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Sonae Arauco is one of the world's largest companies specialising in wood-based solutions. Its commitment to sustainable development includes enhancing the timber industry through forest certification, a circular bioeconomy model and continuous integration of recycled wood into the industrial process.

 

The company was born out of a joint venture between two major global players in the timber industry: Sonae Indústria (Portugal) and Arauco (Chile). Both share an ambition to take timber even further and have a long-term vision for the business. The company currently employs around 2,600 people across nine countries (Portugal, Spain, Germany, South Africa, The United Kingdom, France, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Morocco), and it has 23 industrial and commercial units. It does in addition market its products in approximately 70 countries.

 

Sonae Arauco's catalogue includes a wide range of products covering the different needs of the furniture, interior design and construction industries, from the most standard to the most technically demanding, as well as a wide range of decorative products.

 

 

Why did you choose Spain to internationalise your industrial activity?

Sonae Arauco has factories in countries with the highest demand for wood solutions, and which offer the added value of having their own sources of raw materials, i.e. forests. In addition to these needs, there is another one that cannot be overlooked and which is related to Spain's business know-how. As in other countries, our goal in Spain is to be able to grow sustainably with a portfolio of high-quality products and a true spirit of partnership with our customers.

 

What investment did you make to set up in Spain?

Sonae Arauco's current portfolio of factories, not only in Spain but also in other countries, is the result of investments previously made by Sonae Indústria up until the joint venture was created. Since then, we have been investing in improving our industrial processes, striving for operational excellence, manufacturing sustainable, high-quality products and improving the service we provide to our customers.

 

How has the company evolved since it was first established in Spain?

The company operates in a traditionally cyclical industry, with all that this entails, but we have been able to witness a very positive general development across all areas, especially in recent years. As such, we have established ourselves as a major player in the area of decorative panels, bringing great added value to the market, something which leads us to conclude that we are achieving our objectives.

 

How important is Spain for Sonae Arauco's strategy?

Although Sonae Arauco sells its products in around 70 countries, we only have industrial plants in four of them: Spain, Germany, Portugal and South Africa. Of our 11 plants, three are in Spain, where nine of our 12 recycling centres are located. In Spain we also have an office in Madrid, several sales offices and a team of over 500 employees. Moreover, some of our major customers are located here, especially in the decorative products industry, an area of great strategic importance to us.

 

What is your customer profile?

We have an extensive portfolio of industrial customers and distributors. In recent years, and in line with Sonae Arauco's strategy to grow in the area of decorative panels, we have taken very significant steps both in developing the Innovus collection, which our customers often refer to as the best collection on the market, and in creating our own customer portfolio. As our strategy is to generate value for our customers through a collaborative relationship, we have a strong focus on the premium customer segment, where they value this form of interaction.

 

What are the highlights of your facilities in Spain?

I think the most important thing to highlight is that we have a fully integrated business model in Spain, largely supported by our nine recycling centres, and which promote the collection and reintegration of recycled materials into the production process, from pallets to packaging, furniture, doors, construction, municipal waste and so on. We are in this way harnessing the potential of this wood waste, whether industrial or municipal, by extending its life cycle and through carbon sequestration, culminating in greater added value for the company and the environment. Our circular bioeconomy model is even considered to be a shining example of this sustainable approach by organisations like the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and part of this value proposition is being created specifically in Spain.

 

You are committed to innovation, and one of your main contributions has been in the field of digitalisation, which you started in Valladolid. In 2022 you invested 25 million euros to bring this process to Jaén. What is the status of this project and what are the resulting benefits?

In the context of the wood-based panel industry, Sonae Arauco has been leading the digital transformation for several years now, a path that began in 2015 and which has even received external recognition. In 2019, the company was distinguished with the Best Digital Transformation Enterprise Europe award for evolving from a traditional model to a digital business model. The digital factory, which was implemented in Linares (Jaén) in 2022, is just one example of our digital transformation. Predictive maintenance systems, models for forecasting optimal quantities of raw materials, smart weighing and digitised timber stockyards are already a reality in several of Sonae Arauco's industrial units, bringing us considerable improvements in terms of efficiency and quality control, in particular by anticipating possible deviations in the production process.

 

What other major investments have you made recently?

In addition to the investments already mentioned, and given that they are initiatives of the utmost importance and are in line with Sonae Arauco's carbon neutrality strategy, I would highlight the solar PV projects already underway in Linares (whose objective is to guarantee 12% of the facility’s total energy consumption), and part of the project already approved in Valladolid (in this case to cover 25% of electricity consumption). These projects will enable a significant part of the two mills' energy needs to be generated and will reduce their dependency on fossil fuel energy, in line with Sonae Arauco's decarbonisation objectives. In this context, the company is already ensuring, through the products it places on the market, an average annual sequestration of around three thousand tonnes of CO₂, and it currently has several projects underway to address the challenges presented by climate change.

 

What are the next challenges?

With regard to digitalising operations, we also have AI-based predictive models for quality parameters in place, and we are working on modelling our main production lines so that the line can work automatically using optimal parameters. As one of our strategic pillars, the road to operational excellence can only be travelled by anticipating needs, digitising processes, predicting errors and using intelligence and data interpretation models to make better decisions. But the role of people must not be forgotten. That is why, looking to the future, our company is committed to implementing a new paradigm of Industry 5.0; we will deliver sustainable products, made from invaluable raw materials and through a circular bioeconomy business model; we will work daily towards achieving a carbon-neutral future; we will value our employees throughout their careers and incorporate the latest technologies, while continuing to actively invest in innovation, research and development.

 

^{Photos: Sonae Arauco}