Special Germany

AS IF COVID 19 WEREN’T ENOUGH…

GERMAN FORESTS HAVE BEEN BADLY HIT BY THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE PAST THREE YEARS

When you talk about forests in the European Union, there are some countries, including Germany, which you simply cannot ignore. For instance, we see that of the 182 million hectares of forest and woods in the EU (good for 42% in surface area), over 70% of them are accounted for by just seven countries: Finland (leader with 77%), France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Sweden. With 32.7% of its surface area covered by woods, Germany therefore plays an important part when it comes to forests and the related forest management.

To make a few comparisons: In 2015, the share of woods in Belgium was 24%. Obviously, most of that was in Wallonia. In Flanders, depending which measuring method is used, only 10.8 to 13% of the land surface area consists of woods.

Dryness + insect plagues and much more

Germany has certainly had problems with its woods in recent years, more so than other European countries. For instance, like elsewhere in the EU, the country has had to face exceptionally hot and dry weather thought to be due to climate change, but Germany has also suffered heavily on other fronts. For instance, the country has witnessed storms, fires, unexpectedly heavy snowfall, diseases, and deterioration due to fungi. On top of that there was also a stubborn insect plague. The bark beetle (or ips typographus) has struck consistently for a few years in succession and that has seen this insect multiplying rapidly in already weakened trees into a number which has become dangerous for the woods.

Germany wouldn’t be Germany without vigorous action. After all, this is the country where the concept of sustainable forest management was introduced as early as three centuries ago. Forest manager Hans Carl von Carlowitz introduced it as far back as 1713 due to the prevailing shortages of wood at that time. According to von Carlowitz, it was necessary to provide an ongoing supply of wood, but in a sustainable manner. And so, you could call this man the pioneer of the various certificates, such as the FSC or PEFC quality labels, which indicate that you have essentially ‘sustainably’ managed production forests where wood is cut only selectively.

Sharp rise in logging

One drastic measure which Germany soon took was to intensify wood logging. That was in 2019, but it was no less than three times more than in comparison with the previous year and was as much a reaction on the increasing dryness and the insect plague. According to Destatis, the German statistics office, in 2019, with 32 million cubic metres, almost three times as much wood was logged as a result of insect damage than in the previous year with 11 million cubic metres. In 2017, that figure was a ‘mere’ six million cubic metres. With just under 68%, the share of wood logging as a result of forest damage in 2019 was more than three times as high as in 2010 (19.7%). In 2019, 46 cubic million metres of damaged wood was logged. The total amount of wood logged was 68 million cubic metres at that time, whilst in 2010 it was 54 million cubic metres. We can also add that about 83% of the total wood logged in 2019 consisted of pine forests (56 million cubic metres). In 77% of cases this involved damaged trees (43 million cubic metres). Insects were the main cause and were responsible for 73% of the logging.

With Germany being well known for its thoroughness (‘Gründlichkeit’), this obviously went beyond just logging. For instance, since 2019, German governments have invested over 800 million euros in the recovery of German forests, which cover a third of the country’s surface area. After a crisis top level meeting in Berlin in September 2019, the government therefore decided to provide 547 million euros over the next four years to remove dead trees and plant new ones. The contribution from individual federal states makes a total of 800 million euros for an operation in which the Germany army is also helping.

1.5 billion euros for the transformation of woods

In the meantime, the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) has also decided to support a programme for the modernisation of the country’s wood industry. For instance, one of the programmes, with a budget of 15 million euros, aims to promote investments to preserve or increase the value of wood as it is used and to promote the use of wood as a building material. This makes an active contribution to climate protection, since wood stores carbon.

Another value, which is worth 20 million euros, promotes advice services for companies in the wood industry in areas such as digitalisation, robotics, and artificial intelligence. The intention is to reinforce the entire supply chain of wood, from the production in the woods and the processing up to and including the use of building material. In this connection there needs to be a forest transformation in the direction of more mixed woods and therefore also deciduous trees.

The BMEL has said in an official statement: ‘In total, Germany aims to make 1.5 billion euros available to woods owners and forestry workers to help them convert trees. This means they can adapt better to climate change.’

