Smart solutions for sustainable construction

WOOD

A climate-smart construction material

Smart solutions for sustainable construction

Sustainability every step of the way

Setra is one of the largest wood industry companies in Sweden. We are a complete supplier of climate-smart wooden building solutions – including project planning, structural design, logistics and transport services. As the construction industry needs to rapidly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, choice of materials is becoming increasingly important. Wood is the only renewable construction material and it generates a significantly lower carbon footprint than steel and concrete. Here at Setra, we work to ensure that our entire operation is green. Grönsamhet is our vision that business should also deliver green value for customers, society and nature.

CERTIFIED SUPPLIERS

Setra’s production and processing units are traceability certified according to the FSC ® and PEFC Chain of Custody standards. All our wood is purchased from certified suppliers, subject to a minimum requirement that the timber is traceable and comes from responsibly managed forests.

THE WHOLE TREE IS USED

One of our guiding principles is resource efficiency. We use the whole log, nothing goes to waste. What cannot be processed into long-lasting wood products is turned into bioproducts. For example, our sawdust in Gävle is used to produce pyrolysis oil, which can replace some of the fossil raw material in petrol and diesel.

WE START WITH YOUR IDEA RIGHT DIMENSIONS IN THE FOREST

Competence and commitment

Setra supplies building solutions in CLT and glulam. The team at our Timber Industry Centre in Långshyttan is ready to take on your construction project. Setra works according to a project model with close dialogue throughout the production process. We like to get involved as early as possible, so that the project manager and project team you have access to can make a valuable contribution from the idea stage onwards. Our project teams always aim for short lines of communication and quick decisions, combined with a strong commitment to both the big picture and the finer details.

Responsible forest management

All our wood comes from responsibly managed forests in Sweden, as a key principle within our value chain. The wood is locally produced, usually within a 130 km radius of our sawmills. It is extremely important for us and our customers that the raw material is traceable and comes from sustainable forestry. Our certified suppliers ensure that the wood comes from legal logging operations that protect areas with high conservation value and biodiversity. If the wood comes from a non-certified supplier, we carry out our own checks. Developing long-lasting, renewable wood products is a vital part of the green transition, and forestry has a key role to play in this.

Our work on resource efficiency begins in the forest.

Wood has a positive effect on the climate

Wood products continue to store carbon from the forest throughout their lifetime, with the carbon remaining longest in wooden buildings. As a rule of thumb, wood binds the equivalent of 800 kg of carbon dioxide per cubic metre of sawn timber. In 2022, Setra sold 1.7 million tonnes of wood products, resulting in 1.4 million tonnes of stored carbon dioxide – equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of around 180,000 Swedes.

Focusing on the length and diameter of the logs at an early stage makes our production more efficient and increases the yield.

In partnership with the wood suppliers, we make sure that every tree can be used in the most optimal way.

1,826 GWH

BIOPRODUCTS

Our bioproducts are derived from bark, wood chips and shavings. These residual streams are turned into cellulose chips for the pulp and paper industry, and pellets and biofuels for cogeneration plants. In 2022, Setra delivered bioenergy totalling 1,826 gigawatt hours (GWh). This is sufficient to heat about 200,000 apartments. Sawdust from Setra helps to heat many Swedish homes, which is more important than ever with the energy crisis in Europe. Bioproducts are also used in Setra’s own thermal energy production.

CLIMATE-POSITIVE PRODUCTS

Our wood products are climate positive even when transported to the other side of the world, as they store several times more carbon dioxide than is emitted along the entire supply chain. What is more, the wood products are circular and can easily be reused or turned into new products.

+30 %

Major investment in rail

From a climate perspective, trains are the best mode of transport, which is why Setra is making major rail investments at its production units in Gävle, Hasselfors, Heby and Skinnskatteberg. Within a couple of years, once all four units are connected to the network, Setra will be transporting up to 30 percent more timber by rail.

RESOURCE-EFFICIENT PRODUCTION SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT

Customised wooden frames

Setra offers prefabricated elements in CLT and glulam that are CNC machined to custom dimensions for precise and highly efficient installation. Cross-laminated timber elements offer great flexibility. The way that they can be machined and shaped makes it possible to construct almost anything, in practically any shape and size. Our factory in Långshyttan has large-scale production capacity and is therefore able to offer the widest standard range on the market. In addition, we have the ability to produce the largest CLT elements on the market, in formats up to 3.5 x 20 metres.

