Annual Report: Nordic Wood Industries Looks Ahead to Brighter Times After an Exceptionally Difficult 2024
Nordic Wood Industries faced a challenging 2024, with extraordinary circumstances—particularly the bankruptcy of Scandi Byg—leaving a significant mark on the just-released annual report. According to Group CEO Holger C. Hansen, the year also included several important investments, and already now, substantial progress can be seen across the group’s companies.
The timber-based group Nordic Wood Industries—comprising Palsgaard Spær, Lilleheden, Roust Element, Nviro, Roust Spær, Jysk Spærfabrik, Ringsted Spær, Scandi Byg, Skandach Holzindustrie, and Bisco Binder—achieved a turnover of DKK 983 million in 2024, representing a 41 percent increase compared to 2023.
The bottom line, however, is more critical. The group reported a loss of DKK 93 million, primarily due to the bankruptcy of its new subsidiary, Scandi Byg.
“It’s no secret that 2024 was a tough year for Nordic Wood Industries. Overall, we reached a reasonably solid activity level, fully in line with our expectations in a challenged construction market, but the financial results are heavily impacted by the bankruptcy of Scandi Byg, which was an incredibly difficult period for everyone involved,” says Holger C. Hansen, adding:
“Additionally, Roust Element faced challenges after taking on several large and complex projects, which put significant pressure on their production and engineering departments and unfortunately led to substantial extra costs—reflected in the accounts. At Palsgaard Spær, the implementation of a new future-proof ERP system caused major operational disruptions and reduced efficiency in 2024. On the other hand, Lilleheden had a particularly strong financial year, though the positive trends are unfortunately overshadowed in this report.”
According to Holger C. Hansen, the group maintains a solid capital base, but the extraordinary situation prompted the owners to inject DKK 20 million in new capital in 2025 to demonstrate their continued belief in Nordic Wood Industries’ potential.
Rising Demand and a Brighter 2025
Despite the challenges of 2024, Holger C. Hansen highlights several positive initiatives whose benefits will be reaped this year:
“We made several investments in 2024. Palsgaard Spær acquired competitors Jysk Spærfabrik and Ringsted Spær and invested in a semi-automated system for truss production. Lilleheden invested tens of millions of kroner in a CNC-controlled saw line and expanded its design and sales teams to keep up with the growing demand for glulam solutions,” says Holger C. Hansen, and continues:
“The timber construction market is growing rapidly, with wood making up an increasing share of building materials every year. We’re seeing this trend firsthand, which is why we’ve also invested in skilled personnel and various solutions aimed at long-term production optimization. We’ve successfully restarted Scandi Byg with a strong team and a solid order book, and we’ve strengthened management and improved internal workflows at Roust Element—so the major challenges at both companies are now behind us. At Palsgaard Spær, the new ERP system has been fully implemented and has significantly enhanced the digital platform. Therefore, we have every reason to look optimistically to the future, and we’re already showing a solid operating profit for the first five months of the year,” he says, adding that he expects the group’s earnings in 2025 to return to normal levels.
Nordic Wood Industries includes companies that produce everything from glulam structures and timber trusses to room-sized prefabricated modules and wood elements, and also supply bio-based insulation. In recent years, the group has focused heavily on creating strong synergies across its companies and developing cross-cutting solutions—an effort that, according to Holger C. Hansen, will continue in the coming years.