Oswald Agrartechnik from Germany is Palax Importer of the Year

Palax Importer of the Year is Oswald Agrartechnik, the family-run company of 15 employees, which focuses on distribution of forestry and agricultural machinery in Germany. They have sold Palax firewood processors and their accessories since 2011.

“Oswald Agrartechnik is one of our largest importers, and their Palax sales continued to increase significantly also last year”, says Pekka Himanka, Managing Director of Palax factory. “In recent years, Peter Oswald has heavily invested in the sales of Palax products. In May 2019, he opened brand-new facilities in Iggensbach, and we were very impressed by the comprehensive assortment of Palax machines on display at the opening ceremony. Peter has always made sure that he has enough machine stock for fast customer deliveries.”

In December 2019, Oswald Agrartechnik hosted Palax Dealer Meeting for Palax importers from around the world.

“Peter and his family always make everyone feel welcome in Bavaria, and their love for their home region is something we all can admire. That’s why it was a perfect opportunity to have our Palax Sales Meeting arranged in Iggensbach; all our importers enjoyed their warm hospitality and great arrangements.”

Check the video of Oswald Agrartechnik summarizing the highlights of the Opening Ceremony and Palax Sales Meeting in Iggensbach.

Reinforcing footprint in Southeast Germany

Last year, Oswald Agrartechnik strengthened their footprint in southeast Germany by building a new branch office in Iggensbach, a village that locates along the main traffic route to Austria, the A3 highway. Their home office locates 40 kilometers away in Regen.

“Thanks to the location by the highway, customers from Germany and Austria can now easily visit us. We are able to present all machines at the same time in our new exhibition area, totaling 15,000 m2”, says Peter Oswald, CEO and company owner.

“We can offer customers a large selection of storage and demonstration machines in Iggensbach. Having compete competence in one location benefits our customers a great deal”, says Christian Weber, Manager of Iggensbach office.

Advantages of choosing Palax for firewood production

In the German market, Palax machines are particularly known for their reliability, operability and maintainability. The bestsellers have been the chain saw machines Palax D360 and KS40.

“Palax machines are very robust. Operational readiness is another advantage; if customers need to repair their machine, they can do it themselves. In addition, Palax machines are equipped with chain driven conveyors which are better than more commonly used belt conveyors”, Peter and Christian list.

Oswald Agrartechnik is pleased with the support from the factory.

“We have very good cooperation and look forward to many years of further good partnership to come.”

Challenges and opportunities in the German market

Typical firewood in Germany is spruce. In recent years, the destruction of spruce trees has been at an alarmingly high level due to bark beetles. Bark beetles damage trees by laying their eggs under the outer bark. Once hatched, the larvae will further spread the damage by feeding on the inner bark. This will cause trees to die, especially if their own immune systems have become vulnerable to parasites due to prolonged drought.

“Forest owners are often overwhelmed with the problem of bark beetles and therefore looking for professional loggers to help with the situation.”

The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus has hit hard also Germany. In terms of business, the consequences are yet to be seen. Right now, Oswald Agrartechnik has adopted their operations to general curfews and restrictions that are affecting the entire population.

“As dealers, we are now putting extra effort to give customers the best possible advice over the phone or by email. We are still positive about the future and wish everyone good health”, Peter and Christian say.

In firewood business, Oswald Agrartechnik sees that the market will grow in the next few years for mobile versions of large firewood processors.

“End users are increasingly more loggers who rent their working hours to make firewood on-site for private forest owners.”