All deliveries in the right order

Setra works to simplify and streamline industrial wood construction. As a key example of this, our structural elements are delivered in exactly the right order, to make assembly on site as quick and smooth as possible, with the added bonus of improving the working environment too. Research from Luleå University of Technology shows that industrial wood construction provides 30 percent higher productivity than traditional construction methods, while still reducing the construction time by an average of 3.3 months.

Award-winning projects

In recent years, several construction projects with Setra connections have received amazing accolades in Sweden’s most prestigious urban development awards, Årets Bygge, run by the magazine Byggindustrin. Cederhusen in Stockholm, winner of the Housing category, is a prime example, where Setra supplied the structural frames in CLT. Another example is the ICA supermarket in Sjöbo, winner of the Industrial/ Logistics/Retail category, which used glulam from Setra.

MOISTURE PROTECTION

The construction industry is constantly having to deal with weather and moisture. In 2022, Setra became the first company in Sweden to offer new moisture protection technology for CLT. The protective membrane, called Wetguard, is manufactured by the Swiss company Siga and is applied in Setra’s CLT factory. Wetguard protects flooring and end-grain wood during the construction phase, allowing the build to continue in all weather conditions and without the need for tents. The Wetguard membrane is durable and effectively protects against moisture, construction dirt, footprints and other wear and tear during installation.

COMMENTS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS

It is important to have reliable suppliers, and Setra fully delivered on that. Our procurements involve careful due diligence on issues such as sustainability, digital maturity, geographic proximity and security of supply. During the tender review, Setra’s employees were very helpful, clear and solution-oriented. We are using Setra’s CLT and glulam in the Lumi project in Uppsala, where a 1970s concrete building is being converted into a state-of-the-art office block with a three-storey upward extension.”

PRE-FABRICATED BUILDING ELEMENTS

Moving into Cederhusen

Hagastaden in Stockholm is home to Cederhusen, one of the world’s biggest wooden housing projects in an inner city setting. One of the neighbourhoods, Bologna, is built around CLT frames from Setra. Both buildings, Bologna 1 and 2, were ready for occupancy in spring 2022 and the apartments have attracted considerable interest from day one. Cederhusen is Stockholm’s first modern high-rise housing development in mass timber, with a total of 245 apartments being built in four 10–13 storey blocks. Setra’s largest structural elements were around 3 metres high and just over 12 metres long. The raw material from forests in central Sweden was processed at Setra’s sawmill in Heby and refined at the CLT factory mill in Långshyttan.

Setra has been commissioned to supply the CLT and glulam for Renshammarskolan in Bollnäs. Currently the largest construction project in Hälsingland, the school is due for completion in summer 2024. It’s important that the school is built in an environmentally sustainable way, and our choices provide a cost-effective building with rapid assembly. The premises are flexible and can be expanded, divided or reduced with relative ease. Another advantage is that wood provides a natural, warm and pleasant indoor environment.”

Ann-Katrin Samuelsson (S), first vice chair of the Childcare and Education Committee at Bollnäs municipality.

We developed the acclaimed Bonn-Olle Tower, an octagonal seven-storey wooden building in the centre of Örnsköldsvik. Choosing CLT and glulam from Setra gave us an efficient build with amazing millimetre precision. The frame consists of 48 CLT elements with a meticulously adapted, cut-out shape. The construction was a quick and fun puzzle, with six floors completed in just four days of assembly work.”

Anders Nordin, chair of Byggsigurd in Örnsköldsvik

Jonas Wahlström, project director at Vasakronan.

Our renewable construction materials

Choosing wood for your construction project makes you part of the green transition that our planet needs. Not only is wood the only renewable construction material, but it can also be reused and recycled. On top of that, the stored carbon dioxide remains in place throughout the life of the wood. This means that our wood products offer green value by continuing to deliver climate benefits year after year, all around the globe.

