18 | Focus on Germany Part 2: Elka
150km maximum radius of the factory; another environmental plus. Elka says its esb board comes in four types: esb Standard; esb Plus; esb Traverse; and esb Reno.
The first of these panels – esb Standard – is the base board, with a formaldehyde content of E1/E05 and excellent technical properties; esb Plus is especially suitable for structural timber engineering and prefabricated house construction, with a
VOC emissions; esb Traverse, or ‘Cross-Beam’
Above: The Elka management and the planning team at the groundbreaking ceremony for the modernisation of particleboard production. From left: Gerd Michael Lersch (managing director), Karl-Robert Kuntz (managing partner), Larissa Kuntz (managing partner), Tobias Schmucker (managing director), Bernd Schneider (planning engineer), Dagmar Hilden-Kuntz (head of sustainability), Achim Röper (production manager wood materials), Walter Kiefer (head of maintenance) and Hans Werner Jost (planning engineer)
offers installation components for fastening higher loads to walls in dry construction, for example, with CW profiles with the esb standard board; and esb Reno is the newest panel, suited to attic renovations due to its size – narrow staircases and small roof hatches are not a problem. “We supply 50-60% of all prefabricated timber house manufacturers with esb because of its emissions performance,” said Ms Kuntz.
In standard particleboard, or ‘chipboard‘ as Elka also calls it, a number of panel types are offered, in compliance with DIN EN
1. P1: Boards for interior use, non-load
bearing. already in use by many of its clients, with
The second requirement of Elka was the reduction of noise emissions and IMAL says that all the machines have been designed and supplied with suitable solutions to minimise acoustic emissions.
The third requirement of Elka was for the reduction of electricity consumption and IMAL says it implemented solutions using various technologies to minimise electrical consumption.
This screening and gluing upgrade was preceded at Elka by another major investment. “Two years ago, we bought a large
cut-to-size line from Schelling of Austria,” said Ms Kuntz. “Ultimately, as a result of our ongoing investments, our target is to increase particleboard production capacity a year – doubling the current
output of the mill.” Obviously, a new continuous press line will be a very significant investment for Elka but it does have financial support from the German government for the new screening/ gluing line and for a continuous press because these improvements will not only increase its efficiency but will also bolster the company’s sustainability/environmental credentials. “Our investments would not be possible without this support,” said Ms Kuntz. “We are also committed to not producing pellets to be burned as biomass – we insist on utilising
all our fresh wood supply in our production of timber and panels.”
It is not just particleboard that Elka produces. The company also manufactures a unique board which it calls ‘esb’. That is not a misprint for OSB! Elka’s esb is a panel which is similar in appearance to OSB but is actually a form of particleboard, produced on the same line. The name esb stands for Elka Strong Board. The line produces about 60% esb and 40% particleboard. “We supply a lot of panels to the German door manufacturers – that is a good market for us,” said Ms Kuntz. “It is a single-layer P5 board with
important differences,” explained Ms Kuntz.
not so good lateral strength. Our esb gives
good values in all directions, with transverse strength being 40% better than OSB, and it also has significantly better swelling characteristics than OSB. Also, in common with all our products, it contains no recycled wood. This not only gives it good environmental credentials, but also means it is better for our clients’ tools as it does not contain the abrasive contaminants found in particleboards made from recycled wood.” Elka’s esb board is also given a sanded
finish. Again, in common with all Elka’s products it only uses fresh (spruce) wood from a
WBPI | February/March 2025 |
www.wbpionline.com
P2: Boards for interior furnishing for use in dry areas.
P3: Boards for non-load-bearing purposes for use in humid areas.
4. P4: Boards for dry areas, load bearing. 5. P5: Boards for humid areas, load bearing. 6. P6: Heavy duty boards for load-bearing purposes for use in dry areas.
Tongued and grooved particleboard is also offered, machined in Elka’s own factory. Another advantage legitimately claimed by Elka is its ability to deliver multiple products in a single load. Sawn or machined timber, vita panels, particleboard and esb can all be combined on one vehicle, thus reducing transport pollution. Elka Holzwerke is a company with a very strong ethos: It doesn’t create any waste, using sawmill residues, which others may make into pellets for burning, to make particleboard and esb; it only uses fresh, sustainable wood from locally-supplied logs in all its production; and its vita board CLT offers a green construction material, together with its sawn and planed timber. And when its products leave the Morbach factory site, where possible they leave in mixed loads, thus economising on the use of road transport. The investment already made, and the further investment planned for the Morbach site, suggest that Elka is also firmly committed to a growing future in the supply of ‘green’ wood products. ●
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