Sawmills are often small and medium-sized local businesses that process wood for local customers and employ local people, generating employment and local economies in rural areas. They are a perfect example of sustainable rural development, with a positive impact on the regional and even national economy. At the same time, sawmills allow the use of timber resources in the forest, thus promoting their conservation and reducing their vulnerability to fires and rising temperatures thanks to sustainable forest management. They are also an essential link for a wider ecosystem of companies, for the development of structural timber products (laminated timber, cross-laminated timber, structural boxes, etc.).

Promoting the adoption of this model among rural businesses is a priority for the development of different European Union policies in an attempt to conserve the natural environment, stimulate business innovation and create stable employment in the rural world.

An example of this business model are the companies Madera PinoSoria and Maderas de Miguel Barrio (MIBA), located in the pine forest area of Soria. It is a family business with a sawmill in Casarejos and a high-end machining center in Cabrejas del Pinar where, supported by a structural calculation technical office, the different pieces of wood for a house or building in general are shaped. Santiago and Luismi De Miguel, brothers and owners of the business, have been able after three generations to connect in an exemplary and efficient way the wood resources of the pine forests of Soria and Burgos, with sustainable construction with wood. It is a value chain fully adapted to the new policies of sustainable forest management of the forest and to the decarbonization and greater capacity to recycle in construction.

We invite you to read this report:

https://www.tuvozenpinares.com/articulo/reportaje/madera-pinosoria-donde-ingenieria-ingenio-consiguen-retos-increibles/20220314150627044839.html

Madera Pinosoria and MIBA are two companies that actively contribute to create employment in the province of Soria, and in turn to the good management of the forests in the area, characterized by their low number of fires and validators of good forest management. You can read more about the successful case of Soria in this interesting article:

https://diariodecastillayleon.elmundo.es/articulo/soria/que-quema-soria/20220806145912053763.html

For the University of Granada and the LIFE Wood for Future project it is a great honor and pride to have worked together with Santiago, Luismi and his team over the last few years, especially in the sawing and drying of poplar logs for regulatory recognition and the development of mixed poplar and pine structural products. Collaboration that will surely continue for a long time thanks to his continuous eagerness to do new things in the wood value chain. Thank you friends!