55 Years of SWISS KRONO AG

This year we celebrate 55 years of SWISS KRONO!

It was back in 1966 that Ernst Kaindl († 2017) founded the company as ‘AG für Holzindustrie’ in idyllic Menznau in the Lucerne hinterland. At that time, no one could have imagined that this commercial site would develop into an internationally important group of companies for wood-based materials within half a century. The Swiss site is the parent plant of the SWISS KRONO Group, whose products are exported to over 90 countries.

MADE IN SWITZERLAND: Whether it’s ecological wood materials for interior fittings, furniture and shopfitting, or high-quality laminate flooring, the products manufactured in Switzerland by SWISS KRONO AG can be found in use around the globe.

2021 will see us celebrate the 55th anniversary of our company. We would therefore like to invite you into our archives once a month to show you exactly what has changed for our company in over half a century of existence.

Office building

What began as a typical 1960s office building with a janitor's apartment is now a fully glazed competence center and has a facade that produces environmentally friendly electricity.

Sustainable forestry

We are proud proponents of sustainable forestry – and always have been. This is why our value chain has always started in Swiss forests for the past 55 years. This is the birthplace of the renewable raw material from which all our products are made: Swiss wood.

Decor Collection

From the trendy colour play of the 80s to the elegant and diverse collection of today. Just as our sense of style changes, our decor selection is also constantly changing – always inspired by the latest global design trends. This evolution is reflected by the differences between the former "COLLECTION 3000" and today's "ONE WORLD COLLECTION".

Transport

SWISS KRONO AG pursues a sustainable transport strategy. That is why we transport several thousand tonnes of Swiss timber by rail to our plant in Menznau every year – thereby saving up to 75% of energy compared to transport by road, depending on the transport volume and distance.

Trade Show

Then as now, we rely on Swiss Wood and our wood-based materials for trade fair construction. Especially SWISSBAU has always been a must for us – so we hope next edition in 2022 will be a regular event again and we are already looking forward to exciting trade show days in Basel.

Showcar

We have been on the roads with our showcar for many years - including tours to Portugal, Greece and all of Eastern Europe. The truck is now in its fourth generation and has been safely driven by our showcar driver Pius Habermacher for almost 15 years. We are already looking forward to continuing the tour after the pandemic - then also to you!

Production

1,700 m3 of "Swiss Made" particle board per day - That's about ten times the production volume of our early days. And since 2018, we have been producing our entire range of particle boards in various material thicknesses and with different properties around the clock on one of the world's most modern and energy-efficient facilities.

Advertising

In 55 years, we have experienced many trends – these are also reflected in the way we address our target groups. We have always tried to capture the current zeitgeist in our messages without losing our uniqueness. And thanks to digital channels, we provide even more targeted information today.

Our factory

With the importance gained over the last 55 years as a regional employer and the only remaining manufacturer of Swiss wood-based materials, our factory premises have also been steadily expanded. Today, we export from here to over 90 countries. Indispensable from the very beginning: the railway connection.

Dryer drum

Already in its fourth generation, our gigantic 29-metre-long, 6-metre-wide and 300-tonne dryer drum dries wood chips at our plant. A whole 52 tons of them pass through it every hour before they are turned into quality wood materials on our chipboard line.

Kitchens

Nowadays, the kitchen is the heart of daily life at home. This is why we are proud to have been supplying the kitchen industry with our quality wood materials for 55 years. Every second kitchen in Switzerland is now made with SWISS KRONO products. That's high praise!

Laminate flooring

Throughout the previous decades, our flooring collections have undergone constant change – design and visual language have adapted to the current zeitgeist, while the selection has become increasingly diverse. But the basis of our quality floors has remained the same all these years: Swiss wood!

Story 1/4 - Logging

Where our value creation begins, our anniversary video series does too - with the logging.

A lot has changed here in the last 55 years, from laborious and dangerous manual work to automated processes, from horse-drawn carts to trucks and cable cranes. But what counts for us has remained the same - Swiss wood from Swiss forests!

Story 2/4 - Transport

Our Swiss wood goes on a journey – part 2 of our anniversary video series.

What started 55 years ago with horse and cart, we continue today with state-of-the-art trucks and emission-free GigaWood wagons. In this way, we transport several thousand tons of Swiss wood every year – as sustainably and flexibly as possible – to our plant in Menznau.

Story 3/4 - Production

Where Swiss wood becomes quality wood-based materials – part 3 of our anniversary video series.

After 55 years, we now produce around the clock many times the initial volume of quality products "Made in Switzerland". All thanks to ongoing expansion and investment in the most modern and energy-efficient production facilities in the world – right in the heart of Switzerland.

Story 4/4 - To the end product

From wood-based material to the end product – part 4 of our anniversary video series.

For 55 years, our decorative wood-based materials have been used for the entire range of interior construction. Which means that the wood from our Swiss forests can be found in the everyday lives of countless people today – certainly yours too! Every single end product made from SWISS KRONO wood-based materials enriches our lives – and the «SWISS MADE» trustmark guarantees quality products from Swiss production.