Company Overview

Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) is a Sweden-based manufacturer of personal care products, tissue, packaging, publication papers, and solid-wood products. The SCA Group was founded in 1929, when Swedish financier Ivar Kreuger merged ten Swedish forest companies into a single group. The company consisted of forests, sawmills, pulp mills, machine shops, and power companies. Despite Kreuger’s tragic departure shortly after the company was formed (he committed suicide in 1932), SCA’s business continued to grow due to its investment in pulp production, mainly through its ownership of the Östrand pulp mill. Östrand was one of the largest pulp mills in the world, and its exports to the U.S. counted for 50 percent of its sales by the end of the 1930s. Today, the mill still produces 430,000 tons of pulp per year.

Since then, SCA has earned a large global presence. Its eight largest markets are Germany, the United Kingdom, France, USA, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain. In North America, SCA’s operations received a substantial boost through the acquisition of Georgia-Pacific Tissue and protective packaging company Tuscarora in 2002. This acquisition made SCA the third-largest tissue-maker in North America.

SCA has four business areas: personal care, tissue, packaging, and forest products. Personal care accounts for 21 percent of sales and includes three products: incontinence care, baby diapers, and feminine care. Tissue provides 34 percent of sales, manufacturing toilet paper, paper towels, handkerchiefs, and napkins, as well as complete hygiene solutions. Packaging accounts for 30 percent of sales and offers containerboard, protective packaging, consumer and point-of-sales packaging, as well as services. And finally, with 15 percent of sales, forest products include publication papers, pulp, and solid-wood products. SCA’s products are made primarily from renewable and recyclable materials.

SCA wants to exit non-core markets, and therefore the company cut 3,600 jobs in Europe over the past few years. In 2008, SCA’s new CEO, Jan Johansson, announced SCA would be growing its hygienic products operations, and streamlining packaging and forestry operations. SCA has been researching cultural trends in hygienic product usage to customize its products for different markets.