IberoLam's structural timber factory in Valderrubio wins the Saint-Gobain Award
Topics University of Granada
Iberolam Timber&Technology, a spin-off of the University of Granada, has won the First Saint-Gobain Award for Best Sustainable Construction Practice in Spain in the Startups category. The company expects to open its factory in Valderrubio (Granada) in the coming weeks.
The Granada-based company Iberolam Timber&Technology has won the First Saint-Gobain Award for Best Sustainable Construction Practice in Spain, in the Startups category. The award recognises its proposal to transform local forest resources into industrialised structural systems of wood and of wood and concrete.
A factory in Valderrubio
The company, which emerged from the innovation environment of the University of Granada, plans to open its wood products factory in Valderrubio (Granada) in the coming weeks. According to the company, the plant will generate industrial activity and skilled employment in rural areas and will encourage more active management of poplar and pine groves.
The award-winning project, «IberoLam, from forest to building», proposes a value chain that connects the forest and forest ownership with university research, industry and construction. Thus, local forest resources that currently have lower value-added uses are transformed into structural products for buildings. Most of the value generated by these kilometre 0 resources remains in the territory.
Less assembly time
The company integrates building information modelling (BIM), computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM), digital machining and prefabrication. This moves part of the process from the site to controlled factory environments and, according to the company, reduces on-site work and assembly risks and times by between 30% and 50%. The use of wood also reduces the environmental impact of construction and keeps carbon stored for the useful life of the products.
Iberolam was created in 2023 from the innovation ecosystem of the University of Granada and the European project LIFE Wood for Future. Most of its 71 partners are forest owners who participate directly in the value chain. In 2023 it received the UGR Emprendedora award for the best spin-off of the University of Granada and in 2025 it was a finalist in the Emprendemos TOP50 Andalucía Awards.
The award and who collected it
The award is given by the multinational Saint-Gobain and the Club de Excelencia en Sostenibilidad, and this is its fourth edition in Spain. The jury was made up of experts in innovation, sustainability and architecture representing the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, the Consejo Superior de Colegios de Arquitectos, Green Building Council and companies in the sector.
The award was presented at a gala at Loom Azca Madrid. It was collected by Antolino Gallego, professor at the University of Granada and driving force behind IberoLam, accompanied by the manager of the Confederación de Organizaciones de Selvicultores de España, Patricia Gómez Agrela, and the president of the Asociación de Propietarios Forestales de Andalucía Oriental, Marian Núñez. Gallego dedicated the award to private forest owners, «who manage 70% of our forests and generate a great amount of environmental benefits for society without receiving anything in return».
