SCA
Swedish forest-products company built around large-scale forest ownership, wood products, pulp, containerboard, renewable energy and logistics.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
SCA, formally Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, is a Swedish forest-products company whose modern business is organized around one of Europe's largest privately owned forest estates. Founded in 1929 as a holding company for ten Swedish forest-industry businesses, SCA has developed from a diversified pulp, paper and timber group into an integrated renewable-materials company. Its headquarters are in Sundsvall, in northern Sweden, close to the forests and industrial facilities that form the foundation of its operating model. The company manages approximately 2.7 million hectares of forest in northern Sweden and the Baltic states, making it Europe's largest private forest owner. The Swedish estate includes around two million hectares of productive forest land and represents a significant share of Sweden's productive forest area. SCA's forest resource supplies part of the raw material for its mills and sawmills, while the company's integrated structure allows timber, bark, chips, tall oil, lignin and other by-products to be used in several downstream applications. This model is intended to extract value from the whole tree rather than relying on a single product category. SCA's current operating areas are Forest, Wood, Containerboard, Pulp and Renewable Energy, supported by logistics and sourcing activities. Forest operations cover long-term silviculture, harvesting, timber procurement, forest-owner services and management of land in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Wood business produces sawn and planed timber for construction, joinery, packaging and other industrial uses. Containerboard operations manufacture kraftliner and related packaging papers, including products from the Munksund and Obbola mills. Pulp operations include bleached softwood kraft pulp and chemically pre-treated thermomechanical pulp, while renewable-energy operations produce electricity, heat, pellets, liquid biofuels and other energy products from forest resources and industrial by-products. SCA's industrial footprint is concentrated in northern Sweden. Major facilities include sawmills at Bollsta, Gällö, Munksund and Tunadal; planing operations; pulp production at Östrand and Ortviken; containerboard production at Munksund and Obbola; and pellet and biofuel production in Härnösand and elsewhere. Its logistics system includes terminals, vessels and transport solutions designed to connect northern production sites with customers in Europe and overseas markets. SCA's wood products are sold into Europe, North Africa, North America, parts of Asia and the Middle East and North Africa region, while pulp and containerboard have sales networks covering Europe and North America. For much of its history, SCA was also a major hygiene-products company. The acquisition of Mölnlycke in 1975 initiated a consumer-goods expansion into tissue, diapers, feminine hygiene and incontinence products. Later acquisitions included Reedpack, PWA, Georgia-Pacific's Wisconsin Tissue division and Procter & Gamble's European tissue business. By 2016, hygiene and health represented most of the group's sales, while forest products accounted for a much smaller share. The two businesses had increasingly different strategies and limited operational synergies, leading shareholders in 2017 to approve a separation. The hygiene and health operations became Essity, while the remaining listed SCA retained the forests and forest-products activities. SCA's headquarters moved back to Sundsvall after the separation. Since the split, SCA has concentrated capital on increasing forest value, improving industrial efficiency and expanding renewable-materials capacity. The major investments at Östrand and Obbola strengthened its positions in pulp and packaging paper. The company also participates in renewable-energy projects, including biorefinery initiatives with St1 that seek to convert pine oil and other renewable feedstocks into biofuels. SCA presents its growing forests, resource efficiency and substitution of fossil-based materials as central to its sustainability proposition. At the same time, its forestry practices have drawn criticism from environmental organizations, reindeer-herding communities and some corporate customers, particularly concerning clear-felling, biodiversity and Sami rights. In 2025 and 2026, Nestlé, Zalando and L'Oréal were reported to be phasing out or ending sourcing connected to SCA, while SCA rejected allegations that it had failed to meet applicable environmental and human-rights requirements. In 2025, SCA reported net sales of SEK 20.427 billion, EBITDA of SEK 6.564 billion and approximately 3,500 employees. These figures describe the post-2017 forest-products company rather than the much larger pre-separation hygiene group. SCA's strategic identity is therefore that of an asset-intensive Nordic forestry and renewable-materials company, combining forest ownership, industrial processing, energy generation and logistics in a vertically integrated value chain.
