Ground-breaking ceremony for new cross-laminated timber plant
In late May of 2021, Mayr-Melnhof Holz Leoben GmbH began construction on the largest investment project in the history of the Mayr-Melnhof Holz Group:
At the existing sawmill in Leoben, it is investing 150 million Euros in a state-of-the-art cross-laminated timber plant, a high-performance post-grading and planing mill as well as a fully automated high-bay warehouse. The new plant is supposed to be fully operational in about two years. The new cross-laminated timber plant will boost the Group’s cross-laminated timber production capacity from currently 80,000 m3/year to 200,000 m3/year, fully in line with strong market growth.
Ground was broken on 28 May. Despite strict Covid-19 event restrictions, but in glorious sunshine, many guests from politics, interest and industry groups, funding bodies, project partners from the construction industry, the planners and architects as well as the “HoLzBsp” project team followed up on the invitation sent out by owner Franz Mayr-Melnhof-Saurau, Supervisory Board member DI Rainer Zellner (Chairman), Dr. Nikolaus Ankershofen, Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Romuald Bertl, Mag. Rupert Zieseritsch and Ing. Franz Rappold as well as the Board of Directors, DI Richard Stralz (CEO) and DI Michael Wolfram (CFO).
Franz Mayr-Melnhof-Saurau welcomed the following honorary guests:
- DI Michael Esterl, General Secretary for Digitisation and Economic Location at the Federal Ministry
- State Secretary Ök.-Rat Johann Seitinger filled in for Hermann Schützenhöfer, the Governor of Styria
- Member of the Styrian State Government Helga Ahrer filled in for Anton Lang, the Deputy Governor
- State Economic Secretary MMag.a Barbara Eibinger-Miedl
- District Governor for Leoben Mag. Markus Kraxner
- Leoben’s Mayor Kurt Wallner
- The President of the Federation of the Austrian Industry, Ing. Georg Knill
- The President of the Federation of the Styrian Industry, Prof. DI Stefan Stolitzka
- The President of the Styrian Chamber of Agriculture, ÖKR Franz Titschenbacher
- The Chairman of the Forst Holz Papier Cooperation Platform, ÖKR Rudolf Rosenstatter
- The Chairman of PEFC Austria, DI Dr. Kurt Ramskogler
- The Chairman of the Austrian Agriculture and Forestry, Carl Prince of Croy
- The Federal Chairman of the Austrian Forest Managers within the Industry Association for Commercial Service Providers at the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Peter Konrad
Committing to Styria as an economic location
This investment marks a clear commitment to Styria as an economic location. "The supply of raw materials from the Styrian forests, the existing infrastructure, a well-trained workforce, and the supply of sawn timber from the directly adjacent sawmill make Leoben the optimal location for this investment in the future, which, processing the carbon-neutral material wood, also makes an important contribution to sustainability and active climate protection," says Richard Stralz, CEO of Mayr-Melnhof Holz Holding AG, who is pleased with this investment boost, which will not only improve the competitiveness of the Mayr Melnhof Holz Group, but also secure existing jobs and create some 50 new jobs in the region.
Facts about the Mayr-Melnhof Holz cross-laminated timber plant in Leoben
| Start of construction: | 31 May 2021 |
| Planned production start: | Late 2022 |
| Investment volume: | 150 million Euros in the first stage |
| Planning performance: | 700,000 m3 |
| Lamella storage capacity: | 28,000 m³ |
| Cross-laminated timber production capacity: | some 140.000 m3 of PEFC certified cross-laminated timber once fully operational |
| Production floor space: | Approx. 33,000 m2 |
| Jobs created: | 50 |
| Ecological power and heat supply: | Solar power system on the roof as well as hydro power plant |
| Wooden superstructure & façade: | 11,500 m3 of cross-laminated timber, glued laminated timber and 3-ply panels produced in-house |
About cross-laminated timber
cross-laminated timber, also known as CLT, is a solid wood building element made from several layers of sawn timber permanently cross-laminated to form panels. This crosswise structure guarantees dimensionally stable and stiff building components with excellent structural and physical properties. As a building material, wood is currently experiencing a renaissance. Made from the regionally available raw material wood, cross-laminated timber is a carbon-neutral, sustainable building material. It is easy to shape and, thanks to a high degree of prefabrication in the factory, has various applications such as walls, ceilings and roof constructions. It can be used to erect buildings up to six storeys tall and higher entirely from wood – family homes, leisure facilities, kindergartens, nursing homes, restaurants and much more – or to easily extend buildings upwards. MM crosslam is the brand name of cross-laminated timber products from Mayr-Melnhof Holz.
Cross-laminated timber protects the climate
Today, wood can – in many cases – replace conventional building materials such as concrete and steel that emit high amounts of CO2, thus having two positive effects on the climate: Firstly, by storing carbon dioxide and secondly, by preventing additional carbon emissions during the production process of conventional building materials which are then replaced by wood. As a natural and regrowing building material, cross-laminated timber makes a significant contribution to active climate protection. Cross-laminated timber produced by Mayr-Melnhof Holz is PEFC-certified.
MM crosslam cross-laminated timber
Wood as a building material
Timber construction projects