1970 – 1990:
From family tradition to industry leadership
The Boix story began in 1970, when Joan Boix and his sons, Joan and Josep Maria, opened a sawmill in the village of Puig-reig, near Barcelona. With the new venture, they followed the family tradition established by their grandfather, Joaquim Boix, who in the 1930s owned a similar establishment in nearby Cal Rosal.
The new business upheld the long-held local tradition of timber harvesting, and the company began to produce raw material that would meet growing demand from the paper industry and conglomerates.
In 1973, a new sawmill was opened on an undeveloped plot in Balars, becoming the main production site until the mid-1990s and allowing the company to consolidate its position as leader in the primary processing sector in Catalonia.
1990 – 2000:
From ashes to rebirth
In the summer of 1994, there were more than 60 forest fires in Catalonia and the Boix family’s local area was especially affected. A combination of high temperatures and a decline in forestry activity meant the forests were overloaded, thus hampering the fire-fighting process.
The Balars sawmill was burnt to the ground and had to be rebuilt from scratch, while plans were also underway for a new production facility.
The new Saltet facility, on the outskirts of Puig-reig, opened in 1997. The facility features the latest technology from Quebec (Canada) and allowed the company to step up its efforts to fully utilise the wood it processes.
2000 – 2015:
New lines of business
Through its desire to make forestry management work sustainable and enhance the value of the resulting products, Boix extended its portfolio in 2000 by creating the Biomass and Road Safety divisions.
Adapting to new demands, new energy sources and new environmental needs led Boix to develop different product lines using waste wood, which both enhance its value and modernise the timber industry.
Since 2015:
From a circular approach to new uses for wood
Since 2016, Boix has been working on applying innovation to new processes that allow the company to enhance the value of wood and develop a new industry as part of the forest bioeconomy.
The company has introduced new technology and digitalised its processes to ensure stem wood is fully utilised and improve the efficiency and safety of work in one of the oldest and most deep-rooted industries in the country.
Boix is committed to a circular business model, which means it does not generate waste during the production process and practices energy self-sufficiency.
