Swedish Forest Industries, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå University, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Skogforsk, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, BillerudKorsnäs, Holmen, SCA, Stora Enso, Sveaskog and Södra.

Learn more about the research programme at mistradigitalforest.se.

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T H E D I G I TA L

F O R E ST TEXT HÅKAN NORBERG

PHOTO ADOBE STOCK

Digital information as a basis for forestry planning and decision-making.

This is being addressed in a collaboration between academia and the public and private sectors within the framework of the research programme Mistra Digital Forest. The objective is to use raw materials and machinery more efficiently, thereby contributing to increased sustainability.

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innovation are the hallmarks of research programmes conducted within the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra).

The foundation invests in fields with the potential to solve important environmental problems and strengthen Sweden’s competitiveness. Research is interdisciplinary within academia and conducted in collaboration with the business community, public authorities and other stakeholders.

Mistra finances some 20 major research investments. Although the normal agreement period is four years, most programmes are granted an additional period, meaning that the majority of Mistra’s investments are given eight years to demonstrate results.

One such investment is Mistra Digital Forest, a programme to take stock of the forest using laser scanning. While not an entirely new concept, scanning is now performed with considerably higher detail using two frequencies of laser, something that could make it possible to determine tree species.

“We are also evaluating the possibility of measuring growth using this tool; for example, to see where growth is especially high and try to understand why,” says Sverker Danielsson, programme manager at Mistra.

OLL ABOR ATION AND

SURVEYING THE TREES

He explains that this scan generates so much data that it will be enough to keep researchers busy for many years to come. When data from laser

scanning is supplemented by harvesting data, essential elements of the tree lifecycle will be mapped.

“This opens up new possibilities for predicting the production of sawn timber, which in turn takes the planning of allowable cut from the forest to a new level. We will know in advance what it is possible to produce from the forest when it is felled and be able to better utilise timber raw materials,” says Sverker Danielsson.

The programme is also working to develop methods for sustainability assessments and is keen to promote transparency, so that everyone has the full picture and the many stakeholders in society can discuss the issue openly. How can forestry be made even more sustainable and even more gentle on forests?

OPENNESS BENEFITS INNOVATION

Sverker Danielsson, who has managed many similar research projects, stresses the strength in the programme’s collaborations: businesses, public authorities and academia working together to improve Swedish forestry.

“What benefits innovation? Well, being open, rather than everyone returning home with their own ideas,” he says.

The participation of the partners provides a high level of expertise and great commitment, and the participating companies contribute relevant cases in which issues can be tested and discussed.

“Not only that, but no single stakeholder is left to pay for the entire development cost,” says Sverker Danielsson.

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COMPUTER ASSISTED TOMOGRAPHY

The timber industry’s time machine TEXT HÅKAN NORBERG

PHOTO SCA

Precision high-speed computer tomography of logs offers new possibilities for planning the manufacture of sawn timber products to meet specific requirements. The technology is something of a time machine, displaying boards before they are sawed and travelling back to previously scanned logs, providing a detailed image of raw material stock and its quality.

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Swedish sales manager for the Norwegian company Talgø MøreTre. Robert Lundgren is business developer at Bollsta Sawmill in Sweden. SCA Wood Magazine brought them together to discuss the possibilities of computer assisted tomography in the timber industry from a customer and supplier perspective respectively.

Patric Pettersson: “Talgø MøreTre supplies pretreated timber products such as panels and decking, all impregnated using our MøreRoyal process. This process combines traditional pressure impregnation with boiling the water out of the timber in a pressure cylinder filled with oil heated to 80°C. This provides a highly water-repellent wood surface with less risk of swelling and cracking. We can also colour the wood during the process.”

Robert Lundgren: “I work on mapping the logs arriving at the sawmill, so that we can best match them to the products the market is demanding. It’s all about piecing the puzzle together, making sure the raw material meets our customers’ needs. And using as much of the wood as possible.”

PP: “Our products are relatively expensive and our customers have high demands. We only work with better qualities of timber but even here there may be small flaws that are unacceptable to our customers. The choice of timber is therefore extremely important to us.”

