Manufacturer of wood drying systems – drying chambers, vacuum and kiln dryers for sawn timber
Hildebrand Holztechnik GmbH
Gehrden, Germany · US service office · international representativesNew on Amplifa
About Hildebrand Holztechnik
Hildebrand Holztechnik GmbH (Brunner Hildebrand) has been developing and manufacturing wood drying systems for over 70 years and is one of the leading providers worldwide in this field. The product portfolio includes conventional drying chambers made from highly insulated solid aluminium or stainless steel constructions, vacuum dryers (HIGH VAC®) and kiln dryers of the HCK generation (Hildebrand Continuous Kiln). In addition, the company offers patented technologies such as GreenKilns®, Hildebrand Turbo Technology (HTT) and Weight Precision Technology (HWPT), and since 2025 solar solutions for wood drying. Every system is a custom-built solution based on customer consulting and project development; over 90 % of the drying systems are manufactured within the Brunner Group. More than 15,000 sawn timber dryers have been installed, with systems in use in over 100 countries, mainly at sawmills and in the wood industry. From its headquarters in Gehrden, spare parts, service contracts, inspections and training courses are managed.
- Site
- Gehrden
- Processes
- Conventional sawn timber drying (drying chambers), Vacuum drying (HIGH VAC® with steam pulsation process), Kiln drying (HCK – Hildebrand Continuous Kiln), Superheated steam process (stress-free quality drying), Wood drying with solar energy (Hildebrand Solar), Spare parts, Service contracts & inspections, Training
- Materials
- Sawn timber/Wood, Aluminium (construction material of the drying chambers), Stainless steel (construction material of the drying chambers), Solid aluminium construction, Stainless steel construction, Hildebrand Turbo Technology, Weight Precision Technology, GreenKilns®
- Founded
- over 70
- Industries
- Sawmills, Wood industry, Wood processing
- 01
Customer consulting
- 02
Project development
- 03
Engineering design
- 04
Manufacturing (over 90 % within the Brunner Group)
- 05
Installation
- 06
Service, spare parts, inspections and training
Drying Methods and Materials
Solid aluminium construction
Highly insulated drying chambers in solid aluminium design for efficient, energy-saving drying processes.
Stainless steel construction
Highly insulated drying chamber constructions made of stainless steel for long-lasting systems.
Hildebrand Turbo Technology
Technology introduced in 2015 for efficient sawn timber drying.
Weight Precision Technology
Patented technology (2019) for precise control of the drying process.
GreenKilns®
Energy-efficient drying system for reducing heat losses and CO₂ emissions.
HIGH VAC® vacuum drying
Vacuum drying with steam pulsation process, in use since 2002.
Superheated steam process
Stress-free quality drying of sawn timber.
Hildebrand Solar
Wood drying using solar energy via the solar roof and Solar Heat Boost.
Locations
Gehrden
DEHeadquarters, manufacturing and European service office
- Lot size
- Individual systems / custom-built
- Materials
- Aluminium, stainless steel
- Drying chambers (solid aluminium)
- Vacuum dryers HIGH VAC®
- HCK kiln dryers
- HTT drying chambers
- HWPT drying chambers
Systems and Products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional sawn timber drying (drying chambers)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Wood/Sawn timber |
| Vacuum drying (HIGH VAC® with steam pulsation process)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Wood/Sawn timber |
| Kiln drying (HCK – Hildebrand Continuous Kiln)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Wood/Sawn timber |
| Superheated steam process (stress-free quality drying)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Wood/Sawn timber |
| Wood drying with solar energy (Hildebrand Solar)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Wood/Sawn timber |
5 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sawn timber drying chamber (solid aluminium) | Hildebrand | – | – | – | Gehrden, Germany |
| Vacuum dryer | Hildebrand HIGH VAC® | – | – | – | Gehrden, Germany |
| Kiln dryer | Hildebrand HCK (Hildebrand Continuous Kiln) | – | – | – | Gehrden, Germany |
| Drying chamber with Turbo Technology | Hildebrand HTT | – | – | 2015 | Gehrden, Germany |
| Drying chamber with Weight Precision Technology | Hildebrand HWPT | – | – | 2019 | Gehrden, Germany |
Additional services
History of Innovation
- 1958
Market launch of solid aluminium sawn timber drying chambers
- 1960
First dryer with intermediate ceiling and reversible air flow
- 1970
World's first simple kiln dryer
- 1976
First provider with computer-controlled intelligent sawn timber drying
- 1979
Introduction of variable-speed drives in sawn timber drying
- 1994
Stress-free quality drying with the superheated steam process
- 2002
Largest vacuum dryer (HIGH VAC®) in the world with steam pulsation process
- 2011
Hildebrand – GreenKilns® initiative
- 2015
Market launch of Hildebrand Turbo Technology (HTT)
- 2019
Market launch of the patented Hildebrand Weight Precision Technology (HWPT)
- 2023
Kiln dryer generation (HCK) with further-developed GreenKilns® system
- 2025
HILDEBRAND Solar – modern wood drying using solar energy