Clearly Thought-Out Concepts
Ecology and Sustainability at Rubner Holzindustrie
Wood regrows faster
than it is being harvested.
Efficient and environmentally sound use of energy plays a key role in a company as large as Rubner Holzindustrie.
Logs
regional
Almost half of Austria is covered by woods, thus making it one of the most well-forested countries in Europe, featuring a total forested surface of 4 million hectares. And the total forested surface and the wood capacities increase by approximately 4,000 hectares every year. This number equals the surface area of about 5,500 football fields, which means that the wood regrows faster than it is being harvested. The percentage of forested areas is even higher in Styria, where the headquarters and production facility of Rubner Holzindustrie is located: more than 60 %
Every single log is used in its entirety.
The bark of the logs is thermically used in our state-of-the-art in-house biomass heating plant with a capacity of 8 MW. The generated exhaust air is used for several purposes in the production process: high-temperature heat with approximately 110 °C is immediately led into the 4 drying channels and the 18 drying chambers, whereas low-temperature heat of flue gas condensation is used to dry the sawdust for the regional CO2-neutral pellets.
We use
solar energy
In order to keep the company’s CO2-balance as low as possible, Rubner Holzindustrie also makes use of clean solar energy. The largely dimensioned photovoltaic plant on the halls’ roof surfaces provides an output of 2.4 MWp. The electric current that is generated is used for production processes and the operation of drying ventilators.
Five electric forklifts are presently being used to handle and transport the sawn timber. Heads of departments with direct client contact use long-range electric vehicles for their client meetings. The electric loading points are also supplied with sustainably generated electric power generated by photovoltaic plants. All employees are offered the possibility to purchase electric bikes via the company which may be used either for company or private purposes.