Swedol in Hudiksvall supplies saw chains to Swedish foresters
One of Alligo’s eight defined industry segments is the agriculture and forestry sector, which accounts for about three percent of the group’s turnover. In this segment, Swedol is a major retailer of chains for forestry machines – a consumable that requires solid craftsmanship.
Every year Swedol sells around 20,000 saw chains to foresters in Sweden. The chains are cut and packaged in Swedol’s store in Hudiksvall and are mainly used for forestry machines that cut down trees, such as skidders. The customers are often forestry companies or municipalities responsible for clearing roadsides.
The manufacturing of saw chains is a craft, but at the same time chains are a consumer product, they are good for one day only. In winter, with snow, you can use three chains a day. A forestry worker can have up to three machines. So he or she needs a lot of chains,” says Niklas Jansson, salesperson at Swedol Hudiksvall.
Retailers and manufacturers working closely together
In 2018, Susanne Antonsson started as a sales person at Swedol in Hudiksvall. For the past four years, she has been manufacturing the majority of the saw chains sold to Swedol’s customers in Sweden. Susanne is responsible for taking care of orders placed, manufacturing the chains and delivering them to the customer.
Niklas has the customer contacts and does all the purchasing, I make sure the chains are built. We work well together, and Niklas has a long experience. He knows which chains are sold a lot and he has a good knowledge of how the forestry machines are changing, which impacts the design of the chains, says Susanne.
Customers appreciate customised chains
The store in Hudiksvall sells saw chains in ready-made lengths. But if a particular length is not in stock, or if a customer wants a custom-made length, Susanne will cut the chains to size according to the customer’s wishes. Each day she cuts between 30 and 50 chains.
To build a tailor-made saw chain, Susanne needs to know the length and the width of the saw bar on which the chain will be mounted. Using this information, she calculates the number of drive links the chain should contain. The number of links can be anything from 53 to 109, but the most common number is 84 links.
During the pandemic there was a shortage of chains sold per meter. With our specialist knowledge, we helped many customers by cutting chains from one length to the other, says Susanne.
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About Swedol
Swedol is Alligo’s primary concept brand in the Swedish market and was founded in Tyresö in 1963. Sales are mainly through 90 stores, direct sales, online sales and smart solutions at the customer’s premises. As a customer, you can order saw chains from your nearest Swedol store or online, and the actual production takes place in Hudiksvall.
