Stall im Molltal, Carpathia
United States of America
NORITEC Holzindustrie GmbH is a subsidiary of the HASSLACHER Group, one of Europe's leading timber groups. Stall im Mölltal is one of several facilities that produce Cross Laminated Timber in the HASSLACHER Group. The facility produces approximately 70 000 m3 of finished CLT products per year.
CLT is a recent innovation in the timber industry. It was first developed in Austria. CLT is a wood panel product made from gluing together layers of solid-sawn lumber. Each layer of boards is usually oriented perpendicular to adjacent layers. By gluing layers of wood at right angles, the panel can achieve better structural rigidity in both directions. Because of CLT's structural properties, and its ability to be prefabricated and low weight, CLT can be used in mid-rise and high-rise buildings, often as a replacement for concrete elements with similar durability. Further advantages are the very good insulation properties and the high mechanical performance together with a low density.
NORITEC uses 100 % FSC or PEFC timber. Timber products from sustainable forestry can be considered renewable. NORITEC has a valid Environmental Product Declaration for CLT. Environmental Production Declarations (EPDs) provide a basis for informed decision-making about the environmental attributes of products. The EPD shows that each cubic meter (m3) of CLT board stores 585 kg of CO2 that the tree absorbed from the atmosphere during its growth period. All emissions from the harvesting of the timber, transport to the production facility, and through to the production and packaging of the products were accounted for in accordance with the Puro methodology.
The baseline scenario for commercial buildings is the use of reinforced concrete elements which have a heavy CO2 footprint. Under the activity penetration threshold of 5%, all load-bearing engineered wooden elements of this type are considered to be additional. The Puro methodology for bio-based construction guarantees a minimum 50-year duration of CO2 removal and storage.