A world-leading sawmill group – built by hardworking people
Third day of Christmas. It’s almost 3 PM. Santhe Dahl has left his holiday celebration in Småland to save the sawmills. The bank must intervene, or everything will be lost. Everything generations have worked to build. But there and then, in Kreditbanken’s office in Uppsala, a signature lands on a piece of paper, averting the crisis. And now, four decades later, Vida is Sweden’s largest sawmill group – with its heart still in Alvesta.
If you pass by Alvesta by train, you’re almost guaranteed to see freight cars carrying white rectangular packages marked with “Vida.” Beneath the plastic lies the forest’s treasure: wood. The sturdy trees of Småland are transformed into construction timber that the world builds with. Here, the ability to turn resources into something valuable is second to none.
Vida is a symbol of the resourcefulness and determination that define our entire region. We always find ways to achieve more, perform better, and close even smarter deals. This ingenuity runs deep in the DNA of Smålanders and is embedded in Vida’s culture.
“We even turned pencils around to make them last longer”
Throughout Vida’s history, many driven forces have shaped its journey – Småland entrepreneurs and hardworking individuals. Two people, in particular, have built Vida into the major group it is today: the farm boy, Santhe Dahl, and the manager’s son, Christer Johansson, both raised in villages on opposite sides of Moheda.
Santhe learned early on the importance of finishing what you start. As a farm boy, this was especially crucial. If it rained tomorrow, the harvest had to be completed today – you always finished the task at hand.
Despite their different backgrounds, both Santhe and Christer were instilled with Småland values by their parents: thriftiness, diligence, and respect for others. These values have always been at the core of Vida.
“We even turned pencils around to make them last longer. At the same time, we enjoyed each other’s company. And we had fun. We had a lot of fun. For 40 years, we had fun every single day,” says Santhe Dahl, former CEO and now Chairman of the Board at Vida.
Europe’s fastest planing mill is in Småland
In the forestry and wood industry, traditional craftsmanship meets modern innovation. This is something the world relies on – 88% of Vida’s sawn timber is exported.
“Digitalization has accelerated so much. When I started at Vida in 1977, the sawmills processed 5,000 cubic meters per year – now it’s 10,000 cubic meters per day. We have Europe’s fastest planing mill at the sawmill in Vislanda,” says Santhe. “The only limit to development is imagination. The possibilities are endless. It’s an incredible material we’re working with.”
Hardworking people create great value
Beyond Santhe and Christer, thousands of people across generations have contributed to Vida’s success. During its early expansion in the 1900s, the company was careful to recruit “hardworking people,” individuals with the right values who have shaped a strong corporate culture that lives on today.
For generations, Smålanders have shown that small means can create great value – from turning pencils around to make them last longer to innovations that spread the forest’s resources worldwide. At the heart of it all, still in Småland, is the same spirit of ingenuity and determination that saved the sawmills that Christmas in 1983.
