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Largest German sawmills expected to rise production this year despite pandemic

Aug 11, 2020 | Industry News

Last year, Germany’s biggest sawmills again raised their cutting volume. As to 2020, companies are optimistic, too, despite the current pandemic. Most of them want to keep volumes stable or further raise them.

In 2019, German softwood sawmills with more than 50,000 m³ a year saw a further increase in cutting volumes compared to 2018. The companies, which stated their figures, reported a quantity of 29.755 million m³. Compared to 2018, cutting thus increased by another 4%. Cutting was at 24.6 million m³ in 2016. Almost all companies reached their target volumes or even exceeded them. The rather negative reason for these figures: At the end of 2018 and in 2019 as well, storms and bark beetles caused enormous volumes of damaged wood in Central Europe, which led to a good log supply of sawmills.

When adding sawmills with more than 50,000 m³ a year, which did not state their figures, cutting in Germany amounted to at least 33 million m³ in 2019.

New biggest single production site

In 2018, Ilim Nordic Timber in Wismar was the biggest single production site in Germany. Last year, the title went to Ziegler Holzindustrie in Plößberg-Betzenmühle where the company reached a cutting volume of 2.15 million m³. Ilim Nordic Timber ended up in second place with 1.86 million m³. Mercer Timber Products in Saalburg-Ebersdorf is the third biggest production site with 1.35 million m³.

Binderholz group with the sawmill in Kösching and the Klenk Holz sites in Baruth, Oberrot und Wolfegg remains the biggest sawmill group in Germany with an overall cutting volume of nearly 3.43 million m³ in 2019. Ilim reports a quantity of 2.945 million m³ at its production sites in Wismar and Landsberg. Pfeifer Holz group, which operates sawmills in Lauterbach, Uelzen and Unterbernbach, cut 2.25 million m³ last year.

In 2019, eleven companies passed one million m³ mark when it comes to cutting. Together, they reached a volume of 20 million m³. Last year, those sawmills were thus responsible for 67% of overall reported cutting which amounted to 29,8 million m³.

More again in 2020

This year, the companies, which reported their figures, plan to further raise cutting to around 30.2 million m³. Compared to last year, this would be an increase of 1.3% or nearly 400,000 m³. More than half of this growth is due to ante-holz. The company plans to cut an additional 250,000 m³ at its two production sites.

Further expansions planned

The German sawmill industry will see a few new constructions and expansion in 2020 and 2021. GELO Timber, for example, is currently building a sawmill for small diameter logs in Wunsiedel with a planned cutting capacity of 350,000 m³ a year. Rettenmeier invests in a new cutting line for its site in Wilburgstetten where 500,000 m³ are to be cut in a one-shift operation. Recently, it has become known that Best Wood Schneider starts a greenfield project in Meßkirch with around 300,000 m³ a year. Not confirmed, but announced a while ago, is Mercer’s plan to build a sawmill in Stendal.

