36 | Energy Systems Part 2: Dieffenbacher Energy
DIEFFENBACHER ENERGY BUILDS MOMENTUM
WBPI’s Stephen Powney interviewed Wolfgang Lashofer, managing director of Dieffenbacher Energy, to find out how the business unit is progressing since its formation in 2023
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t’s now been two and-a-half years since Dieffenbacher acquired the know-how and
key assets of Bertsch Energy in a strategic move to expand its energy systems portfolio. The move increased Dieffenbacher’s energy systems portfolio to include fluidised bed combustion technology for solid fuels (such as biomass, RDF and rejects), gas- and liquid-fuel-fired power plants, heat recovery steam generators, and industrial waste heat systems. The acquisition further extended Dieffenbacher’s existing long-time offering of conventional grate firing in energy systems and resulted in the formation of Dieffenbacher Energy. With this move, Dieffenbacher expanded its portfolio to include a fourth business unit, Energy, alongside its three existing business units, Wood, Recycling, and Forming. Now, the Energy business unit reports
a stepwise increasing contribution to Dieffenbacher Group turnover, the construction of a new office in Bludenz,
and plans to expand its service offering internationally. “We had a good start on the newly founded company – Dieffenbacher Energy – in 2023,” said Wolfgang Lashofer, managing director of Dieffenbacher Energy. “The business started developing quite well and its turnover in 2024 was 10% of the Dieffenbacher Group turnover. This year it will be about 20% of the Group turnover. We will stepwise grow and increase our contribution to the group further, so I think it is running quite well.”
Dieffenbacher Group clearly sees great
potential in the business and has committed to building a new central office for the unit in Bludenz, Austria.
All planning permissions have been secured, and construction work will begin on the new office building this autumn. It will be located near the company’s two existing sites, in walking distance of the Bludenz train station and the old town.
Featuring a large roof terrace, it will
accommodate more than 140 workstations in more than 1,400m² of office space. In the meantime, Dieffenbacher Energy continues to rent the existing site until the new building is complete in 2027. “It enables us to provide our employees – currently just over 100 here in Bludenz – with state-of-the-art workplaces and create an atmosphere that supports them in their daily work. The new building also offers us sufficient space for further personnel growth,” explained Mr Lashofer. “I think it’s even more important that we will be able to bring our team, which has been working at two different locations in Bludenz, together in one place. “This will strengthen our sense of unity, facilitate internal co-ordination and accelerate our processes. Ultimately, this benefits our partners and customers in the form of improved workflows, shorter response times and even more intensive support.”
GROWING GLOBAL PRESENCE While the development is a big commitment in Europe, Mr Lashofer says there is also an equal commitment to growing the business’s international footprint, to provide an enhanced local presence on markets, starting with the service organisation.
Above: The planned new Bludenz office for Dieffenbacher Energy WBPI | August/September 2025 |
www.wbpionline.com
“In the past Bertsch Energy had no specific focus on service, therefore our target is to grow this more. We are hiring people globally because service is always a local organisation to support our customers better, and with a strong service organisation we can also support and increase our activities for capital business.” Currently, Dieffenbacher Energy’s business is mainly focused on Europe, but a big order from Weyerhaeuser in the US last year showcased its global reach. The forest products manufacturer produces lumber, engineered wood products, OSB, plywood and MDF. Weyerhaeuser was
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