Stockholm, Sweden, Dec. 16--Graninge has signed an agreement to acquire the energy business area of the flooring manufacturer AB Gustaf Kahr. The business area includes a cogeneration plant for production of electricity and heating and a facility for production of wood fuel. At the same time, Graninge will take over deliveries of electricity and heating to the factory in Nybro.
The transaction will be completed before year end.
Graninge Kalmar Energi and Kahrs have a long standing collaboration. The flooring factory in Nybro supplies the municipality of Kalmar with wood waste for production of district heating. Only two years ago, the parties signed an agreement for delivery of more than 45,000 tons of wood fuel annually, an agreement that runs for another four years.
"We see the acquisition as a natural progression of the fine collaboration we have enjoyed with Kahrs over the years," said Ulf Gunnarsson, head of Graninge's district heating business area and managing director of Graninge Kalmar Energi. "This long term collaboration will enable us to further strengthen our position as a leading energy company. It also increases the scope for new ventures in the Nybro and Kalmar region,"
The Energy business area has 18 employees that handle operation and maintenance of the cogeneration plant in Nybro, all of whom will be transferred to the new owner. The cogeneration plant supplies both heating to the AB Gustaf Kahrs factory and district heating to the residents of Nybro.
Graninge Kalmar Energi has around 100 employees and an annual turnover of approx. MSEK 360.
