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Schweighofer Prize 2003 - Main Prize
Supporting Prize Category Timber Products, Wood Utilisation, Forest Products Marketing
Supporting Prize Category Wood Technology
Supporting Prize Category Forestry
Schweighofer Prize 2003 - Main Prize
Development of fully-automated joinery machines
In former times the connection between wooden beams was only made possible by labour- intensive manual work, where the constructors had to cope with inaccuracy. Due to this fact sheet metal joints have been developed, which served well but weren't satisfying for every purpose.
The Main Prize Winner, Hans Hundegger, invented and developed further fully automated, high performance CNC joinery machines and matching software. These joinery machines enable easy design and construction of completely individual solid-wood-connections. Marking, processing and labelling are carried out automatically and make simple beams to constructive elements. Additionally Hans Hundegger has developed several other machines, like planers or panel cutters.
Hans Hundegger sets high standards to his machines and puts emphasis on constant improvement. The main goals are still the same - easy handling and perfect performance even under difficult conditions. The success is undeniable - 1700 machines have been sold worldwide and he is world market leader for joinery machines. Besides his outstanding performance and career, Hr. Hundegger also shows a very social philosophy - he will donate parts of the prize amount of 150.000.- EURO to charity organisations. Additionally he will invest a part of the money for further research and development of some new and innovative ideas in the field of wood construction. Mr. Hundegger is a worthy winner of the first Main Prize 2003.
The Main Prize Winner Hans Hundegger
Hans Hundegger, born 1954 in Germany, started 1972 his career with an apprenticeship as technical drawer at the Otto Martin company, where he continued working as design engineer. In addition he completed his training as mechanical engineer.
1979 he founded his own company, the Hans Hundegger Mechanical Engineering Company in Hawangen, Germany, which at present employs a staff of 145 people.
The company has branch offices and partner companies in Switzerland, France, Finland, Italy, USA and Japan.
Contact: info@hundegger.de / www.hundegger.de
Supporting Prize
Category Timber Products, Wood Utilisation, Forest Products Marketing
Due to the outstanding quality and quantity of submitted works in this category, the prize has been divided between 2 entries.
1) A new biological wood based panel made of saw dust and wood flour.
At least 200 million cubic meters of saw dust and wood flour are produced every year while wood processing. Due to their insufficient fibre quality, those materials are normally used as fuel by the wood working industry - so far.
The inventor Christoph Affentranger, supported by his investor Otto Hofstetter, both from Switzerland, had the idea of producing a wood based material made of the already mentioned side products by using a very old technology, which is similar to bread baking. Saw dust and wood flour are mixed up with biological additives, micro-organisms and yeast. Using a biotechnological method this mixture gets fermented to a kind of wood paste, which will be dried afterwards. The material even looks like dried bread, is very porous and stiff. In relation to its low density and weight, the panel has good strength properties. It can be processed like solid wood, e.g. sawing, drilling, sanding, gluing or shaping. As the material is free of glue or other non-biological substances it is biodegradable. The material is called SLP or iwood-panel.
The winners are heading towards a first industrial production plant in 2005.
This wood based material is completely new and very innovative, furthermore it contributes to an increased added value within the wood working industry under sustainable conditions. Therefore it is worth to be awarded with the Schweighofer Prize.
The winners Christoph Affentranger and Otto Hofstetter
Christoph Affentranger was born in 1965 and studied architecture at the ETH in Zurich. Until 2001 he worked as an independent architect and journalist.
Otto Hofstetter, born 1953, is businessman with special experience in investment, he also founded several companies, for instant Rotex Helicopter AG.
In 2001 Christoph Affentranger and Otto Hofstetter founded together the innovation wood company (iwood), its head quarter is located in Baar, Switzerland.
Contact: info@iwood.ch / www.iwood.ch
2) Innovative, material-efficient, prefabricated wall-and roof system - CELLTEC
Prefabricated wood elements for dwelling houses have become quite common and can be found on the market in various designs. In contrast to industrial buildings with large spans where especially the market for secondary roof elements is still dominated by steel constructions, in first line due to their low costs and lean designs.
