Entering the Champions League within two decades

Timber-Online honors the Upper Carinthian sawmill's path from a medium-sized sawmill to a timber enterprise of Europe-wide importance by awarding it the title of Timber Enterprise of the Year 2020.

Time to upskill as projects are on the way

It is almost as if proof was needed that this company is very well-organized: In 2019, Hasslacher Norica Timber had to do without its head, owner and CEO Christoph Kulterer. After twenty years of management responsibility, he took a sabbatical at the London School of Economics. However, he did not return to the lecture hall before initiating several investment projects for a total of €100 million:

• Expansion of the CLT production in Stall in Mölltal
• Reconstruction and expansion at Nordlam in Magdeburg/DE
• Complete new construction of the sawline in Preding

Never a boring day - always big steps

Looking at the development over the past two decades, things have always been happening fast at the Hasslacher Group. The supply situation in western Carinthia in 1999 made it necessary to process all log diameters: Therefore, the company implemented a chipper-bandsaw combination that boosted cutting from 100,000 to more than 500,000 sm³/yr. By now, the company is cutting up to 850,000 sm³/yr at the headquarters.

The line had virtually only been launched when the company seized an opportunity with which it would kill two birds with one stone: purchasing the Feltrinelli sawmills in St. Veit and Arnoldstein. The former site was shut down soon after, the latter was used a bit longer explicitly for small-sized timber.

"We are located in the high mountains. Our raw material will always be expensive. To keep value creation on the highest possible level, it has always been clear to me that the way to go is further processing," Kulterer explains in retrospect. Back then, a 20,000 m³/yr glulam production was started as a joint venture in Stall in Mölltal. At the same time, Nordlam launched its glulam lines in Magdeburg. Today, Magdeburg belongs to the Hasslacher group that is producing a total of 380,000 m³/yr of glulam.

Joining and order picking pioneer

The fact that the production in Stall started out small is less remarkable from the author's point of view than the fact that it instantly began with a Hundegger joining system. "A joining system for a laminated timber producer was a real novelty. We opted for it to distinguish ourselves," Kulterer talks about his motives. Otherwise, he would not have stood chance against established pole producers. Back to the year 2020: Next year, a total of 12 "Hundeggers" will be operating, and 18 joining systems in total.

Just when glulam was about to really take off in Stall in 2005 (expansion to 50,000 m³/yr), a fire destroyed the production. For reasons of transport costs, the modern reconstruction to 100,000 m³/yr was carried out at the company headquarters in Sachsenburg. Michael Fercher, who planned both Magdeburg as well as Sachsenburg for plant engineers, is now the company's head of technology.

Catastrophic timing, but appropriate takeover in the long term

In 2008, Hasslacher Norica Timber took over Andreas Kogler's sawmill in Liebenfels. This meant acquiring a new purchasing network and indirectly consolidating the Carinthian cutting capacity. It was bitter that the purchase was completed one month prior to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and thus just before the outbreak of the financial crisis. Twelve years later, Kulterer can smile about this: "In the long term, all further processors in the country have benefited from this. Years later, we invested in the log yard in Sachsenburg und today we are cutting as much in one two-shift plant as we used to do in two. Also for forest owners, it was an advantage because their customers had modern facilities."

One of the biggest takeovers in the history of the Hasslacher group took place in 2009. One consequence of the financial crisis was the insolvency of Holzindustrie Leitinger. The wood industry company from Styria needed more lumber for its production of structural timber (KVH), planed goods and panels than was cut in Preding. The takeover by Hasslacher therefore helped through difficult years.

Investing in times of crisis

During the financial crisis, 2010 and 2011 brought two more takeover opportunities: timber engineering specialist Buchacher from Hermagor as well as the CLT production in Stall.

"In 2011 and 2012, the biggest timber industries also made the biggest losses. All integrated companies were too inflexible to react to the demand downturn with production cutbacks," Kulterer recognizes in hindsight. CFO Franz Meliessnig defines the recovery of the following years as the "release from the dependency on Italy and the finding of new markets". Germany, France, Czech Republic and Asia are mentioned as alternative markets.

CLT also in Germany

In the economically strong years of 2014 and 2015, Hess Timber and Nordlam were suddenly for sale. In particular the latter company is now being converted and in part newly built. "Away from large uniform orders and more into the direction of order picking," Kulterer talks about objectives. In January, a new flexible Kallesoe press as well as another Hundegger joining system will be installed at the older factory 1. The press will also be used to produce CLT. "In 2020, we want to produce 20,000 m³ with a width of 1.25 m, and in the next step around 50,000 m³/yr of CLT," are Kulterer's plans.

With the takeover of Nordlam, a border was crossed: In total, the Hasslacher group is now producing more further processing products than in-house lumber. 720,000 m³/yr of lumber production are matched with a demand of 750,000 m³/yr for further processing. In order to remain attractive as lumber supplier, Kulterer thinks that a company needs to react: The cutting volume increase in Preding was his response – a move that was cheaper than building a new plant in Slovenia. Cutting around 500,000 sm³/yr in a one-shift operation – this is the future plan for Preding. "Before Christmas still, the Linck line will arrive."

Ready-made solutions for timber construction

Hasslacher will continue to focus primarily on products for modern timber construction. "The fact that we have supplied wall elements with finished surfaces, built-in windows and vapor seal for the HoHo is quite remarkable," Kulturer is proud.

As soon as all investment projects are implemented in 2020, the intention is to "take a breath" for two to three years (Meliessnig). Roundwood supply remains an ongoing topic in the sawmill industry. "A fundamental change, however, can currently be observed in central Germany, northern Austria and Czech Republic. These are the regions where everything is changing, while we here within the Alps are probably less affected," Kulterer predicts. 

Because of these uncertainties alone, Kulterer does not want to sketch out the path for the next ten years. For the short term, the motto is: Expanding the position in Europe.

Ongoing expansions in figures:

• plus 300,000 to 500,000 sm³/yr of cutting volume
• plus for laminated timber
• plus 90 to 120,000 m³/yr of structural timber (KVH)

Europe – and no longer Italy – is now the Hasslacher group's home market. Still the company thinks that it is the biggest single supplier for Italy.