Meet the Buyer event - Södra
Södra is one of Sweden's largest forestry groups with a turnover of more than €2 Billion in 2020. The group’s forest raw materials are processed into paper and dissolving pulp, sawn timber, crosslaminated timber and other processed products for housing construction, energy products and raw material for liquid biofuels.
Södra is now looking for innovative and long-lasting solutions within energy and/or chemicals refining materials from the side streams from forestry and industries.
Meet the Buyer events offer interesting opportunities for your company to get in touch with the leading enterprises in a variety of business sectors. The event is invite-only and will give you the chance to have an individual one-to-one meeting with key decision makers. Join the event, establish valuable collaborations, pitch your products and services, and discuss business partnerships that can fast-forward your company’s growth.
Deadline for applications: 10 November
Face-to-face meetings between successful applicants and the Södra team: 18 November
Buyer profile
What is their business?
Södra is made up of 3,000 employees who consider conversion of the forest products delivered by the 53,000 owners into renewable, climate-smart products to be the main mission. In Södra’s operations, the whole tree is used – even the branches and treetops. The forest products are processed into paper and dissolving pulp, sawn timber, cross-laminated timber and other processed products for housing construction, energy products and raw material for liquid biofuels. Södra is an export company with a strong financial position. Both pulp production and the sawmill operations are among the largest in Europe, and the products are mainly sold in international markets. Please read more on: https://www.sodra.com/en/global/
What are they looking for?
Although the forest has been with us since ancient times, it’s always ready for new challenges. Reducing climate impact, by replacing fossil materials such as concrete, steel and oil is perhaps its most important task at present, and Södra works closely with customers and researchers to find new solutions. Many of the innovations are already helping the climate, while others require more work or collaboration on a larger scale to become a reality. The forest will not save our climate on its own, but when sustainably managed, it’s an important part of the solution.
Södra has selected several strategic arenas for its product innovation – forest, sawn timber, paper, textiles, chemicals and energy. These efforts in new businesses are driven by Södra’s business unit for innovation together with the other business areas, but also in partnerships with customers, and in external networks with universities, research institutes and companies further upstream in various value chains.
The innovation projects are helping to develop more highly processed forest products and to commercialize products with a better sustainability performance than today’s alternatives. Several projects are linked to Södra’s sustainability targets for fossil-free production and transportation. Most R&D resources are focused on product and process development in order to strengthen the company’s current competitive position. Resource-efficiency is a recurring theme in many of these projects, alongside of product performance, which is particularly important for Södra’s customers.
Södra is primarily looking for solutions in the following areas:
Södra is actively searching for highly innovative scalable solutions from scale-ups and start-ups within their strategic areas: forest, sawn timber, paper, textiles, chemicals and energy. Södra is a high volume and bulk company and mainly interested in solutions that are commercially verified and proven (TRL/CRL 6-9).
Of particular interest are:
- Commercialization of side streams and by-products from the production such as bark, sawdust, sludge, ash and to refine these into higher value products with a better sustainability performance than today’s alternatives. Examples could be biochar, materials, chemicals and other fully refined or semi-refined raw materials.
- Solutions that can benefit from industrial symbiosis or integration with Södras existing industrial site infrastructure, by means energy flows and/or logistics. Eg the use of residual warm water (approx. 60°C).
- New innovative business models within the areas above.
What can Södra offer your company?
If selected, you will have the opportunity to meet with senior contacts within the Södra Innovation team and receive their perspective on the proposal. In a deepened collaboration, Södra may offer the possibility to enter a commercial collaboration or to validate your solution, including technology and business models, with Södra and/or their customers.
How can you apply?
If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Peter Béen or Lars Moberger by sending an email to peter.been@ri.se or lars.moberger@ri.se briefly outlining the interest of your company in the Buyer’s case.
You should include:
- a summary of why your product/solution or service meets the buyers needs
- your expectations and needs in a potential business relation
- a link to your website
- your contact details
You can also contact your regional SCALE-UP partner.