Members of the Japanese House of Lords and a representative of the Japanese Consulate General in Frankfurt recently found out about the constructive cooperation between the timber industry and forestry in the flagship plant of the Austrian Pfeifer Group. During the company presentation and tour of the factory, the guests were impressed by the sustainable business relationships and the 100 percent utilization of wood as a raw material. The Visitors from the Far East were offered extensive insights into the material supply and the company’s product portfolio.
During their European tour, the guests examined the successful models of the leading timber industry nations Germany and Austria in order to bundle experience and know-how for the domestic market. The focus of interest was the cooperation between forest and wood processing companies, which can be described as expandable in Japan due to a lack of demand and specialist staff, reports Pfeifer.
Impressed by the high timber construction rate in the DACH region, the Japanese delegation referred to the increasing interest in cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam in their home country. Timber construction in Japan can look back on a long tradition, and after the Second World War, large forest areas were reforested, which currently open up great potential for management. The booming demand for softwood timber was also discussed in 2018. Both the main markets, the USA and China, as well as the other top importing countries showed a high receptiveness, the export volume of the twelve largest producer countries was almost 126 million m³. The forecasted strong growth in Asia and the entire Asia-Pacific region means great opportunities for the construction supply industry, and for the Pfeifer Group these global markets – including Japan – are increasingly coming into focus.