Large-diameter specialist
Logs up to 120 cm in diameter, cut with precise and flexible band saw technology – into true “prime cuts”.
Learn moreSchaffer Holz · Eppenstein, Styria
A family business with wood in its blood
For more than 110 years, everything at Schaffer Holz has revolved around one special raw material: timber from the forests of Styria.
What began in 1914 with the sawmill of innkeeper Franz Schaffer at the foot of the Eppenstein castle ruins is now run by the fourth generation as a family business. We are one of the leading companies in the Upper Styrian timber industry and market leader for window lamellae in Central Europe.
Our speciality is large-diameter softwood: on precise band saws we cut logs with a diameter of up to 120 cm – spruce, larch and fir from the mountain regions of Upper Styria. The wood grows slowly there and is therefore particularly fine-grained. Throughout Austria we are one of the largest processors and marketers of high-quality domestic larch.
Around 60 employees cut an average of roughly 100,000 cubic metres per year. Our sawmill is equipped with a frame saw, a band sawmill, circular re-saws, automatic sorting and packaging lines and drying chambers. We supply well-known woodworking companies, traders and timber builders in Austria and abroad – about 80 % of our production is exported.
1914Founded in Eppenstein
60Employees
100,000Cubic metres cut per year (avg.)
80%Export share
What sets us apart
Rift cut & fine grain
Heart-free material with vertical annual rings: it hardly cracks, moves or shrinks and is distinguished by very high strength.
Learn moreAustrian larch
Exclusively slow-growing large-diameter larch from the mountain regions of Styria – exported to Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, France, Slovenia, Slovakia and Spain, among others.
Learn moreReliable partner
We guarantee the acceptance of roundwood in any market situation. Every log is photographed, and the roundwood intake is fully traceable.
Learn moreSustainable & regional
PEFC-certified production, domestic spruce, larch and fir, and short transport distances thanks to regional purchasing.
Learn morePeople who know wood
We mainly employ specialists who know how to handle wood – and we train apprentices as wood technicians.
Learn moreOur journey
- 1914
Franz Schaffer puts a sawmill into operation at the foot of the Eppenstein castle ruins – initially with 2,000 cubic metres of timber per year.
- 1950
His son Gotthard takes over the mill and uses the post-war reconstruction period to expand. By the 1970s the cutting volume has increased tenfold compared with the founding.
- 1986
Gotthard Schaffer decides to specialise in large-diameter timber. In 1987 Johann Schaffer takes over the management.
- 2015
Johann Schaffer hands the company over to the fourth generation, who continue his aspiration.
„The best from every log“
Processing the wood with care and creating the right solution for every customer – that is what Schaffer Holz has stood for since 1914.
Core Competences
Large Diameter Round Wood
Styrian timber is known to be one of the best offered on the international timber market. This wood, mostly cut down in winter, matures in the protected alpine regions of Austria. Due to the severe environmental conditions, this wood grows slower and has a particularly fine structure – a sign of healthy growth in unspoiled surroundings.
As a sawmill processing logs with large diameters, In the late 1980’s Schaffer Holz established its reputation as a leader in processing logs with large diameters. The latest „band saw technology”, which is very precise and flexible, enables us to maximise the opportunities to extract the best timber and cut logs with a diameter of up to 120 cm.
Rift Cut
The rift cut is a radial cut, in which the annual rings are set as square to the width of the board as possible. The rift cut considerably improves the dimensional stability of timber and prevents the warping of timber cross-sections.
Schaffer Holz specialises in the cutting of round timber with top end log diameters of over 50 cm in spruce and 36 cm in larch. These logs produce an especially large proportion of timber with upright annual rings and without heartwood. It hardly cracks, expands, contracts or shrinks. Furthermore it is characterised by a very high tensile strength.
Austrian Larch
Larch is extremely stable and has good tensile properties, particularly suited for outdoor applications. For example, glued timber made of larch is used for structural bridge construction.
For indigenous larch, Schaffer Holz is one of the largest selling and processing companies in Austria. We cut only finely grown, large dimensioned larch timber from the Styrian mountains in Austria. In our export markets of Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Slovenia, Slovakia and Spain, larch from Schaffer Holz is held in high esteem.
WORKING AT SCHAFFER HOLZ
A company is only as good as its employees. That is why; Schaffer Holz employs only specialists, who give their best to our customers. They expertly know how to deal with wood.
If you enjoy working with wood, appreciate the traditional values of a family business and are happy to work in the team, then please send your application to:
FRAU HEIDI STURMER
HERR DI (FH) LAMBERT SATTLER
Du hast Interesse an einer Lehre als HolztechnikerIn?
HISTORY
1914
In 1914, Franz Schaffer began to run his sawmill below the castle ruins of Eppenstein. His activities were on a modest scale, producing some 2.000 solid meters of timber per year, on leased property. Three years later, in 1917, he purchased the premises and subsequently lead the company through two World Wars and The Great Depression.
1950
In 1950, his son Gotthard took over the saw mill and used the period of post war economic recovery to expand the company. In the 1970, 18 people were employed at the sawmill and 30 more as woodcutters. The volume of cut timber increased tenfold since the foundation of the company.
1986
In 1986, a substantial step towards securing the future was taken, when Schaffer decided to concentrate on processing large dimensional logs. Gotthard’s sun, Johann Schaffer, managing director since 1987 concentrated on this method to take “the best from of every log” for his customers.
2015
In 2015, the company was handed over by Johann Schaffer to his children, the fourth generation, who will continues this endeavour.