RL: “We recently installed a new rotating CT scanner that builds up a high-resolution 3D

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ATRIC PETTERSSON IS

model of the log in which we can see many of its characteristics: where the twigs grow, where they transition from healthy to black, cracks in the trunk, damage caused by elk, broken tree tops ... This allows us to sort with a high level of precision.”

PP: “I see great opportunities for developing new products using this technology. Sometimes we get held back by a lack of knowledge of the raw material, something that may mean we abandon an idea. Together with the sawmill, we can now review the various possibilities as we can see the boards before they are even sawn.”

PP: “Now, if I ask Robert a question about our critical requirements he can very quickly make an assessment.”

RL: “Exactly! We can immediately transplant the new product into the flora of our existing production and see what opportunities we have to develop it together. Do we have the capacity to manufacture this new product? Do we have raw materials to cover the need? What has this raw material looked like historically? And so on.”

PP: “We have a wealth of new ideas for timber products; for example, we are looking at furniture a great deal. But wood shifts: it’s a living material, with natural imperfections in its quality. There are many challenges that must be matched against our requirements. In principle, we can now see into the future when we look into the wood; so, we can push the envelope in a way we were never able to do before and develop products that we could not have done before. It’s an exciting time!”

FACTS Bollsta Sawmill in Sweden uses the CT Log solution from Microtec to create a layered scan of a log at high speed and with great precision. The system scans and creates 3D images of the raw material at a speed of 180 m/min. This allows the timber to be evaluated in great detail at an individual level.

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REFINE, REFINER, REFINEST TEXT HÅKAN NORBERG

PHOTO SCA

Intermediate-coated exterior claddings are part of a new trend in the timber products industry for increasingly refined products. For the customer, this means fewer tasks on site, resulting in cheaper construction with higher quality.

“Exteriors have become more like interiors. Many customers are demanding personal colours on house facades, with matching roofs, drainpipes, bargeboard and other details. This is definitely a new trend.”

S T E F A N B L O M Q V I S T, SALES MANAGER, JOTUN SWEDEN.

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L ADDINGS IN ALL possible colours, primed and with an intermediate coat direct from the factory, with a short lead time. This is what many customers are demanding of the venerable builders’ merchants Byggmakker Aasen & Five in Stjördal, central Norway.

“As much as possible should be as finished as possible,” says the company’s CEO, Jan Mauseth.

Byggmakker Aasen & Five buys exterior claddings from SCA Wood Scandinavia in Stugun, Sweden, where investments have been made in new technology to paint more efficiently and with higher quality – and to change colour more easily.

“We have many customers who want their own, specific colour on their house. At the same time, quality and lead times remain equally important, which places higher demands on our suppliers,” says Jan Mauseth.

This trend for increasingly finished products is also evident to Stefan Bylund, site manager at SCA Wood Scandinavia in Stugun.

“Carpenters and painters want more finished or half-finished products, to reduce the number of tasks on site. This is true of everything from painted products to cutting, drilling and milling. We refine the products much more today than we did only 10 years ago,” he says.

A cladding with an intermediate coat can be installed all year round, as the timber is already weatherproof on delivery.

Nor is there any risk of the cladding becoming stripey when the timber shrinks after the first coats, whereas the stripes from the wood treatment may show on claddings not painted until after installation.

“The fact that the cladding is the right colour from the start also means that the homeowner feels that the house is finished, even if there is another coat remaining. A lot of people appreciate that,” says Jan Mauseth.

FA C T S Intermediate-coated exterior claddings are painted in the factory under optimal conditions, in the ideal environment with the right amount of paint. This protects the cladding for up to two years after installation before it needs to be given the final coat.

Common location for transport information INFORMATION ON PROCUREMENTS and orders for road, rail and maritime shipments is gathered in the service C-Load. This helps buyers to find suppliers and transport companies to find assignments. Freight receivers, terminals and ports can also use to service to good advantage.

“C-Load has increased efficiency and provided us with statistics and thereby knowledge we were previously lacking. In addition, our customers can also track their shipments from us,” says Lars Norberg, Business Developer at SCA Wood.

Over 270 logistics companies use C-Load. With the help of the service, goods are transported every day to recipients across Europe, as well as Asia, Africa and North America.

You can find the service at c-load.com and find more information at sca.com/en/wood.