Sawmill industry Germany | 2019/target 2020
German softwood sawmills with an annual cutting volume of more than 50,000 m³
Company Site Cutting 2018 (1.000 m³) Cutting 2019 (1.000 m³) Target cutting 2020 (1.000 m³) Staff Processing (m³/y) Drying (m³/y)
Ante-holz Bromskirchen-Somplar 800 950 1,050 n/s solid structural timber, glulam, planed timber: 550,000; spruce, Douglas fir, larch; machining, garden wood, pellets 550,000
Ante-holz Rottleberode 850 900 1,050 n/s solid structural timber, planed timber: 450,000; spruce, pine, larch, Douglas fir; machining, garden wood, pellets 600,000
Aurnhammer Ellwangen 90 90 90 43 48,000 30,000
Holzwerk Baumann Wangen 110 110 120 50 wood packaging: 10,000, planed timber: 20.000 30,000
Holzwerk Baur Wain 180 200 200 85 solid structural timber: 60,000, finger-jointed until 14 m, according to list 90,000
Josef Baust Holzbetrieb Eslohe 50 50 50 25 garden wood, pellets 15,000
Beckmann Holzwerk Eslohe 80 80 80 30 solid structural timber 30,000
Bentheimer Holz Bad Bentheim 132 130 135 48 –– ––
Best Wood Schneider Eberhardzell 120 120 125 410 solid structural timber /glulam/ceiling elements/CLT: 250,000 65,000
Bien-Holz Lauterbach 280 n/s n/s n/s –– ––
Bien-Holz Uelzen 260 n/s n/s n/s –– ––
Binderholz Deutschland Kösching 1,000 986 1,030 n/s planed timber: 322,000 488,000
Braun Holzwerk Ühlingen-Birkendorf 60 60 75 n/s n/s n/s
Heinrich Bulthaup Melle 80 81.5 80 19 n/s 12,500
Sägewerk Bürk Seebach –– 55 50 18 Douglas fir: 10,000; packaging: 5,000 n/s
Eugen Decker Morbach 250 250 250 160 solid structural timber /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 50 n/s 15,000
Dold Holzwerke Buchenbach n/s n/s n/s n/s n/s n/s
Egger Sägewerk Brilon (1) Brilon 900 1,000 1,000 230 450,000 450,000
Gebrüder Eigelshoven Würselen 209 210 215 65 planed timber (35,000), machining (60,000 lm/12,500 m³); impregnation 50,000
Elka-Holzwerke Morbach 200 200 250 200 planed timber, elka strong boards esb and natural wood panels 80,000
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 205 210 210 65 n/s 80,000
GELO Holzwerke Weißenstadt 250 250 250 90 solid structural timber / solid structural timber according to list (spruce/Douglas fir/pine): 70,000; planed timber (spruce/pine/Douglas fir/larch/Sib. larch): 50,000; impregnation: 40,000; IPPC treatment according to ISPM 15; Zarelo, machining 100,000
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, machining service 22,000
Holzindustrie Hassel Stockum-Püschen 110 110 110 24 48,000 50,000
Hermes Holz Stadtkyll 250 250 250 50 planed timber: 50,000; battens, S10-slats in red 50,000
HILO-Holz Losheim (Eifel) 210 200 200 43 50,000 40,000
Hirschbach Sulzbach-Laufen 178 195 200 72 700 65,000
HIT Torgau (2) Torgau 1,000 1,100 1,150 639 608,000 (around 16 million pallets) 595,000
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 98 105 100 48 planed timber: 10.000, pellets 13,000
Gebrüder Hosenfeld Hosenfeld 120 120 120 50 planed timber, specialized in larch/Douglas fir/pine (redwood), pellets n/s
Hüster Warstein 170 170 n/s n/s n/s n/s
I.B.H. Sägewerk (3) Harperscheid 250 250 250 50 –– ––
Ilim Timber Bavaria (ITB) Landsberg am Lech 1,060 1,085 1,085 250 n/s n/s
Ilim Nordic Timber (INT) Wismar 1,860 1,860 1,860 550 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 –– 10,000
Johann Kirchhoff (Joki) Finnentrop 140 140 145 43 40,000 40,000
Klenk Holz (4) Baruth 1,280 1,267 1,300 n/s 440,000 586,000
Klenk Holz (4) Oberrot 838 934 860 386,000 422,000
Klenk Holz (4) Wolfegg 238 242 250 92,000 112,000
Sägewerk Koch (5) Langenbach n/s n/s –– –– –– ––
Sägewerk Kolb Ruppertshofen n/s 60 60 20 40,000 (planed, smoothened) 55,000
Aloysius Krenzer Poppenhausen-Abtsroda 50 60 60 n/s n/s n/s
Aloysius Krenzer Biebergemünd 170 180 180
Aloysius Krenzer Dorndorf 200 190 200
Künzel Holz Issigau 170 165 165 50 n/s 52,000
Holzwerke Ladenburger Kerkingen 800 950 980 n/s n/s n/s
Mercer Timber Products Saalburg-Ebersdorf 1,200 1,350 1,350 370 400,000 800,000
Holz Otto Waldkappel 120 120 120 55 solid structural timber, glue-laminated timber, machining: 25,000 50,000
Pauls Holz Zingsheim (6) Zingsheim n/s 110 120 15 n/s n/s
Pfeifer Holz Lauterbach 950 980 1,000 230 n/s 650,000
Pfeifer Holz Uelzen 490 490 490 140 n/s
Pfeifer Holz Unterbernbach 780 780 780 250 n/s
Pfeifle Holz Seewald-Schorrental 62 63 63 n/s n/s n/s
Pieper Holz Olsberg-Assinghausen 300 325 325 120 garden wood/furniture, play structures; 20,000 (spruce/larch/Douglas fir), IPPC, boiler-pressure and dip impregnation, planed timber 120,000
Sägewerk Poschenrieder Grünenbach 55 60 70 20 15,000 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 1,800 850 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 40,000 60,000
Sägewerk Rothmund Klettgau 65 67 70 8 n/s n/s
Holz Ruser Bornhöved 200 210 210 130 solid structural timber: 55,000; planed timber: 22,000, machining 80,000
Holz Schiller (7) Regen 120 120 120 230 70,000: knot-free glue-laminated timber + components for windows, facades and timber constructions, planed timber, knot-free garden wood, pellets 50,000
Holzwerk Schilling Rot an der Rot 195 210 210 70 planed timber: 10,000 51,000
Holz Schmidt Cölbe-Schönstadt 100 100 100 100 solid structural timber, planed timber 80,000
Schrage Holz Olpe-Neuenkleusheim 48 50 55 17 planed timber: 8,000 12,000
Theodor Schulte Meschede n/s n/s n/s n/s n/s n/s
Sägewerk Schwaiger Hengersberg 1,000 1,100 1,150 250 n/s 600,000
Sägewerk Schwarzmühle Schwarzmühle 88 78 80 20 n/s n/s
HS Timber (ehem. Schweighofer) Kodersdorf 964 1,002 1,018 405 planed timber: 353,813 588,824
Schwörer Haus (8) Hohenstein-Oberstetten 200 200 200 1,300 solid structural timber, 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 85 90 100 26 n/s n/s
Holzwerke Waal (HWW) Waal n/s n/s n/s n/s n/s n/s
I. van Roje & Sohn Oberhonnefeld 330 400 400 130 12,000 145,000
E.A. Vehmeyer Haselünne 135 135 130 37 –– 18,000
Vente-Holz Finnentrop 110 120 120 75 solid structural timber/Duo/Trio: 65,000 70,000
Holzwerke Weinzierl Vilshofen 650 650 650 130 n/s 340,000
Josef Ziegler Plößberg-Stein 250 250 250 80 planed timber: 10,000, solid structural timber: 15,000 50,000
Ziegler Holzindustrie Plößberg-Betzenmühle 1,850 2,150 2,150 550 planed timber: 500,000

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