Partial map of German softwood sawmills in 2020/2021 - You can order the full map in formats A0 and A1 on our Subscriptions page

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Further increase in cutting in 2020

Article by Martina Nöstler (translated by Eva Guzely) | 17.03.2021 - 12:04

Last year, Germany’s biggest sawmills raised their cutting volumes again and this year, most companies want to produce either similar volumes or further raise them. However, log supply could thwart the sawmills’ plans.

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As every year, Holzkurier again collected data on cutting in German softwood sawmills with an annual cutting volume of 50,000 m³ or more. The result: Cutting increased again compared to 2019. Those companies which reported their figures cut a total of around 30.9 million m³ in 2020, i.e. 3.8% more than in the year before. This volume is particularly remarkable considering the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which led to short-term stops in production during the first lockdown in March. However, due to the accumulation of enormous quantities of damaged wood, log supply was constant throughout the year. In 2020, the volume of damaged wood exceeded regular harvest in Germany, as was the case in 2019. Last year, an estimated 70 million m³ of log wood were harvested, with 72.5 million m³ of damaged wood accumulating (information: German Ministry of Agriculture).

Last year, most German sawmills were either able to cut the same volumes as in 2019 or even raise cutting volumes. If you add those companies, which did not report their figures, cutting amounted to at least 33.5 million m³, as Holzkurier estimates.

Again the biggest single production site

In 2020, Ziegler Holzindustrie of Plößberg was once again the biggest single production site with a cutting volume of 2.2 million m³, followed by Ilim Nordic Timber of Wismar with 1.9 million m³ and Mercer Timber Products of Saalburg-Ebersdorf with 1.35 million m³.

Binderholz is the biggest sawmill group in Germany with four production sites in Kösching, Baruth, Wolfegg and Oberrot and an overall cutting volume of 3.44 million m³. Ilim’s output at its two sawmills in Wismar and Landsberg amounted to 3 million m³. The Pfeifer Holz group, with production sites in Lauterbach, Uelzen and Unterbernbach, reported a cutting volume of 2.35 million m³ in 2020.

14 production sites with 1 million m³ and more

Last year, 14 sawmills reached or passed the 1 million m³ mark. Those 14 sawmills cut a total of 17.5 million m³ in 2020 and thus 57% of the overall volume of 30.9 million m³. Ante-holz in Bromskirchen and Rottleberode, Binderholz in Kösching, Holzwerke Ladenburger in Kerkingen and Pfeifer Holz in Lauterbach reported a seven-digit cutting volume for the first time.

Further increase in 2021

Those companies which reported their 2021 target figures to Holzkurier wanted to reach a total of around 31.6 million m³ this year. That alone would be an increase of more than 2%. If you add the figures based on 2020, cutting could amount to approximately 32.9 million m³ this year (+6.4% compared to 2020).

Ante-holz alone, for example, plans to cut an additional 600,000 m³ at both production sites this year. The Rettenmeier group wants to increase cutting by the same amount. Mercer Timber Products plans to cut 200,000 m³ more than last year. In 2021, a new sawmill will be added to Germany’s sawmill industry. Since the start of the year, the cutting line for small-diameter logs has been in operation at GELO Timber in Wunsiedel. In the final stage, up to 350,000 m³ of logs a year are to be cut there in a two-shift operation.

Whether or not the sawmills will reach their target cutting volumes in 2021, depends mostly on the future log supply.

By the end of the year, another sawmill will be started up in Germany. In September 2020, Best Wood Schneider announced the construction of a new sawmill (complete with a CLT production plant) in Meßkirch. The target output is 200,000 m³ a year.

Note: Thank you very much for participating in the survey! Since 2006, Holzkurier has been collecting data on cutting volumes of German softwood sawmills with an annual cutting volume of over 50,000 m³. We are always happy to hear from you, should you notice that a colleague is still missing in our ranking: m.noestler@holzkurier.com