History
SCA was established on 27 November 1929 as Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, a holding company created to combine ten Swedish forest-industry companies. The founder was financier and industrialist Ivar Kreuger. The company's early structure reflected the consolidation of Sweden's forest economy, in which timber, pulp, paper and related transport assets were increasingly managed through larger corporate groups. After Kreuger's financial collapse in 1932, SCA came under the influence of Handelsbanken and associated investment funds and companies. That ownership influence became an important part of the group's long-term corporate history. During the middle decades of the twentieth century, SCA developed as a forest-products group with interests in timber, pulp, paper, transport and industrial processing. Axel Enström served as managing director from 1950 to 1960 and then as chairman from 1960 to 1965. SCA invested in manufacturing capacity and logistics, including its own shipping arrangements, to move forest products from northern Sweden to domestic and international markets. The company gradually increased the degree of processing applied to its forest resources, moving beyond the sale of raw timber into pulp, paper and packaging materials. A major strategic change began in 1975, when SCA acquired Mölnlycke, a Swedish personal-care company with a strong position in disposable hygiene products. The transaction expanded SCA into tissue, diapers, feminine hygiene and incontinence products and eventually transformed the group into a diversified consumer-products and forest-industry company. In the following decades, SCA used acquisitions to broaden its geographical and product reach. Reedpack was acquired in 1990, followed by the German paper and packaging company PWA in 1995. In 2001, SCA acquired Georgia-Pacific's Wisconsin Tissue division, strengthening its North American tissue and professional-hygiene activities. The hygiene business grew particularly rapidly in the 2000s. SCA acquired Procter & Gamble's European tissue business in 2007 and increased its ownership in the Chinese tissue producer Vinda in 2008. These transactions complemented the group's existing personal-care and tissue operations and increased its exposure to branded and professional hygiene products. In parallel, SCA retained significant positions in forestry, pulp, paper and packaging. The resulting group operated across markets with different capital needs, competitive conditions and strategic priorities. SCA divested much of its packaging operation to DS Smith in 2012, retaining two Swedish kraftliner mills. This transaction signaled a greater focus on selected forest-products assets while the hygiene and health businesses continued to expand. By 2016, however, hygiene and health accounted for approximately 86 percent of group net sales, while forest products accounted for approximately 14 percent. Management and shareholders increasingly concluded that the operational synergies between the two sides had diminished and that separate companies could pursue more focused strategies. At the 2017 Annual General Meeting, shareholders approved a split into two separately listed companies. The forest holdings and forest-products activities remained under the SCA name. The hygiene and health operations, including personal care, tissue and the recently acquired BSN medical business, became Essity. The separation transformed SCA from a diversified hygiene-and-forest group into a more concentrated forest-products company. SCA's headquarters moved back to Sundsvall, while Essity established its headquarters in Stockholm. After the separation, SCA concentrated its investment program on forests, pulp, wood products, containerboard, renewable energy and logistics. In 2015, the company announced a major expansion of the Östrand pulp mill in Timrå. The project increased annual bleached softwood kraft-pulp capacity from approximately 430,000 tonnes to 900,000 tonnes and was inaugurated in 2019. SCA also decided to close publication-paper production at Ortviken because of the declining printing-paper market, while investing in chemically pre-treated thermomechanical pulp production at the same site. The publication-paper machines were shut down in 2021. In 2019, SCA announced a SEK 7.5 billion investment in a new kraftliner machine at Obbola. The facility was inaugurated in 2023 and materially increased packaging-paper capacity. The project supported SCA's post-separation strategy of using its forest resource to supply renewable packaging materials and other industrial products. The company also expanded sawmill capacity, pellet production and the use of industrial