Students experience technology firsthand at Holzwerke Egger

On the 18th of June 2025, students in their fourth semester of the Business Management degree program (soon to be renamed Leadership & Business Management) visited wood-based materials manufacturer EGGER in St. Johann in Tirol, accompanied by lecturers Dipl.-Kfm. Karin Steiner, university lecturer in Business Management and Entrepreneurship, and Jennifer Koller. During the factory tour, the students were able to experience the modern manufacturing process up close.

The EGGER Group, headquartered in St. Johann in Tirol, is an internationally active family-owned company. It is one of the leading manufacturers of wood-based materials in Europe and employs over 11,000 people worldwide. EGGER offers complete solutions for furniture manufacturing, interior design, structural timber construction, and flooring. During the excursion, the students gained comprehensive insights into industrial manufacturing and innovation management at the production company.

FACTORY TOUR THROUGH THE PRODUCTION

First on the agenda was a guided tour of the highly automated production facility. Participants were given an insight into the entire manufacturing process – from the arrival of raw materials, including wood waste from sawmills and bulky waste, to the finished chipboard. At EGGER, the responsible use of resources is part of everyday life: almost all of the wood delivered is recycled, and the company also focuses on sustainability in the technologies it uses: fully electric forklifts and resource-saving procedures are already in use today.

A further focus of the tour was on the construction of the company's own biomass power plant. In future, wood dust from production will be thermally recycled and used to generate electricity. With this step, the company is further optimizing its sustainable production processes and moving a big step closer to its goal of operating the site independently of external energy sources.

TALK ON DECOR MANAGEMENT

Following the factory tour, Michaela Gimpl, responsible for decor management at EGGER, presented the strategic and design considerations behind the development of new decors. The students learned how trends in consumer behavior are identified at an early stage and translated into innovative surface solutions. Not only colors and patterns are specifically designed, but also haptic properties. Thanks to the continuous development of designs and surface structures, laminate flooring is now almost indistinguishable from real wood.

THEORY STRENGTHENED BY PRACTICE

The excursion offered students a valuable opportunity to experience theoretical knowledge from lectures on business processes, production, and trends in practice. The direct exchange with experts and the insights into state-of-the-art manufacturing impressively demonstrated how theory and practice interact in everyday industrial life. This not only deepened the students' understanding of business processes, but also made the importance of innovation and sustainability in a future-oriented production environment tangible.

Links:

• Leadership & Business Management | ft
• Woodworking EGGER | Website