It sounds like a paradox but “going against the grain” is the cornerstone of this company. For six decades Ziegler has been all about wood – from trees to prefabricated houses. And with the increasing importance of wood as a sustainable commodity, the company’s future looks bright and more than anything green.

The global company operates one of Europe’s largest sawmills, cutting several million cubic metres of round timber a year. Indigenous woods, such as spruce and pine, have been processed into lumber since 1948. In 2019, the Group, which has been rated as one of “BAYERN’S BEST 50” by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, employed around 1,400 staff and produced revenue of EUR 330 million.

It is constant evolution that keeps Ziegler moving forward. As well as timber processing, the company now has activities along the entire value chain, for example in logistics, mechanical engineering, forestry management, decoration, and housing. BayernLB has been the leading financier of the Ziegler Group’s growth story since 2017 - including the company’s current investment in a pellet plant. A special feature of this transaction, or rather the increase and restructuring of the existing syndicated loan, is the inclusion of a dedicated KfW component in the syndication agreement. The main focus of the investment is to considerably reduce carbon emissions, open up new sales channels for scrap wood and cut heating costs. So all in all a sustainable enhancement of the core activity “wood”.