by-products for energy and biofuel. Renewable energy and biorefining became additional elements of SCA's strategy. In 2021, SCA and St1 announced jointly owned biorefinery ventures involving a Gothenburg facility and a project at Östrand. The Gothenburg concept uses pine oil from SCA and other renewable raw materials to make biofuel. SCA's wider energy portfolio includes electricity, heat, pellets, liquid biofuels and green chemicals derived from forest-based feedstocks. In the 2020s, SCA continued to describe its large forest estate as the central asset supporting an integrated value chain. The company manages forests in Sweden and the Baltic states, owns and operates mills and sawmills, and maintains logistics capabilities linking northern production with global markets. Its sustainability narrative emphasizes growing forests, carbon benefits, biodiversity measures, renewable products and efficient use of the whole tree. That narrative has also faced opposition. Environmental organizations and Sami representatives have criticized clear-felling, impacts on biodiversity and effects on reindeer grazing and Sami rights in northern Sweden. In 2025 and 2026, Nestlé, Zalando and L'Oréal were reported to be ending or phasing out sourcing connected to SCA. SCA rejected the allegations and pointed to certification, forestry practices and its stated compliance with customer and legal requirements. The controversy illustrates the tension between SCA's industrial model and competing expectations concerning biodiversity, indigenous rights, forest management and supply-chain due diligence. By 2025, SCA had become a specialized listed forest-products company with approximately 3,500 employees and net sales of SEK 20.427 billion. Its current identity rests on the combination of forest ownership, wood processing, pulp and containerboard production, renewable energy and logistics rather than the consumer-hygiene portfolio that once dominated the wider SCA group.
- 2025
SCA reports post-separation annual performance
[3]SCA reports 2025 net sales of SEK 20.427 billion, EBITDA of SEK 6.564 billion and approximately 3,500 employees.
- 2025
Forestry controversy intensifies
[8]Reports emerge that major customers are reviewing or ending sourcing linked to SCA because of criticism concerning forestry practices, biodiversity and Sami rights.
- 2023
New Obbola paper machine is inaugurated
[13]SCA inaugurates the new Obbola kraftliner machine, substantially increasing packaging-paper capacity.
- 2021
Publication-paper production ends at Ortviken
[2]SCA shuts down publication-paper production at Ortviken and redirects the site toward CTMP pulp production.
- 2021
SCA and St1 announce biorefinery ventures
[1]The companies announce jointly owned biorefinery ventures in Gothenburg and at Östrand to develop renewable biofuel production.
- 2019
Expanded Östrand mill is inaugurated
[2]The expanded Östrand mill begins operation with approximately 900,000 tonnes of annual bleached softwood kraft-pulp capacity.
- 2019
Obbola kraftliner investment is announced
[13]SCA announces a SEK 7.5 billion investment in a new packaging-paper machine at Obbola.
- 2017
SCA is split and Essity is listed
[7]Shareholders approve the separation of the forest-products business from hygiene and health. Essity becomes the separately listed hygiene company, while SCA retains the forests and forest-products operations.
- 2015
Östrand pulp expansion is announced
[2]SCA announces a major investment to increase annual bleached softwood kraft-pulp capacity at Östrand from approximately 430,000 tonnes to 900,000 tonnes.
- 2012
Packaging operations are divested to DS Smith
[1]SCA sells most of its packaging operations to DS Smith while retaining two Swedish kraftliner mills.
Products and positioning
A vertically integrated European forest-products company that combines large-scale forest ownership with wood products, pulp, packaging paper, renewable energy and logistics. SCA emphasizes long-term forest stewardship, resource efficiency, self-sufficiency and the use of renewable materials as alternatives to fossil-based products.
Forestry · 1929
Forest management and timber
Forest is SCA's core resource and the basis of its vertically integrated business model. The company manages large forest holdings in northern Sweden and the Baltic states, carries out silviculture and harvesting, purchases additional timber and provides services for other forest owners. The harvested resource is directed into sawmilling, pulp, containerboard, renewable energy and other products. SCA also emphasizes long-term forest planning, conservation measures, voluntary set-asides, biodiversity management and logistics from forest to mill.
