Within just one year, Rothoblaas raised the number of its subsidiaries from 17 to 22. Just a few weeks ago, the most recent branch was inaugurated in England. Now, the South Tyrolean company operates in 76 countries on five continents. It all started in 1991 as a supplier of woodworking machines and fastening systems. Over the years, Rothoblaas expanded its activities from sales to the production of fastening systems and concealed connectors. Furthermore, the product range has been greatly expanded and now also includes solutions for building airtightness and waterproofing, soundproofing and fall protection systems as well as machines and tools for woodworking. Today, one year before its 30th anniversary, Rothoblaas has 400 employees – and counting.
In addition to growth and sustainability, Rothoblaas sees continuous innovation and development as the cornerstones for this success. “We do not rest on our laurels. Instead, we work day after day with perseverance and determination on new and further developments and we face every new challenge with optimism. This is the only way we can set new standards for the timber construction sector time and again and carry our know-how out into the world from the heart of the Alps,” say founder and CEO Robert Blaas and his partner Peter Lang, outlining the company’s philosophy.
Foresight is one of the South Tyrolean company’s characteristics. The meticulous scheduling of all future developments in the respective areas of business is crucial for always being one step ahead. Rothoblaas is currently working on several fronts, paying special attention to the expansion of its headquarters and, in particular, of its warehouse. The latter will not only be Italy’s biggest automated warehouse built in wood but also the only one in the country. Furthermore, Rothoblaas makes a strong commitment to the development of the timber construction sector with its renowned Rothoschool seminars, and works hard on launching new products, such as Slot, Sharp or Spider, for which a planning competition is usually held on an international level. “Our goal is to actively support CLT producers in order to promote the development of the industry thereby creating the necessary awareness of this sustainable way of building,” emphasizes Lang.
Sustainability as leitmotiv
The Rothoblaas team: Peter Lang with Michele Dal Ri, Robert Blaas, Loris Agostini, Peter Irschara, Daniel Roat and Luca Sestigiani (from left) © Rothoblaas
Rothoblaas’s commitment to sustainability is reflected in its energy-efficient headquarters where the sun is used to obtain a maximum of warmth in winter and to protect the building from overheating in summer. The company mainly uses renewable energy sources, such as solar modules, a heat pump for regulating the room temperature and photovoltaics for water heating inside the building. But that’s not all: The fleet of electric cars and the commitment to a gradual reduction of the cardboard and plastic packaging used for the company’s products as well as the implementation of the “Life Cycle Assessment” to quantify the impact of products on the environment and health show that Rothoblaas takes sustainability seriously. “With this attitude and our leading role in timber construction, the decision to build the new warehouse in wood was an obvious one,” says Lang.
Wooden warehouse
For the automated warehouse which is about to be built, Rothoblaas uses only locally processed wood, from the shelves to the roof structure. “The warehouse gives us additional space and offers the highest possible functionality, and we also want to send a clear signal for sustainability,” emphasizes Lang. This ambitious project was developed together with Merz Kley Partner and resulted in plans for a warehouse which will be 20 meters high, 80 meters long and 40 meters wide. Thanks to this investment, Rothoblaas can raise its storage capacity to over 25,000 pallets, which should satisfy demand in the coming years.
The preparation of the subsoil was a considerable challenge in this project. In the 18th century, the Adige river used to flow through the land on which the company headquarters stand today. Under Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, the river was partially drained and also regulated.
The construction of canals and the draining of the swamp made the land arable, but the structure of the soil around the company is still very complex. “On the first 18 meters we have good soil,” says Lang, “but underneath there are two meters of peat.” It is natural material which, however, could dry out under constant pressure and become denser as a result. For this reason, an additional investment of about half a million euros was necessary to stabilize the subsoil and to guarantee a load-bearing capacity of 60 kN/m², which was calculated for the automated warehouse. A company from Mestre which specializes in these types of soil was entrusted with this task. With special machines, the company can drill deep holes in the ground and fill them with concrete. This way, a total of 209 CFA columns with a depth of 27 meters and a diameter of 400 mm were created. On top of them, a 60-cm thick cement platform is poured. The result is a perfect foundation that can easily bear the load of the warehouse. For building the wooden high-bay warehouse, Rothoblaas also uses its own new products, such as Sharp Metal, which increases the rigidity of connections.
“It would have been easier and logistically better to build the warehouse in Austria or Germany. However, we are investing in South Tyrol because we firmly believe in the region and the local people,” says Lang about the choice of location for the new warehouse.
Innovations nonstop
The Spider connector for column-to-floor structures made of CLT © Rothoblaas
Given the constant development of the sector, Rothoblaas recognized the need to always find the right solution for every requirement. “We have a number of new products which can significantly improve timber constructions. We can describe them as groundbreaking insofar as there aren’t any other comparable products on the market right now,” says Michele Dal Ri, Target Manager of the timber construction product line.
He mentions, among other things, the “Slot” connector for structural CLT panels, which allows connections with an extremely high level of rigidity and can transfer extraordinary shear stress between panels. “Lock” is a new concealed connector made of aluminum for connections between main and secondary beams, which impresses with simple assembly.
Another example is “Spider”, which is the result of an idea developed at the Timber Engineering Unit of the University of Innsbruck under the direction of Roland Maderebner. “Spider” is a metal connector for the construction of multi-story timber buildings with column-to-floor structures made of CLT with heights and spans which were impossible to build up until now.
Dal Ri presents another new product: “Sharp Metal”. These hooked plates are made of stainless steel and have numerous small hooks on their entire surface. “The connection is created when the hooks enter the wood. The interlocking of the plates with the wood results in extraordinary strength and rigidity values. The quality of the connection is comparable to the adhesion of a bonding agent,” explains Dal Ri.
Education as a central pillar
Knowledge transfer, like here at the Rothoschool, is a central concern for the company © Rothoblaas
In the early 2000s, Rothoblaas started its educational branch with the aim of being able to better explain how these and other complex systems work. In collaboration with universities, research centers and specialized companies, Rothoschool has been organizing numerous courses and seminars for timber construction experts worldwide. The training activities of the Rothoblaas technicians – a team who over the years has gained experience and skills in consulting, planning and certification at a national and international level – are complemented by speakers with proven experience and expertise. For the company, one of the most important events is definitely the Mass Timber Seminar, which attracted more than 100 participants from 24 countries in its 2019 edition. The 2020 edition, the fifth in the series, boasts 20 renowned speakers from leading universities and research centers as well as a “program of exceptional relevance”, as Lang puts it. Topics include connection systems for CLT structures, seismic aspects, durability, fire resistance and sound insulation.
Successful partnerships
“We want to establish more and more partnerships worldwide. The cooperation and regular exchange with producers of solid timber panels are extremely important and therefore at the center of any long-term cooperation project. The goal is to train producers through regular visits by our sales staff and to impart all of our technical know-how in the construction of buildings and the use of our solutions,” explain project spokesmen Michele Dal Ri and Peter Lang. “During these regular visits, we make our exhibition systems available, offer consulting on our solutions, which are then presented in producers’ catalogues, and together we keep our products up to date in their software. Most of all, though, we want to have an active exchange of ideas with producers so that we can support each other in finding new and even more innovative solutions. The aim is to ensure growth inside the industry for both, simplify construction activities and improve the performance of buildings. It is only by working together that we can encourage the construction industry to embrace this technology: The more ground it gains compared to traditional systems which use cement and steel, the more our world will change for the better.”
