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ANALYSIS OF HARDWOOD SAWMILLS 2024

Curtailed hardwood cutting

Article by Jakob Wassermann (translated by Eva Guzely) | 04.10.2024 - 10:45

Pollmeier Massivholz accounts for 56% of Germany’s total hardwood cutting volume. At its three production sites in Aschaffenburg, Creuzburg and Malchow, the company processes 840,000 m³ of hardwood logs a year. Behind Pollmeier Massivholz, Holzwerk Obermeier, which is based Schwindegg, is the largest hardwood lumber producer in Germany with a lumber output of 100,000 m³ a year. Neither Pollmeier Massivholz nor Holzwerk Obermeier plan to curtail production in 2024.

In contrast, Abalon Hardwood Hessen, which is headquartered in Schwalmstadt and was Germany’s third-largest hardwood processing company last year, with a lumber output of 90,000 m³ a year, will reduce its production output to 40,000 m³ in 2024. Of the companies which announced their production figures, there were eleven sawmills in Germany with a lumber output of over 20,000 m³ a year in 2023. In 2024, only ten companies plan to process 20,000 m³ of hardwood logs or more.

Scroll down to read about Austrian hardwood sawmills.

Hardwood sawmills in Germany | 2023/Target 2024
Cutting volumes in m³/year
Company Location Cutting 2023 Target cutting 2024 Main types of wood Employees Products/services
Abalon Hardwood Hessen Schwalmstadt 90,000 40,000 beech 70 ––
Sägewerk Karl Alt Schwebheim 14,500 12,000 oak, beech, ash n/a PEFC, smoked oak
Sägewerk Bachmann (Baro) Reinhardshagen 13,000 13,000 beech, ash 25 parallel edging after KD, FSC, cutting to size and squared edges
Friedrich Bansmann Bielefeld n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Laubholz-Sägewerk Blum Waldkirch 12,000 11,000 beech, oak, ash, maple 20 block timber, steam-heating, drying, FSC, PEFC, IPPC, Holz von Hier
Holz Bröker Extertal 28,000 22,000 beech, oak, ash 25 beech with parallel edging after KD, beech, oak, ash block timber
Butterweck Volkmarsen-Külte n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Sägewerk Dickel Dickel 10,000 10,000 beech 7 ––
Decker Holz  Volkmarsen n/a n/a beech n/a beech cuttings from KD boards, edged beech until 4.60 m
Wolfgang Dettendorfer Nußdorf 15,000 15,000 beech, spruce 10 5,000 m³/yr of beech, AD and KD beech lumber in AB/BC
Fanta & Dressler Haldensleben 11,000 10,000 oak 15 oak squared timber, sleepers, stored oak
Fehrensen Hann. Münden n/a n/a beech, oak, ash 50 sleepers, switch sleepers, squared timber
Hinrich Feldmeyer Hemsbünde 18,000 18,000 oak, ash 28 European hardwoods, partially edged, PEFC, contract cutting
Holzwerke Gleitsmann  Unterspiesheim 17,500 15,000 beech, oak, ash, fine hardwoods 30 steam-heating and drying, PEFC, IPPC, air-conditioned halls, construction timber trade
Häberlein Hardthausen n/a n/a oak, red oak, ash, maple, walnut, beech 24 FSC, PEFC, other fine hardwood and softwood block timber
Sägewerk Hagedorn Füchtorf n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Johann Hardkop Schönberg/Lauenb. n/a n/a oak, beech, ash 14 block timber, drying, steam-heating
Laubholz Harting Glandorf 3,500 3,000 oak, larch, poplar 5 oak construction timber, packaging wood
Sägewerk Hartmann Eiterfeld 15,000 15,000 beech, oak, ash, pine 19 ––
Sägewerk Heidrich Deutschneudorf 15,000 15,000 beech, oak, ash, birch, lime, hornbeam 15 steam-heating, drying systems
Wilhelm Hüster Meschede n/a n/a beech 13 dried squared timber, firewood
B. Keck Ehningen n/a n/a beech, oak, ash 40 FSC, PEFC, cuttings, air-conditioned halls
Gebr. Keß Sägewerk Hammelburg 36,000 36,000 beech, oak 45 hornbeam, ash, European hardwoods, cuttings, FSC & PEFC
Sägewerk Koddenbrock Goldenstedt 57,000 57,000 beech, poplar, softwood 35 wood for packaging and pallets, PEFC; IPPC
Emil Kömpel Sägewerk Motten 6,500 6,500 beech, oak, ash 4 quality hardwood lumber, planed timber, beech with red heart, PEFC
