Like Germany, the timber industry in Austria is an important part of the country’s economy, with some 1,286 companies and 24,946 employees, including 723 apprentices. It consistently ranks in the top tier of global softwood exporters, with the majority of companies being SMEs and forming a vital sustainable source of economic activity in many of Austria’s remoter regions.

Most companies are family owned and the industry is characterised by stability in the workforce. About 80% of the companies in the sector are sawmills, with the largest eight mills accounting for 50% of production and the largest 40 nearly 90% of output. The Austrian timber industry is strongly export oriented, especially for sawn softwoods, glulam, boards and its own niche speciality skis. In 2016, total wood-related exports were up 4.4% to €5.2bn, representing 70% of total timber industry output.

2016 was generally a good year for the industry with steady increases in production and exports. 2017 is expected to see a similar picture, the first six months seeing an increase in production and overall exports compared to the same period in 2016. 2017 has brought its challenges with high levels of bark beetle attacks followed by strong storms leading to an oversupply of calamity timber leading in turn to a downward pressure on prices of lower grade material.

For the longer term there is concern that climate change will lead to hotter summers and a larger impact from beetle attacks. With strong domestic demand for timber in Austria another challenge is mobilising supplies from the many privately owned forests.

AUSTRIAN SAWMILL EXPORTS

Production and export figures have been compiled by the Austrian trade association for wood industries Fachverband der Holzindustrie and Statistik Austria.

They show that Austrian sawmills enjoyed a 5% increase in exports in 2016. Some 75.1% exports were to other EU countries with the most important markets being Italy and Germany, while outside Europe there was a large increase in exports to China. Increases in exports were especially strong for glulam products and prefabricated structural timber. In 2016, 5.3 million m3 of sawn softwood were exported, an increase of 5% on the previous year, with 45% going to Italy.

Exports of hardwood sawmill products in 2016 climbed 8% to 133,000m3. Imports in 2016 were up 6.6% to €4.04bn with 87.6% of imports coming from other EU countries.

Timber exports from Austria to the UK (excluding furniture) were also up in 2016, climbing 4.1% to €60m.

There were significant increases in exports for joinery and carpentry products, up 9.7% to €26m, while imports into the UK of particleboard / OSB (+21% to €4.7m), fibreboard (+37% to €8.9m) and plywood / veneered boards (+8.2% to €6m) all increased. Exports of sawn timber to the UK however were down 22% with a value of €6m.

As for so many Austrian exports, much of the timber imported into the UK is specialised product for niche markets or applications where a particular quality and know-how are required, whether that is engineered timber such as CLT and glulam or timber passivhaus windows.

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION

Timber in construction in Austria is also enjoying a surge, especially with adaptations to building regulations that have enabled the design and construction of multi-storey timber buildings.

This was partly encouraged by the projects that Austrian companies have been involved with in the UK and elsewhere which served as useful case studies for Austrian policy makers.

Austrian cities have always been keen to promote sustainable and energy efficient construction and now cities such as Graz are stipulating timber for whole new developments.

An example is the Holzwohnbau Hummelkaserne residential development, designed by sps architects and completed last year. Another is the HoHo Wien, a Hoch-Holz or high timber skyscraper in Vienna which is currently under construction and at 84m and 24 storeys will be Austria’s tallest timber construction when complete.

Austrian companies are keeping a close eye on Brexit negotiations but remain sanguine about long term prospects.

The main concerns relate to currency fluctuations, skills shortages, maintaining European standards and a commitment to long-term investment by the Government and private investors.

Nevertheless we are seeing activity between Austrian companies and the UK market continuing to thrive and have noted a high level of interest in the UK market not only from established suppliers but also by new entrants.

Austrian timber industry marketing campaign Proholz, which targets international markets, is highlighting a number of messages in its latest campaign called “Holz ist genial” – timber is cool.

The campaign’s emphasis is the sustainability of Austria’s timber industry, highlighting the fact that for generations no trees have been felled in the forests without replacement.

People are being told that Austria’s forest grows each year by the equivalent of 5,500 football pitches