-1-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Germany’s forest sector
National benchmarks, regional clusters and therole of network initiatives
Dr. Uwe KiesWald-Zentrum, University of Münster, [email protected]
EFI Annual Conference 2010, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010
-2-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
The Forest Sector: a deep value-added chain
Outline
Forest sector concept
Findings from German case study
Forest cluster organization in the EU
-3-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
The Forest Sector: a wood-based cluster
Publishing,
printingPaper
manufacturing
Suppliers
NWFP,
ServicesPaper
production
Sawmilling
Panels
Energy
Packaging
Crafts
Furniture
Forestry
Construction
-An obvious concept ofa peculiar sector
- Forest-based industries
- Filière forêt-bois
- лесного комплекса (Forest complex)
- Metsäklusteri
- Cluster Wald und Holz
-4-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
The Forest Sector: a major force in employment
-Key figuresEmployees Europe Germany
(2005, EUROSTAT) (2008, BA)
Cluster total 5.4 million 857,200
Cluster, excl. publ. & printing: 3.6 million 550,300
Share of total economy (A-O) 3.3% 3.1%
Share of prod. industries (C-F) 15% 9.5%
Country/State variances 11-34% 4-12%
(DE, LV) (SAA, S-H)
-5-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Germany’s forest sector: National trends
-An unexpectedly large sector ... ... yet in disproportional decline
Cluster total: -412,400; -32%Wood industries: -65,000; -32%
2008
6th rank position amongproducing industries (NACE C-F)
-6-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Germany’s forest sector: Regional impact
Forest clustershare of
employeesin German
counties2008
-Regional forest sectors
-... can obtain leading positions in regional economies
-Up to 15-20% of total employees,large deviation from nationalaverage of 3%
-... ensure employment in rural environments
-Concentrations located inborder locations and weakly industrialized regions
-7-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Germany’s forest sector: Regional clusters
-Sawmilling, 1999-2008
-Large clusters in West Franken (BW) -> growing,Black Forest (BW), Sauerland (NW), Niederbayern (BY) -> declining
-Local concentrations in EastIsolated, but growingEmerged anew after 1990
-Cut-throat competitionLarge & growing locations vs.Small & declining in their vicinity-> on-going structural change
-8-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Germany’s forest sector: Regional clusters
-Wood-based panels, 1999-2008
-Outstanding cluster in NRW5,000 employees (30%) in7 neighbouring counties
-Declining locations in WestStrong losses in NRW and B-WExtinctions in Bavaria
-Growing locations in EastNew foundations Small local concentrations
-9-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Germany’s forest sector: Regional clusters
-Paper production, 1999-2008
-Major cluster in NRW5,500 employees (28%) inRhineland region
-Southern locations declineStrong losses in Bavaria
-On-going concentrationLarge & growing locations vs.Small & declining
-10-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Germany’s forest sector: Regional trends
-Western vs. Eastern Germany,small vs. large scale
-Smooth decline in Westin total: -8,300
-Structural shift in EastSmall + medium: -900 (-27%)Large: +1,600 (+178%)
-Locational factorslabor costs, land values, advantageous infrastructure,and:
-Questionable role of federal subsidies !
Sawmilling, 1999-2008
totals in bold, changes in italics
-11-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Forest cluster organization in the EU
-Networks and cluster initiatives
-EstablishedScandinaviaUKAustriaCzech RepublicSlovenia
-EmergingGermanyFranceEastern Europe
-EmbryonicBalkan
Kies 2010 (non representative survey)
-12-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Forest cluster organization in the EU
-Improving inter-industry communication viaknowledge exchange, networking, innovation
Building networks among industry, public authorities & research
Joint interest representation in politics (lobbying)
Initiation of legislative reforms
Public relations & marketing
Information systems, platforms
Education & qualification
Business development, spin-offs
Logistics, supply chain management
R&D for innovation
Wood mobilization !
A multitude of specific collaborative projects ...
-13-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Forest cluster organization in the EU
Selected established initiatives
www.forestryscotland.com ; www.holzcluster-steiermark.at ; www.cluster-forstholzbayern.de ; www.msdk.cz ; http://grozd.sloles.com/en ; www.zimit.de ; www.paperprovince.com
Moravian Silesian Wood Cluster
Slovenian Wood Industry ClusterGerman furniture cluster
-14-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
The Forest Cluster: Conclusions (1)
-An “unknown, sleeping giant” ?
Rooted in the regions, the sector is a vital source for value added and
employment in local SMEs, not only in rural areas. Its major contribution to
macro- and regional economics is largely underestimated even in the
sector itself, and hence not fully recognized in economic policy.
Its basis are an abundant natural resource (forest), a primary material with
excellent properties (wood) and multiple advanced and environmentally
sound end uses: these represent decisive strengths and untapped
opportunities for regional sustainable development.
However, the fragmented, poorly organized sector needs
to join its forces, bridge the gaps between forestry and
wood processing and advocate its case with one voice.
Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010
-15-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
The Forest Cluster: Conclusions (2)
-Structural change and its impacts
But: The massive structural change will continue to have wide ranging
effects on timber production, markets, prices and hence overall
regional availability, putting regional procurement security at stake.
Enlargement and relocation of single processing capacities has seldom
been a success story from a regional economics perspective. After all,
increased wood mobilization does not necessarily entail
growth in wood industry employment.
The dynamics of regional clusters, (co-)agglomerating
branches and underlying formation factors need
to be well understood and should be the starting point
for intelligent cluster development policies.
Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010
-16-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
The Forest Cluster: Conclusions (3)
-Lessons learnt from networks and cluster initiatives ?
Networks and clusters can stimulate innovative business potentials and
stabilise negative employment trends in the wood industry, yet their
capacity to ensure long term growth still needs to be demonstrated .
The majority were initiated with considerable governmental funding,
yet during their consolidation few managed to become self-supporting
based on membership fees and fund raising.
Their major opportunities, but also major challenges lie in their
proper definition of their role as a facilitator and promoter
of joint collaboration and the need to offer competitive
support services to their members.
Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010
-17-Uwe Kies, Dresden, Sep 16, 2010Wald-Zentrum
Thank you for your kind attention !
www.wald-zentrum.de/[email protected]
www.in2wood.eu
-Kies U., Klein D., Schulte A., 2010. Germany’s forest cluster: exploratory spatial data analysis of regional agglomerations and structural change in wood-based employment. Primary wood processing. Forstarchiv 81(6), 236-245. www.forstarchiv.de