Blumer Lehmann has brought cross-laminated timber production into its own operations at Gossau in Switzerland, adding another processing stage between the company's sawmill and its growing timber construction business.<\/p>\n
The new equipment at the Erlenhof site is being used for both glulam and CLT. Production of glulam began in autumn 2025, while the company is now increasing output of CLT.<\/p>\n
Gossau already forms the centre of Blumer Lehmann's wood processing activities. Around 175,000 m\u00b3 of Swiss roundwood passes through the site each year, supplying production of sawn timber, planed timber, finger-jointed products and pellets. The addition of engineered structural products means more of this raw material can now remain within the company's own manufacturing chain.<\/p>\n
Until recently, some timber destined for glued products left Gossau for processing by third parties and subsequently returned as semi-finished material. The new investment removes much of this intermediate step, shortening transport routes and giving the company greater control over the movement of timber between production stages.<\/p>\n
Internal demand to absorb around half of output<\/strong><\/p>\n Blumer Lehmann expects its own timber construction and modular building activities to take approximately half of the products coming from the new glulam and CLT line.<\/p>\n This internal demand is an important part of the investment. Rather than relying entirely on sales into the external engineered wood market, the company already has a sizeable outlet for the additional production through its construction operations.<\/p>\n It also changes the product mix generated from the roughly 175,000 m\u00b3 of roundwood processed annually at Gossau. A larger share of timber can move beyond sawmilling and secondary processing into higher-value structural products before entering construction.<\/p>\n Besides standard CLT, the plant will produce CLT-clever, Blumer Lehmann's patented panel system. The product uses solid wood panels for its outer layers, while the internal cross layers consist of lamellas placed only where required.<\/p>\n According to the company, the design can cut wood use by up to 30% compared with conventional CLT. This allows Blumer Lehmann to produce structural components using less timber, potentially increasing the amount of finished construction material obtained from its existing wood supply.<\/p>\n The investment further increases the company's exposure to the engineered wood segment, while creating a closer link between its roundwood procurement, sawmill production and construction activities.<\/p>\n German expansion creates additional outlet for timber products<\/strong><\/p>\n The start-up in Gossau coincides with Blumer Lehmann's expansion of modular timber construction capacity in Germany.<\/p>\n A new plant is being established at Steinau an der Stra\u00dfe in Hesse to replace and expand the company's existing operations in Gro\u00dfenl\u00fcder. The facility is planned with capacity for as many as 400 timber room modules annually in its first development phase.<\/p>\n Production in Steinau will cover prefabricated wall, floor and ceiling elements as well as the assembly and fitting out of complete timber modules. The site is intended to serve Blumer Lehmann's growing portfolio of German projects, including schools, residential buildings, offices and commercial developments.<\/p>\n The Swiss and German investments are closely connected from a supply perspective. Timber entering Gossau as Swiss roundwood can now be processed into sawn timber and subsequently into glulam or CLT within the same industrial operation, while a substantial share of these products can then be consumed by the company's prefabrication and modular construction activities.<\/p>\n The strategy also gives the new engineered wood capacity a relatively secure base of demand. With around half of production intended for internal use, Blumer Lehmann will not depend solely on the merchant market to place the additional glulam and CLT volumes as production at Gossau increases.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Blumer Lehmann has brought cross-laminated timber production into its own operations at Gossau in Switzerland, adding another processing stage between the company’s sawmill and its growing timber construction business. The new equipment at the Erlenhof site is being used for … Continue reading