ERLUS, Partner of Holzbau Deutschland, Congratulates WorldSkills Silver Medalist

Florian Dorer Wins Silver at WorldSkills Shanghai

By Rolando Laube, Marketing and Communications Officer, Holzbau Deutschland
and Bianca Marklstorfer, Press Officer at ERLUS

Neufahrn, September 2026. Florian Dorer, a trained carpenter from Furtwangen in the Black Forest, won the silver medal in “Skill Carpentry” at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026. With 726 points, the 22-year-old finished just four points behind French gold medalist Benjamin Blegean (730 points). Bronze went to Austria’s Luca Reitböck with 724 points.

Sixteen competitors from 16 countries took part in the carpentry competition. Florian represented Germany as a member of the German Carpentry National Team and the National Team of the German Construction Industry. The competition consisted of three modules: a beam structure on six posts with boarding, four timber-frame walls and a hipped roof with a sloping gable. The competition presented Dorer with a different challenge than expected. Instead of the geometric constructions and technical drawings they had intensively practiced during training, the competitors worked primarily from CAD plans on a structure that was more closely aligned with typical construction site processes.

Concentration and Flexibility Were Key

Throughout the competition, Florian had to adapt his workflow to the changed task. Concentration, flexibility and precision were crucial throughout the competition. After a total of 22 hours, he successfully completed the task. The fact that only a few points separated the gold, silver and bronze medalists highlights just how closely matched the international field was. “The silver medal at WorldSkills is a great achievement for Florian Dorer and a strong testament to the quality of the carpentry trade in Germany,” said Peter Aicher, Chairman of Holzbau Deutschland. “Florian adapted to an unfamiliar task and demonstrated his skills convincingly under international competitive pressure. We warmly congratulate him on this achievement. Our thanks also go to everyone who helped prepare and support him along the way.”

Impressive Track Record

The German Carpentry National Team can look back on an impressive track record at international competitions. At World Championships, Albert Baumann (1967), Fritz Kunz (1973), Jochen Ströhle (2003), Simon Rehm (2015) and Alexander Bruns (2019) won gold. Silver went to Michael Rieger (2001), Philipp Kaiser (2022) and now Florian Dorer (2026). Bronze was won by Philip Stich (2011) and Andreas Fichter (2013). The team has also enjoyed many successes at the European Championships; most recently, Jonas Lauhoff won gold at EuroSkills 2023 and Linus Großhardt at Euro