Focus on Germany Part 2: Elka | 15
GREEN AND CLEAN FROM TREE TO END-PRODUCT
Elka Holzwerke may not be a very well-known name in the global timber and wood panels industry, but it is a growing, family-owned German company with a different approach and a strong commitment to sustainability. WBPI consulting editor Mike Botting reports
W
e are all familiar with the ‘big names’ in the global panel industry, but there
is a small, family-owned and run business, in the centre of the European continent, which does things differently and, in many ways, better. Elka Holzwerke was founded in 1906
by Ludwig Kuntz as ‘Ludwig Kuntz, Dampfsägewerk und Holzhandlung’ in Kirn, Germany. This name in English translated as ‘steam sawmill and lumber shop’. In 1908 the company bought a site in Morbach, because of its proximity to forests of spruce and Douglas fir.
Today, the company goes by the less
complicated name of Elka Holzwerke (Woodworks). However, it has come a long way in the last 119 years – through innovation and investment in its lumber and speciality panels operations – and is currently investing a lot of money in its panel production facilities.
“The fourth generation of the Kuntz family
now runs the business, which is unique in having three different factories on the one site, here in Morbach,” said Larissa Kuntz, managing director of Elka since 2020. “We
have the sawmill, the particleboard and esb factory and the three-ply CLT [cross- laminated timber] factory. In fact, Elka is the only German-owned particleboard factory left in this country.” Morbach is situated about 140km west
of Frankfurt and about 100km from both the Luxembourg and French borders, giving the company that central location. Another important market for its production is the Netherlands and the company has recently started selling mixed loads into Spain. It also supplies, mostly sawn, large-size timber to the UK market.
Above: Aerial view of the entire company
www.wbpionline.com | February/March 2025 | WBPI
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