Holzindustrie Schweighofer continues its open doors policy: MEP Thomas Waitz visits sawmill in Romania

• Transparent communication as one of the company’s main principles
• MEP Waitz (Greens) commended Holzindustrie Schweighofer’s action plan for a sustainable timber industry as frontrunner for the entire industry in Romania

At the beginning of 2017, Holzindustrie Schweighofer implemented a state of the art action plan to fight illegal logging in Romania and to support a sustainable timber industry. Overall, the company invested €1 million in strengthening the security of its supply chain. A major pillar of this action plan is the company’s Timflow-system, a unique GPS-tracking system that monitors the transport routes of saw log trucks from loading point to saw mill gate. Overall, these measures by far exceed the requirements of the Romanian laws and regulations.

MEP Waitz impressed by achieved supply chain transparency
MEP Thomas Waitz (Greens) visited the Holzindustrie Schweighofer sawmill in Sebes, Romania on 24 May 2018, where he was introduced to the company’s supply control measures. He was particularly impressed by the GPS system Timflow: "Even though possible monitoring gaps regarding deliveries from log depots remain, this project is a frontrunner in determining the origin of wood deliveries and ensuring that no supplies come from protected areas. The development and implementation of this security architecture serves as a positive example for the entire Romanian wood industry".

Michael Proschek-Hauptmann, responsible for compliance and sustainability at Holzindustrie Schweighofer: "For us, sustainable forestry means continuously optimizing our security architecture to protect the forests. The input of NGOs, business partners and other stakeholders was and is very important to us. Concerning deliveries from log yards, we are already carrying out comprehensive, annual on-site inspections of our suppliers. In addition, we are also working intensively on making the physical wood flows within the log yards transparent, thus supplementing the strict legal requirements and our existing control system. We are pleased that our continued efforts are being acknowledged.”

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