Tschopp completes the project on an ultra-modern sawmill to champion local timber

 Tuesday, October 7, 2025

The Swiss woodworking sector has marked a significant milestone with the official commissioning of a new, ultra-modern sawmill of Tschopp Holzindustrie AG in Buttisholz, Canton of Lucerne. Representing an investment of approximately CHF 75 million (about $83 million USD), this greenfield project, which began construction in May 2021, is far more than a simple facility upgrade. It is a strategic move that fundamentally triples the company’s wood processing capacity, cementing its role as a cornerstone of the national timber supply chain and a vital player in Switzerland’s burgeoning sustainable construction movement.

For decades, Tschopp has been the country’s sole manufacturer of specialised, three-layer glued shuttering panels—a crucial component for the construction industry. With the company’s previous sawmill, built in 1999, processing up to four times its intended annual capacity (climbing to 115,000 cubic meters/year via three shifts), the need for expansion had become critical. The new facility, designed to process an impressive 350,000 cubic meters of wood per year, resolves this bottleneck and creates the necessary space and technological capability to diversify and expand its product lines.

The new 123-meter-long, 20-meter-high facility is a showcase of European sawmill engineering, integrating the latest advancements in automation and efficiency.

High-performance, high-yield

The core of the new sawmill features a system of eight high-performance band saws, a significant upgrade from the previous setup. This technology is crucial for maximising lumber yield from each log, an essential factor in cost-efficiency and sustainable resource management. Furthermore, the facility is capable of processing logs with a stump diameter ranging from 140 mm up to a remarkable 1,000 mm, and can handle exceptionally long input lengths of up to 22.5 meters. This flexibility allows Tschopp to efficiently utilize a broader range of locally sourced timber, reinforcing its commitment to a 100% Swiss wood supply chain within a 100-kilometer radius.

Automation and flexibility

Addressing the logistical challenges of a compact, mountainous region like Switzerland, the plant was engineered for maximum output within a limited footprint. Key features include:

• Advanced log handling: The log yard is designed to handle both short and long logs, with three infeed decks available for different sizes, ensuring a continuous, optimised flow into the cutting line.
• Precision cutting: Sophisticated machinery, including cross-cut saws, ensures logs are cut to precise lengths with minimal waste, supporting the high-quality requirements of construction materials like the specialized shuttering panels.

The ability to operate with such high efficiency is a direct response to global trends in the woodworking industry, which prioritise automation, precision, and maximised resource utility to remain competitive against international markets.

The pillar of the circular wood economy

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Tschopp’s investment is its deep integration into the circular wood economy. The company has long held a philosophy of 100% material utilisation, ensuring that no part of the harvested timber is wasted—a model increasingly championed by Swiss research for achieving the nation’s Net Zero 2050 targets.

The primary product, high-quality sawn timber for construction, generates considerable wood residuals: sawdust, chips, offcuts, and bark. The new sawmill’s increased capacity means a corresponding rise in these residuals, all of which are immediately processed on-site:

1. Wood pellets: Tschopp operates one of the country’s largest pellet production facilities, generating up to 120,000 metric tons annually. The chips and sawdust from the new sawmill are fed directly into this expanded plant, creating a low-carbon, renewable heating fuel for residential and commercial consumers.
2. Green energy: The bark and other waste wood are used to fuel the company’s wood-fired power plant, which provides the entire heat required for drying both the sawn timber and the wood pellets. The facility also uses residual heat to generate approximately 9.4 million kilowatts of green electricity per year, making the operation highly self-sufficient and environmentally sound.

This self-sustaining, closed-loop system is a prime example of cascading wood use, where timber’s primary role as a long-term CO2 sink in construction (through products like shuttering panels) is maximised before its secondary use for energy generation.

Economic impact

The commissioning of this state-of-the-art facility has a ripple effect on the local and national economy.

• Strengthened supply chain: By significantly increasing the domestic production of sawn timber and construction components, Tschopp reduces Switzerland’s reliance on volatile international timber markets. This supply chain resilience is a major asset for the local construction sector.
• Local forest support: The commitment to sourcing 100% of the raw material from local forests within the region provides a secure and high-volume market for regional forest owners and logging companies, supporting sustainable local forestry management.
• Technological leadership: The investment reinforces Switzerland’s reputation for industrial innovation. The plant serves as a model for how the traditional woodworking industry can embrace Industry 4.0 principles—including automation, digitalisation, and comprehensive waste utilization—to ensure future viability.

As the Swiss government and industry researchers continue to push for greater utilisation of sustainably available wood, the new Tschopp sawmill stands ready to meet the soaring demand for locally-produced, high-quality timber and wood-based products, marking a new, more efficient, and more sustainable chapter for Swiss woodworking.

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Tags: circular economy, new sawmill, timber construction Switzerland, Tschopp Holzindustrie, wood pellets