Infoday Veneer at 17.03.2013

every tree has his own face.

Edling – Why is the bog-oak called bog oak? Not why the huge tree is often found in the swamp, but because of its color. “She reminds because of her black and brown tones on the swamp, says Herbert Rothbucher.” He is the local expert of veneer. Already as a little boy he helped in his parents’ company in Berchtesgadener Land. The father was a veneer merchant and from gravel pits he harbored those bog oaks, which were in high demand for decades because of their great color. “It was hard work to pull out the logs, which were often under water for thousands of years and later under a thick layer of gravel, so they could not rot. My father was specialized in recovering the wonderful trees. To my knowledge nobody does that anymore today. The whole process is too time-consuming.” Therefore, bog oak is extinct as a wood species.

Veneering furnitures are an very old technique

The using of veneers to build furnitures are an very old technique. „Already 4000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians provided tables and cabinets with wood veneers,” says Rothbucher. In the 16th century the veneer had his breakthrough by the people in the city. “The veneer therefore has a millennia-old history and we continue that here in the region.”

Veneer, that is always real and unique, promises the head of the company, who runs the business together with his wife Karin. And the veneer is the most effective and therefore the most sustainable way of dealing with the very important raw material of wood. “We really get the most out of every log. Every tree is like a jewel to us, which we always treat as treasure. And such treasures can have customers as a unique example in their kitchen. Who wants to have the same kitchen as the neighbor? And yet many buy a white-painted plastic kitchen as in the hospital.” With veneer you always have something completely individual and unique. This is also ensured by the local carpenters, who work closely with Rothbucher.

“Incidentally, without the thinly sliced wood, everything would have to be massively built for centuries. There are probably no forests left today”,says the wood expert, who also pays close attention to sustainability in creating his products: “We look very carefully where our wood comes from.” For example, Rothbucher does not do business with Indonesian traders.
“There, the forest is simply stolen from people. Huge corporations tear the big trees out of the woods and use them. Large forest areas are being burned to create palm oil plantations for biofuel production. They destroy the livelihood of the people there.”