History

SCA's history - an overview

Click on the dates for more detailed information.

• 1929
  SCA is founded through a merger of some ten Swedish forest companies.
• 1930-1949
  Production is focused on paper pulp. The pulp mill in Östrand is built.
• 1950
  SCA is listed on the stock exchange.
• 1950-1959
  SCA starts producing newsprint and builds a paper machine in Ortviken (1958). Production is confined to Sweden, but exports increase.
• 1960-1974
  Kraftliner production starts. Development continues with acquisitions and the build up of corrugated board plants in Sweden and the rest of Europe.
• 1975
  SCA lays the foundations for its personal care operations with acquisition of the Swedish company Mölnlycke.
• 1975-1999
  Publication paper operations are expanded. SCA acquires the Italian packaging company Italcarta. Operations are started in Latin America.
• 1990
  Acquisition of the British company Reedpack makes SCA the European leader in transport packaging.
• 1995
  SCA becomes Europe’s leading personal care products company following acquisition of PWA of Germany.
• 2001
  Acquisition of Georgia-Pacific Tissue and Tuscarora gives SCA a strong position in North America in Away-from Home (AFH) tissue and protective packaging.
• 2004
  Company acquisitions make SCA the largest player in tissue and personal care products in Australasia.
• 2007
  SCA sells its North American packaging operations. The same year SCA acquires Procter & Gamble's European tissue business. 2007 was also starting year for the extensive wind power investments in cooperation with Norwegian Statkraft.

More details

1929 The SCA Group was founded on 27 November 1929. The man behind the formation of the company was Swedish financier Ivar Kreuger who merged some ten Swedish forest companies into a single group. The company consisted of forests, sawmills, pulp mills, machine shops and power companies. SCA had annual sales of approximately SEK 100 million and production was carried out in some 40 Swedish units with 6,500 employees.

1930-1949 SCA’s early years were marked by the international depression with lower prices and reduced exports.

Kreuger’s suicide and the subsequent break-up of his company Kreuger& Toll in 1932, eventually led to Svenska Handelsbanken assuming full control of SCA.

Despite the harsh business climate, SCA invested in increased production of sulphate pulp with the construction of the Östrand pulp mill. The facility went into operation in 1932 with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes which in 1936, the year of its formal inauguration, was increased to 140,000 tonnes. This made Östrand one of the largest pulp mills in the world. A large portion of the pulp was exported to the United States, these exports accounted for about 50% of sales by the end of the 1930s.

The market situation for forest products improved towards the mid-1930s to reach a peak in 1937 followed by a decline up until the outbreak of war. The war drastically reduced export opportunities for the forest industry, mainly for paper pulp but also for sawn products. SCA was forced to cut its pulp production substantially during the war years. Production was changed and SCA manufactured products such as wood for producer gas, charcoal, wood tar, turpentine and pulp for the manufacture of cellulose acetate.

1950 After the Second World War, SCA’s sales and profits rose substantially. SCA’s previously weak financial position strengthened and made it possible for Handelsbanken to list SCA on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1950. The issue comprised 375,000 shares at a price of SEK 130 per share. When SCA was registered on the Stockholm Stock Exchange the company had approximately 17,000 shareholders.

1950-1959 In the post-war years up to 1955 there were no major changes in the company’s structure. This was followed by period of major changes through a focus on larger and more competitive plants as well as more processed products with higher value-added content. Two of the most important features were an increase in bleaching capacity in Östrand and the building of a newsprint mill in Ortviken. The newsprint mill was built in 1956-1957 and comprised two machines with a total capacity of 160,000 tonnes.

For many years the volumes SCA could extract from the forest were restricted by access to labour. Mechanization of forestry started seriously in the mid-1950s. The bow saw and one-man saws were replaced by the motor saw. Machines increasingly took over from manual debarking. Transport of timber to industry, however, was still largely carried out by rafting.

1960-1974 The 1960s saw major changes for SCA. Pulp manufacture was concentrated to a few mills which were extended. As a result, several units were closed. Some of these closures had a major impact on employment in small communities, such as the closure of the pulp mill in Svartvik. 

At the same time, there was a deliberate focus on further processing in the form of increased production of paper. One example was the new newsprint machine PM 4 in Ortviken which went on stream in 1967.

The 1960s were characterized by weak demand for forest products. Throughout the period 1959 until 1972, SCA’s profitability was unsatisfactory and in two of these years SCA posted a loss.

In 1961, SCA started its first kraftliner  machine in Munksund and this marked the starting point for SCA's packaging business.

Timber rafting was abandoned the 1960s and sawlogs and pulpwood were transported by road. Transportation of paper, pulp and solid-wood products also changed at the end of the 1960s when SCA improved the efficiency of its sea transport operations including the use of its own vessels in Europe.

In 1961, SCA started its first kraftliner machine in Munksund and this marked the starting point for SCA’s packaging business. Capacity was calculated at 110,000 tonnes. In order to ensure a demand for liner, SCA entered the corrugated board market and acquired or built a number of plants in Sweden, Denmark, Germany and France.

From 1973 onwards the market situation for forest products improved and the restructuring carried out in the 1960s started to provide a satisfactory return.

1975 SCA took the first step towards becoming a consumer goods company with the acquisition of the Swedish personal care company Mölnlycke. This acquisition boosted the Group’s sales by 40% and resulted in tissue, diapers, feminine hygiene and incontinence products being included in the product portfolio.

1975-1999 In 1980, SCA acquired a stake in Sancela Mexico, a manufacturer of feminine hygiene products. This marked the start of the Group’s expansion through acquisitions or joint venture companies in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and America – an expansion that is still under way.

The publication paper operations were expanded and new machines installed in Ortviken in 1986, 1991 and 1996. SCA purchased a paper mill for the manufacture of SC paper in Laakirchen, Austria.

In 1988, SCA acquired the Italian packaging company Italcarta which provided significant market shares in southern Europe.

In 1992, the energy operations, Båkab Energi AB, were divested.

1990 SCA became European market leader in transport packaging through the acquisition of the British company Reedpack. This acquisition increased sales in the packaging business by 42%.

1995 SCA acquired a majority shareholding in the German company PWA and thus became Europe’s largest personal care products company. PWA primarily had operations within tissue, transport packaging and graphic paper.

2001 Operations in North America received a substantial boost through the acquisition of Georgia-Pacific Tissue and the protective packaging company Tuscarora. The acquisitions gave SCA a number three position on the North American tissue market and a market-leader position within protective packaging.

2004 SCA acquired the New Zealand company Carter Holt Harvey’s tissue operations. This made SCA the market leader within tissue in Australasia.

2007 SCA sold its North American packaging operations.

SCA acquired Procter & Gamble's European tissue business, including strong brands such as Tempo, the market leader in hankies in Western Europe and Hong Kong.

SCA and the Norwegian energy company Statkraft formed a jointly owned company for a major wind power investment. The plans involved 450 wind mills in six wind farms in Northern Sweden.

SCA formed a joint-venture company together with Jordan-based Nuqul. Nuqul is a leading industrial Group in the Middle East.

2008 SCA was delisted from the London Stock Exchange.

Parts of SCA's UK packaging operations were divested.

2009 SCA acquired – through its Colombian joint-venture company – Algodonera Aconcagua, one of the largest players in feminine care in Argentina.