Created by SITEC GmbH | 05.05.2023

Our Franconian Forest is in poor condition. Heat, drought and the bark beetle have taken a heavy toll on it in recent years. Many trees have suffered and need to be reforested. Many people are not aware that a healthy tree can produce enough oxygen for more than ten people. It is our most important ally in the effort for a more CO₂-friendly climate.

With this tree planting initiative, SITEC and LockTec are pursuing several goals at once. On the one hand, they are supporting the sustainable, climate-resilient transformation of the forests into mixed woodlands. “As a regionally rooted group of companies, it is important for us that the tree planting campaign takes place here in our local forests. We want to send a clear signal of our responsibility and connection to the region, the people living here, and future generations,” explains Johannes Clausen, Managing Director of LockTec GmbH. For this reason, the two companies are planting over 800 English oaks through the Nordhalben Forestry Operation, which is part of the Bavarian State Forests. On the other hand, the group of companies has been pursuing a consistent sustainability strategy for several years: this includes independence from natural gas and oil through its own wood chip heating system, recycling materials, keeping bees on the company premises, the planned addition of a photovoltaic system, and investments in new machinery for more efficient and resource-saving metal processing. In 2021, the rating organisation EcoVadis already awarded the company a Silver rating.

Nevertheless, a CO₂ footprint remains, which is partly offset through a joint project with the Bavarian State Forests and the city of Kronach: For every set of lockers produced, the companies donate five to ten trees. Many years ago, the Bavarian State Forests began transforming the Franconian Forest from a climate-sensitive spruce forest into a resilient mixed forest. Foresters are planting a variety of native tree species on each site. These include, for example, beeches, silver firs, oaks, Douglas firs, larches, maples and wild pear trees, but also birches and rowan trees. Under the expert guidance of Forestry Manager Daniel Kraus, Forest Ranger Tassilo Haderlein and employees Herbert Förtsch and Danilo Eichhorn from the Bavarian State Forests in the Zeyern forest district, Gudrun, Lukas and Johannes Clausen, together with LockTec Sales Director Frank Sieg, planted the first English Oak, wild pear and hornbeam saplings. They were supported by the third mayor of Marktrodach, Roland Pompe, and the deputy district administrator, county councillor Gerhard Löffler.

But 800 trees are just the beginning: SITEC and LockTec have already ordered several hundred sweet chestnut trees through the city of Kronach for another tree planting campaign. The WBV Kronach – Rothenkirchen e. V. will plant these on municipal land near Fröschbrunn. Once the saplings are ready for planting, the Clausen family will lend a hand again alongside representatives from the city and forestry workers.