To meet the demand for sustainable and innovative building solutions, Stora Enso is launching Sylva™ by Stora Enso. This is a construction kit consisting of prefabricated, customised solid wood elements that are delivered just-in-time to the construction site. This solution enables faster construction, lower costs, more efficient use of raw materials and fewer emissions than steel and concrete.

"One of the main reasons that CO2 emissions from the construction industry have reached an all-time high is the constant, excessive use of carbon intensive materials such as steel and concrete. Recent technical innovations in solid wood will reduce the dependence on these materials. Today we can build higher, stronger and lighter with wood than ever before and now with Sylva it will be even easier," says Lars Völkel, Executive Vice President of the Wood Products Division at Stora Enso.

Sylva is Stora Enso's range of prefabricated, wood-based materials such as cross laminated timber (CLT), laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and glulam (GLT). The Sylva kit contains everything needed to build a modern, sustainable timber structure for low-carbon buildings. With custom-made walls, ceilings, roofs, stairs, columns and beams, the use of solid wood is optimised to adapt buildings of all typologies and sizes to specific project requirements.

Stora Enso's automated coating plant, which is being built in Ybbs, Lower Austria, will further increase the value and quality of Sylva building components by enabling additional high-quality water-based coatings that protect against moisture, sunlight, insects and fire. This will result in shorter construction times, reduce costs for contractors, add value and provide improved product quality.

"By delivering prefabricated, easy-to-install elements to construction sites, we are responding to the growing trend towards efficient and quality manufacturing, while providing a solution to the industry's labour shortage. Sylva is a milestone in this respect. Sylva replaces steel and concrete with renewable wood, enabling a circular, low-carbon construction process," says Mathieu Robert, Head of Building Solutions at Stora Enso.

Wood products can help transform the building sector from a source of greenhouse gas emissions to a driver of CO2 reduction. Every cubic metre of wood used to replace non-renewable building materials reduces CO₂ emissions by an average of 1.5 tonnes. The carbon used remains stored in wooden buildings for generations. Wood as a building material can immediately save up to 70% of emissions and in this way ensure that the construction industry is part of the solution to curb global warming.
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