The HS Timber Group has announced that it is selling HS Timber Productions Sebes SRL to the German Ziegler Group as part of a share sale. The purchase agreement was signed on April 14, 2023. The completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. The closing of the transaction is expected for the middle of the year after the official approvals. It was agreed not to disclose the purchase price. Ziegler Group also takes over the existing experienced team in Sebes.
The sawmill was the first production site of the HS Timber Group in Romania. “We are happy to have found a successful family business that will continue the lumber production at the site and expand the business,” says Gerald Schweighofer, CEO of the HS Timber Group. “We would like to expressly thank the employees in Sebes for the outstanding performance over the past 20 years.”
For the HS Timber Group, the purchase of Romanian softwood logs has been limited by law to 30 percent of the annual harvest volume for each individual assortment since 2016. Due to the geopolitical situation, the Ukraine, Russia and Belarus are no longer suppliers of raw materials for Romania. Extensive import regulations and rising logistics costs are making timber imports increasingly difficult.
With this step, HS Timber Group is consolidating its continued existence in Romania in the long term and as a result can use the capacities of its existing plants better and more efficiently.
At other locations in Romania, the HS Timber Group operates a sawmill and blockboard plant as well as glued timber production. There are other sawmill locations in Germany and Finland. With further locations under construction, the group is successfully continuing its global expansion.
Stefan Ziegler, Managing Director of the Ziegler Group, is enthusiastic about the new member of the group of companies and the entrepreneur behind it: “HS Timber Productions Sebes SRL was the starting point for the success of the HS Timber Group, which Mr. Schweighofer built up with a lot of entrepreneurship and vision ! We want to continue this success story. I am all the more pleased about the decision to sell this location to us, as we would like to strategically develop the location and my group of companies. True to the philosophy “from tree to house”, the domestic market should benefit, right up to the creation of sustainable living space directly on site!”
The location in the center of Romania is an ideal addition to the sawmill division of the Ziegler Group with the existing production facilities in Germany and Sweden. In addition to high-quality raw materials, the site offers optimal conditions for the group’s purchasing and sales activities, particularly due to its central location. Stefan Ziegler is also looking forward to the more than 650 new employees and the new location: “I am already looking forward to working with the Romanian employees, whose pride is in the local wood and with whom I share my enthusiasm for the raw material would like to share!”
With the Ziegler Group as the owner, the location is to be further strengthened. The always strong roots in the domestic markets should play a central role in further development.
About the HS Timber Group:
The HS Timber Group is a traditional, wood processing company with Austrian roots and strong roots in Central and Eastern Europe, especially in Romania. The company processes wood in Germany, Finland and Romania and supplies industrial customers all over the world. www.hs.at
About the Ziegler Group:
The ZIEGLER GROUP has its roots in the northern Upper Palatinate. Since the company was founded in 1948, the core business of the group of companies has been wood processing. Today the group is at home in various areas. Whether wood, logistics or technology – one thing unites the different sectors into one big whole: Stefan Ziegler’s vision – to further promote the construction of intelligent and sustainable wooden houses in Europe. www.ziegler.global
