06/02/2021

The future of timber construction: Sustainability right from the start thanks to efficient production processes

Timber construction is booming: in both the private and public sectors, sustainable and affordable living space is more in demand than ever. In this context, not only the finished residential building should be sustainable, but also its production. For this, timber builders need a production strategy that is good for the environment and the company. To develop these strategies they can count on the support of SCHULER Consulting.

Kinskofer's wood-loam houses are characterised by a particularly good indoor climate. SCHULER Consulting supported the company in planning an automated production.

"Build green, live colourful" - the motto of Kinskofer Holzhaus. The wood-loam houses are ecological and tested for harmful substances.

Wooden house construction is a family affair: Managing Director Herbert Kinskofer ( on the right in the picture) with his daughter and successor Sabine Kinskofer and her partner Patrick Schramm, who is also a construction manager at Kinskofer.

Pfalzgrafenweiler. Wood construction is one of the fastest-growing industrial segments of the wood and furniture industry. Due to the high demand, entrepreneurs are required to automate and optimise their production in order to be able to react flexibly to the requirements of the market. The responsible use of wood as a resource is not only relevant from an ecological point of view, but with rising material costs, it also has economic reasons. 

The key to efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes lies in the standardisation of the product range, material selection and construction principles: This leads not only to shorter set-up times, but also to lower unit costs and higher material utilisation. In the development of optimal manufacturing processes Schuler Consulting has been supporting its customers from the international woodworking and furniture industry for over 60 years. 

Rapid growth needs sustainable development

"Wood construction is not a trend topic for us. We are innately familiar with the material and know its potential," explains Elias Wagner, Managing Director of Schuler Consulting. "In the same way, we have been familiar for years with the growing demands of the industry to manufacture more and more automatically and flexibly. This requires innovative solutions and the right strategy." This is a challenge that timber construction companies can master with Schuler Consulting, as was recently the case in the strategic production planning of the new manufacturing plant at the Kinskofer company in the Upper Palatinate region of Germany. 

The family-owned company Kinskofer, based in Parsberg, manufactures high-quality, ecological wood-loam houses. These houses are KfW Efficiency Houses 40, which consume less energy than required by law. "At the Kinskofer company, we planned an automated production line that will be able to double its production capacity in the future," reports Volker Jahnel, project manager and senior manager at Schuler Consulting. "In the project, it was particularly important to analyse all production processes and to calculate and simulate the capacities in detail so that there would be no bottlenecks in production. In addition, questions about digitalisation, logistics and the flow of information from the office to production also played an important role."

Pictures: Kinskofer Holzhaus GmbH