Czech professionals at work

“Thanks to the investment, we now have state-of-the-art technology. Most importantly, though, we can secure our lumber supply over the long term and remain competitive even on the difficult packaging market,” managing director and company founder Marcel Klaus says, describing the reasons for the largest investment in Klaus Timber’s 25-year history.

Little potential for expansion

The entrepreneur has been operating his own sawmill in the Czech region of Pilsen since 2005. However, the gang saw in Drahkov with its production capacity of around 25,000 m³ a year (single-shift operation) was not only getting old. It also offered little potential for any expansion.

“Together with Drevostroj, we analyzed whether modernizing the Drahkov mill would make any sense. Fortunately, we decided to build a new sawmill in Dvorec. An investment in Drahkov would only have been a temporary solution at best,” Klaus says in the interview with the Holzkurier.

Becoming a full customer

The gang saw will not be put out of use, though. Rather, the combination of the gang saw and the newly built sawmill give Klaus the opportunity to become a full customer of the forestry sector. In Dvorec, a chipper line is used to process all logs with a top diameter of 12 to 40 cm into pallet boards. Large-diameter logs are sorted out in the log yard and transported to Drahkov.

“When planning the size of the log yard, it was important to make sure that logs with bigger diameters can be processed and handled as well. Four of the 28 sorting bins are specifically reserved for the gang saw. Those bins are larger and designed for logs with lengths of up to 5 m. This way, the logs can be completely debarked, butt-reduced and measured in 3D before they are transported to Drahkov,” Frantisek Ctvrtnik, sales manager at the Czech machine manufacturer Drevostroj, tells us.

Specializing in woodworking machines

Drevostroj, which is headquartered in Ckyne/CZ, not far from Klaus Timber’s sawmills, was established as a state-owned company in 1951 and was subsequently converted into a joint-stock company in 1992. The company was operating in the sawmill industry right from the start and focused on the handling and transport of log wood, lumber and sawmill by-products in the years following its establishment. “Despite our decades of experience, the project at Klaus Timber is a very special one, and we are proud of it,” Ctvrtnik comments.

Drevostroj was not only tasked with building the log yard for Klaus Timber. The Czech machine manufacturer also designed the entire sawmill upstream and downstream of the two main sawing units.

“With no other partner would we have been able to build a plant of such quality at this speed. The collaboration with Drevostroj was excellent because of the company’s professionalism in all matters,” Klaus says, praising the machine manufacturer.

Short distances

The log yard is designed for up to 200,000 m³ of log wood a year in a single-shift operation. Currently, more pine than spruce logs are being delivered.

“At the moment, all the wood we cut in the sawmill is used for our in-house pallet production. “Since we can produce the lumber ourselves, we have complete control over quality. We can therefore offer our customers excellent products,” Klaus emphasizes and adds: “When purchasing log wood, we do feel pressure from the big Austrian and German sawmills in the area. However, we buy relatively small volumes from regional suppliers, which is why securing our supply should not be a problem over the long term.” This year, the company plans to cut around 100,000 m³ of log wood in one shift.

Perfectly tailored full package

At the log infeed table, the logs are positioned and the root flare can be reduced if necessary. Next, they pass through a completely overhauled Cambio rotor debarker. “Even though a used debarker was purchased for the mill, it is practically a new machine. Except for the outer frame, everything was overhauled and replaced in the factory,” Ctvrtnik tells us.

Then, the logs pass through a metal detector from German company Minebea Intec of Hamburg before they are measured in 3D by a scanner system from industry leader Microtec of Brixen/IT. Everything was planned and implemented by Drevostroj. The sorting line offers space for 28 bins, thereby enabling the precise sorting of the incoming logs depending on the required criteria. When it comes to log handling, Klaus relies on tried-and-tested technology. After the logs have been temporarily stored in the log yard, a small fleet of Liebherr excavators transports them to the sawmill infeed, which was also implemented by Drevostroj. Measured again for control and recognition purposes, the logs are conveyed to the newly built sawmill using a step feeder. In just a few weeks, in print issue 10 of the Holzkurier, you can find a detailed report on this solution.

“We are very happy with our decision to put our trust in Drevostroj when it came to building our new sawmill. All requirements were met and the necessary adaptations were made to take the conditions on site into account. “That’s what working together on equal terms should look like,” Klaus says, who is more than satisfied.