English 
Svenska Piteå Municipality
Photo: Bondön windfarm and Chemrec BioDME plant
Piteå’s geographic location in southern Norrbotten, close to the four cities of Skellefteå, Älvsbyn, Luleå and Boden, offers a labour market region of about 220,000 inhabitants within a radius of about 48 miles or a 50-minute commute.
Our long history of forestry and forest industries as a stable economic base is evident by our large wood industry with leading mills, industrial house builders, and two large pulp mills, of which one is Europe’s largest. We are also a world leader in technology and expertise on reprocessing the by-products of these industries into renewable energy.
Examples of this are the two unique facilities that opened in 2010 for producing renewable motor fuels. SunPine AB, located at Piteå’s deep-water harbour, became the first industrial facility for producing renewable diesel using by-products from the forest as its raw material. Chemrec, ETC, and Solander Science Park, all in close proximity to the Smurfit Kappa pulp mill in Piteå, have helped Chemrec build the world’s first production facility for the biofuel BioDME. There are plans in Piteå to build one of Europe’s largest wind farms with 1,101 wind turbines. Piteå also has vast expertise in the metal and engineering industries and a composite cluster with the Swerea Sicomp research institute at its base.
Besides industry, a large service sector has emerged, resulting in substantial infrastructure investments. Piteå Näringsfastigheter has built a business park with about 700 active persons in a unique cultural and historical environment in Furunäset. Several companies in the banking, customer service, and telemarketing industries are located here.
The tourism industry is also strong since Piteå is Norrbotten’s most visited destination in the summer, with several annual events such as Piteå Summer Games, music festival Piteå Dansar och Ler, and the Stora Nolia trade fair. Pite Havsbad is located in Piteå’s beautiful archipelago and is one of northern Sweden’s most popular destinations with one million visitors each year.
Commerce in Piteå has advanced significantly in recent years. Today we have an attractive downtown area with two major shopping centres, Gallerian i Piteå and Småstaden, located on Sweden’s first pedestrian mall, which is now heated year-round. There is also a shopping area with major chain stores.
Luleå University of Technology’s Department of Music and Media is situated in Piteå. The music school’s educational environment is integrated with Acusticum, a unique business park for companies in the creative and cultural industries. The latest addition to this expansive area is Studio Acusticum, a concert hall with world-class acoustics, which, besides being a venue for events, offers opportunities for interdisciplinary research in music, sound, media and technology.
Thirty miles to the north is Luleå and Scandinavia’s northernmost technological university with about 13,000 students and 1,500 employees. Research is conducted at Luleå University of Technology in close collaboration with industry. They are world leaders in the fields of mining engineering, metallurgy and high-performance steel.
Piteå’s proximity to airports in Luleå and Skellefteå, freight rail, and the Port of Piteå, the Gulf of Bothnia’s leading port for forest products, ensure excellent transportation links.
Trivia: The county councils of the four northernmost counties commissioned a scientific study to investigate what the people of northern Sweden think about their lives. It shows that residents of Piteå are the happiest of all the northern counties. The survey was conducted by Nils-Gustav Lundgren, professor of economic history at Luleå University of Technology.
Contact:
Magnus Wikman
+46 70-389 60 08
magnus.wikman@pitea.se
