Fürstenberg Holz

Fürstenberg Holz is the wood-processing arm of the House of Fürstenberg, a German noble family whose forestry holdings in southwestern Germany date back to the early 14th century. The commercial operation itself was founded in 1920 as the Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Holzverarbeitungsbetriebe, created to make economic use of the family's extensive forests. What began as a sawmill has grown into a specialised wood-processing company within the family's corporate group. The company today employs roughly 50 people at sites in Hüfingen in Germany and Soběslav in the Czech Republic. Its product range centres on technically demanding, long-life timber products: wooden utility poles for the energy and telecommunications sectors, railway and switch sleepers, garden and landscaping timber (marketed as Galaholz), firewood, and noise-protection walls. A recurring theme in its offering is in-house research and development, particularly around impregnation and treatment systems such as the Fürstenberg-Permadur system for poles and the newer InsideFume aftercare system for weathered timber components. Its customers include well-known companies in energy supply, telecommunications and rail transport, as well as public and private builders. The company positions itself around durability, sustainability and tradition, summarised in its corporate guiding principle that only genuine quality makes it to tradition. It is a privately held business, part of the corporate group of the House of Fürst zu Fürstenberg, and is not separately listed on a stock exchange.

The roots of Fürstenberg Holz lie in forestry rather than manufacturing. According to the company, the House of Fürstenberg has owned extensive forests since the beginning of the 14th century, giving the family a timber tradition spanning more than 700 years. For centuries this was primarily a landholding and forestry matter; the decisive step toward industrial wood processing came much later. In 1920 the family founded the Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Holzverarbeitungsbetriebe, the princely wood-processing works, in order to exploit its timber resource economically. From that point the business belonged to the corporate group of the House of Fürst zu Fürstenberg. It started as a sawmill and over the following decades developed into a leading wood-processing enterprise, shifting from general sawmilling toward specialised, technically demanding timber products. By the present day the company describes itself as a leading wood-processing business with around 50 employees working at two locations: Hüfingen in Germany and Soběslav in the Czech Republic. These sites handle the development and manufacture of wooden poles, garden timber, wooden sleepers and noise-protection systems. The company's customer base has correspondingly broadened to include well-known firms in energy supply, telecommunications and rail transport, alongside public and private builders. A defining feature of its more recent history is in-house research and development. The company states that various impregnation methods developed through its own research guarantee the longevity of its poles, and that its sleepers are continuously tested and improved through its own R&D, with a stated service life of 30 to 40 years and testing across Europe. It has also extended its portfolio beyond primary timber products into protective and aftercare services, notably the InsideFume system for weathered timber components, carried out by trained personnel with consultation and documentation. Its corporate guiding principle, that only genuine quality makes it to tradition, ties this technical orientation back to the family's long forestry heritage.

• 1920

  Founding of the Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Holzverarbeitungsbetriebe to exploit the family's timber resource economically.

• Beginning of the 14th century: the House of Fürstenberg comes into possession of extensive forests, the basis of a 700-year timber tradition.

• Development from a sawmill into a leading wood-processing enterprise within the House of Fürstenberg corporate group.

• Establishment of operations at two sites: Hüfingen (Germany) and Soběslav (Czech Republic), employing around 50 people.

• Introduction of the Fürstenberg-System-Schwelle (FSS), described as environmentally friendly, forward-looking and durable.

• Expansion of the portfolio with the InsideFume protective and aftercare system for weathered timber components.

Durability-, sustainability- and tradition-led specialist timber producer for infrastructure and landscaping, backed by in-house research and development.

• Holzmasten (wooden poles)

  High-quality poles made from spruce and pine, largely from the company's own timber yard, supplied with the Fürstenberg-Permadur system and various impregnation methods developed through in-house research.

• Schwellen (sleepers)

  High-quality track, switch and bridge sleepers tested throughout Europe with a stated durability of 30–40 years, supplied in all common dimensions and processing stages.

• Galaholz & Brennholz

  High-quality timber for garden and landscaping from regional spruce and pine, plus firewood made from high-quality offcuts from planing.

• Lärmschutz (noise protection)

  Noise-protection walls with an attractive appearance that blend visually into the landscape.

• InsideFume

  A protective and aftercare system for weathered timber components, applied by trained personnel with detailed consultation and documentation.

• Fürstenberg-System-Schwelle (FSS)

  A newer sleeper system described as environmentally friendly, forward-looking and durable.

1. 1Fürstenberg Holz – Startseitefuerstenberg-thp.de
2. 2Geschichte – Fürstenberg Holzfuerstenberg-thp.de
3. 3Wikidata Q136357218wikidata.org