Hot goods: Customers overrun firewood dealers and stove builders
Created: 07/25/2022, 15:49
By: Josef Ametsbichler
Highly coveted heating material: firewood is increasing in price massively – if it can be obtained at all.
© Symbolic photo: Christin Klose/dpa
Customer concerns about winter means an unprecedented rush to stove builders and firewood dealers in the Ebersberg district.
District
– In the middle of the summer heat, people in the district of Ebersberg think about freezing.
Hardware stores sell emergency power generators and fan heaters, suppliers of heat pumps, wood chip and pellet heating systems can hardly save themselves from inquiries.
And a very traditional form of heating is experiencing unprecedented demand: logs.
Stove manufacturer in Glonn reports a tenfold increase in demand
Alois Otte recently counted 129 calls in one day in his Glonner store.
Not even counting those who failed because of the busy signal.
"We can't even call everyone back," says the head of "Glonntaler Ofenbau", which sells and assembles fireplaces, tiled stoves and related systems.
“Demand has increased tenfold,” he says.
"That's not an exaggeration."
Customers are currently snatching his product range out of his hands: Alois Otte (60) runs a stove business in Glonn – customers with gas or oil heating in particular are currently looking for alternatives.
© SRO EBERSBERG
In trend: wood-burning stoves - "People are very insecure."
Above all, the rush is for the stoves, which can be installed quickly, he reports.
The interested parties: Customers who heat their house with oil and above all gas and don't want to rely on it getting through the winter.
"These people are very insecure," observes Otte.
It started around the time the war began in Ukraine and was intensified by the news about possible raw material sanctions and delivery boycotts.
"Because of the political situation, people are afraid of freezing in winter," says the stove builder.
"There is little trust in the government."
You can find more current news from the district of Ebersberg at Merkur.de/Ebersberg.
While the boss works 60 to 70 hour weeks in sales and accounting, Otte's three fitters install what happens with ovens.
"Most manufacturers are already next year," he says.
But if you don't take it so seriously with color and model, you can still get something at the moment - although many suppliers have already increased their prices three or four times this year.
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Without firewood, the stove is useless: suppliers are overrun, prices skyrocket
Even the most beautiful stove cannot keep you warm without firewood.
The timber industry is also experiencing price jumps similar to those seen in oil and gas.
Customers now have to pay around 180 euros for a ster (square meter) of beech wood – if such a thing can be obtained at all.
This is reported by Hannes Obermaier from Nettelkofen near Grafing.
He now sells beech, oak and ash mixed as hardwood.
"Unfortunately, it's not cheaper either." Rising prices for fossil fuels and fear of shortages are making wood an attractive option for fuel for many consumers.
Hannes Obermaier (58) firewood dealer © Stefan Roßmann
Enough wood, but not enough dry wood
The forester and timber trader Obermaier says: "There is already enough wood, but not enough dry goods." Actually, wood should be felled and processed in winter so that it can dry in peace over the summer.
He is now starting to let wood dry in a biogas plant in order to be able to cope with the demand.
For a good eight weeks, the phone has been ringing non-stop in Nettelkofen – the customers are coming from far and wide.
The main season is actually late summer and autumn.
"Now they'll have us by the necktie in July," teases the timber worker.
He still tries to serve his regular customers, but has to put some of them off until October.
Professional with quality tip: How to recognize well-dried firewood
The purchase quantities are increasing, and customers are no longer choosy.
Some people who wringed their hands when putting away a piece of wood now order five.
Obermaier is convinced that firewood is still a good option in terms of value for money, provided the quality is right.
He also has a tip for laypeople to assess whether the wood is thoroughly dry: Blow some washing-up liquid onto one end of the log and into it at the other end.
If foamy bubbles form, the permeability and thus the degree of drying are correct.
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