Please turn your device to portrait.
A new 4,000 m² factory has helped German timber builder UEDING expand into commercial and multi-storey construction, combining automated panel production with space for volumetric assembly.
Partner content
When Germany’s detached housing market slowed, UEDING Group had already started preparing for a different type of construction business. The company was pursuing commercial projects and discussing production automation with machinery supplier WEINMANN before the housing downturn in 2023. (main image: A multi-storey residential project by Germany’s UEDING Group, which has expanded from detached homes into larger timber construction projects.)
That preparation helped the Billerbeck-based business expand from turnkey single-family houses into schools, offices, apartment buildings and modular construction. Its experience, documented in a WEINMANN customer report, illustrates how factory investment can support diversification while creating new demands on planning and work preparation.
Founded in 1983 by Dieter and Wilhelm Ueding as a carpentry firm, the company entered detached housing in 2015 after the next generation joined the business. UEDING Wohnbau, established in 2019, subsequently delivered up to 40 turnkey timber frame houses annually at its peak.
Discussions with WEINMANN began in 2021, initially around a compact production system within the existing hall. Space restrictions would have limited both the equipment and the company’s capacity to grow.
During those discussions, a neighbouring property became available. UEDING acquired the land, revised its machinery plans and built a 4,000 m² production hall. UEDING Modulbau was established in 2024 to undertake prefabricated and modular construction and supply timber frame elements to the group’s other businesses.
For managing director Manuel Ueding, increased capacity had to be accompanied by better production economics.
“An investment like this must ultimately pay for itself, which means that we need to become faster and produce more in the same amount of time.”
He says the resulting operation can produce substantially more timber frame elements within the same time and cost parameters. Lean management work undertaken in 2022, with employees involved in reviewing processes, also contributed to that outcome.
Prefabricated timber walls and floor elements are craned into position on UEDING projects in Germany, with windows and external cladding already fitted to wall panels before installation.
Panels and modules under one roof
The new hall accommodates both element production and volumetric assembly, allowing UEDING to select the construction approach according to each project.
A WEINMANN four-table line with a turning function forms the basis of panel production. A WALLTEQ M-500 multifunction bridge processes the panels, while a WALLTEQ M-300 insuFill system automatically installs blow-in insulation.
The fourth table can move sideways out of the line, transferring elements into an area for façade and window installation. The processing bridge marks the façade layout, reducing the manual setting-out required before timber cladding is attached.
Windows are installed with the panels lying horizontally. Production manager Chris Wöstmann says the company had completed a project involving 250 windows and expected that installation method to become standard practice.
Greater factory completion also extends to services and wet rooms as UEDING takes on more demanding multi-storey projects.
The remaining hall space supports module assembly and subcontractor work. Its 12–16 m ceiling height and two bridge cranes provide room to handle and stack modules, while side doors allow completed units to leave without obstructing the production area.
Ueding sees a role for both systems.
“We offer both types of construction, combining them depending on the construction task. Elements are more individual and flexible in some areas, while on the other hand a modular building is faster – provided that it is planned in a modular manner by the architect.”
That qualification places design decisions directly within the delivery equation: modular speed depends partly on whether the building has been planned for that construction method.
The expansion has also increased pressure on the design office. Work preparation staff have grown from four to six, with further recruitment sought.
As Wöstmann explains, “orders have not only become more numerous and larger, but also more complex and detailed.”
Multi-storey and modular work now account for most of the group’s activities. Its larger projects include childcare facilities, schools, offices and apartment buildings, with UEDING Modulbau seeking general contractor roles.
Employment across the group has grown from 15 to around 100 since 2015. Ueding links that growth partly to investment in working conditions, including ergonomics and modernised processes.
Further factory changes are being considered, including a module transport rail system and separate production of components requiring extensive manual work. The next task is managing that growth while keeping planning, production and assembly capacity aligned.
