treeme wood will be needed in future

The German forest is part of the cultural inheritance in Germany - the stuff of legends, myths and fairy tales. The picture that we as central Europeans have of the forests is deceptive. Woodland everywhere! Currently the amount of forest and woodland is increasing in Germany. However, every year an area of woodland as large as Greece (around 13 million hectares) disappears from the earth for ever. The damage done to the environment as a result is immense. Precisely now, when the national economies in Asia and South America are striving to move upwards and likewise have their own share of the cake, this poses the question" Where is the wood that these national economies going to come from?

Forestry is operated in a sustainable way in Germany and other neighbouring countries. This means that only as many trees are cut down as can be replaced by growing more wood to maintain the stocks. However, whole forests disappear unnoticed in places like Romania. Trees are simply stolen. The high value of the raw material is the driving force behind the illegal trade - and this even though the forests are designed as protected. Whoever invests sustainably in wood will in any case be one of the winners, because the rest of the world does not care what happens to the forests. However, there is no substitute for wood as a material. There is no replacement for its physical properties. Wood is simply indispensable In construction, in the furniture industry and also in many other applications - it is much too valuable to be burnt.

treeme is bringing a fast-growing tree to Europe in the shape of the paulownia. The treeme trees grow on short rotation plantations, which are fields lying fallow and which are used temporary to grow trees. Th ecological advantages are considerable: No fertilizer, no pesticides. Add to that, climate regulating properties. The moisture balance in the vicinity of the plantations is also harmonised. The special hybrids that treeme uses on the plantations in Brandenburg and Baden Württemberg, are characterised by extreme robustness and straight growth. And they grow quickly. By up to 4.5 metres in the first year! Assuming that they are cared for properly, the trees can be cut down for high-quality timber after just 10-12 years and sold on the ever voracious world market.

Top-quality paulownia wood is a good candidate to replace tropical woods such as rosewood, which is primarily used to make musical instruments. As a result of the Washington treaty on endangered species it will become impossible in future to make or sell an instrument made out of the threatened types of wood.

Here the onus of proof is on the manufacturers and dealers. The stability of shape (it is classified as a hardwood despite having a relatively soft surface), its low weight and many other factors make precisely the wood of the paulownia predestined to be used in a great many areas of application. Since the wood is relatively unknown in Europe, treeme has engaged itself for the dissemination and marketing of the wood in Europe - and with success. Products from treeme are A-grade (Clear & Clean) and take a qualitative top position in the relevant categories.

The growing of paulownia trees is also a benefit from ecological points of view. There are around 600 trees per hectare. The large leaves and rapid growth ensure that 36 tons of CO2 are bound into the wood of the tree. Around 59 tons of oxygen are given off into the atmosphere - a benefit for nature. In view of the diminishing areas of forest and the increasingly rare commodity of "wood" this is a good way to profit in the future from increasing prices for wood.