FOTO C-LOAD

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A NEW VISION FOR THE SWEDISH FOREST TEXT HÅKAN NORBERG

PHOTO GRANÖ BECKASIN

From the capital-intensive property sector in metropolitan areas, to ecotourism in the forests of northern Sweden’s inland; Jan Wejdmark has a vision for societal development, even in forested counties.

One vision he would like to realise involves his hometown of Granö, Sweden.

“If one works with people whose only interest is the bottom line, the result is seldom satisfactory. In my experience, something else is required: conviction,” he says.

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AN WEJDMARK IS founder and co-owner of Newsec, Europe’s largest property management and consultancy company. He is also the fifteenth generation of his family to be born and raised in the village of Granö in the inland of Västerbotten County, an hour’s drive from the coastal city of Umeå in northern Sweden. As he himself puts it, he has a strong bond to the area to say the least.

In an effort to halt a 50-year trend of closures and depopulation in Granö, Jan Wejdmark has chosen to invest heavily in his home district. His intention is to create a business development hub based on the many unique experiences the forest has to offer.

“We chose not to start manufacturing industries, as these become more profitable the fewer people they employ. On the contrary, we want to create as many jobs as possible so that people choose to stay, to move here and start families in Granö. We therefore chose the tourism and experience industry, which is based on a large and competent workforce,” he explains.

Jan describes tourism as the leading growth

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industry globally, even if it is admittedly experiencing difficulties in conjunction with the pandemic.

Once the world comes to grips with COVID-19, however, Granö stands ready – largely thanks to Jan Wejdmark’s investments.

One such investment is Granö Beckasin, an ecological nature tourism destination that attracts visitors from all over the world to the village in search of experiences in the forest, on the river and lakes – while enjoying luxury accommodation in the midst of nature, including Bird’s Nests up in the trees.

“Some guests cry when they leave us; they have never experienced anything so extraordinary and yet they have still only seen a tiny part of the Swedish forest,” says Jan Wejdmark, As he is a trained surveyor and real estate economist, Jan has been involved in community building his entire working life; however, this development of homes, offices, shopping centres, industries and infrastructure has been restricted to towns and cities. In rural areas, it has mostly been a matter of dismantling.

Jan Wejdmark’s vision is to demonstrate that community building is not something that only

Multiple-use forestry creates values that can be harvested every day has always fascinated me. In forestry, the perspective is longer than in almost any other business. I still cultivate the land my great-great-great-grandfather acquired from the state almost 200 hundred years ago, and what my grandfather planted a century ago, I will harvest tomorrow.

The Swedish forest is valuable – indeed, full of values – and is ideal for multiple use. Investing in a single tree species, a monoculture and a single felling that in a century will yield its entire financial outcome cannot be right.

Innovative thinking is required, not solely based on dollar per cubic metre of forest but on the parallel development of new values that can be harvested every year and, preferably, every day.

Our forest has unique values that have not been processed and made available; rather, in light of the right of public access, they have been regarded as free and therefore worthless in economic terms.

Nature tourism is one of the fastest growing industries globally. People come from all over the world in search of experiences to take home with them. The heavily forested land of Sweden has unique qualities that are attractive to this type of guest. We have good infrastructure, a linguistically proficient population, a secure society, rich history, an environmentally friendly attitude and fantastic natural surroundings with forests, lakes and rivers.

Today, in principle parts of our forest have zero value.

In Swedish forestry legislation, these are referred to as “impediments” – areas deemed insufficiently productive to count. To the tourist, this part of the forest is often the most valuable! The marshes remain untouched and look much the same as they did two centuries ago when my ancestors acquired the land; not for the wood but for its most valuable asset, the marsh grass used as fodder for the farm’s animals.

For decades now, forestry has increased in quality and profitability by increasing volumes while constantly reducing the workforce. International tourism offers a counterpoint to this. Here, a large workforce is the foundation for an attractive business. Investment in tourism can reverse the negative population trend in forest areas to an increasing population, growth and new services.

In this, Sweden can be a global role model by cultivating, rather than consuming, all of the values of the forest.

THE FOREST AROUND MY HOMETOWN

belongs in urban areas but that it is also possible to create sustainable growth in the villages of Sweden’s forest landscape.

