Heraklith® Wood Wool panels: An invention that changed the building industry

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

  1. 1908 Patent document
    1908

    First patent filed for a method to produce the forerunner to today’s Heraklith® Wood Wool products.

  2. First Wood Wool panels
    1914

    The first Wood Wool panels used in the construction of walls and ceilings.

  3. 1923 First trademark registration
    1923

    The Heraklith® brand registered.

  4. 1924 manufacturing process
    1924

    The first factory-made panels are produced.

  5. 1927 Simbach plant
    1927

    Simbach plant built in Germany.

  6. 1930 Boom in applications
    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.

  7. 1935 universal exhibition Brussels
    1935

    Heraklith panels used in several buildings at the Universal Exhibition in Brussels, Belgium.

  8. 1939 output record
    1939

    Output reaches 10 million square metres.

  9. 1950
    1950

    Heraklith ® panels helping build the world

  10. 1955
    1955

    Heraklith ® panels being successfully tested for reaction to fire performance by independent external laboratories.

  11. 1960
    1960

    Output reaches 20 million square metres. The Simbach plant has more than 800 employees.

  12. Herateka
    1967

    Heratekta, a multilayer panel combining Wood Wool and EPS is introduced.

  13. 2002 Simbach
    1974

    New production technology and two new production lines installed at Simbach.

  14. 1975 Oosterhout plant
    1975

    A new plant is opened in Oosterhout in the Netherlands.

  15. Tektalan
    1983

    Tektalan, the first multilayer panel combining wood wool and mineral wool is introduced.

  16. 1989 Zalaegerszeg
    1989

    A new plant is opened in Zalaegerszeg in Hungary.

  17. 2002 Simbach
    2002

    A production line from Ferndorf in Austria is transferred to Simbach to establish a more streamlined production footprint.

  18. Knauf
    2006

    Heraklith® launches the first Wood Wool panels with an A2 non-combustible fire rating, and  becomes part of the Knauf Group.

  19. Heraklith agro
    2010

    Next generation of Heraklith® Agro panels is launched, replacing Heraklith® FI panels widely used in agricultural buildings since the early 1970s.

  20. 2012
    2012

    The finishing area at the Simbach plant is completely renewed.

  21. range of multilayer panels
    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.