During September SCA Wood hosted a group of university lecturers at its large-scale operations in northern Sweden.
The visit, which was arranged in conjunction with the EATTA as part of its “Who teaches the teachers” programme, was aimed at updating lecturers’ knowledge on timber production methods.
The three-day trip involved visits to SCA’s tree nursery where 100 million tree seedlings are produced each year, SCA’s sustainable forests, of which, SCA owns 2.6 million hectares in northern Sweden, and Tunadal Sawmill – one of five sawmills owned by SCA in Sweden.
Stephen King, sales director of SCA Wood Industrial Solutions, said: “We were delighted to be asked to host this visit by the EATTA. SCA has always been dedicated to sharing our wealth of timber knowledge with our customers, but the education we provide shouldn’t stop there.
“We are firmly rooting our commitment to the timber industry to help engage those responsible for inspiring the engineers and architects of tomorrow. Seeing our operations first-hand will hopefully provide lecturers with the experiential knowledge they need to impart enthusiasm for wood use in construction to the next generation.”
Tabitha Binding, university engagement manager from TRADA, who joined the visit, was impressed by SCA’s passion for producing quality wood fibre. “The ‘proof of concept’ visit under the new EATTA ‘Who teaches the teachers?’ programme was a great success in demonstrating to our first cohort of lecturers that from seed to final timber product, each step is considered environmentally, socially and financially,” she acknowledged.
“The enthusiasm, openness and pride in their products was evident in all of SCA’s staff across the nursery, harvesting, sawmilling and planing line facilities visited. Stephen King, our host throughout the visit, together with all of his colleagues in Sweden answered all questions, from the basic to the complicated, increasing understanding and creating enthusiasm to teach students about timber in a different way to that previously taken.
“Architectural and engineering students and lecturers across the Universities of Anglia Ruskin, Suffolk and Hertfordshire will undoubtedly benefit from this first-hand knowledge, which is backed up by TRADA’s extensive online learning resources.”
EATTA chairman, Chris James, wants all lecturers in the eastern region to have the same experience or at least to hear about it from colleagues. He concluded: “Visits like this are essential in encouraging lecturers to inspire students’ and colleagues’ about using timber as a sustainable building material. Working with SCA, we are taking responsibility and spreading our industry’s message.”
