The Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven, visited Stora Enso Gruvön's sawmill on Wednesday, where he got a guided tour of site manager Joakim Sveder and Stora Enso's Sweden manager Per Lyrvall.
Impressed Prime Minister saw the road ahead
It was a satisfied Prime Minister who visited Stora Enso Gruvön’s sawmill on July 3. A delegation from the government office was given a guided tour of the new cross-glued wood factory, in what can be seen as the first step in the journey towards a wooden building sealer Sweden.
– It’s great to be here and see this investment going. I travel around to find out what’s right, and this is real, says Stefan Löfven.
– I want to see and talk to people to get an idea of what is important to them. Growing up outside Sollefteå, I know how important it is for the entire country to live, the Prime Minister continued.
Received a roadmap
Stefan Löfven had several conversations with the employees in the wood factory, which was appreciated by the staff. Prior to that, he had received “Roadmap for industrial wood construction”, which was submitted by Susanne Rudenstam, Head of Office at the Swedish Wooden Building Office.
– The roadmap is a promise to the government, a collective offer from the timber industry. The state is a major buyer of buildings, so the public Sweden has a responsibility to change the direction of travel, says Susanne Rudenstam.
– The government should give its companies ownership directives to set climate standards as one of their criteria, she exemplifies.
Shorter construction time
Also site manager Joakim Sveder points out how important it is for Sweden to start building more wood:
– Wooden construction means 70 percent shorter construction time than steel and concrete. This means a significant saving in cranes, racks and barriers. And that’s just the economic part of it. To me, it feels good to work with something that does not consume the soil but is a renewable resource, he says.
Stefan Löfven spoke with the employees at Gruvön Sawmill after the guided tour.
School built entirely in wood
Leif Haraldsson (S), municipal council in Grums, says that the municipality supplemented the sawmill at Gruvön with a new school in cross-glued wood, a good example of how Värmland works.
– We have the forest and industry here. And when visitors have been to the sawmill they can go two kilometers and see a school entirely in wood. It is Värmland in a nutshell, he says.
The Social Democrats’ Camilla Anglemark received Stefan Löfven together with Leif Haraldsson, Head of Municipal Council in Grums.