Wood products
SCA Wood sawn and planed products
SCA Wood produces sawn and planed timber from northern Scandinavian softwood. Its products serve construction, joinery, industrial manufacturing, packaging and other applications. The business operates sawmills and planing facilities in Sweden, including Bollsta, Gällö, Munksund and Tunadal, and sells into Europe, North Africa, North America, parts of Asia and the MENA region. The product range is connected to SCA's forest resource and logistics network, allowing the company to coordinate raw-material supply, processing and distribution.
Pulp · 2019
Östrand bleached softwood kraft pulp
Östrand produces bleached softwood kraft pulp for customers that use it in paper, tissue, packaging and other fibre-based products. SCA's expansion of the Timrå mill increased annual capacity to approximately 900,000 tonnes and made the facility one of the world's largest softwood kraft-pulp production lines. The mill is integrated into SCA's northern Swedish value chain, using wood from company forests and external suppliers and generating by-products for energy and other renewable applications.
Pulp · 2021
Ortviken CTMP pulp
Ortviken's post-2021 role includes production of chemically pre-treated thermomechanical pulp, or CTMP. The transition followed the closure of the site's publication-paper machines in response to structural decline in printing-paper demand. CTMP is a high-yield mechanical pulp used in selected paper, board and absorbent applications. The repositioning illustrates SCA's strategy of moving existing industrial assets toward fibre products with stronger long-term demand.
Packaging paper · 1975
Kraftliner and containerboard
SCA manufactures kraftliner and related containerboard grades at Munksund and Obbola. These papers are used by corrugated-packaging converters and brand owners seeking strong, lightweight fibre-based packaging materials. The Obbola expansion, announced in 2019 and inaugurated in 2023, added a major new paper machine and increased the company's packaging-paper capacity. SCA positions containerboard as a core renewable-materials product supported by its access to softwood fibre, energy and logistics.
Renewable energy
Renewable energy and biofuels
SCA's renewable-energy activities use forest resources and industrial by-products to produce electricity, heat, pellets, liquid biofuels and other energy products. The company owns or operates energy assets connected to its mills and sawmills and uses materials such as bark, chips, tall oil and pine oil within its broader value chain. SCA has also pursued biorefinery partnerships with St1 to develop renewable fuels from pine oil and other renewable feedstocks.
Industrial services
Logistics and forest-owner services
SCA provides logistics, transport and forest-owner services that support both its own industrial system and external customers. Its logistics capabilities include terminals, vessels and transport arrangements connecting northern Sweden with international markets. Forest-owner services include advice and operational support related to forest planning, harvesting and timber supply. These activities reinforce SCA's integrated model by helping control the movement of raw materials and finished products across a geographically dispersed production network.
Controversies
2026
Corporate customers phase out SCA-linked fibre and packaging
Nestlé, Zalando and L'Oréal were reported in 2025 and 2026 to have stopped, ended or begun phasing out sourcing connected to SCA. The companies cited responsible-procurement, environmental or human-rights concerns. Reporting also noted that SCA-linked material represented a limited share of some customers' total sourcing. SCA characterized the decisions as surprising or disappointing and disputed claims of non-compliance.
2025
Criticism of forestry practices, biodiversity impacts and Sami rights
Environmental groups, reindeer-herding communities and other critics accused SCA's forestry operations in northern Sweden of causing ecological damage, reducing reindeer forage and failing to give adequate consideration to Sami rights. The dispute concerned issues including clear-felling, biodiversity protection, consultation and the sustainability of supply chains using SCA-linked fibre. SCA rejected the allegations and pointed to its forest-management systems, certification and stated compliance with relevant requirements.
Brand decisions
2025
Increase emphasis on forest ownership and integrated value creationStrategyBackground
SCA's post-separation strategy is built around the forest as the source of raw material, energy, carbon benefits and long-term asset value.