Main sources: Wikipedia, BOS+, Nieuwe Oogst.nl, globalwoodmarketinfo.com, IPS, and tuinkeur.nlxs

AUER METALLPROFILE GMBH

AMP - LED range extension XXL Auer Metallprofile GmbH is a German manufacturer of wall and floor profiles made of aluminum, brass and stainless steel. Started in 1990 with an area of 1600 m², 10 employees and 2 profiles, the family business has grown over the last 30 years to 43 employees, an area of 8120 m² and around 6500 item positions. In order to offer more creative room design options, Auer Metallprofile has optimized its previous LED stair nosing with direct lighting in 2021 and at the same time greatly expanded its LED range to include an LED stair nosing with indirect lighting and 2 LED skirtings with indirect lighting in the sizes 60 mm and 100 mm. In addition to their functional elegance, these three new design elements convince in modern room worlds primarily through their simplicity and their spacious cable duct, which enables accurate laying. For individual room design, the Auer LED profiles are available in various anodized and RAL colors, with various accessories, individually as components, but also as a screw-on all-round carefree package. +49 (0) 3771 / 28 68 0 - Info@Auer-Metallprofile.de - www.Auer-Metallprofile.de Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuerMetall/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auermetallprofile/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCxDZu5EBzp57Q7-8PPbYwmA

OSMO

Osmo: innovation as tradition Many years ago, Osmo Holz und Color GmbH & Co. KG developed a new product in their own coating production: Polyx®-Oil Original. The wood coating is based on natural oils and waxes and offers durable protection for wooden floors and furniture in indoor areas. This product revolutionized the surface treatment of wood all over the world. In addition, the range has been expanded to include further interior products, products for the exterior and care and cleaning products for treated surfaces. Today, the Warendorfbased global player is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of modern wood products and specializes in the effective surface treatment of the natural material. +49 (0) 25 81 - 922 – 219 - marlen.meierzuwickern@osmo.de www.osmo.de

MEISTERWERKE

MeisterWerke is a family oriented business founded in 1930. Under the leadership of Mr. Johannes Schulte, Guido Schulte (third generation) and Mr. Ludger Schindler, Meisterwerke now employs over 650 people and realises an annual turnover of more than €150 million. MEISTER is the main brand and has a clear focus on wood specialist trade. Currently, Meister exports its goods to more than 80 countries worldwide. The main products are laminate and parquet flooring, vinyl without vinyl floors, rigid core floors and panels. MEISTER has always focused on innovation and is the industry´s innovation leader with the unique flooring product Lindura, based upon wood-powder technology. Recently, MEISTER renewed its laminate and vinyl flooring collections and added a waterproof rigid flooring collection. 80% of the laminate flooring collection now is 4h up to 24h water-resistant and therefore bathroom-proof. This is also true for part of the new MeisterPanels range for which MEISTER has been rewarded the Red Dot Award 2021 (SP 800). +49 (0) 29 52 816-13 66 - andrea.henze@meisterwerke.com - www.meister.com

PALLMANN GMBH

PALLMANN GmbH based in Würzburg is an international, premium manufacturer of wood flooring sundries for the installation, renovation and maintenance of wood flooring with roundabout 100 employees. As part of the Uzin Utz Group and with over 110 years of tradition, PALLMANN offers system based product solutions for the entire installation or renovation process of wood flooring, from maintenance and cleaning, surface finishing, machines, adhesives, and sub-floor preparation products. The 2021 focus products are the fibre-reinforced & patented PALL-X FILLER as well as the multi-purpose sanding machine PALLMANN SPIDER and the celebration of the most successful 1-component wood floor lacquer in Europe: PALL-X 96. PALLMANN is present in almost all countries of Europe, the United States of America, CIS countries as well as New Zealand and Australia. The annual production volume is approx. 3.500 tons. In 2020 the company realised a turnover of approx. 35 Mio Euro. +49 (0) 931 27964-47- christian.weishaupt@pallmann.net - www.pallmann.net