Austria-headed wood processing major HASSLACHER Group has revealed that it plans to invest around EUR 30 million in modernising and expanding operational capacities at its Preding site in Austria. The investment includes a new 7 MW biomass heat plant.
processing site in Austria (photo courtesy HASSLACHER PREDING Holzindustrie GmbH).
In recent years, the HASSLACHER Group has grown to become one of the biggest specialist timber industries in Europe. Since acquiring Nordlam GmbH in Magdeburg, Germany in July 2017, HASSLACHER is now amongst Europe’s biggest producers of glued laminated timber.
In January 2018, the privately held company completed EUR 30 million of investments at its other Austrian production sites in Sachsenburg, Hermagor and Stall im Mölltal and is now investing an additional EUR 30 million in the expansion of its Preding site.
With the planned investment volume, the sawmill in Preding will be modernised and the annual capacity will be over doubled to process around 600 000 m³ of sawlogs. The necessary drying capacity will be expanded through additional dry kilns from Wiesenau, which were purchased last year. A new 7 MW heat plant and sawn wood grading facility are also included in the investment volume which is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2020.
HASSLACHER Group has progressed from a net sawn timber producer to a net sawn timber consumer, which made the capacity expansion at Preding a necessity. Preding is an ideal site because the further processing capacities are already there and the infrastructure is right. In future, the sawmill will also be able to process large diameter logs, so we will be able to take on the entire round timber accruing in the region. Additionally, Slovenia has established itself as a reliable supplier for round timber and we will receive about half of our timber from there, explained Christoph Kulterer, CEO of the HASSLACHER Group.
Facts
About HASSLACHER Group
Founded in 1901, Austria-headed HASSLACHER Group operates eight production sites in Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Russia. The company produces sawn timber, glued laminated timber, cross-laminated timber and structural finger jointed solid timber as well as panelling and mouldings for modern timber construction under the HASSLACHER NORICA TIMBER brand. The family-owned business is one of the largest privately held wood processing enterprises in Europe and also produces ENplus certified wood pellets and supplies renewable electricity to the grid from its solar photovoltaic (PV), hydropower and biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plants. At Preding, Austria, the company operates a sawmill with a current annual processing capacity of about 250 000 m³ of sawlogs. Employing around 220 staff, the plant produces around 115 000 m³ structural finger-jointed solid timber, 90 000 m³ of surfaced timber, 70 000 tonnes of wood pellets as well as more than 1,3 million pieces of special pallets and packaging solutions. In the previous two years, the company has invested over EUR 7 million in modernisation and expansion of the plant.
