The Future of Timber Construction
Interview with Rainer Auerbacher, Executive Board Sales | Service | Marketing of Hans Hundegger AG
While the construction industry is still discussing digitalization, it has long been a reality in Hawangen: Hans Hundegger AG controls entire halls with woodworking machines with the click of a mouse. As the global market leader, the Unterallgäu family business is defining the future of timber construction. Rainer Auerbacher, Executive Board Sales | Service | Marketing explains how a small mechanizer for sawmills became a global high-tech company.
What began in the 1970s as pioneering work by company founder Hans Hundegger is today high-tech at the highest level. The trained mechanical engineer and designer recognized early that carpentries were still working completely manually and developed the first automatic hewing machine. "Hewing means creating a roof truss," explains Rainer Auerbacher, a board member of Hans Hundegger AG since the beginning of the year. "Today, the customer draws the roof truss in 3D, enters the data, and a complete kit comes out at the end."
From Niche to Global Market
From this basic idea, a complete product range developed over the decades. In addition to the original hewing machines, cutting machines primarily for the Anglo-Saxon market were added, and since 1999, panel processing machines as well. "Hans Hundegger realized that walls could also be assembled from side material, essentially the sawmill waste wood," says Rainer Auerbacher. This led to the development of MHM walls, Hundegger's own licensing for cost-effective solid wood walls.
For the past eighteen months, the company has increasingly focused on panelization – the assembly of timber frame walls. This strategic expansion came just at the right time. "Hundegger is evolving from purely machining to also returning to joining," explains Rainer Auerbacher. "We want to enable complete timber elements for timber construction – from single-family homes to commercial projects."
Software as the Heart of Digitalization
Aside from mechanical engineering, another secret to success lies in the software. From the outset, Hundegger has relied on its own developed software and since 2012 on a uniform and fully integrated platform for all machines: the CAMBIUM® production platform. "We no longer have just one software for one machine, but a software for all machines," emphasizes Rainer Auerbacher. Particularly unusual: Hundegger hardly uses PLC controls, but rather Windows controls on normal PCs in real time – all self-developed. This integration enables seamless processes from the CAD program of the timber construction drafter through work preparation and CAM processing to the interface with the ERP system. "The Hundegger customer gets machinery technology and software without the need for further contacts from a single source," explains Rainer Auerbacher proudly. The company works with digital twins to simulate all machining operations in advance, and can access plants remotely from headquarters. "It is important to us to be seen as a complete provider," emphasizes Rainer Auerbacher. Hundegger offers machinery, tools, service, and software from a single source – a worry-free deployment scenario for customers. "The customer doesn't have to worry much about the CNC part and now also about the panelization." This comprehensive support distinguishes Hundegger from pure machinery manufacturers and creates long-term customer loyalty. With around 100 service employees just in the DACH region, the company ensures quick help with maintenance or downtimes.
Customers demand more automation
The biggest challenges for customers are the shortage of skilled workers and the desire for more automation. "There is an attempt to operate several systems via one expert," reports Rainer Auerbacher. Physical relief, connectivity, reporting, and interfaces to ERP systems are on the wish list. Hundegger's response: even more integration and automation. The theme of sustainability is also driving the industry. Energy efficiency of machines, optimization of offcuts for better use of wood, and shorter machine running times are important fields of development. "A machine today does things that used to require two machines," explains Rainer Auerbacher. As a family-owned company, Hundegger invests heavily in its employees. Attractive remuneration with employee participation, robust training, and an open corporate culture with flat hierarchies are intended to help counteract the shortage of skilled workers. "The doors are open, and we have a casual culture," describes Rainer Auerbacher the atmosphere.
Innovation Pipeline Remains Filled
The outlook is optimistic. "We are seeing that more and more constructions are being made with wood," says Rainer Auerbacher. Building classes 4 and 5, large residential complexes and project constructions that were previously unthinkable in wood, are gaining importance. With the status of being the world market leader, Hundegger plans further innovations. "We are, of course, also jumping on the prefabrication trend," explains Rainer Auerbacher. The topic of industrial prefabrication is gaining massive importance in the construction industry. Hundegger's advantage: The integrated data model is already in place. "We are just adding – in quotes – one machine to it and bundling our know-how differently, yet we are not moving into new territory," says Rainer Auerbacher. The just-started elementization is to be stabilized and expanded. "'Hundegger – Innovations for Timber Construction' is not just a brand claim," emphasizes Rainer Auerbacher. "As timber construction grows, we want to continue to be the first point of contact."