Michael Stache from Germany took the challenge to develop a new wall- and roof system in order to enter a new market segment of industrial buildings. He received the second prize in this category for his development of a material-efficient, prefabricated wall- and roof system. The so-called CELLTEC-element is made of oriented strand boards (OSB) and thin particle boards. Its honeycomb structure imitates the structure of a hardwood vessel in order to reach all natural advantages of wood like light weight, high strength, easy processing and excellent insulation properties. This special design realises lean and twist-free wood constructions. Later on it should also be used for dwelling houses.
CELLTEC provides the wood industry with a new market for wall and roof elements for large spans like industrial constructions. This is a vital step to increase the use of wood in Europe, therefore it is awarded with the Schweighofer Prize.
The winner Michael Stache
Michael Stache, born 1967 in Germany, made an apprenticeship as joiner and studied at the University of Applied Sciences in Rosenheim (Wood Technology).
Since 1995 he is head of the R&D department of the Austrian Wiesner- Hager Baugruppe Holding GmbH in Altheim (Upper Austria).
Since 2001 he is holding lessons at the University of Arts and Industrial Design in Linz (Upper Austria).
Contact: m.stache@wiehag.com / www.wiehag.com
Supporting Prize Category Wood Technology
New technology for fire retardant treatment of wood
Fire regulations are one of the biggest obstacles for the increased use of wood in multi-storey buildings.Up to now wood has been treated with fire retardant salts, which had several disadvantages. They were hygroscopic and water soluble, therefore not usable under humid or even weathered conditions. Additionally the chemicals were toxic and treated wood had to be disposed like hazardous waste.
The Norwegian Lars Grotta developed a both new method for impregnation and an innovative combination of chemicals in order to fix the fire retardant substance to the wood. The special mixture between salts and monomers allows a liquid impregnation using a newly developed vacuum-pressure-method. This process is even usable for spruce wood, which is hardly impregnable due to its special wood anatomy. After the impregnation process the treated wood is kiln-dried. While the drying process the substance is fixed to the wood.This innovative method enables the production of wood that meets the demands of the concerning European standards (Euroclass B). It is non-corrosive, the impregnation is waterproof and the treated wood is biologically safe.
Because of this development the use of wood can be increased sustainably both inside and outside of multi-storey buildings (e.g. claddings) or even off-shore. Lars Grotta has met the conditions of the Schweighofer prize to the highest extent.
The winner Lars Grotta
Lars Grotta was born in Norway in 1969. From 1990 to 1995 he studied at the Norwegian Agricultural University (Forestry and Wood Technolgy).
Since 1995 he was responsible for R&D at the Moelven Fire Guard AS company, a shortage ago he changed within the group to Moelven Mjøsbruket AS where he is working as sales manager.
Contact: lars.grotta@moelven.com / www.moelven.com
Supporting Prize Category Forestry
Establishment of a research fund in favour of the
Ukrainian State University of Forestry and Wood Technology in Lviv
Due to the fact that only a few applications were received in the Category Forestry, which did not provide the same quality and standard compared to the other categories, the jury took the decision of not awarding the prize this year.
The prize amount of 50.000,- EURO was used according to the conditions of the Schweighofer Prize. Both Mr. Gerald Schweighofer and the jury decided to establish a fund in order to support a research institution which is not sufficiently equipped to carry out high quality research work.
The support of research and economy in Eastern European countries is one of Mr. Schweighofer's favourite goals, therefore the Ukrainian State University for Forestry and Wood Technology in Lviv was selected to be the beneficiary of the fund.
It was founded in 1874 in Lviv, where it was established as an Institute of Forestry. After 1945 it was re-organised as a Forestry College with already several institutes. Since 1993 the University is leading its present designation and is divided on four faculties. One of those is the Faculty of Forestry which contains seven departments and employs 13 professors, 34 associated professors and 15 research assistants.
The fund will help financing projects and equipment for young researchers in order to provide them the possibility to reach a European standard in research and development.
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Winners
2003