44 | Panel Perspectives: Dieffenbacher
AIMING FOR GROWTH DIEFFENBACHER
Dieffenbacher invited the woodworking press to a detailed update on its operations during the Ligna Exhibition in May. WBPI’s Stephen Powney attended the meeting
s is custom at the Ligna exhibition in Hannover, wood-based panels plant supplier Dieffenbacher invited the woodworking press for a press conference with its directors to discuss recent company developments, markets, projects and innovations.
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The last 12 months have seen Dieffenbacher very active across multiple fronts – acquiring Pagnoni Impianti (now Dieffenbacher Pagnoni), and the composites business of insolvent Schmidt & Heinzmann GmbH.
It has also signed a co-operation agreement with Unilin Technologies to further commercialise the latter’s Osiris patented fibreboard recycling technology and introduced its own fibreboard recycling process under the name Fiber2Fiber, while group company B MAIER Zerkleinerungstechnik GmbH, is now operating under the Dieffenbacher name, symbolising successful integration of individual companies within the group. CEO Christian Dieffenbacher outlined the progress in the four business units at Dieffenbacher – Wood, Forming, Recycling and Energy – reporting that Wood remained the biggest unit, with Energy now the second largest unit. Approximately 80% of the Energy business unit’s turnover is outside the wood-based panels industry. Mr Dieffenbacher said the company’s capabilities across the business units meant it could combine wood-based panel plants with recycling technology and energy systems in a compelling business offering. He said the number of wood-based panel plant project orders in the first half of 2025 was lower than a year ago, with project confirmations taking longer due to global uncertainties.
“If the issues clear up in the next 6-12 months, I think we will have good catch-up effects,” he said.
Mr Dieffenbacher said the Group’s 2024 annual results showed a turnover of €529m, up slightly from €504m in 2023. “It was a step upwards from the year before,” continued Mr Dieffenbacher. He estimated the company’s 2025
turnover would be in the region of €500m, WBPI |
Top: Dieffenbacher CEO Christian Dieffenbacher
He highlighted fibreboard recycling as a
big topic, sharing how Dieffenbacher was moving forward in this area with both its participation in the European EcoReFibre project, and its co-operation with Unilin Technologies to supply Unilin with an industrial-scale fibreboard recycling plant at its MDF plant in Bazeilles, France. EcoReFibre Project partners met at Eppingen in April to see a demonstration of the company’s process for using steam to extract fibres from post-consumer fibreboard chips and its system for cleaning. The new plant for Unilin will see the
latter’s fibreboard recycling capacity increase from 1 to 10 tonnes per hour. “We will see the results by the end of the year,” said Mr Zipf. He highlighted Dieffenbacher’s technology
with a future target of €600m, and growth targeted across the four business units. In the wood-based panels business, he reported a shift from Europe to other regions, such as Asia and South America, with a little bit less activity in overall new panel lines in the next couple of years. Projects include an OSB line order in the US, and a wood fibre insulation board plant in Switzerland, while there is work on a second continuous plywood line order in China.
“The US and India markets are very promising,” added Mr Dieffenbacher. He reported a good mix of customers, but less Chinese business currently. Decentralisation will continue at Dieffenbacher, with its global operations on different continents providing local expertise to customers for fast and efficient services. Stefan Zipf, Dieffenbacher general manager of Business Unit Wood, said there were now a variety of wood-based panels being produced, referencing continuous plywood, Fine OSB and specialist MDF. “People are now learning from the Chinese
[hybrid] products and producing them in Europe,” he said.
Mr Zipf added that raw material supplies,
cost pressures, environmental considerations and a shortage of skilled workers were driving this trend.
June/July 2025 |
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developments that are assisting customers. For example, the first Dieffenbacher Belt Dryer installation has been reported, with benefits of low infeed temperatures and high thermal efficiency.
Dieffenbacher has also sold three units of its new Maier knife ring flaker (MRZ 1500 PLUS) to a customer. Customers typically require only about three machines instead of five to six previously. It features a compact footprint and high performance that’s due to 3D material distribution using the FlowOptimizer and an extra-wide knife ring. Mr Zipf said the EVORIS digitalisation platform is helping meet multiple challenges faced by customers, including shortage of skilled workers and cost pressures. The new EVORIS Connect online customer portal enables the connection of production with commercial and support services – 24/7 access to key information such as real-time order tracking and quick service requests. Dieffenbacher also updated about the Dieffenbacher Pagnoni business, following the acquisition of Pagnoni in 2024. Six people, including director Michele Pagnoni, transferred over to Dieffenbacher Pagnoni, which has moved to a new office. The business is focusing on after-market servicing and spare parts, but Mr Zipf said supplying short cycle presses in emerging markets is a future target and fits the Dieffenbacher portfolio. ●
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