Eight new CLT production sites by 2023

Last year, the cross-laminated timber industry in the DACH region, Italy and the Czech Republic produced a little more than 1 million m³ for the first time. Compared to 2019, output grew by 15%. As for this year, figures reported by producers indicate a similar rate of increase. In 2021, the planned production volume will total nearly 1.2 million m³ (see table).

In 2020, the newcomers Theurl Austrian Premium Timber, Pfeifer Group, Ziegler Group and Ante-Holz (HBS Berga) as well as the new production site of Swiss company Schilliger Holz contributed to a significant increase in production volumes. Additionally, some companies raised their output by up to 10,000 m³. In 2021, production will increase primarily because of HBS Berga, KLH, the Pfeifer Group and newcomer Schwarzwald Holzbausysteme.

In addition to a smaller plant at the headquarters in Bromskirchen-Somplar/DE, Ante Group of Berga is currently starting up a CLT production site with an annual capacity of 100,000 m³ near its sawmill in Rottleberode. This year, the company wants to produce 35,000 m³ of cross-laminated timber as well as solid structural timber (KVH) there.

Already in 2020, industry veteran KLH started up its second CLT production site in Wiesenau near Bad St. Leonhard. Together with the headquarters in Katsch-Teufenbach, this brings the annual capacity to around 250,000 m³.

Last year, Pfeifer Group also started the second expansion phase of its production site in Schlitz in Hesse, which went into operation in 2019. In the future, the company wants to produce up to 100,000 m³ of CLT every year at the site. This year, output should be 60,000 m³.

Numerous big projects

In our CLT Special 2020, we reported on three confirmed big projects in the years until 2023. Now, there are twice as many.

At the end of May, Mayr-Melnhof Holz Group broke ground on the biggest investment project in the company’s history. Among other things, the company will invest €150 million in a CLT plant with an annual capacity of 140,000 m³ at its headquarters in Leoben. Together with its CLT production site in Gaishorn am See, the Styrian company will have an overall production capacity of well over 200,000 m³. Production is scheduled to start at the end of 2022.

Best Wood Schneider’s planned production site is no less impressive. In Meßkirch in Baden-Württemberg, around 60 km from its headquarters in Eberhardzell, the company is building a sawmill and an attached CLT production line with an annual capacity of 100,000 m³. The entire production – from the log infeed to the finished panel – is to do entirely without forklifts. This year, the company produced 25,000 m³ of CLT at its headquarters. This brings the possible total output to at least 125,000 m³ a year.

Stora Enso is investing nearly €80 million in its fourth CLT plant at its Czech site in Ždírec. Together with the existing production sites in Gruvön/SE, Bad St. Leonhard/AT and Ybbs/AT, the annual capacity will soon total almost 400,000 m³ a year – which is more than any other company produces. The planned annual production capacity in Ždírec is 120,000 m³. Production is to start in the third quarter of 2022.

For 3000 houses a year

Another big project is that of Ziegler Group which announced a €220 million investment. With this sum, the company wants to build two production lines for cross-laminated timber with an annual capacity of 75,000 m³ each as well as a line for building up to 3000 houses a year in the Bavarian town of Tirschenreuth. The land use planning is to be mostly completed in 2021. According to the company, construction will start soon after the authorities have given the project the go-ahead.

Two newcomers in western Germany

Next year, HolzBauWerk Schwarzwald is to be started up in Seewald-Besenfeld in Baden-Württemberg. Thus, the feasibility study which was originally commissioned by the Weißtanne Forum, in a cooperation between the three Black Forest sawmills and processing companies Sägewerk Echtle (Nordrach), Kübler Holzwerk (Haiterbach) and Sägewerk Streit (Hausach), had a positive result. In the first expansion phase, the target output is 35,000 m³ of cross-laminated timber a year.

300 km further north, in Oberhonnefeld-Gierend, Holzwerke van Roje is building a CLT line which is also to go into operation in 2022. Using a new production process, the family company wants to implement optimizations along the entire process chain. With a planned annual production of 75,000 m³ of CLT, the efficient production line can save over 10,000 m³ of new wood, according to the company.

First CLT line in Upper Austria

In Austria, two companies, which are only 50 kilometers apart, officially announced their entry into the CLT industry: Mosser Leimholz of Randegg and LOC Holz of Arbing.

Mosser plans to start up a production line with a capacity of 55,000 m³ a year in Randegg by 2023. The supply of raw material is to be ensured mostly with lumber from the company’s own sawmill. In preparation for this project, the company is raising its cutting and drying capacities at all of its production sites to a total of 300,000 m³ a year.

LOC Holz stands for Lauss, Ortner and Cappelen. The sawmill operators Josef Lauss and Rudolf Ortner want to put a CLT plant into operation together with the Cappelen Group by 2023. According to Ortner, it will be a small but excellent production site which exploits the strengths of medium-sized sawmill production. As to production capacity, no official statements have been made so far.

Annual capacity to reach well over 2 million m³

With these announced production lines, the annual CLT production capacity in the DACH region and the Czech Republic will increase by a further 700,000 m³ by 2023. Including the not yet fully exhausted capacities of the cross-laminated timber plants which went into operation in 2019 and 2020, output could total over 2.3 million m³ a year.