GLULAM

Glulam is a vital component in wood construction projects, since it is both strong and dimensionally stable, while also being easy to work with and shape. Setra’s glulam beams are increasingly used to frame large-scale construction projects such as sports centres and apartment buildings. The extremely high-quality beams are made using 100 percent Swedish wood: mainly spruce, but also pine. Our expertise in the field of glulam is both broad and deep, while our production unit in Långshyttan is one of the most efficient in the industry, making best use of all its resources. Our production is located in the centre of Sweden, which is of great benefit to our customers and the environment.

CROSS-LAMINATED TIMBER AND COMPONENTS

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a mass timber panel made from planed timber that has been glued together, with each layer set at 90 degrees to the next. The material is dimensionally stable, relatively light and has a high load-bearing capacity in relation to its weight. It is also fire-resistant and well suited to structures with tough strength requirements. CLT offers a high degree of prefabrication, as openings for doors, windows and cables, for example, are cut out in the factory. The result is fast and efficient assembly at the construction site. Setra always uses certified wood raw material at our high-tech production unit, and we have the largest glue press on the market, for ultimate flexibility. When delivering CLT within Sweden, we only use vehicles that run on HVO, a fossil-free fuel. Alongside the CLT factory in Långshyttan, we also produce components and timbers for doors and windows. The precision production process uses raw material with a high proportion of heartwood and a fine grain.

SAWN WOOD PRODUCTS

Setra’s sawn wood products are supplied to industrial customers, housebuilders, glulam factories and timber yards, with high volumes exported to different parts of the world. The main wood used in building and construction is spruce, due to its ability to meet tough strength requirements. Spruce is further used for visible products such as cladding and glulam. Pine also has high strength, but is relatively soft and easy to work with. Pine is mainly used for visible wood products such as flooring, furniture, doors and interior cladding, but is also suitable for decking or other outdoor products that need to be pressure-treated.

PLANED PRODUCTS

Our planed wood products include everything from roof truss timbers to joists. The products are sold to builders’ merchants, manufacturers and major construction projects in Europe, the USA and Australia. The construction timber is used in buildings that demand particular strength performance from the material. Our timber is carefully checked against the strength standards applicable in each market. Setra’s trimming and planing line in Hasselfors is state-of-theart, flexible and equipped with advanced sorting equipment. The planing and trimming processes are integrated, which has many advantages, including being able to finish the final product in one place, so reducing the amount of transport involved. Logs of the right length are selected in the forest and the spruce raw material we use is rarely transported more than about 100 kilometres.

See our state-of-the-art planing mill at setragroup.com – About Setra

Pine sawmills Spruce sawmills

Customers worldwide

Our biggest markets for Setra’s sawn wood products are Sweden, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with exports amounting to around 70 percent. Our processed wood products (planed construction timber, CLT, glulam and components for doors and windows) have an export level of around 60 percent. The construction timber is sold in Europe, the USA and Australia, while our CLT is mainly used in Sweden and Norway. Much of our glulam is sold in Sweden, but we also export to Japan.

Setra customer service for Sweden and Scandinavia

Phone: +46 8 705 03 00

Sales offices outside Sweden

UK

Setra Wood Products Ltd

11, St. Mary’s Court

North Bar Within

Beverley, East Yorkshire

HU17 8DG, United Kingdom

Phone: +44 1482 870 035

Poland

Setra Polska Sp. z o.o.

ul. Bankowa 2

PL 84-242 Luzino, Poland

Phone: +48 784 300 450

Spain

Setra Sales Spain

C/Colombia 63, 4 B

ES-28016 Madrid

Phone: +34 91 353 39 20

Japan

Setra Sales Japan

4th floor, 32 Shiba-Koen Building 4-30, Shibakoen 3-chome Minato-ku, JP-Tokyo 105-0011

Phone: +81 3 5404 7560

China

Setra Wood (Guangzhou) Co

Room 2720, Teem Tower

No 208 Tianhe Road, Tianhe District, CN-Guangzhou 510 620

Phone: +86 20 2830 6431

Tunisia

Setra Group

c/o Mehdi Daldoul

Rue du Lac Leman, Immeuble Regency, Bureau 301 Les Berges du Lac

1053 Tunis, Tunisia

Phone: +216 71 861 700

Year of Grönsamhet 2022

All figures for 2022. Production Setra Group and LeadContent

Färila

Processing units Setra Wood Products (UK)

Read more about Setra and our sustainability work in the Sustainability Report, which is available at setragroup.com