Sawmill industry Germany | 2020 / target 2021
Company	Site	Cutting 2019 (1,000 m³)	Cutting 2020 (1,000 m³)	Target cutting 2021 (1,000 m³)	Employees	Processing (m³/J)	Drying (m³/y)
German softwood sawmills with an annual cutting volume of 50,000 m³ or more
ante-holz	Bromskirchen-Somplar	950	1,100	1,500	n/s	KVH, glulam, CLT, planed timber; spruce, pine, Douglas fir, larch, joining, “home and garden”, pellets	550,000
ante-holz	Rottleberode	900	1,000	1,200	n/s	KVH, glulam, planed timber; spruce, pine, larch, Douglas fir; “home and garden”, pellets	600,000
Aurnhammer	Ellwangen	90	90	90	43	48,000	30,000
Holzwerk Baumann	Wangen	110	140	150	50	wood packaging: 10,000, planed timber: 20,000	30,000
Holzwerk Baur	Wain	200	220	250	85	KVH: 60,000, finger-jointed up to a length of 14 m	90,000
Josef Baust Holzbetrieb	Eslohe	50	55	55	25	garden wood, pellets	15,000
Beckmann Holzwerk	Eslohe	80	90	90	30	KVH	30,000
Bentheimer Holz	Bad Bentheim	130	142	150	48	––	––
Best Wood Schneider	Eberhardzell	120	125	125	450	KVH/glulam/ceiling elements/CLT: 250,000	65,000
Bien-Holz	Lauterbach	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	––	––
Bien-Holz	Uelzen	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	––	––
Binderholz	Kösching	986	1,030	1,000	n/s	320,000	490,000
Binderholz	Baruth	1,267	1,300	1,250		540,000	610,000
Binderholz	Oberrot	934	860	900		370,000	420,000
Binderholz	Wolfegg	242	250	260		90,000	108,000
Braun Holzwerk	Ühlingen-Birkendorf	60	80	90	n/s	n/s	n/s
Heinrich Bulthaup	Melle	81.5	100	88	19	n/s	12,500
Sägewerk Bürk	Seebach	55	50	50	18	Douglas fir: 10,000; packaging: 5,000	n/s
Eugen Decker	Morbach	250	250	250	160	KVH/Duo/glulam: 100,000	n/s
Karl Decker	Hochscheid	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Dickel-Holz	Schmallenberg	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Dölker Holzwerk	Horb	140	140	140	48	n/s	15,000
Dold Holzwerke	Buchenbach	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Egger Sägewerk Brilon (1)	Brilon	1,000	1,097	n/s	231	450,000	450,000
Gebrüder Eigelshoven	Würselen	210	215	220	75	planed timber (40,000), joining (60,000 running m/12,500 m³); impregnation	55,000
Elka-Holzwerke	Morbach	200	260	300	200	planed timber, esb engineered timber and natural wood panels	60,000
Franz Fabri	Meschede-Grevenstein	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Finkbeiner	Triberg	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Ernst Fisch	Rüthen	210	215	250	78	n/s	80,000
GELO Holzwerke	Weißenstadt	250	250	250	110	KVH/KVH according to list (spruce/Douglas fir): 70,000; planed timber (spruce/pine/Douglas fir/larch/Siberian larch): 60,000; joining/joining planning; Zarelo lighter; IPPC treatment	100,000
GELO Timber (2)	Wunsiedel	––	––	300	28	IPPC treatment	180,000
Sägewerk Hagenah	Bülkau	85	85	85	60	planed timber: 15,000	12,000
Heinrich Harling	Bergen-Eversen	80	80	80	63	15,000 planed timber, solid timber MH-Fix/Plus, boiler pressure impregnation, packaging, joining service	22,000
Holzindustrie Hassel	Stockum-Püschen	110	110	110	24	48,000	50,000
Hermes Holz	Stadtkyll	250	250	250	45	planed timber: 50,000	50,000
HILO-Holz	Losheim (Eifel)	200	200	200	43	50,000	40,000
Hirschbach	Sulzbach-Laufen	195	195	205	75	1,500	70,000
HIT Holz	Torgau	1,100	1,150	1,200	784	608,000 (approx. 16 million pallets), pellets, briquettes	600,000
HMS-Holz Gruppe	Hagenow	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
HMS-Holz Gruppe	Kleinwallstadt	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Heinrich Holtmeyer & Sohn	Ottersberg	105	105	110	48	planed timber: 20,000, pellets: 32,000 t	20,000
Gebrüder Hosenfeld	Hosenfeld	120	120	120	50	HW, spez. auf Lä/Dou/Kie (Rotholz), Pellets	n/s
HS Timber Productions	Kodersdorf	1,002	1,000	1,000	400	400,000	600,000
Hüster	Warstein	170	180	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
I.B.H. Sägewerk (3)	Harperscheid	250	290	300	50	––	––
Ilim Timber Bavaria (ITB) (4)	Landsberg am Lech	1,085	1,100	1,100	600	n/s	n/s
Ilim Nordic Timber (INT) (4)	Wismar	1,860	1,900	1,900	350	n/s	n/s
