STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan. 9, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Graninge Kalmar Energi and AB Gustaf Kahr in Nybro have signed a 7-year agreement for delivery of around 50,000 - 60,000 tonnes of wood powder per year during the period 2002-2008. The agreement is valued at around SEK 300 million. Graninge Kalmar Energi and Kahrs have collaborated since 1990. The waste produced in flooring manufacturing is used as fuel to generate heating in Kalmar. Kahrs also buys its entire electricity requirement from Graninge in Kalmar.
Graninge Kalmar Energi supplies heat to more than 11,000 apartments and close to 2,000 single-family homes, as well as businesses, schools and industries. A full 75 percent of the heat is produced with biomass fuel, most of which comes from Kahrs' flooring manufacturing in Nybro and Blomstermala.
The new agreement offers advantages for both Kahrs and Graninge Kalmar Energi. Kahrs is guaranteed a market for its waste products while Graninge Kalmar Energi is assured delivery of biomass fuel and can thus safeguard its future production of environmentally friendly district heating.
"The collaboration with Graninge Kalmar Energi is important for our future expansion", says Michael Bohlin, Managing Director of Kahrs: "The more flooring we manufacture, the more waste is produced in the form of wood powder, chips and bark. Being able to put this waste to use locally is good for both us and the region."
Ulf Gunnarsson, Managing Director of Graninge Kalmar Energi AB, also sees the collaboration as beneficial for the region: "Most of our biomass fuel requirement is supplied by Kahrs. The advantage of biomass fuels is that they don't contribute to the global greenhouse effect."
Facts about Graninge Kalmar Energi Graninge Kalmar Energi AB, which is owned equally by the Municipality of Kalmar and Graninge AB, has close to 100 employees and an annual turnover of around SEK 380 million.
Facts about Kahrs
Kahrs is one of Europe's leading producers of wood parquet and wood flooring. The company has around 2,300 employees and posted an annual turnover of around SEK 2.0 billion in 2000. AB Gustaf Kahr is owned by Nybron Flooring International.
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