AUSTRIA / GERMANY 

KVH target output of over 3 million m³

Article by Timber-Online | 15.03.2020 - 13:41

In 2019, KVH production rose to around 3 million m³ in Austria and Germany. The companies which participated in the Holzkurier survey, reported a total output of 2.92 million m³. This corresponds to a 4.2% increase compared to the previous year. In 2020, production is expected to pass the 3 million m³ mark.

While production in Germany increased by 6.2% to 2.4 million m³ in 2019, Austrian production fell by 4.2% to 512,000 m³. This decrease is mainly due to the cessation of Pfeifer group’s KVH production in the Czech municipality of Chanovice. (Note: Holzkurier also takes Czech branch sites of Austrian and German producers into account).

New market participants

In the table for 2020, one can find as many as three new KVH producers. In Austria, this is Kirnbauer Holzindustrie in Ternitz. At the company’s new production site, which has an annual capacity of 30,000 m³, KVH as well as Duo beams are produced. In 2020, the company plans to produce around 12,000 m³ of KVH.

Another new market participant, at least in Holzkurier’s survey, is Holzwerke Baur in Wain/DE. In 2019, the company produced 60,000 m³. The planned output for 2020 is 70,000 m³.

A newcomer in the table, but not on the map, is Lignopan Holzwerke in Pfarrkirchen. Stora Enso’s former KVH production site in Lower Bavaria was sold to financial investor LEO II. – VV4 GmbH Fonds, represented by the Private Equity advisor Dubag Group. The company already switched from a two-shift to a three-shift operation and plans to raise the annual output by 15,000 to 20,000 m³ year on year, to a total of 145,000 to 150,000 m³. After having sold this site, Stora Enso operates only one KVH production plan in the Czech town of Ždírec.

Marked increases

The most marked increases in production compared to 2018 were reported by Holzwerke M. Menz (+25,000 m³), Ladenburger Holzwerke (+20,000 m³) as well as Asta Holzwerke and Ante-Holz with an additional 15,000 m³ each. Asta-Holzwerke also expanded their production by a glulam plant in 2019.