This year, after quite a long break due to the COVID pandemic, the three-day field trip to Bamberg took place again. It was conducted by the chair of sustainable business economics (SBE). The trip was all about wood processing from harvest to recycling and from the production of wood-based panels up until the pulp and paper production.
The field trip started with visiting “Pfleiderer” in Neumarkt, the leading producer of wood-based panels in Europe. “Pfleiderer” produces chipboards and fibreboards as well as laminates and HPL. Students gained exclusive insights in the production steps and as well as the timber treatment.
Afterwards the trip continued to “Die Grünen Engel” in Nürnberg, a recycling company closely working together with “Pfleiderer”. From recycling old wooden railway sleepers to furniture, demolition waste and slag from waste incarnation, there is almost nothing that “Die Grünen Engel” cannot recycle. The Participants got to see all the machinery necessary for the recycling steps and how much work proper recycling can be.
The second day started with a guided tour through the beautiful city of Bamberg. The Students could explore the UNESCO world heritage and learn a lot about the city’s history. Of course, visiting the “Schlenkerla” a famous smoked beer brewery was a must have on the list.
Right after the tour, the next stop on the list was “Mercer Rosenthal” in Blankenstein a pulp producing company. The students got to learn how pulp is produced and how many steps are necessary get to the final product.
Day three, the last day of the field trip started with visiting “Haas Fertigbau” in Falkenberg, a company producing prefabricated wooden houses. After the tour through the company’s production halls, we were invited to have lunch at the company’s own restaurant!
Last stop of the trip was “UPM” in Plattling a paper producer. They produce different types of magazine paper as well as fresh pulp and they even recycle old paper products to reuse them as raw material for the paper production. The tour started with a short key note about the company’s history and what they produce, afterwards we got an exclusive tour through the production halls.