“We should be cultivating the forest in more than one way. The Swedish forest is unique in the world and its financial value goes far beyond felling. It surprises me that we have not made more out of it,” he says.

He emphasises the silence, an endangered quality in the modern Western world.

Silence is to be found in the forest. We can pick berries and mushrooms to eat. We can roam freely. These are things that Swedes take for granted but that are astonishing to many people from other parts of the world.

“Forests are also a vital factor if we are to solve the climate crisis. While harvests from Swedish forests have increased dramatically, so too have forest stocks. This is something we should be proud of and show off, both to Swedes and foreigners!”

JAN WEJDMARK FOUNDER AND CO-OWNER,

Adjacent to this article, Jan Wejdmark himself describes his vision for the multiple use of the Swedish forest.

NEWSEC

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HOW TO BE MORE

INNOVATIVE TEXT JENNIE ZETTERQVIST

PHOTO JENNY HAMMAR

Our brains love the familiar. At the same time, they are also tickled by new discoveries. Brain researcher Katarina Gospic knows how best to train our innovative abilities – and where: in a secure environment in which we have the courage to make mistakes, and lots of them.

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slowest day.” The gospel according to Katarina Gospic puts pressure on those of us wishing to keep up with the times. Progress has never been as rapid as it is now and the pace is increasing with every passing day. So, what should we do to avoid lagging behind when our human desire to ‘do things the way we always have’ is so strong?

“People walk a tightrope between the desire to remain safe and the knowledge that through innovation and development we can enjoy even better conditions for survival. Those who adapt best to their circumstances are also the ones who survive. This is a fundamental force that both drives and rewards us. Coming up with new solutions activates a reward signal that ultimately has a survival value,” she explains.

ODAY IS YOUR

WHO WANTS TO END UP AS SHARK FOOD?

Of course, the level of willingness to innovate is highly individual; there have always been thrill-seeking madcaps willing to throw themselves into the unknown and there has always been someone coming up the rear. In between somewhere is the herd, happily following the beaten path.

“If you take the first and greatest risk, you are gambling the most for the highest stakes. Consider when humans left Africa. The very first to do so died but those who followed close behind had greater success. If one thinks in terms of risk-taking, then all personality types are necessary to drive development forward. If everyone had jumped into the sea at once, we would all have been eaten by sharks,” says Katarina Gospic.

While genetics determines what type of risk taker we will be in adult life – daredevil or nervous Nellie – as children almost all of us are all highly creative and innovative.

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How much of a daredevil are you? This is closely related to the state of your dopamine system and how much of a “tingling in the stomach” you require to feel the kick that dopamine gives you. Genetics decides whether, in your case, living on the edge means jumping off a bridge or out of an aeroplane – but remember, every personality type is needed in a successful team!

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Innovation demands time for recovery and the forest is Katarina Gospic’s inexhaustible energy supply. Regular ‘forest baths’ wash away her worries and allow her thoughts to wander down new paths. “My daily recharging routine is to get out in nature for a run or walk,” she says.

“When we test children’s creativity, they perform very well at thinking outside the box; however, among young adults only a handful perform at the highest level. The others have already adopted a conventional mindset,” says Katarina Gospic.

The widely accepted explanation for this uniformity is the tendency of the school system to force everyone into the same mould. Only the most wilful among us succeed in retaining those youthfully creative edges that society seems so keen to smooth out. According to our brain researcher, if we can succeed, that’s great.

“Creativity is something that we are all demonstrably born with and is highly positive when it comes to finding new solutions. We need this ability and we should embrace it more readily. The more varied or diverse the people in a company are, the better it will perform,” she says.

BUS, BATH, BED AND BAR

Naturally, if it is to bring the best out of its employees creatively, the company also needs to create a favourable environment. A sense of security provides a crucial platform.

“This is especially true for employees who are less prone to taking risks. If they are allowed to work in a context that permits mistakes, they will have the courage to test, to miss the target, test again and improve. In large companies there is not always the scope to do so, but there should be,” says Katarina Gospic.