Action taken
The company continued investing in forests, Baltic land holdings, sawmills, pulp, containerboard, biofuels and logistics while emphasizing use of the whole tree and high self-sufficiency.
Aftermath
SCA reported stable 2025 performance and continued to present integrated forest ownership and industrial processing as its primary competitive advantage.
Net sales. SEK 20.427 billion (Fiscal year 2025)
2021
Develop biorefinery ventures with St1M&ABackground
SCA sought to create additional value from forest-based by-products and expand into renewable fuels.
Action taken
SCA and St1 announced half-owned ventures for a Gothenburg biorefinery and an Östrand biorefinery project. The Gothenburg concept uses pine oil from SCA and other renewable raw materials.
Aftermath
The ventures added biorefining and renewable-fuel development to SCA's portfolio alongside pulp, wood products, containerboard and forest management.
2020
Close publication-paper production and convert Ortviken toward CTMPStrategyBackground
The market for printing and publication paper had contracted structurally, putting pressure on Ortviken's paper machines.
Action taken
SCA decided to shut down publication-paper production and invest approximately SEK 1.45 billion in chemically pre-treated thermomechanical pulp production at Ortviken.
Aftermath
The three publication-paper machines were closed in 2021 and the site was redirected toward CTMP pulp.
Conversion investment. Approximately SEK 1.45 billion (Decision announced in 2020; publication-paper production ended in 2021)
2019
Invest SEK 7.5 billion in a new Obbola kraftliner machineProduct launchBackground
SCA identified renewable packaging paper as a growth area and sought to modernize and expand its northern Swedish containerboard platform.
Action taken
The company approved a SEK 7.5 billion investment in a new paper machine at Obbola for kraftliner production.
Aftermath
The new machine was inaugurated in 2023 and significantly increased Obbola's production capacity.
Investment amount. SEK 7.5 billion (Approved in 2019; inaugurated in 2023)
2017
Separate SCA's forest-products and hygiene businessesStrategyBackground
By 2016, hygiene and health represented approximately 86 percent of the wider group's net sales, while forest products represented approximately 14 percent. Management argued that the businesses had increasingly different strategies and diminishing synergies.
Action taken
Shareholders approved a split into two separately listed companies. SCA retained forest land and forest-products operations; the hygiene and health activities became Essity.
Aftermath
The post-separation SCA became a focused forest-products company headquartered in Sundsvall, while Essity became an independent hygiene and health company headquartered in Stockholm.
2015
Expand Östrand pulp capacityOtherBackground
SCA sought to increase the scale and competitiveness of its softwood kraft-pulp operations in northern Sweden.
Action taken
The company announced an investment of approximately SEK 7.8 billion to raise annual bleached sulphate-pulp capacity at Östrand from about 430,000 tonnes to 900,000 tonnes.
Aftermath
The expanded mill was inaugurated in 2019 and became one of the world's largest softwood kraft-pulp production lines.
Investment amount. Approximately SEK 7.8 billion (Announced in 2015; project completed in 2019)
2012
Divest most packaging operations to DS SmithM&ABackground
SCA was restructuring a diversified portfolio that included packaging, hygiene and traditional forest products.
Action taken
SCA sold its packaging operations to DS Smith while retaining two kraftliner mills in Sweden.
Aftermath
The transaction reduced SCA's broader packaging footprint and left the retained Swedish mills as part of the later forest-products company.
1975
Acquire Mölnlycke and enter disposable hygiene productsM&ABackground
SCA was historically a forest-products group, but sought broader growth and greater exposure to consumer products. Mölnlycke was a leading Western European producer of disposable hygiene products.
Action taken
SCA acquired Mölnlycke, adding tissue, diapers, feminine hygiene and incontinence products to its portfolio.
Aftermath
The acquisition began a decades-long expansion that eventually made hygiene and health the dominant part of the wider SCA group's sales.
