From wood to wonders

The CEO of HASSLACHER group Christoph Kulterer and an LBS alumnus (M.Sc. Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy) believes that family businesses are often the backbone of a country’s economy, and values the London Business School Family Office (FO) Conference as a “great opportunity to meet with other family office owners with similar interests”.

“There is often an emotional dynamic to family-run businesses, and for me the LBS FO Conference offers an important safe space where one can share ideas and work through challenges with other leaders of family businesses.”

Acknowledging that “every family business is different”, Christoph believes that the common bond of the family office community is the core value and importance of the conference.

“If you are relying solely on professional advisors, you are missing out on the shared experiences of those who are also leading family businesses. This for me is the principal value of the FO Conference,” says Christoph.

From wood to wonders. -The story of HASSLACHER group

The story of HASSLACHER group, the 123-year-old family business which is a globally active innovation leader in the field of intelligent and integrated system solutions for modern timber construction, produces and supplies timber products, from log houses, plank roof trusses, to cutting edge timber construction components for futuristic skyscrapers, is appropriately organic and rooted in the lifecycle of the forests from where it draws its considerable success.

Throughout its long history, there have been wars, fires, floods and the more recent effects of climate change. Yet these upsets and setbacks have been followed by a continual, progressive commitment to replant, repair, to grow and to innovate.

The company is deeply committed to the ethos and values of family and community, critical elements that have proved, in the parlance of the building industry, to be the load bearing support structures that have kept the company flourishing for more than a century.

This remarkable family history is both a fascinating and powerful evocation of the spirit of commitment to a common objective, and a recent film – "From wood to wonders." - The Story of a Family Business – makes for compelling viewing. It tells the story of Jakob Hasslacher who founded the company with a groundwood mill in 1901, never guessing that more than120 years later it would have become one of Europe's leading wood-processing industries. Through the turbulent decades of two world wars, inflation, and rapid recovery in the second half of the 20th century, the company has always remained in the hands of the family.

Today, at the start of the 21st century, the HASSLACHER group stands for forward-thinking wood processing, environmental sustainability, climate protection and the social responsibility of an exemplary Austrian family company.

Jakob’s decedent, Christoph Kulterer, the company’s present-day CEO of what is now known as HASSLACHER NORICA TIMBER, is inextricably tied to this compelling family history. Surrounded by friends and family, and employees who have known him since he was a child (the company’s former CFO for example, Franz Meließnig, was once tasked with escorting the young Christoph to kindergarten each day), he has grown up in a sturdily loyal and caring environment that is also capable of taking the bold steps necessary to ensure growth and survival.

After a devastating fire in the company’s Sachsenburg plant in 1998, he and his brother were encouraged by their father, Herbert, to rebuild using new technologies and to purchase the many times larger Gebrüder Feltrinelli Drauland company in order to grow its market share.

Since then, the company has continued to embrace innovation and the opportunities that changes in business and technology present, making strategic investments in such technical capabilities as urb-x, a sustainable high-tech construction system for building efficient and safe bike highways using glulam, or glued laminated timber as the primary construction material.

Then there is the hugely impressive HoHo Wien tower in Vienna. The 24-storey building, standing a full 84m high, is one of the tallest buildings in the world. The Hasslacher Group supplied more than 700 block-glued columns of the highest strength. Additionally, cross-laminated timber (CLT) wall elements with ‘Excellent surface’ were produced and further refined by means of a double surface treatment.

All in all, the HASSLACHER group continues to build for the future and plan for a world of excitingly innovative wooden structures.

LBS Family Office Conference

Family Offices (FOs) are private wealth management advisory firms that serve ultra-high-net-worth individuals. FOs have grown exponentially over the last decades and today represent an important priority for many business families. Leveraging its London location, thought leadership, world-class faculty, and extensive network, LBS organised for the second year a unique non-commercial event designed to attract an important group of leading figures drawn from the world of the family business community.

With the FO community is expected to grow from USD 138bn in 2024 to more than 230bn in 2029, participants at the conference are exposed to leading academic and practitioner insights and engage in joint learning and network building. This year’s Family Office Conference at LBS, organised by the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital (IEPC), took place in February 2024 and covered a wide array of timely topics relevant to business families from addressing succession planning, impact investment, sustainability, becoming and active stakeholder in the next generation and navigating the global landscape

For more information about the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital (IEPC) Family Office Conference, see here