It should also be recognised that it is not in front of the computer or in an office environment that we are at our most creative. When faced with solving a tricky problem, the creative juices often flow better in completely different circumstances, sometimes described as the Four B's: bus, bath, bed and bar.

“These are the typical places in which we relax and allow our thoughts to wander. We zone out and use other parts of our brain. New paths leave new impressions and when we return to the problem or place, it may be easier to see a solution,” says Katarina Gospic.

Companies that remain at the cutting-edge, that create the space for and take advantage of innovation, have many benefits to reap in the future, something made clear to those who had already pushed ahead with their digitisation

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GETTING TO KNOW KATARINA GOSPIC Katarina Gospic is a medical doctor and brain researcher who left a more traditional career for life as an entrepreneur, lecturer and author. She is currently director of neuroscience at visual immersion company Spinview.

strategy when the coronavirus struck.

“The consequences were greater for those who lacked a solution for something as simple as digital meetings and had to compete with those who had already completed the transformation. The results are never as good when one solves issues in a panic as when one is prepared and has taken the time to test various alternatives and identify the best one,” says Katarina Gospic.

INNOVATION SAVES THE WORLD

Among other things, Dr Gospic works with something called social VR, technology that enables digital teleportation. As an example, this allows companies to place personnel digitally in a factory or building site, with the experience of being there and meeting others in person but without the need to travel or the risk of infection, or indeed any disastrous consequences should they make an error. In the wake of the pandemic’s

HOW TO BECOME MORE INNOVATIVE: THREE TIPS FROM THE BRAIN RESEARCHER > Become really good at what you do “When you know your field, you free up space for original thinking. Practice hones your skills and skills provide a good base from which to explore new paths. Innovation is often born out of the marriage of something you are very good at and something altogether different.” > Feel your way forward “Having the courage to try something new means exposing yourself too the risk of either losing or winning big. It is unreasonable to expect to ‘score a goal’ with your first attempt.

In football, you might kick the ball hundreds of times, get a feel for it and finally find the best contact to put it into the back of the net. That’s how we should be looking at business innovation as well.” > Have the courage to get off the roundabout “Wrestling with a problem is a bit like driving your car around a roundabout; if you keep following it round and round, you won’t get anywhere. Instead, take one of the exits and start exploring your surroundings. More often than not, innovative ideas don’t spring from the place in which they will be used.

Turn your mobile phone off and take a walk, talk to new people or do something you don’t usually do. Once you have collected new impressions, you can return better able to solve the problem.”

impact on the world, she has suddenly found a completely new understanding among potential customers.

“Many people have found it difficult to understand why you should meet digitally as avatars when you could meet in person but we don’t get that question any more. The penny has finally dropped and many people now see the point of the digital, that it is another tool in their toolbox.

This shows that the success of innovation is highly dependent on where people are mentally and how receptive they are to change,” says Katarina Gospic.

This new situation in which the world find itself has accelerated digitisation and, as far as Katarina Gospic can see, this development will only gather pace.

“Digitisation means that work is no longer about where we are but what we do. Technology facilitates working remotely and it can be ‘business

as usual’ even during a pandemic. A parallel digital universe is being created,” she says.

Keeping up with this accelerated pace will be important if one wants to have a job in future.

Katarina herself left a more traditional career as a medical doctor and brain researcher to work with innovation – because she loves it.

“What attracts me is the tremendous energy in innovation, to be able to constantly make things better. In medicine today, given the right technology and by processing the right data we can predict breast cancer four years in advance.

We can predict maintenance needs and plan infrastructure to prevent accidents and minimise environmental threats; i.e., we can fix things before they break. We can entirely eliminate risks that once killed people, thereby creating safe, healthy work environments. This technology can contribute to improving everyone’s lives – yes, to saving the world!”.

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Ask for expert advice and dare to experiment – these are two of the house rules when Naturaj uses ingredients from the wild, “I was raised in the belief that chanterelles are the only edible mushroom. I now look at the forest with different eyes,” says Johan Backéus, who was named Sweden's Chef of the Year 2017.

One modern twist on a classic is Naturaj’s braided bread, smoked over birch bark and served with pinecones, birch bark or birch polypore. Guests are just as taken with the nostalgic mood of the dish as its taste and rustic presentation.

