The office is staffed by two of Setra’s building solutions experts, Jesper Åkerlund, Business Manager for Building Solutions and Components and Daniel Wilded, Product Manager for Building Solutions.
“Setra is increasing its focus on the fast-growing parts of northern Sweden by establishing a clear presence in the region’s largest city, covering not just Umeå and Skellefteå, but also Sundsvall, Luleå, Boden, Kiruna and Gällivare,” explains Jesper Åkerlund.
The industrial boom in the north has boosted housing construction to levels that are among the highest in the country. For its part, Setra is seeing a marked increase in demand for cross-laminated timber (CLT) for apartment buildings. Alongside these, numerous offices and commercial premises are being built, as well as preschools, schools and healthcare facilities, all of which also tend to use CLT.
“In addition, we supply a great deal of our glulam for industrial properties, sports halls, and so on. An increased local presence enables closer cooperation with customers in the north and makes it easier for us to share our collective expertise regarding climate-smart building solutions in wood,” says Jesper.
He points out that Setra has carved out a particular reputation for its commitment to efficient, industrial wood construction, enabling customers to optimise costs, lead times, logistics and human resources by employing more industrial and standardised construction systems.
“Living in Umeå myself, one of my dream projects would be to help build a large school in wood, and preferably more rental apartments in CLT. We’ve recently delivered the last volumes of CLT and glulam to Kungsgården preschool in Umeå and our hope is that this project will lead to more schools being built in the same way. Another dream would be to see the innovative city of Kiruna investing in CLT housing developments,” Jesper adds.
Sometime in May, he and Daniel Wilded are planning a small opening event for Setra’s Umeå office, centrally located in the city’s East district. The address is Storgatan 93.
“Of course, people can phone us at any time or pop in for a coffee. We promise to tell you all about climate-smart wood construction, the latest industrial solutions and the products and services that Setra has to offer,” concludes Jesper Åkerlund.
About Setra’s Timber Industry Centre
The Långshyttan site in southern Dalarna produces CLT, glulam and building components. The certified wood comes from the Group’s own sawmills. CLT panels are produced in flexible widths, with the largest panels measuring 3.5 x 20 metres. The CNC machines process the panels into precise building components, with holes for doors, windows and utilities. The finished elements are then delivered in exactly the right order for smooth and fast assembly on site.
In Stockholm, Setra has supplied timber frames for the Bologna block in the Cederhusen development and Electrolux’s new head office. Other projects have included apartment blocks such as those in Södra Hemlingby, Gävle and schools such as Renshammarskolan in Bollnäs and Båtsfjord High School in Norway.
