AUSTRIA -The Binderholz Group will shut down operations of the MDF Hallein plant at the end of March, 2014. 

The decision was taken due to the high prices of raw materials that could not be adequately applied on the market, because of a massive overcapacity. Furthermore, there is an increasing migration of the furniture and flooring industry from Western Europe to Eastern Europe and the Far East – which has caused major clients of MDF Hallein to disappear.

According to the Group, the timber materials industry suffers from an enormous overcapacity of 30 percent, a shortage of raw materials and extremely high wood prices. Countries such as Italy – a major market for MDF Hallein – have experienced a decline of 40 percent in the furniture industry since 2009 and the Group expects this trend to increase even further in future. “Being a very small player in the industry, MDF Hallein GmbH & Co KG was, in the end after years of struggling, no longer able to withstand these conditions and achieve prices that cover costs,” says Hans Binder, owner and managing director of the Binderholz Group. “So once again, the extreme pricing pressure has claimed a new victim in this sector.” MDF Hallein was founded by the Binderholz Group in 1999.