Hermann Keller	Achern	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Kellerholz	Lichtenau-Scherzheim	120	120	130	45	1,000	3,000
Johann Kirchhoff (Joki)	Finnentrop	140	165	160	48	40,000	43,000
Kolb Sägewerk	Ruppertshofen	60	60	60	20	n/s	35,000
Aloysius Krenzer	Poppenhausen-Abtsroda	60	60	60	n/s	n/s	n/s
Aloysius Krenzer	Biebergemünd	180	180	180
Aloysius Krenzer	Dorndorf	190	200	200
Künzel Holz	Issigau	165	170	170	50	n/s	60,000
Holzwerke Ladenburger	Kerkingen	950	1,000	1,000	n/s	n/s	n/s
Mercer Timber Products	Saalburg-Ebersdorf	1,350	1,350	1,550	380	450,000	800,000
Holz Otto	Waldkappel	120	100	100	45	KVH, glued timber, joining: 25,000	50,000
Pauls Holz Zingsheim (5)	Zingsheim	110	110	110	15	n/s	n/s
Pfeifer Holz	Lauterbach	980	1,050	1,050	230	n/s	650,000
Pfeifer Holz	Uelzen	490	520	540	140	n/s
Pfeifer Holz	Unterbernbach	780	780	820	250	n/s
Pfeifle Holz	Seewald-Schorrental	63	67	68	n/s	n/s	n/s
Pieper Holz	Olsberg-Assinghausen	325	390	390	130	garden wood/garden furniture, play structures; 20,000 (spruce/larch/Douglas fir), IPPC, boiler-pressure and dip impregnation, planed timber	120,000
Sägewerk Poschenrieder	Grünenbach	60	58	70	30	13,000	30,000
Holz Centrum Regensburg	Wenzenbach-Gonnersdorf	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Rettenmeier Holzindustrie	Ramstein	1,800	1,800	2,400	870	n/s	n/s
Rettenmeier Holzindustrie	Wilburgstetten
Rettenmeier Holzindustrie	Hirschberg
Holzwerke Riedlinger	Singen-Bohlingen	100	100	100	30	wood packaging: 5,000, heat treatment: 1,000	n/s
Robeta Holz	Milmersdorf	300	300	300	160	60,000	60,000
Sägewerk Rothmund	Klettgau	67	70	70	9	n/s	n/s
Holz Ruser	Bornhöved	210	225	220	130	KVH: 60,000; planed timber: 25,000, joining	85,000
Holz Schiller (6)	Regen	120	115	120	240	35,000 knot-free glued timber/window scantlings; 20,000 planed timber/prefabricated components	50,000
Holzwerk Schilling	Rot an der Rot	210	210	230	70	10,000	40,000
Holz Schmidt	Cölbe-Schönstadt	100	105	105	100	KVH, planed timber: 130,000	80,000
Schrage Holz (7)	Olpe-Neuenkleusheim	50	–	–	–	–	–
Theodor Schulte	Meschede	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Sägewerk Schwaiger	Hengersberg	1,100	1,225	1,250	270	planed timber: 420,000; pellets	670,000
Sägewerk Schwarzmühle	Schwarzmühle	78	90	85	20	––	––
Schwörer Haus (8)	Hohenstein-Oberstetten	200	200	200	1,300	KVH, glulam, Duo/Trio/Quattro beams, three-layer panels: 150,000; prefabricated houses	130,000
Karl Streit	Hausach	365	365	365	85	planed timber, battens: 50,000	85,000
SWL Tischlerplatten	Kollerbeck	90	95	95	26	n/s	n/s
Holzwerke Waal (HWW)	Waal	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Holzwerke van Roje	Oberhonnefeld	400	430	400	140	12,000	160,000
E.A. Vehmeyer	Haselünne	135	140	155	39	––	17,000
Vente-Holz	Finnentrop	120	125	125	75	KVH/Duo/Trio: 70,000	70,000
Holzwerke Weinzierl	Vilshofen	650	650	650	130	n/s	360,000
Josef Ziegler	Plößberg-Stein	250	250	250	80	planed timber: 10,000, KVH: 15,000	50,000
Ziegler Holzindustrie	Plößberg-Betzenmühle	2,150	2,200	2,200	600	planed timber: 500,000	750,000

Source: All figures and information in the table (unless otherwise indicated) have been provided by the companies. The table is not exhaustive. Printing and typesetting errors excepted. Abbreviation: KVH – solid structural timber; 1) Drying and processing quantities refer to capacities; 2) new sawmill since the start of 2021 (see article “Schmuckstück: neues Schwachholzsägewerk); 3) sawmill I.B.V, Vielsalm/BE: cutting 820,000 m³/y; employees: 260 (incl. power plant); pellet plant: 285,000 t/y; drying: 300,000 m³/y; planing plant: 150,000 m³/y; 4) employees incl. temporary employees; 5) purchasing, sales and administration at the headquarters in St. Vith/BE, cutting in St. Vith: 100,000 m³/y, employees in St. Vith: 30; 6) cutting in CZ: 40,000 m³, processing quantity includes sites in CZ; employees and drying volumes of Regen only; 7) fire in April 2020; sawmill will not be rebuilt; instead, a solid structural timber (KVH) production is planned; 8) number of employees of the entire group | © Holzkurier 2021

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