Our Kathal and Zeltweg locations

Tradition meets innovation

Two locations – one strong system

Johann Pabst Holzindustrie operates two central locations in Styria. The historic main plant with log sorting, sawmill and planing mills is located in Kathal near Obdach, where around 400,000 cubic meters of spruce logs are processed every year. The company headquarters with two glulam plants, joinery centers and pellet and alpine chip production are located in Zeltweg. Together, the two sites form a high-performance basis for high-quality solid wood products and modern timber construction projects.

Location Kathal
Location Zeltweg

Location Kathal

The cradle of the Johann Pabst Holzindustrie: the historic heart of the company beats in Kathal near Obdach. Since the purchase of a disused sawmill in 1940 by the founder Johann Pabst, this location has served as the main plant. Today, Kathal is home to the log sorting department, the high-performance sawmill and two modern planing mills. Here, the fine-grained spruce wood from the surrounding mountain forests is processed into high-quality sawn timber, which forms the basis for all other solid wood products.

Future-oriented technology

Modern sawmill in Kathal

The sawmill was extensively modernised with an investment of around 40 million euros. The new technology supports precise cutting and is geared towards the long-term development of the site.

Kathal site in figures

Kathal is the historical origin and today a modern production site. The key figures show the processing capacity, investments and technical equipment of the main site.

Founding year

1940

Annual harvest

approx. 400,000 fm

Plant area

21.3 hectares

Production of planed products annually

approx. 100.000 m³

Location Zeltweg

The wood centre for innovation and finishing: The Zeltweg site in the wood innovation centre, which was opened in 2003, is the administrative control centre of Johann Pabst Holzindustrie. Production specialises in the further processing of wood products. The two plants produce glulam, wood pellets from sawdust and the wood shavings bedding AlpenSpan. CNC joinery systems manufacture precisely fitting, ready-to-build elements according to the respective planning data.

Zeltweg location in figures

Zeltweg is characterised by continuous investment in production and energy technology. At the site, by-products are processed into pellets and glulam is produced for customers in European markets. Production capacity, export countries and energy generation are presented on the basis of current key figures.

Location development

2003

Annual GLT production

approx. 100.000 m³

Plant area

40.7 hectares

Total solar power capacity

3.5 MWp

Kathal and Zeltweg sites at a glance

Johann Pabst Holzindustrie operates from two highly specialized locations in the Mur Valley. While the main plant in Kathal is the center of primary wood processing, Zeltweg concentrates on technological refinement and administration. Together they form an efficient unit for modern timber construction.

Kathal is the historic parent plant and the heart of raw timber processing. This is where the round timber sorting plant, the sawmill with a cutting capacity of around 400,000 cubic meters and two planing mills are located. Pabst is currently investing €40 million in the complete modernisation of this site.

Zeltweg has been the company headquarters since 2003. Around 100,000 m³ of glulam are produced here every year and bound using CNC technology. The production facilities for pellets (120,000 tons) and AlpenSpan horse bedding are also located here.

The sites complement each other: Kathal supplies dried sawn timber as the basis for further processing in Zeltweg. Sawdust from the Kathal sawmill serves as raw material for pellet production in Zeltweg.