Stora Enso and Skanska to collaborate in BoKlok project in Finland

distributed by noodls on 11/20/2012 02:12

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Helsinki, Finland, 2012-11-20 08:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stora Enso and Skanska have agreed on collaboration in which Stora Enso will supply wooden modular elements for a BoKlok project at Kivistö in Vantaa, Finland. BoKlok is a concept for moderately priced housing developed by Skanska and IKEA. At Kivistö in Vantaa, Finland, all 36 BoKlok apartments will be built of wooden modules supplied by Stora Enso's Hartola production unit. Preliminary marketing of the project will start at the beginning of next year and construction work will commence next April. The project, comprising seven small multi-storey buildings, will be ready for occupation just eight months after the start of construction work.

"The idea of the BoKlok concept is to create better housing that combines good quality and design with easy reproduction and moderate living costs. The concept is now being relaunched in Finland following extensive collaboration with Stora Enso on development. Stora Enso's modular technology based on wooden materials considerably shortens construction time at the work site, and that and the manufacturing concept are directly apparent in construction costs and therefore the final prices of the apartments," says Skanska's Project Development Manager Riku Patokoski.

"We stressed the importance of industrialisation in finally achieving a breakthrough for wooden construction when we acquired the Hartola module production unit as part of our building solutions team late last summer. The BoKlok project to be built in collaboration with Skanska is a significant step in achieving this breakthrough and above all an excellent indication of the potential for us to establish a totally novel wood construction market in Finland," explains Hannu Kasurinen, EVP, Stora Enso Building and Living.

Modular construction means construction with advanced prefabricated housing modules. This reduces construction time by up to 50-70% compared with traditional element construction. In addition to speed, wood-based modular building offers quality and ecological benefits. The modules are built from start to finish indoors and not exposed to moisture or variable weather at any stage of construction. Since late summer 2012 Stora Enso has been manufacturing modules based on structural cross-laminated timber and other Stora Enso wood products for multi-storey and urban construction at the Hartola production unit. A new concept in modular construction has been developed since then in close collaboration with leading Finnish construction firms and developers, and the first results will be handed over to their owners in the near future.

Skanska and IKEA jointly developed the BoKlok concept in the mid-1990s. The first BoKlok homes were built in southern Sweden in 1997, and about 5 000 BoKlok homes have already been sold in Sweden. The BoKlok concept represents small-scale urban construction in small multi-storey buildings. The advantages of the concept include a shared sheltered yard, and scope for horticulture and a sauna shared by the housing in the yard. Owner-occupied BoKlok homes were most recently built in Finland in 2006 in Porvoo and Vantaa.

For further information, please contact:
Hannu Kasurinen, EVP, Stora Enso Building and Living, tel. +358 2046 21222
Matti Mikkola, SVP, Building Solutions, Stora Enso Building and Living, tel. +358 2046 21710
Päivi Kauhanen, SVP, Communication and Sustainability, Stora Enso Building and Living, tel. +358 2046 21292
Riku Patokoski, Head of Product Development, Skanska Kodit, tel. +358 40 510 5475
Jukka Hörkkö, Executive Vice President, Southern Finland Area, Skanska Kodit, tel. +358 40 572 8955

www.storaenso.com
www.storaenso.com/investors
www.skanska.fi/boklok

Stora Enso is the global rethinker of the paper, biomaterials, wood products and packaging industry. We always rethink the old and expand to the new to offer our customers innovative solutions based on renewable materials. Stora Enso employs some 30 000 people worldwide, and our sales in 2011 amounted to EUR 11.0 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY) in the International OTCQX over-the-counter market.

STORA ENSO OYJ

www.skanska.fi

Skanska's operations in Finland cover construction services, residential and commercial project development and public-private partnerships. Construction services include building construction, building services, and civil and environmental construction. In Estonia Skanska's activities comprise construction services and residential development.

The combined sales for Skanska's Finnish and Estonian operations in 2011 were about EUR 1 billion and the company employed about 3 360 people.