“JAF Group: Leading the Wood Industry with Diversification and Internationalization”

ARTICLE CONTENT

FACTS:

trend TOP 500 Ranking: 110

• Founded: 1984/2021
• Headquarters: 2000 Stockerau, Gerbergasse 2
• Employees: 3.051
• Activities: Wholesale and processing of wood and wood products
• Turnover (2021):1 Mrd. €
• Owner:The company is directly or indirectly owned by the JAF private foundation of the founding family, thefrischis. Ownership structure: JAF Kapitalbeteiligungs GmbH 60%; FunderMax GmbH 40%
• Board of directors: Wilfrid Fabjani, Werner Stix
• Supervisory Board (SB): Johann Lehner (Chairman of the Supervisory Board), Erlfried Taurer (Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board), Günter Cerha, Lukas Flener
• Website: JAF Group; frischeis.at

Company history JAF Group

In 1948 founded the Married couple Josef and Antonia Freshness her company in Stockerau, Lower Austria J. and A. Fresh Ice for the sale of wood and wood products. The company grew rapidly. As late as the 1950s, several small “handicraft shops” were opened in the vicinity of the headquarters. Expansion within Austria followed in 1959 with new branches in Linz and Bad Hof Gastein.

In 1964,frischis took over the Viennese Veneer dealer Holverwhich was novel at the time plywood manufactured: 0.5 to 8 mm thick wooden sheets, which are obtained by peeling round wood and are subsequently used, for example by gluing them to cheaper wood such as chipboard.

The company continued to expand until the 1990s with branches in Villach, Salzburg-Bergheim, Graz and Brixlegg. The company was thus represented in almost every Austrian federal state.

With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, thefrischis family discovered the Eastern European market for themselves. Subsidiaries follow in the new federal states of Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and Croatia.

At this time, the operational business was two companies divided up. While the parent company J. and A. Fresh Ice continued to serve the domestic market JAF-Group AG responsible for the international market.

Diversification and further internationalization

The JAF Group remained in the wood trade until 2007, but with the opening of a sawmill and veneer factory in Braşov (Kronstadt), Romania, the group then also entered the processing and further processing. In the sawmill and veneer mill „J.F.Furnir“ Veneered wood and high-quality sawn timber are produced from softwood and hardwood such as oak, ash, beech, cherry and maple.

Veneer is created by peeling logs and can be used, for example, to refine pieces of furniture. Via your own web shop Veneer World JF Veneer offers 190 types of wood and over a million different veneer surfaces.

In the decades that followed, the JAF Group invested in further wood processing centers that produce various wood products. 2014 became the Danish DlH group taken over, the Target markets in Asia and Africa served.

Today the JAF-Group AG is one of the leading ones wholesaler for wood and wood products with 56 locations in 17 European countries and over 3,000 employees, 800 of them in Austria. The managing director of the company is Werner Stix (born 1961). Since July 2nd, 2021, Wilfrid Fabjani (born 1978) has been a co-managing director of the company.

Sales and profit of the JAF Group

Sales development JAF Group

Sales by region, customer group and product line

Earnings development JAF Group

Decorative and constructive panels – the core business of the JAF Group

The core business of the JAF Group is the sale of wooden panels, with the range being divided into the areas of decorative and constructive panels.

With the decorative panels the company offers a wide range of materials and combinations. Both indoors and outdoors you can choose from a variety of chipboard, wood, relief or mineral boards. All well-known brands are represented in the JAF Group’s range, which can be purchased in their raw form but also processed.

Constructive panels are also one of the company’s specialties and can be used by carpenters and in timber construction. The range can be adapted to individual requirements and offers over 8,000 items that are always available and come with the JAF guarantee. The company thus guarantees that all panels comply with all legal standards. When selecting the required material, the experts at JAF-Group AG will also support you in finding the right panel for the right area.

Sawn timber and timber construction – the JAF-Group AG in the construction industry

The second major pillar of the JAF Group is sawn timber, mainly for the construction industry. In this segment, the JAF Group AG is one of the leading wholesalers in Central and Eastern Europe.

Sawn timber from the most diverse types of wood in the world is ready for shipment via the company’s own port warehouse in Trieste. The JAF Group can also import high-quality sawn timber from all over the world via its global partner network.

In addition to building and construction timber or cross-laminated timber for solid wood construction, the retailer’s range also includes ecological insulating materials and decorative timber products.

Other products from the JAF Group

The JAF Group has further diversified its product range:

• floor coverings. Parquet and linoleum floors, strips, impact sound insulation and care products.
• decking boards. The JAF Group is working on this TimberTechand UPM Profi Deck together, for which it acts as the exclusive dealer.
• wooden doors. The JAF Group cooperates with 30 brand suppliers.

Employee development JAF Group

JAF Group AG on the Internet