World News | 9
Pfeifer Group makes major sawmill investments at two mill facilities
Leading European sawmiller Pfeifer Group has completed construction of a new sawmill for its subsidiary Pölkky Oy in Kajaani, more than doubling annual production capacity.
Production capacity of the Kajaani facility increases from 200,000m3 to 450,000m3 of sawn timber.
The new mill is billed as one of the most efficient and cutting-edge in the Nordic countries and marks a key step in the Group’s growth strategy.
Pfeifer Group acquired the site from Finnish timber processor Pölkky Oy in January 2023. The upgrading strategy at the site was to
expand production capacity significantly while also consolidating the Group’s market position in Europe. “In building our new sawmill in Kajaani, we’re investing for the future,” said Michael Pfeifer, CEO of Pfeifer Holding.
“It combines highly automated technology with sustainable construction and is a real flagship project within the Pfeifer Group.”
The new building is entirely made of wood materials - Pölkky supplied glulam in small cross-sections as well as various solid-timber parts, while large custom components such as props and beams were ordered in from Versowood.
Coillte and DAFM to host conference on home-grown timber building
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and Coillte, will host a conference in October focusing on increasing the use of Irish home-grown timber in construction.
The event, titled ‘Build with
Wood: From Policy to Practice’, will be held on October 15 at Avondale Forest Park, Co Wicklow.
The event is also being co- organised by the Timber in Construction Steering Group, which was established in November 2023 to explore ways to scale up the use of timber in construction. A welcome address from architect and broadcaster Dermot Bannon will be followed by an address from Minister of State for forestry Michael Healy-Rae. Following the minister, Coillte CEO Imelda Hurley will address the conference.
The meeting will also hear
from private architects and representatives from the construction and engineering sectors; as well as personnel from Forest Industries Ireland and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Topics to be covered include developing guidance for mass timber in Ireland; the carbon impact of modelling timber use; decarbonising construction; and turning policy into practice. The meeting follows the publication of the timber construction in Ireland research report, ‘Pioneering Research and Innovation for timber and wood-based products in Ireland’.
Examples of research featured it include: SAOLWood – Sustainable Construction and Lifecycle Assessment of Irish Timber; and MODCONS – Modular Mass Timber Buildings for the Circular Economy.
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A total of 970m3 of Pfeifer cross-laminated timber (CLT) was also installed. At Kajaani, Pölkky processes Nordic pine and spruce. The investment is part of the joint growth strategy being pursued by Pfeifer and Pölkky Oy, which is focusing on higher production capacity, a stronger international presence and greater added value. Meanwhile, Pfeifer is also making major investments in Uelzen: including a new waste wood recycling plant to process regional class A1 and A2 waste wood to produce pressboard pallet blocks.
“The modernisation follows a coherent concept for site development,” said Clemens
Pfeifer, CTO of the Pfeifer Group. “Pfeifer is committed to Uelzen – and with the waste wood plant and the new sawmill, the site is now ideally positioned for the future.”
In parallel with the recycling project, Pfeifer is also modernising the log cutting process at the Uelzen site: a new, high-performance sawing line is set to replace the more than 30-year-old system in the second half of 2025. The aim is to reduce production costs, increase yields and boost output. When the new line is finally commissioned in the coming months, the long-serving saw will be retired.
tel: +44 (0)115 986 5201 email:
info@daltonswadkin.com
www.daltonswadkin.com
www.ttjonline.com | September/October 2025 | TTJ13/08/2025 15:42
World News
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