The sale of the business to EcoHeating reportedly provides good prospects for further development of the pellets operations. The takeover will take place on October 1, 2008.
The sale comprises StatoilHydro’s wood pellets factory in Brumunddal, Norway, and Saffle, Sweden, as well as sale of remote heating and pellets to customers with their own energy plants. EcoHeating is taking over four employees at the pellets factory in Brumunddal, and 20 employees from the Swedish operation.
StatoilHydro has a market share of around 5% in Sweden, which is reportedly the world’s largest market for wood pellets, accounting for some 1.7 million tonnes. In Norway, StatoilHydro is the largest supplier of wood pellets with over 50% of the total market, which is around 35,000 tonnes.
Tom Borgersen, sales director of StatoilHydro Norway, said: We have been successful in building up the wood pellets business to the level it is at today, and we are pleased with EcoHeating as the buyer. EcoHeating has the best qualifications to further develop the pellets business, and make wood pellets an even more important energy source than it is today.
