The LAG is a part of the “Holzwelt Murau“ (Timber World, Murau) organisation which was founded in October, 2004 and includes the activities of the Styrian Holzstrasse (or Timber Road), the Holzzeit GmbH (Timber Time Ltd.), and the LAG, Holzwelt: Austria (Timber World, Austria), in Murau/Zirbenland.

Timber has a long history in the densely wooded region of the western part of Upper Styria. The founding of the “Timber Museum” and the “Styrian Timber Road” in the 1980’s brought the subject of wood closer to the visitors of the region. One of the high points of the regional “Timber development” was the Styrian state exhibition “Timber Time” in 1995. So much for the pre-history and basis of the regional LEADER+ Programme.
The LEADER region “Timber World, Austria - Murau/Zirbenland” is meant to be the seed of a European timber network. Under the motto: “The aura of timber” a “regional trademark” is meant to be developed and lead the way to the establishment of a timber cluster. The businesses in Zirbenland which have established themselves as innovative leader companies have an important role to play. Other important cluster co-operation partners are the “Umwelt und Innovationszentrum Judenburg” (The Environment and Innovation centre in Judenburg) which has been located there since 1998 and carries out research, and the “Holzinnovatinszentrum Zeltweg“ (The Timber Innovation centre in Zeltweg), which deals with company locations and the operative implementation of the cluster. Through co-ordinated, regional teamwork and targeted qualification measures, jobs in the timber industry will be created for youths and women. A “hopeful area” which will be developed through marketing measures, is the increased use of timber in housing developments.
Other important targets are the networking of the timber industry with culture and tourism, the upgrading of the timber tourism leader project “Styrian Timber Road”, as well as the endeavours of the town of Murau to become the “Alp brook of timber”. In order to combine forces, the “Timber World Austria - Murau/Zirbenland”, among others, was incorporated into the “Timber World, Murau” as a workgroup in 2004.