wood

Overview

The wood sector of Southeast Estonia is characterised by a masterful combination of high-quality local raw materials, long traditions of wood processing, smart technology and innovative design.

Estonians have a strong connection with nature and the forest. 51% of the country’s surface area is covered with forest. Forests play an important role in our cultural history – Estonians
consider themselves forest people and the forest is sacred to us. We go to the forest for berry-picking and mushrooming, but also to clear our thoughts and draw strength from it.

It is the people of Southeast Estonia who have made the forest their eternal source of livelihood. Due to the specifics of production, the wood sector can be divided into the production of modular and element houses, timber frame houses, machine-made and handcrafted log houses and garden houses. It is no wonder that small Estonia is the world’s leading exporter of wooden houses, even ahead of Finland and Sweden. For many years now, hundreds and thousands of wooden houses, built from the quality wood that comes from the forests of Southeast Estonia, with the craftsmanship of the local skilled workers and the inspiration of designers and architects, have been sold and have travelled all the way to Norway, Germany, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Japan, India, South Korea, the USA and elsewhere.

The wood sector of Southeast Estonia gains its competitive edge and distinctiveness from the high-quality wood and the Nordic feel of it. Baltic Birch, a type of birch plywood, which is also recognised in America as the best in its field, is made from the local birch wood. The plywood is produced here in Otepää, but the wood is sourced from forests within a radius of up to 70 km.

Thanks to long-term experience, where fathers have passed on the passion and skills of wood handling to their sons from generation to generation, the human resources here are the best possible in terms of competence. The locals are truly knowledgeable about wood as well as skilled at handling it – in a manner that is wise and masterfully combined with modern technologies and craftsmanship.

The entire country, but most certainly the wood sector in Southeast Estonia, is characterised by a flexible production process. Compared to Scandinavian competitors, this allows us to take better account of customers’ special requests and adapt to the seasonality of orders, as well as increase the speed of delivery. These are the essential aspects that the Estonians have benefited from, fascinating their customers from all over the world.

It is important to note that in Southeast Estonia, the wood used in production is made use of up to the very last remaining bit. This is part of the sustainable mindset. For example, logging and processing residues are already widely used in the bioeconomy,
pharmaceuticals and health products.

Of course, it is always possible to find even newer and more exciting solutions for innovative use of biomass, which also requires new visionary companies and investments.