Sawmill startup

Swedwood Poland, an Ikea subsidiary and supplier, recently opened a new sawmill in Wielbark. The project is the first stage of an over zł.400 million investment that aims to build a series of integrated plants with the capability to produce furniture from start to finish.

Hakan Eriksson, the president of Swedwood Polska, said that the Wielbark investment could help to stimulate further economic development in the region and pointed out that the factory was design to meet all necessary ecological standards.

"Thanks to specialized technology we will be able to maximize the use of purchased wood as well as minimize its [negative] effect on the natural environment," said Eriksson.

The factory currently employs 90, however another 90 people should soon be employed to work in distribution and transport operations.

Swedwood's next step will be to build a 55,000-sqm factory to turn the sawmill's output into a finished furniture product. Construction will begin mid-year and be completed in 2009, creating close to 1,800 local jobs.

By the end of 2006, Swedwood had made an investment of zł.1.7 billion in Poland.