14.03.2023
Pfeifer Chanovice achieves record break and relies on regular staff
Since taking over the wood industry Chanovice in 2016, Pfeifer has invested more than 100 million euros in the modernization of the infrastructure and improved conditions for the employees. This is reflected in increasing production figures and staff stability. In 2022, the sawmill in Chanovice exceeded a total cut of 757,000 fixed meters, making it one of the largest sawmills in the Czech Republic.
The Austrian Pfeifer Group recently caused a stir in the industry with its expansion to Finland. The acquisition of Pölkky, the largest private wood processing company in northern Finland, strengthens Pfeifer's position as the third largest company in the European wood industry and equips the producer for global competition. For Chanovice, the strategic growth of the Group means an even more stable business environment and belonging to a healthy, far-sighted family business. The advantages for the newly acquired locations are known firsthand in Chanovice.
Since 2016, under the umbrella of the Pfeifer Group, the location has been continuously developing at all levels. New technologies in roundwood sorting and currently the increase in sawn timber drying capacity increase the efficiency of the plant many times over. So it is planned, with more efficient Drying chambers from April up to 450.000 cubic meters of sawn timber annually – more than twice as much as five years ago.
2022: Record year at the sawmill
Last year, Pfeifer Chanovice achieved a whole series of production records. In the sawmill, for example, the largest cut amounted to over 6,500 solid meters of wood in one day. The total cutting has exceeded 757,000 fixed meters per year, which makes Chanovice one of the largest sawmills in the country. At Pfeifer, the procurement and efficient, resource-saving further processing of the raw material wood are all about the concept of sustainability. For example, the majority of the supplied round timber is PFC-certified and is 100 percent processed directly at the site in sawn timber, solid wood panels, formwork panels, wood pellets and eco-electricity.
Optimizations in the personnel area
One of the most important goals for 2022 was to take over all employees as permanent staff. This goal has been achieved. In addition, the conditions for employees are constantly being improved, for example by a new parking lot, high investments in occupational safety and optimized communication. With the help of their own employee app "myPfeifer", employees and the company can easily get in touch with each other and receive important information quickly and directly on their smartphone. In view of the rapidly evolving technologies in all areas of the wood industry, Pfeifer also promotes the training and higher qualification of employees. For this purpose, the company's internal platform "PfeiferLearn" has now also been established in Chanovice, which allows individual further training in connection with safe workflows.
Plant manager Radek Pecka
Personnel manager Petra Mouckova
Higher premiums and factory traffic bring relief
As a reliable employer, Pfeifer supports its 470 employees even in difficult times. For example, they were paid a special premium in the previous year to cushion the financial burden caused by the general wave of inflation. Solutions were also found for the sometimes difficult travel situation of the employees in the sparsely populated region. Pfeifer organizes buses for the way to work or pays fare to those employees who live away from these bus lines. "Through all these measures in recent years, Pfeifer has been able to achieve considerable operational and personnel stability in Chanovice," report plant manager Radek Pecka and Personnel manager Petra Mouckova.
The Pfeifer Group
The Austrian Pfeifer Holding GmbH was founded in 1948 and is now family-run in the third generation. It employs 2,600 people at 13 locations in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Finland. The company headquarters are located in Imst (Tyrol/Austria). In the fully integrated sawmills of the Group, around 5.4 million solid meters of wood are cut annually and processed along the entire value chain into sawn timber and planed goods, concrete formwork panels, formwork girders, cross laminated timber (CLT), glued laminated timber, glued solid wood panels as well as pallet blocks, briquettes, pellets and bio electricity.