SWEDEN (News release) -- Södra is initiating a process to close down Berg & Berg in Kallinge. Trade union negotiations will begin as soon as possible, and will affect all 60 employees. Berg & Berg has been on the market for some time but Södra has been unable to sell the company, and this is the reason for the closure. "This is a regrettable decision to have to give to all of our coworkers at Berg & Berg," said Jörgen Lindquist, President of the Södra Wood business area.
Södra acquired Berg & Berg in 2012. It is a unit in the Södra Group that manufactures parquet flooring and has a strong brand, particularly in Germany and Austria.
The background to the closure is Södra's decision last summer to withdraw from the interior wood segment, which includes parquet flooring, and the sale of its other operations in the segment. An announcement was made at that time concerning the sale of Berg & Berg.
"We had hoped to find a new owner and have long been discussing with various interested parties in an attempt to find a good solution, but this was unfortunately unsuccessful. Berg & Berg is currently not profitable and is facing major investments. However, the unit is still not expected to generate satisfactory profitability even after these investments, which was also the conclusion drawn by the interested parties. We must therefore now initiate a process to close down our parquet flooring operations in Kallinge. As a result, there will be no units left in the interior segment," said Peter Karlsson, Head of the Södra Interiör segment.
"This is a tough decision to give to our employees. We will now do everything we can to ensure that this process is managed as well and as swiftly as possible," said Peter Karlsson.
