Summary
• Pollmeier has developed beech LVL.
• It is expected to be on the market by the end of 2012.
• Construction of a new production facility will begin in the first quarter of next year.
• Once a market is established in Germany, Pollmeier will look to export the product.

European beech sawmiller Pollmeier believes its latest product development – beech laminated veneer lumber – will open new market opportunities for timber.

“We think this product will give architects the opportunity to do new designs in timber so we see a lot of potential,” said the company’s public relations and marketing manager, Jan Hassan.

“It will be the strongest timber product on the market,” he said, adding that he didn’t know of any other hardwood LVL.

The LVL, which is currently being tested for technical approval by German authorities and is expected be on the market towards the end of next year, will capitalise on timber’s inherent sustainability and will address some of the problems of timber frame construction.

“Timber is the building material of the 21st century because it’s the only one that’s from a sustainable source – and it uses less energy in production,” said Mr Hassan.

“But the problem is that timber’s load-bearing capability is lower than that of steel and reinforced concrete. You can have large sections but they look heavy, which is why timber hasn’t really been used in multi-storey buildings.”

Beech, however, is strong and beech LVL will have three times the load-bearing capability of the widely used glued-laminated timber made from softwoods.

“That’s significantly higher. It means sections are smaller; you can have much wider spans and more elegant structures,” said Mr Hassan. “I believe beech LVL will compete not just with other timber products, but also to a large degree with steel and concrete.”

The new product also makes good use of the small diameter beech logs, which are a result of near natural forest management in Germany. Trees are not planted but grow by natural regeneration. This leads to a lot of young trees and at some stage forces foresters to harvest a large number of medium-aged trees to make space for the best ones to grow larger.

The resulting beech thinnings – logs up to 40cm in diameter – are not the first choice for sawmills and are generally destined for low end uses such as firewood or pulp and paper. “Forest owners have been looking for a good use for that timber because it’s a pity to use it as firewood. Beech LVL provides a high degree of added value,” said Mr Hassan.

Pollmeier expects to start construction of the new €70m LVL plant in the first quarter of next year. The facility will create 120 jobs, will be located next to the company’s headquarters and mill in Creuzburg and the two plants will share a log yard. It will be fully-automated, from veneer peeling through to drying, gluing and cutting the finished product, and will initially produce LVL in lengths up to 18m.

Once Pollmeier has established sales of the product in Germany it will look to export markets and the UK will be one of the first.

Large beech offering

The LVL will complement Pollmeier’s large beech offering, which includes flooring and 12 different grades of sawn timber. The company is the largest European hardwood sawmiller and its entire output is beech. In response to approaches from forest owners it did some test volumes in black alder but the supply wasn’t stable enough to set up production.

“A company like ours isn’t good at doing things in small volumes. If we change a mill from one species to another it’s time-consuming so we need a certain volume to make production profitable,” said Mr Hassan. “We have big mills and big capacities and in Germany at present it’s only European beech that is in good supply.”

Eighty per cent of Pollmeier’s raw material is sourced within 150km of its two sawmills in Creuzburg and Aschaffenburg in central Germany. In October it closed its smallest mill, in Malchow in northern Germany, because of difficulties with log supply.

The global market for sawn hardwood is fiercely competitive and all producers are facing difficulties, which intensified in the third quarter. However, Pollmeier’s large spread of export markets – around 70 countries – means it is well insulated against the vagaries of demand.

“Our many markets are an advantage for us because there are always some that are weak and some strong, so it evens out to some extent,” said Mr Hassan.

The company’s speciality of a large number of grades is another advantage.

“Some producers offer only three grades – low, medium and high – but we have 12 grades which is possible because we have a large production capacity, so we can produce a significant volume in each grade,” he said.

And despite the current tough trading conditions, beech remains popular and Pollmeier’s customers include some who have switched from other species.

“Beech is the most widely used European hardwood,” said Mr Hassan. “It’s very hard, it stains well and it’s good value for money. And perhaps beech’s strongest advantage is that it is available from PEFC and FSC-certified forests in Europe so it’s sustainable.”