Heraklith® Wood Wool panels: An invention that changed the building industry
The invention of wood wool panels, first patented in Austria in 1908, dramatically changed the building industry. The lightweight durable panels provided such excellent thermal and acoustic insulation that much thinner structural walls could be built, and being so easy and fast to install, construction times were slashed
It was a success story that paved the way for pioneering innovation and continuous improvement that has spanned more than a century.
We will continue to make history
Today, Heraklith® is the brand that our customers turn to when they need a versatile, durable and lightweight wood wool product with exceptional acoustic and thermal performance, impeccable sustainability credentials and outstanding fire safety.
However, our work will not stop. We continue to work with our customers to meet their needs, find solutions for their challenges, and to explore the potential of Wood Wool in every possible building scenario. Whether in commercial sites, residential homes or public buildings, Heraklith is an endless journey of innovation.
The Heraklith® story
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1908
First patent filed for a method to produce the forerunner to today’s Heraklith® Wood Wool products.
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1914
The first Wood Wool panels used in the construction of walls and ceilings.
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1923
The Heraklith® brand registered.
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1924
The first factory-made panels are produced.
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1927
Simbach plant built in Germany.
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1930
The first boom in wood wool applications as it becomes widely used in residential and office buildings, cinemas, luxury hotels, Alpine cabins, farms and dairy product factories.
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1935
Heraklith panels used in several buildings at the Universal Exhibition in Brussels, Belgium.
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1939
Output reaches 10 million square metres.
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1950
Heraklith ® panels helping build the world
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1955
Heraklith ® panels being successfully tested for reaction to fire performance by independent external laboratories.
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1960
Output reaches 20 million square metres. The Simbach plant has more than 800 employees.
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1967
Heratekta, a multilayer panel combining Wood Wool and EPS is introduced.
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1974
New production technology and two new production lines installed at Simbach.
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1975
A new plant is opened in Oosterhout in the Netherlands.
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1983
Tektalan, the first multilayer panel combining wood wool and mineral wool is introduced.
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1989
A new plant is opened in Zalaegerszeg in Hungary.
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2002
A production line from Ferndorf in Austria is transferred to Simbach to establish a more streamlined production footprint.
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2006
Heraklith® launches the first Wood Wool panels with an A2 non-combustible fire rating, and becomes part of the Knauf Group.
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2010
Next generation of Heraklith® Agro panels is launched, replacing Heraklith® FI panels widely used in agricultural buildings since the early 1970s.
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2012
The finishing area at the Simbach plant is completely renewed.
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2018
Heraklith® honours the 110th anniversary of its first patent with the launching of the first-ever Heratekta panel with B-class reaction to fire.
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2022
Our Heraklith Wood Wool division is now sending zero waste to landfill. It is an extraordinary milestone achieved two years ahead of Knauf Insulation’s For A Better World commitment to send zero waste to landfill by 2025.
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2023
This year marks 100 years since Heraklith was first registered as a brand.