L+M barking up the wrong tree
Although we deal with wood as a material on a daily basis in our structural and facade projects, few of us were aware of the complex and labor-intensive processes that accompany the production of the wood components used. In order to close this knowledge gap, our internal office training was held as an excursion on March 30. Two companies with a long tradition and great know-how in wood processing opened their doors to us – our Lucerne team visited Schilliger Holz AG in Haltikon, the Zurich employees were guests at Blumer Lehmann in Gossau. At both locations, we were impressed to follow the long path of wood from raw material to various end products. The efficiency and innovative strength of the companies at the interface of craftsmanship and high-tech impressed us greatly. As leading Swiss timber construction companies, Schilliger Holz and Blumer Lehmann are among the most renowned players on the national and international market. Significant references such as the Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne, the new building of the Swatch headquarters, the Palazzo Méridia in Nice or the Tamedia office building in Zurich bear witness to this.
Our special thanks go to our two competent guides who maneuvered us through the maze of halls and machinery. David Grob, responsible for sales of master builders at Schilliger Holzbau, expertly guided us through the various stations of the sawmill, planing mill, CLT panel plant and wood gluing plant. Many parts of the plant are equipped with fully automatic machines, which meant that we were not only fascinated by wood but also had a great deal of respect for the achievements of the mechanical engineers.
Richard Jussel, a passionate project developer at Blumer Lehmann, accompanied us after an introductory presentation with important information on sustainability aspects through the operating facilities of the timber construction company in eastern Switzerland. In addition to classic wood processing, we also gained insight into the special disciplines. Blumer Lehmann offers products and engineering services in the field of timber element construction, modular construction and free form.