Anton Kretz Karsbach-Hessdorf n/a n/a oak, beech 5 steam-heated beech, contract steam-heating, contract cutting
Gebr. Krippeit Elsdorf-Westermühlen 20,000 15,000 oak, red oak 25 expert for the flooring industry, also Douglas fir, PEFC
Kurtz Wald-Michelbach 4,500 4,500 sycamore, hornbeam, ash 11 light-colored fine hardwood, vacuum drying, cuttings
Holz Lenninghausen Kürten n/a n/a beech, oak n/a n/a
Heinrich Lüffe-Baak Harsewinkel-Greffen 20,000 20,000 poplar, beech 30 cutting exclusively for the company’s own pallet production
Mehling & Wiesmann Lohr am Main 5,500 5,500 oak 48 European fine hardwoods, smoked lumber and veneers, sawn veneer, contract smoking
Michelholz Königseggwald 4,000 2,000 ash, oak, maple 6 round block timber, planing, cross-cutting
Karl Nied Assamstadt 12,000 12,000 oak, beech, ash 27 European hardwoods, cutting, planing, glued timber panels, PEFC/FSC
Franz Obermeier Schwindegg 100,000 100,000 beech, oak, ash 170 solid wood panels, lot size 1, cuttings, lumber, PEFC
Ohnemus Kappel-Grafenhausen 15,500 14,500 oak, beech, ash, red oak 25 block timber, cuttings, solid wood panels
Sägewerk Dominik, Ost Werk Weisel Weisel 12,200 10,500 oak, red oak, Eka, ash 8 oak with edging in fixed dimensions, squared oak timber in stock, block timber, chestnut lumber, beech switch sleepers of up to 5.8 m in length
Pollmeier Massivholz Aschaffenburg 400,000 400,000 beech n/a production of beech lumber and Components (cut-to-size elements)
Pollmeier Massivholz Creuzburg 330,000 330,000 beech n/a LVL plant for beech (BauBuche) and spruce
Pollmeier Massivholz Malchow 110,000 110,000 beech n/a n/a
Holz Reinlein Geiselwind 10,000 10,000 oak, beech, maple, ash 49 drying chambers, parquet manufacture, timber trade, “Holz von hier”-certified
Sägewerk Reitz Wonfurt n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Ruhlandt Holz Wanfried-Heldra 7,000 7,000 oak, beech 5 lumber with edging
Albrecht Sattelmacher Obernkirchen 11,000 8,000 oak 15 --
Schaeferwerk Gödeke Dassel 12,300 12,000 beech, oak, ash 60 lumber, cuttings, planed elements, solid wood panels, firewood, sawdust, contract work, PEFC, IPPC
Heinrich Schellinger Bermatingen 7,000 7,000 ash 20 American types of wood; cuttings, thermally treated ash, European and US hardwood lumber, FSC, PEFC
Jürgen Schwaderer Neuenstein-Neureut 15,000 15,000 beech, oak, ash, maple n/a FSC, PEFC 
Sielemann u. Sohn  Leopoldshöhe n/a n/a oak, ash, beech n/a KD oak, big KD warehouse
Sägewerk Späth ¹ Friesenheim 1,000 1,000 oak, beech 18 steam-heating, drying, IPPC, PEFC-certified
Holzindustrie Templin Templin n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Toussaint Kenzingen 7,000 7,000 oak, red oak, fine hardwood 8 steam-heating, drying, cuttings, veneers, FSC- and PEFC-certified
Gebrüder Vater Sägewerk Zellingen n/a n/a oak 6 oak squared timber, block timber made of 22 types of European hardwood and softwood, veneers, table top logs, edged hardwood, PEFC
Wagener  Erwitte-Schmerlecke 16,000 14,500 oak 12 production of dried raw wood for boards, block timber, finger-jointed products
Karl Wöhr Friolzheim  25,000 25,000 beech, ash 28 lumber, cuttings, steam-heating, drying, jointing, PEFC, FSC, IPPC

In Austria, 276,000 m³ of hardwood logs were processed last year, according to the Holzkurier’s survey. In 2024, Austrian sawmills plan to reduce their production output by 18% to only 225,000 m³.

Abalon Hardwood of Heiligenkreuz, Austria’s biggest hardwood processing company, wants to substantially reduce its cutting volume, from 50,000 m³ in 2023 to 10,000 m³ this year. Companies which also cut 20,000 m³ or more last year include EHP, which is based in Frauental, Wibeba-Holz of Wieselburg and Meister Laubholz, which is headquartered in Riegersburg. While EHP and Wibeba-Holz want to keep their production output constant this year, Meister Laubholz plans to reduce its hardwood cutting volume by half, i.e. to only 10,000 m³, in 2024.

