TOP TIMBER

Established with a single Swiss sawmill, Blumer Lehmann’s growth has been driven by a focus on quality, innovation and finding the best solutions for its customers. Now approaching its 150th year, the timber specialist company is expanding further by combining its passion for craftsmanship with the latest technology from SENNEBOGEN.

After opening its first sawmill in Erlenhof, Switzerland, in 1875, Blumer Lehmann’s family business is now in its fifth generation. Yet sourcing sustainable raw timber and turning it into beautiful architectural features is still at the company’s heart. From free-form frameworks to modular building constructions and wooden stairways, the team’s passion and expertise combine with state-of-the-art facilities to deliver their customers’ vision.

Now, all project stages are completed across eight sites in three countries. This includes design and development, timber processing including planing, sawing and cutting, plus the carpentry and construction of modular buildings. High-performance machinery is essential for the expert team to complete each task efficiently.

So when expansion plans were developed for the Gossau site, Blumer Lehmann turned to their equipment manufacturer partner SENNEBOGEN.

EXPANSION PLANS

To turn customers’ visions into a reality, the team handles each phase of timber construction. As specialists in their field, their expertise and in-depth knowledge are increasingly in demand. So as the number of projects has increased, site capacity has had to expand along with the fleet of specialist machines.

As Production Manager Josua Preisig explains, “On this site, we have log cutters, a planing mill, a finger jointing mill and a sorting plant. Then we have a pellet plant, plus carpenters for modular buildings, element buildings, road salt and silo buildings.”

Working with SENNEBOGEN has been a game-changer for our project...

DANIEL STRICKER Blumer Lehmann

This means a single site can process sustainably sourced timber ready for direct sale or construction projects. It also separates out byproducts such as chips, pellets and sawdust to be sold directly to customers. Alongside wood and salt silo storage, this is an additional revenue stream for Blumer Lehmann that helps the business fund its growth.

Having a fully trained team is also key to a successful expansion, as Josua outlines,“The first 40 metres are currently being built in Phase One of the expansion stage. Employees are being trained on the new machinery and processes here. The remaining 100 metres will be built in summer 2024 so we can start full operation with SENNEBOGEN after the summer holidays.”

SPECIALIST POWER

Material handlers are a key piece of equipment onsite. Tasked with sorting and moving timber into the right part of the processing plant, the Blumer Lehmann team needed a machine that could lift and place heavy loads with precision. As a sustainability-focused business, choosing energy-efficient equipment with good environmental credentials was also important.

The newest generation of its machine type, the SENNEBOGEN 835G takes the tried-and-tested, user-friendly features of E-series models and upgrades it for the needs of modern sites. A powerful engine is combined with an innovative Green Hybrid energy recovery system. This offers additional working speed and can reduce fuel costs by around 30%, giving operators better performance with lower consumption.

with equipment lengths of up to 20 metres and built with SENNEBOGEN’s trademark modular design, the material handler was easily adapted to the single fixed track on Blumer Lehmann’s site. Extra features such as a panoramic cab view, intuitive controls and easily accessible service points make running the machine safer and more straightforward for the team.

Alongside his colleagues, Josua is impressed with this new model’s performance. He says, “We opted for the SENNEBOGEN 835G because we were looking for a powerful and strong machine. So far we are very satisfied. We are very surprised at the power we are able to bring to the machine or the track.”

PROJECT PARTNERS

SENNEBOGEN hasn’t just provided quality machinery for Blumer Lehmann’s site expansion, they’ve worked closely with the team to help maximise productivity from day one. Having built a partnership based on their mutual value of delivering well for customers, SENNEBOGEN offered expert support during the planning and development of the site’s expansion. As Josua outlines, “Working with SENNEBOGEN has been a game-changer for our project. Their collaborative planning and reliable support have been very helpful throughout the project.”