The Braun carpentry company in Völlan and their unique understanding of wood

Upon entering the hall, the soundscape is impressive. We are greeted by a raw and fragrant atmosphere of thumping, banging and hammering. Towards the back, a motor hums, and across the way, a circular saw rumbles. We are in the middle of the Braun carpentry workshop in Foiana, at an elevation of 700 metres, a five-minute drive from Lana and twenty minutes from Merano and Bolzano. The work here is precise, and the processes are organised and orderly. The skilled artisans work in teams of two. From building railings, balconies and terraces to renovating roof trusses, adding new storeys to homes and constructing entire wooden houses: ten men are at work, day in and day out, here in the hall and on the building sites beyond, to transform the wood into things that are practical, useful, pleasant and beautiful. ‘Carpentry is teamwork,’ explains Karlheinz Braun, one of the two owners. Together with Leo Margesin, he founded the Braun carpentry company in 1992. With its thirty years of experience, the firm can point to numerous references, but the entrepreneurs also have plans for the future: they would like to expand their business but will wait and see how the economic situation develops because, as Karlheinz Braun concludes, ‘What is important to us is to grow healthily’... and steadily – like the trees themselves...