Hardwood sawmills in Austria | 2023/Target 2024
Cutting volumes in m³/year
Company Location Cutting 2023 Target cutting 2024 Main types of wood Employees Products/services
Abalon Hardwood Heiligenkreuz 50,000 10,000 beech 50 ––
Holzindustrie Amashaufer Bergland 13,000 13,000 oak, ash 45 PEFC, three-layer hardwood parquet; all common types of European hardwood for country house floors, plank floors, herringbone, panel parquet, ladder or English strip parquet
Bauernhofer Holz Pöllau 7,800 7,000 beech, oak 9 lumber with and without edging, sleepers, contract cutting, PEFC
DH-Design Holzverarbeitung ¹ Kematen/Ybbs 8,000 8,000 oak, black locust, elm 45 production of veneers and lamellas for the parquet and panel industry; over 10 types of wood in various forms, antique wood products
Dickbauer Schlierbach 6,000 6,000 oak, ash, beech, larch 15 circulating air and vacuum drying chamber, solid plank floor “Schlierbacher Klosterdielenboden”, terrace systems, assembly, cutting of all domestic types of wood
Holzindustrie Ebner Grein/Donau 2,800 2,400 ash 24 cutting only for in-house production of tool handles, FSC and PEFC
EHP Frauental 40,000 40,000 beech, oak, ash 30 lumber with edging in fixed widths and decreasing widths, lumber without edging, top-layer laminations, PEFC
Fassold Sägewerk & Holzhandel Eggersdorf 5,000 5,000 oak 15 production of top layers for the parquet industry
Hans J. Fischer Rotenturm 10,000 10,000 oak, ash 13 10,000 m²-big air-conditioned halls, well-stocked warehouse, PEFC, high-quality dried lumber, 20 types of wood
Frey-Amon Holzwerk Hetzmannsdorf 16,000 16,000 oak, ash, beech 23 quality-oriented, oak cuttings and terrace boards, FSC and PEFC, fine hardwoods, larch
J. u. A. Frischeis/Sägewerk Laa Laa an der Thaya 5,100 4,500 oak, ash 11 block timber, lumber with edging, cuttings, log trade, PEFC/FSC
Anton Gruber Taufkirchen/Pram 1,800 1,800 beech, oak, ash, maple 9 production of Vento slats/stacking sticks, PEFC; lumber & special cuttings, drying chambers
Hanger Holz Kleinraming 6,500 7,500 larch, oak, ash, black walnut 18 35 types of domestic wood, dried and stored in air-conditioned halls, cutting and planing mill, production of veneers and solid plank flooring in lengths of up to 13 m
Hanger Holz Ybbsitz 8,000 8,000 beech, ash, maple 12 contract steam-heating, contract cutting
Kriegl Bandsägewerk Wettmannstätten 5,000 4,000 oak, beech, ash 7 sleepers, squared timber, wood for carpentry 
Meister Laubholz Riegersburg 20,000 10,000 oak 20 lumber with/without edging, country house planks, cuttings, PEFC, FSC
Mirako Gaflenz 7,000 7,000 ash 16 thermally treated wood, cuttings, PEFC
Josef Moser Münichreith 4,000 4,000 oak 17 n/a
Neubauer Christian Gratwein-Straßengel 2,500 2,500 oak, Swiss pine 2 Swiss pine lumber, sleepers, oak lumber, contract cutting
Rudolf Postl Oberndorf a. d. Melk n/a n/a ash, oak, beech 4 contract woodworking only: cutting of log wood, steam-heating, drying, cutting of solid wood
Pußwald Holz Sinabelkirchen 10,000 10,000 oak, beech, ash 16 steam-heating, drying, lumber with/without edging, sleepers, fine hardwood, PEFC, contract debarking, trade in carpentry products
Franz Tschuchnigg Sägewerk  St. Martin/Sulmtal 500 300 oak, ash 1 fine hardwoods, fruitwoods
Franz Wagner Strengberg n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Holz Werk Stefl Ort/Innkreis 7,500 10,000 oak 8 formerly Sägewerk Wagner; acquired last year from Holz Stefl, Kuchl; Holz Werk Stefl takes over contract production and drying for Holz Stefl
Wibeba-Holz ² Wieselburg 20,000 20,000 oak, ash, beech 65 lumber with edging and planed lumber, cuttings, single-layer solid wood panels; FSC/PEFC; country house planks
WIHO – Rupert Wimmer Kuchl 14,000 13,000 beech, oak, ash, maple 35 15 types of wood, PEFC, lumber, special cuttings, drying and steam-heating chambers, air-conditioned halls, WIHO cash-and-carry store
Franz Windisch St. Stefan/Stainz 5,000 5,000 oak, ash, larch 4 everything from log wood to veneer 
Kurt Zangl* St. Johann/Saggautal 500 500 fine hardwoods –– contract cutting, all types of wood (fruitwood, old wood), special cuttings