Oak continues to lead the market in hardwoods with demand for beech still in the doldrums, especially as an export product. Sawmillers, however, report steady business for oak in construction but more so for decorative products such as staircases and furniture, with rustic oak a clear trend with buyers.

While demand for German oak remains firm, log prices vary from region to region, with some questions about availability and a tight rein on supply by the German Forestry Commission.

Carolin Voll, joint director of Hugo Kampf, a 135-year-old sawmilling company in Bavaria, said prices had risen 8-10% recently. "The forestry authorities are holding volumes back and the price is going up. They overfelled in the past and now they do not need to cut so much, and they are relying on pine and beech. This year will be tough for sawmillers, times are changing and it is not clear what the situation will be," she said.

Key market

However, in northern Germany, Holz Schnatmeier, a sawmill and timber outlet in Lower Saxony, reported oak log prices had been higher in recent years, but were now stable. The company cuts mostly oak on a band and frame saw with a mill and roofed storage of 11,000m², and a timber outlet for timber construction products. It specialises in oak beams for traditional and bespoke timber buildings, and exports across Europe with the UK as a key market.

Director Petra Schnatmeier said business had been hit in recent years by the economic slowdown, but a constant and loyal customer base, including the UK, had enabled it to remain steady. "When one customer is down, another is up, but they all seem to remain with us so we remain steady. We are not on a high level and prices are difficult, but it is constant."

Jan-Hinrich Stoll, executive director at Hinrich Feldmeyer, said demand for oak was high and it was that appetite rather than availability causing higher log prices. The company, which was born out of a shipyardbased timber business near Bremen more than 100 years ago, now mainly supplies lumber for staircases, other internal timber products and furniture.

The company processes 20,000m³ of logs a year, all of which is kiln dried. The mix includes beech, but only as 10-20% of its business. "I think it is a matter of fashion. Beech is not in fashion at the moment. We have strong demand for oak, I would say rustic oak and especially in the thicker sizes – 40, 55, 65mm.

"We invested in an edging line about three years ago – everybody traditionally was just doing boules – and this helped us to be involved with an increase in demand for exports," Mr Stoll said.

"Demand for square edged oak was increasing in all grades – there is demand for very clear at the top, down to very low with all the defects. That has helped the business a lot."

Although in an area of traditional oak beam construction supplying boules, square edge and beams, Hugo Kampf concentrates on interior construction, such as staircases and furniture, especially table tops. About 75% of its output is for export, with the UK a leading customer. The company celebrates 10 years of FSC accreditation next year.

"It was a British customer that first asked us for FSC. We followed up that idea and went through the certification process. At first it was difficult to source, but things have changed a lot since then. We have one of the first FSC customer numbers," Ms Voll said.

The company has provided oak for the prestigious One Hyde Park residential development in Knightsbridge and for the Scottish Parliament, among other notable projects. Its speciality is the finish, changing the colour by methods such as smoking, thermo treatment, galvanic treatment, steaming, bleaching and with chalks.

"New products are very important to us and we invest in both traditional old oak and developments. Our speciality is the surface; we have to bring in new surfaces, just like cars have to have new finishes," Ms Voll said.

New LVL mill

Beech specialist Pollmeier had responded to the difficult market conditions by diversification, said marketing and PR manager Jan Hassan. The company has created a wide export market, but will start up its delayed beech LVL mill in February after a €100m investment in a fully-automated mill next to its headquarters in Creuzburg in central Germany.

"The raw materials are abundant in central Europe – some beech is going for firewood at the moment – and it is very strong, with three times the strength of spruce glulam, so you can downsize, have wider spans or high loads. It also has a high surface quality, achieving something like furniture," Mr Hassan said.

The company gained technical approval from German authorities in September and has been touring the product at trade exhibitions. "The UK has been a focus for us and a potential market for LVL. While the market for timber structures is relatively small there compared with other countries, there is intense interest, especially with sustainability," Mr Hassan said.

He added that hardwood sales remained steady as a result of its expanded export and product base.

"To some extend beech is out of fashion, but I think it is the price-to-value ratio that is affecting it the most," said Mr Hassan. "We are selling to 70 countries where there is always a demand somewhere. At the moment southern Europe is slow and the Middle East, Asia and the US is strong. All our timber is kiln dried and square edged, and we have 18 different grades, which means we have a large volume of many grades for every application."