France’s third-largest beech sawmill closes

Société Forestière Docelloise, one of France’s largest beech sawmills, has been shut down after the commercial court in Epinal ordered the company into liquidation. The sawmill, located in Docelles in the Vosges department, processed around 35,000 cubic metres of beech logs annually. The sawmill ranked as the third-largest beech sawmill in France. The closure follows months of financial difficulties in a hardwood market that has remained weak across much of Europe. Demand from furniture producers and interior manufacturers has slowed, while sawmills continue to face high energy, transport and labour costs. The ...