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The flavours of the forest are an additional topic of discussion among the guests at Naturaj.

“They react positively and generally give the food more attention when we say we have picked or grown something ourselves. Many come here to try something new and have already accepted that the ingredients may be somewhat different,” explains Birgit Malmcrona.

TEXT JENNIE ZETTERQVIST

PHOTO RANIA RÖNNTOFT

THE FOREST’S PANTRY F L AVO U R S T H E M E N U AT N AT U R A J “We have a bag of pinecones in the fridge that we are just about to prepare.”

At the restaurant Naturaj in Sundsvall in the middle of Sweden, the forest adds unique flavour to the menu. Pine and spruce shoots, birch sap and usnea are just a few of the ingredients that owners Johan Backéus and Birgit Malmcrona forage from nature’s pantry.

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ATUR AJ ME ANS “the natural” in Esperanto and perfectly describes what the restaurateur couple were seeking to achieve when they moved from Stockholm and opened their own restaurant in Sundsvall, northern Sweden, last autumn. Bare concrete and wooden furniture provides the backdrop to the open-plan restaurant and a beautiful uprooted tree is the centre of attention in the stripped-down environment.

Here, the guests warm up the atmosphere while carefully selected flavours from Johan’s home district of Norrlindsjö, Sweden, 25 kilometres west of town, raise the excitement of the restaurant’s tasting menu. Interest in using foraged ingredients began to germinate in some of Stockholm’s most renowned cosmopolitan kitchens. Among other things, Johan picked his own nettles while working at Lux, while Birgit took a great deal of inspiration from Ichi.

“Among other things, we served a tartlet with lumpfish roe and only foraged herbs that we picked each day. It was so beautiful! Like a summer meadow.”

SEASONAL FARE

With growing fascination, Johan and Birgit are constantly learning more about which plants can be processed. That the small green pinecone shoots are called tallstrunt and are suitable for pickling, that wild peas taste just like pea shoots and that the ‘flowering weed’ yellow rocketcress is excellent to eat, are just three of many lessons learned.

“You also learn the importance of being out at exactly the right time. Everything grows so quickly and one day the yellow rocketcress is suddenly too coarse,” says Johan.

They also say that this is part of the charm and a fact of life that governs Naturaj.

“You have to be on your toes here. We might change dishes from one day to the next and, while it can be tough to work that way, we really want to follow the seasons,” explains Johan.

It is not possible to pick as much as one my like, nor can the ingredients be stored indefinitely; still, Birgit speaks wistfully of the beautiful root cellars that sit entirely unused around the area and how much she would love to fill them! After all, once you begin to seek out the forest’s tasty treasures, you see them everywhere.

BRINGING ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE TO LIFE

The couple also grow their own potatoes, various cabbage varieties, squash, carrots, lettuces and herbs – as well as marigolds, which are of course also edible. Berry bushes also contribute to the guests’ taste experience as do apples, served in the form of a sorbet that has become much loved since the restaurant opened in November 2019.

“We want to carry on and learn even more; after all, it’s the raw produce that grows here that we will always have. Much of the knowledge about how to prepare them has been lost and it’s great to be able bring it back to life,” says Birgit.

Foraging is conducted with the same care with which they season their food. There is enormous respect for the forest’s pantry and the chefs urge a certain amount of caution when cultivating the spirit of discovery, so that overzealousness does not hamper growth.

“Always ask the landowner for permission and keep in mind not to pick everything you see. Be kind to nature,” Birgit Malmcrona entreats.

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REFINING THE POWER OF THE FOREST

FOR A HIGHER PURPOSE TEXT JENNIE ZETTERQVIST

PHOTO SCA

Uniquely flexible corrugated board, optimised AI-based energy consumption or secondary products that become feed for insect breeding; at SCA, an enormous breadth of innovation is constantly ongoing with a single common denominator: increased sustainability.

“What makes the forestry sector so interesting is that there is always a higher purpose to our R&D and production,” says SCA innovation manager Magnus Viström.

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manager, Magnus Viström paves the way for the company’s future business.

Magnus has a coaching role in innovation projects in all of the group’s business areas, as well as extensive external contacts with entrepreneurs and other partners – a role that combines the specialisations that make his professional pulse race.

