Aerial view of Klausner Lumber Two © Google Earth
Contrary to expectations, only two companies bid for Klausner Lumber Two in Enfield/US on December 10. Mayr-Melnhof Holz participated in the auction as a stalking horse bidder with a minimum bid of $ 30 million. Despite the low participation, the Binderholz’s closing bid was $ 83.4 million and thus significantly higher than expected. Mayr-Melnhof Holz’s final bid was $ 82.9 million. This amount is to be paid “in cash” according to court documents ($ 83,400,000 in cash). Binderholz paid a total of $ 144.4 million (€ 119.2 million) for both production sites.
Since the sawmill machines at Klausner Lumber Two never got beyond an extended trial operation and structural compromises were made due to Klausner’s limited financial possibilities, it was actually to be expected that the acquisition of this site production would be inexpensive.
The Linck chipper canter line of the former Stallinger/Mayr-Melnhof Swiss Timber site in Domat-Ems/CH (built in 2007) is installed in Enfield (South Carolina). With an assumed cutting target of around 1 million m³ a year, the cost of necessary adjustments in Enfield is around € 40 million according to experts.
The proximity to the raw material is an advantage. Within the usual buying radius of a European sawmill, i.e. around 150 km, there is enough Southern Yellow Pine for around € 50/m³. Training and work ethic in South Carolina could also be better than in Florida.
The participation in the auction and the bidding behavior match the circumstances of the auction:
- In the end, it was the company which got a foot into the US door already in August that won the auction. Binderholz is now going to try to start up both sites in parallel with the same team of experts from Central Europe.
- Mayr-Melnhof Holz, the second bidder, wanted to be present in the US for strategic reasons. By placing a minimum bid of $ 30 million, the company emphasized the seriousness of its ambitions.
- After having visited the sawmill, another Austrian timber company withdrew its bid shortly before the auction.
- Mercer Timber, a bidder in the auction of Klausner Lumber One, was only interested in the Florida site.
- Nobody expected big North American timber companies to participate in the auction. Those companies prefer to take over existing production sites with US technology or build their own sites in line with the US cutting philosophy.
Distance between Klausner Lumber One and Klausner Lumber Two in kilometers
The distance between the two production sites should not be underestimated: It is 960 km on the fastest route. This corresponds to a drive from Fügen, the headquarters of the Binderholz Group, to Naples.