Recent events
- 2026
SCA publishes 2025 annual report and reports SEK 20.427 billion in net sales[3]
Other · Pricing
SCA's 2025 annual-report summary described stable performance despite weak economic conditions, trade barriers and geopolitical uncertainty. The company reported SEK 20.427 billion in net sales, SEK 6.564 billion in EBITDA and approximately 3,500 employees.
- 2023
SCA completes major Obbola kraftliner expansion[13]
Product launch · Product generation
SCA inaugurated a new paper machine at Obbola after a SEK 7.5 billion investment announced in 2019. The project substantially increased containerboard capacity and was described by SCA as the world's largest kraftliner machine.
- 2021
SCA ends publication-paper production at Ortviken[2]
Product generation
SCA shut down its remaining publication-paper machines at Ortviken after deciding that the printing-paper market had contracted. The site was repositioned toward CTMP pulp production.
- 2021
SCA and St1 announce biorefinery joint ventures[1]
M&A · Product launch
SCA and St1 announced jointly owned ventures for biorefinery projects in Gothenburg and at Östrand. The Gothenburg concept uses pine oil from SCA and other renewable raw materials to produce biofuel.
- 2020
SCA advances major kraftliner investment in Obbola[14]
Product generation
SCA decided to invest in a new kraftliner machine at its Obbola mill in Sweden, intended to increase capacity and improve the mill’s product and energy efficiency.
- 2019
SCA inaugurates expanded Östrand pulp mill[2]
Product launch · Product generation
The expanded Östrand facility entered operation after a large investment that doubled annual bleached softwood kraft-pulp capacity to approximately 900,000 tonnes.
- 2017
SCA shareholders approve separation of forest products and hygiene businesses[7]
M&A
Shareholders approved the division of the group into the forest-products company SCA and the hygiene-and-health company Essity. The separation was intended to give each business a clearer strategic focus and independent listed-company structure.
- 2017
SCA separates its hygiene and health-care businesses into Essity[15]
M&A
SCA completed the demerger of its hygiene and health-care operations, which became the separately listed Essity AB. The transaction left SCA focused on forestry and forest-based industrial activities.
- 2008
SCA increases ownership in Vinda[1]
M&A
SCA increased its ownership in the Chinese tissue producer Vinda as part of the group's expansion of its international hygiene business.
- 2007
SCA acquires Procter & Gamble's European tissue business[1]
M&A
The acquisition of Procter & Gamble's European tissue operations significantly expanded SCA's hygiene and tissue portfolio before the later separation of the hygiene business into Essity.
Showing the 10 most recent.
Sources19 sources
- 1SCA (company)en.wikipedia.org
- 2Our historysca.com
- 3SCA Annual report in brief 2025sca.com
- 4SCA Annual Report 2025sca.com
- 5Board of Directors and Group Managementsca.com
- 6Executive Management Team, SCA Corporate Governance 2025sca.com
- 7SCA shareholders approve separation into SCA and Essitysca.com
- 8Storföretag bojkottar svensk skog – efter larm om miljöförstöringsverigesradio.se
- 9Zalando avslutar samarbete med SCA efter miljökritiksverigesradio.se
- 10SCA om L'Oréal: Tråkigt och överraskandewoodnet.se
- 11Oklart om Nestlé verkligen fasat ut råvaror från SCAsverigesnatur.org
- 12Jättarna bryter med SCA efter ESG-kritikaffarsvarlden.se
- 13Obbola kraftliner investment is announcedsca.com
- 14SCA推进Obbola大型牛卡纸投资sca.com
- 15SCA将卫生与健康护理业务分拆为Essitysca.com
- 16SCA扩展其可再生能源平台sca.com
- 17SCA Announces $40 Price Hike for NBSK Pulp in Europepaperage.com
- 18SCA announces new head of radio sales Sydneymumbrella.com.au
- 19SCA Reports Strong Second Quarter 2021 Earnings on Pricing, Low Costspaperage.com
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