“I find it terrifically exciting to be able to work with new technology and product development in combination with commercial aspects, to turn new ideas into business opportunities. My job is highly stimulating in many ways,” he says.

S SCA’S INNOVATION

INSPIRATIONAL INNOVATION

The position of innovation manager was created in 2012, with the intention of deepening and systematising SCA’s innovation processes.

Magnus Viström, who has a master’s degree in industrial engineering and management and a PhD

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in packaging logistics, was already working on materials and packaging development at SCA’s R&D Centre when he agreed to lead what was to be to a certain extent a transformation of corporate culture.

“SCA has always worked with R&D and innovation and managed large workflows with great skill.

At this juncture, there was a desire to increase the emphasis on product development – i.e., on what the customer sees – and really put an innovation process in place,” he explains.

Magnus feels that in a business that processes renewable raw materials from the forest, it is easy to feel a sense of meaning and to find inspiration to continue driving innovation; after all, as well as doing good business it is also a matter of building a sustainable world.

“SCA is an important component of the bioeconomy and a circular society in which we achieve our climate goals, so there is a higher purpose to everything we do! We are at the forefront in

terms of sustainability and are well placed to make a major difference,” says Magnus Viström.

DESIGNING SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

Packaging development is a highly topical area of innovation. Magnus Viström himself is the inventor of the material used in SCA’s Arcwise packaging technology, which offers curved forms and multifaceted sustainability, being strong, lightweight and recyclable.

“A team has now further developed Arcwise to the point of commercialisation. The innovation has an important design aspect in that packaging can be designed to reflect the shape of the product, making it more attractive in an in-store environment. There is also a significant saving in material that contributes to the brand owner becoming more sustainable as a company,” says Magnus Viström.

Biorefining is another important future field, including the development of biofuels and the extraction of green chemicals from wood.

Constant innovation is also underway at sawmills, pulp and paper mills in order to increase efficiency.

Smart packaging design is a prioritised innovation area at SCA. Arcwise is a flexible packaging material that can be bent while remaining stronger and more light-weight than traditional corrugated board.

Increasing numbers of customers are discovering this new technology, the design possibilities of which offer attentiongrabbing in-store displays.

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“Employees, customers, research institutes and universities: all are important partners if SCA is to successfully innovate,” emphasises innovation manager Magnus Viström, “Nobody can be the best at everything. We will get further using fewer resources through smart collaborations.”

Digitalisation creates important opportunities for the forestry industry.

A project conducted at SCA’s Obbola Paper Mill in Umeå, northern Sweden, has demonstrated the theoretical possibility of optimising production using self-learning AI technology. More accurate forecasts of water vapour requirements can provide more even energy consumption and a reduced need for fossil fuels.

“As far as SCA is concerned, it has always been important to stay on top of productivity by constantly optimising processes, making machines more efficient, reducing energy input and increasing energy output,” says Magnus Viström.

COLLABORATION WITH STARTUPS

Digitalisation opens up new possibilities for optimisation; for example, by utilising digital twins in projects that run tests using historical data.

The Forest Business Accelerator programme also emphasises digitalisation linked to forest development and entrepreneurship. Through the accelerator, SCA, IBM, Rise Processum and BizMaker offer selected startups from across Sweden access to business development, technology and collaborations with major companies.

“We see that this kind of interconnection is fruitful for both entrepreneurs and us. We act as a guide client by sharing our knowledge and leading

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them to a value-creating product or service, while at the same time we benefit from new influences,” explains Magnus Viström.

He sees a major strength in working with enthusiastic entrepreneurs who are mandated to make their own decisions, even if they are operating in fields that SCA had limited initial faith in.

“They may make us realise that this is an interesting product or technology; the good thing about this connection between entrepreneur and corporation is that one can identify opportunities to scale up. Although this is something that other companies are also working on, we are are something of a pioneer within the forestry industry.”

One of this year’s companies specialises in breeding insects, which are predicted to become as important source of protein for the growing global population. For SCA – a company constantly

F O R E S T B U S I N E S S A C C E L E R AT O R Forest Business Accelerator is established as one of the country’s leading accelerator programmes. For the fourth year, SCA, IBM, Rise Processum and BizMaker are collaborating with selected startups focused on digital innovation for the forestry industry.

