Holzindustrie#

Timber Industry: The industrial processing of wood is divided into numerous sectors and has a particularly long tradition in Austria. The industrial manufacture of furniture using bentwood, the Thonet, Gebrueder company being its chief representative, began in the Biedermeier period and is still popular throughout the world. As customers have become more aware of nature and environmental issues, the demand for solid-timber furniture has increased steadily. Companies such as Team 7 were particularly successful in exports. Austrian kitchen furniture is a particularly important export article. The Wittmann company is an innovative manufacturer of upholstered furniture of international renown. Other sectors of the furniture industry are the manufacture of office furniture as well as of shop furnishings. The market leaders in these sectors are Bene Bueromoebel KG, Hali, Svoboda, Wiesner-Hager Moebel GmbH and Umdasch Industrieges.m.b.H.. In 1993 the whole industry (about 10,600 employees in about 110 companies) produced furniture valued at ATS 10,400 million.

An important development in the processing of wood was the manufacture of derived timber products such as fibre boards. The problems that arose from the processing of natural wood were largely avoided and optimum use of this natural raw material was made possible. The Austrian board manufacturing industry produces materials needed in the manufacture of furniture and in other sectors. In addition, the board industry makes use of wood residues. The environmental compatibility of the production plants has been considerably increased over the past years. Relatively new production sectors of the board industry are boards of solid timber and concrete formwork panels. Even though the development of this industry has been largely positive since the post-war years, the sector has occasionally suffered from structural crises. Since the 1980s successful businesses such as Egger, Fritz GmbH., M. Kaindl M. Holzindustrie and Iso-Holding Turnauer ( Funder Industrie GmbH, Leitgeb, Homogen, Isovolta, Oesterreichische Isolierstoffwerke AG) have stabilised the board industry.

Other important sectors of the wood industry are the manufacture of sports articles (mainly skis and tennis rackets), where Austria ranks among the world´s market leaders ( Ski Industry), and in the building trade (windows, doors, floors, halls, etc.).

The rapid development of the bonded wood construction sector, assisted by the invention of high-quality glues in aircraft construction in the 1930s, enabled the building of wooden structures up to 150 m wide. Austrian pioneering companies in the bonded wood construction sector were Wiesner-Hager Moebel GmbH and Kaufmann, and Austrian bonded wood constructions have received several awards. In 1993 Austria produced approx. 100,000 cubic metres of laminated wood boards.

In 1993 the wood industry comprised about 350 companies (almost all of them owned privately) with more than 27,000 employees and a gross production value of about ATS 31,000 million. In 1993 exports amount to ATS 16,400 million, imports of ATS 14,600 million.