Wiehag prepares sixth generation to lead timber high-rise business

Wiehag, an Austrian timber construction company, is preparing a generational handover as it builds its business in timber high-rises. The family firm’s history and plans were reported by ORF.

Valentin Wiesner, 30, has joined the management team and will gradually take over from his father, Erich Wiesner, the company’s owner and managing director. The handover will make him the sixth generation of the family to lead the business.

Wiehag has grown from a carpentry workshop in the Innviertel into a high-tech company with 400 employees. It plans projects in Altheim and prefabricates building components there as kits, which are assembled at the construction site. The timber used comes from within a maximum radius of 300 kilometres.

The company is currently planning a 70-metre-tall building made entirely of wood for the Dutch government’s property agency. Erich Wiesner said the company saw strong potential for timber high-rises in international markets.

Valentin Wiesner said climate protection and decarbonisation would remain important to him and his generation. The report said 35 million euros are currently invested in the Altheim family business.