One requirement is that their business idea

searching for new innovative uses for secondary products – this may offer new and as yet secret opportunities.

INNOVATION RACE INCREASES THE JOY

When it comes to the innovation process, collaboration and mutual trust are important concepts. When an R&D project needs a kickstart, SCA organises an innovation race in which experts from various fields gather to examine the concept from every angle and take it to the next level.

“When you work in R&D, it is important that your ideas are given a hearing and to discuss them with others, so that you feel that joy of working on things together. Our innovation race generally boost the organisation’s

should be sufficiently developed to be tested in real-world environments. “For our part, SCA is very satisfied with the outcome, especially with the ideas and products presented by the companies over the last year. We are continuing to work with almost all of them,” says Magnus Viström.

AN INNOVATION MANAGER’S TIPS FOR CREATING A DEVELOPMENTAL ENVIRONMENT > Surround yourself with good colleagues and cultivate a strong team. > Take it as a given that challenges are part of the innovation process. > Remain humble when faced with the fact that innovation does not happen overnight. > View competition as a stimulus.

energy level and reinforces team spirit,” says Magnus Viström.

To get things right at an early stage, R&D should ideally be conducted as close to the customer as possible. This also reinforces SCA’s position as an interesting alternative on an exciting market characterised by constant change. Magnus Viström, who views competition as a stimulus, maintains his curiosity about the future.

“All companies naturally have a responsibility to their owners and other stakeholders to continuously improve and develop the company’s value. Our value is in the raw products of the forest and that we develop them in a sustainable manner. This is part of our DNA,” he says.

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FOTO MODVION

PREMIERE FOR THE TIMBER WIND TURBINE TOWER wind turbine tower has been erected on Björkö outside Gothenburg, Sweden. The timber structure is as strong as steel and makes the wind turbine climate neutral from day one.

The 30-metre turbine tower will be used for research purposes; however, by 2022 the first wooden towers on a commercial scale will be built. So says Modvion AB, the innovation company behind the structure, which was manufactured in close collaboration with Moelven Töreboda AB, the world’s oldest glue laminated timber factory.

“This is a major breakthrough that paves the way for the next generation of wind turbines. laminated timber is stronger than steel of a comparative weight and by building in modules we can install the wind turbines at a higher altitude.” says Otto Lundman, CEO of Modvion.

Both production costs and carbon emissions are significantly lower for the manufacture of timber towers than steel towers. The lower weight of timber and the modular concept also make it possible to build higher towers that can still be transported on public roads. The carbon dioxide absorbed by the trees as they grow remains stored in the timber tower, making the wind turbine climate neutral from the very beginning.

SWEDEN’S FIRST TIMBER

Busy bees get to work on the roof TENS OF THOUSANDS OF NEW RECRUITS have moved into SCA’s head office in Sundsvall, Sweden. Our buzzing colleagues will be working in two hives on the roof, tasked with contributing to biodiversity. SCA and property owner Lilium are each renting a hive from Bee Happy, a company dedicated to increasing the number of insects in nature and creating more vital pollinators to ensure that plants continue to thrive and provide us with food.

Urban living is no problem for bees, which can collect pollen from plants over a range of several kilometres. The fact that the bees also make honey for their landlords is simply a delicious bonus.

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A tiny powerhouse long and a fraction of a millimetre wide; wood fibre is the source of all innovation at SCA and, responsibly managed, it will last forever.

This unique natural resource forms the basis for everything from smarter boards to next-generation biofuels and green chemicals.

T WO MILLIMETRES

A

small carbon footprint can create

big impressions Swedish Wood’s aim is to increase the size and value of the market for Swedish wood and wood products in construction, interior design and packaging. Through inspiration, information and education, we promote wood as a competitive, renewable, versatile and natural material. Swedish Wood also lobbies on behalf of its members on key industry and trade issues.

Swedish Wood represents the Swedish sawmill industry and is part of the Swedish Forest Industries Federation. In addition, Swedish Wood represents the Swedish glulam and packaging industries, and collaborates closely with Swedish builders’ merchants and wholesalers of wood products. swedishwood.com