Focus on Germany: Fagus-GreCon | 27
largest market area, has obviously been challenging during the past two years, with less new line work, but modernisations continue. “2025 has been a reasonable year,” summarised Mr Kuppe. “We have not achieved our growth targets mainly because we have not seen the investment levels in the wood-based panels industry. Markets outside this sector have fully met the growth targets, and in some cases even overperformed. Overall, we have managed the situation quite well and we think we are in a very good position for 2026. We also believe investment cycles in the wood-based panels sector will come back.” He said while investment was happening in China, there was overcapacity and consolidation was to be expected. China ranks as the second largest of Fagus- GreCon’s seven global subsidiaries and celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025, but reduced level of market activity has been seen there this year. “We had a demanding year in North America this year for various reasons. We can manage the tariffs quite well. It has an impact on prices, but it’s more the uncertainty created on the customer side which meant they held back on investments. “Latin America looked like it was going
to be a demanding year but actually has been quite good. We have seen they have been doing business as usual. We still have a couple of projects in execution in SE Asia, with some more projects announced, but it is probably slowing down next year. “We have quite a number of orders this year already in India and expect more in the coming years. Several delays have been requested by customers or OEMs, mostly in the panels sector. The recycling industry is different; they want the technology immediately.” There have been some good activities in
niche wood-based panels markets in Europe, with business there at a stable lower level. Fagus-GreCon has strived to become more efficient during this period, optimising internal processes and localising several products and solutions. Recycling a major trend and in 2025 was
the second largest industry area for the company. Mr Haas pointed out that mega trends like MDF recycling was also a big topic, with Fagus-GreCon particle detection technology able to bring quality control to the recycling process, highlighting foreign materials in the material flows. “We have the high-end equipment to guide this process,” he said.
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS The LIGNA exhibition in 2025 saw a number of innovations on the Fagus-GreCon stand. Digitalisation was a major focus. Mission Control, the next generation of
to control chip geometry continuously, detecting deviations at an early stage and optimising glue consumption and board quality. The company’s FORMATOR – which
automatically measures and regulates material distribution in the mat – has now been extended for particleboard production after many years of success in the MDF industry. Mr Kuppe reported a fast return on
Above: GreCon Mission Control
intelligent spark detection control panels, was a major feature. This innovative system combines predictive maintenance, plug-&- play integration, and comprehensive remote access — minimising downtime, enhancing safety, and maximising efficiency. The decentralised system offers smart
networking, real-time monitoring, and maximum system reliability. With its Segmented Maintenance
Technology (SMT), GreCon Mission Control allows for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance to be carried out on individual components or segments of the production line without shutting down the entire system. The interface has a traffic light system for displaying warnings. Key functions are accessible in just a few clicks, and the system significantly reduces installation complexity, while increasing safety for the customer. It generated a lot of interest at LIGNA, and the first systems are being rolled out in Europe.
Other LIGNA highlights were updates in
the GASANALYSER range - GASANALYSER SL measures formaldehyde emissions in accordance with ISO 12460-3:2023 (perforator method) and CARB specifications. The laboratory solution uses laser spectroscopy instead of traditional wet chemistry in a fully automated measurement process, the GASANALYSER SL delivers complete test results in just 4 hours – without chemical post-processing and without additional personnel. Meanwhile, the GASANALYSER MC
delivers accurate results in just 15 minutes, enabling faster and more precise control of production processes, thanks to the combination of a microchamber and state-of- the-art infrared laser spectroscopy. GreCon systems are also available for inline formaldehyde measurement. Another innovation is PARTICLEVIEW
2D, an inline camera-based measuring system which measures two dimensions in the forming line, to check board strength, glue consumption, and surface quality. PARTICLEVIEW provides the data needed
investment on GreCon technology, saying FIBERVIEW (for MDF) measuring technology payback is as little as 4-6 months. Customers can provide GreCon with their production data to simulate the product before purchase – giving them confidence of the benefits and payback.
FUTURE So, how does Fagus-GreCon see the next couple of years? “We would think the economy would be
better, the construction industry back to investment mode.,” said Mr Kuppe. “We are also looking at growing market shares. We have high market share in the wood-based panels sector, and our goal is to maintain that and grow in regions which are seeing increased investment.” “We have an ambitious target to achieve a good two-digit growth level every year. “There is a weakness in the wood-based panels market and there have been a lot of sidesteps in the market. We are prepared for a difficult 2026 and if the second half of 2026 shows an upward trend we would be quite happy.” Even if there is less new line work, modernisation contracts continue, and new market sectors are being actively targeted, with the recycling industry being a big growth market. A continual focus on R&D, internationalisation, integrated solutions, customer service, and digitalisation means the company is positioning itself well for the future. ●
Above: The Alfeld base of Fagus-GreCon
www.wbpionline.com | December 2025/January 2026 | WBPI
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