The wood industry in Slovenia is diverse and has a wide range of sectors. According to Eurostat, Slovenia ranks third or fourth as one of the most forested countries in Europe. Slovenia is 60% covered by forests, which is 20% more than the European average.
Three committees of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia (the Committee for Agriculture, Forestry, and Food, the Committee for Environment and Spatial Planning, and the Committee for the Economy) already made proposals to the government in May 2010 regarding forest management. They aimed to create regulations and measures that would support the consolidation of forest areas into larger forest estates and the formation of organizations for joint forest management.
In other words, Slovenia is covered by forests on six-tenths of its surface. The wood industry in Slovenia and abroad is one of the main employers: in Austria, Finland, Portugal, and Sweden, it is among the three most important industrial sectors. The industry provides jobs for 3 million employees across all 27 EU member states.
The Wood Industry in Slovenia and the EU: What Do the Numbers Show and What Do Experts Say?
The most important areas are sawmilling, mechanical and chemical wood processing, production of wooden formwork, veneers, panels, and everything from construction products to joinery, pallets, packaging, and interior furniture.
For insight, let’s look at the wood industry sectors in the EU: the most important is furniture, which accounts for 48%, followed by construction elements at 19.7%, sawmilling, mechanical processing, and impregnation at 14%, followed by wooden formwork (9.4%) and packaging (4%).
Professor Dr. Roko Žarnić already pointed out in 2010 in the foreword to the work Wood in Modern Slovenian Architecture that wood is a nationally strategic raw material, and its consumption is insufficient, as the wood industry in Slovenia is lagging in wood processing and needs restructuring to remain competitive on the global market. As a professor, he also noticed that education in secondary, higher education, and university programs can contribute to the consumption and promotion of products made from domestic wood.
Back then, the committees also proposed that the government examine the possibility of establishing an agency for the forest-wood sector. The agency would deal with issues such as forest cultivation, optimal use of growth for wood, furniture, paper industry, semi-finished products, and construction elements. Centers for wood processing, where production, processing, and sales of products would be integrated, were also suggested, along with a focus on the energy use of wood processing residues and discarded wood products.
What Has Changed in the Wood Industry Almost 10 Years Later?
The tendency is still strong that the wood industry in Slovenia can lead in the market if it works together. With this in mind, a project for joint international promotion of woodworking was developed, and the ministry provided the following opinion:
“The Slovenian market is small, so our companies must focus on foreign markets. We have tradition, quality, and expertise, and with the support of the Directorate for Woodworking, companies are gaining knowledge for international market entry. The interest is high. Those woodworking companies that do not participate in group exhibition appearances can acquire funds for co-financing individual participation.”
At the 1st Slovenian Woodworking Day, which took place under the title Wood – Our Green Future on November 11, 2020, in Ljubljana, Zdravko Počivalšek, the Minister for Economic Development and Technology, said:
“The development potential and importance of the wood industry is exceptional, both in terms of positive environmental and economic impacts, ensuring greater self-sufficiency, and its broader societal importance.” He added that in recent years, the wood industry, together with furniture production, has been experiencing positive trends: “From 2010 to 2019, the number of companies increased by 14%, sales revenue grew by 35%, and added value per employee increased by 73%.”
The Wood Industry in Slovenia: What Does the Directorate for Woodworking Say About Its Future?
Danilo Anton Ranc, the Director-General of the Directorate for Woodworking, pointed out that it is important to recognize wood as a material for industrial processing, not as an energy source, and that wood processing must take place where it is produced – in Slovenia. His goal is to increase the amount of domestically processed wood to 3 million cubic meters annually by 2030, increase sales revenue in the wood industry to 2.5 billion euros annually, and raise employment in the sector to at least 15,000.
What Do We Think at Bauti?
We are happy that the wood industry in Slovenia is a topic of serious discussions, on which goals and strategies are being formed. All we can say is that we remain positively inclined, with a vigilant eye on the current situation, hoping that words will turn into actions.
