A year ago, Pfeifer Group started up the first cross-laminated timber line at its German production site in Schlitz. The production capacity is 50,000 m³ a year. In summer, the two-shift operation was started and in November, the second phase of expansion starts as planned. After completion in spring 2021, the site’s maximum capacity will be 100,000 m³ a year for the time being, which the company plans to reach in the following year.
An eye on the whole world
Pfeifer Group’s Technical Sales Manager Bernd Gusinde knows his product inside out © Günther Jauk
Due to the geographical location in Central Germany and Pfeifer’s existing customer structure, the sales team focuses primarily on this area. “Also, timber constructions are gaining momentum in Germany’s metropolitan areas, which is impressively demonstrated by numerous large-scale projects, for example in Frankfurt and Berlin. In this respect, we certainly have a logistical advantage over our competitors in the south,” emphasizes Technical Sales Manager Bernd Gusinde.
In addition to Germany, Pfeifer is now also present with cross-laminated timber in Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Thanks to the good structures, the company was able to quickly gain a foothold in those countries as well. In the medium term, the focus will be on other neighboring countries, such as France, Benelux, Poland and the Czech Republic. Pfeifer Group expects to obtain the approval for France by the middle of 2021. “In addition to all of Europe, we are also closely monitoring interesting overseas markets, and we will take the necessary steps in development in the coming years,” tells us Gusinde.
Strengthening partnerships
According to the corporate philosophy, trade also plays a central role for Pfeifer in the CLT sector. “In this area, the main aim is to strengthen long-term relationships and to serve existing customers in the best possible way,” says the sales manager, adding that merchants should have a certain expertise when it comes to cross-laminated timber: “Of course, we support our customers as much as possible, but we do not offer timber construction planning.”
In addition to trade, bigger timber construction companies and carpenters are also important customers in cross-laminated timber sales, and are supplied with raw or joined panels depending on their requirements. In the future, the company also wants to win architects, property developers, investors and other decision-makers of the construction sector as customers.
Gusinde sees modular constructions as another future market. This segment is expected to grow strongly in the coming years and with its plants, Pfeifer is ideally positioned for orders from this segment.
What the market demands
In order to reach 100,000 m³ a year, Pfeifer will install another finger-jointing line as well as additional joining capacities in the second stage of expansion. When it comes to the surface finish, the company offers solely spruce in “industrial quality”, “industrial visible quality” and “residential visible quality”. Other types of wood or additional finishing steps are not planned at the moment. “We can easily offer 80% of what the market demands with our current and planned equipment, but we do monitor developments very closely and will react to possible changes if necessary,” says Gusinde with regard to Pfeifer’s strategy.
Well-positioned
“Of course, the circumstances were not exactly ideal for us shortly after the CLT production had been started up,” tells us Gusinde. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, some overseas markets were temporarily closed for imports and as a result, more CLT was on the Central European market. Thanks to thorough preparation and the positive situation on domestic markets, however, the company got off to a successful start.
With this investment, Pfeifer Group is well-positioned in the CLT sector for the coming years, according to Gusinde who emphasizes, however, that it is not the panel itself, but rather the associated service that is decisive: “It is crucial that the correctly cut panel arrives in the right place at exactly the right time.”
For Gusinde, the continuing strong growth of supply in Central Europe and beyond is a positive development: “A higher availability of cross-laminated timber is the best thing that can happen right now. With the rapidly growing share of timber constructions in overall construction and the need to create housing space, the cake will also become significantly bigger. And if demand should decrease at some point, it will all come down to reliability, quality and adherence to delivery dates – and that’s exactly where we want to score.”
