Vida_Pakete.jpg

Vida Nössemark © Gerd Ebner

vida

Neat packages in 30 seconds

Article by Gerd Ebner (translated by Eva Guzely) | 16.05.2018 - 12:21

The demonstration took place in the newly built sawmill and planing mill in Nössemark near the Norwegian border. In this region, wolves and elks outnumber people by far. Therefore, human resource is a rare and valuable asset in the far North. For Vida’s management, deploying one supervising employee instead of three hard working packagers was worth considering. “Wrapping is a hard, unpopular and dated task”, adds Styrbjörn Johansson, CEO of Vida Nössemark.

2.45 metre logs

Nössemark is the ninth and newest sawmill of the Vida group. In a high-performance line, thin logs with a top diameter of up to 20 centimetres and, for central European standards, an incredibly short standard length of 2.45 metres are cut. This means that logs have an average volume of 0.05 cubic metres.

In order to reach the target of 200,000 cubic metres of dried and planed finished products in a one-shift operation, performance and maximum availability are crucial. With its planing mill and post-sorting, it is Swedish machines and systems supplier Gunnarssons of Vislanda who is mainly responsible for these two aspects. When the wood rushes through the Ledinek planing line at a speed of 500 metres per minute, the last production step must not be the eye of the needle. For this reason, Vida opted for a solution which has proven to be successful over the years: The Gunnarssons wrapper with over 750,000 finished packages.

Compact unit on just 45 sqm

Vida’s packaging unit is located in the planing mill’s basement. “We opted for a very compact machine layout with buffer conveyors, a press and strapping machines, as well as an automatic insertion system for the squared timber. The wrapper itself only needs a space of 45 square metres”, explains sales manager Jörgen Gunnarsson. The finished packages are formed at a speed of up to 27 layers per minute at the end of the planing mill which is also used for the post-sorting. After strapping the package with an Orgapack machine, the squared timber is put underneath the package fully automatically and virtually without delay. Next, it is fastened to the package with a plastic strap, again using an Orgapack solution.

New dimensions with each package

At Vida there is only one package length, i.e. 2.45 metres, although the wrapper could handle all common package lengths and dimensions. The other package dimensions are communicated to the wrapper via the Gunnarssons control unit. The type of plastic foil (with or without logo, foil type and thickness) to be used can be chosen.

This is what happens at Vida within 30 seconds or within 40 seconds with package lengths of up to 6 metres:

• The plastic foil is taken out of one of the five dispensers.
• It is cut according to the desired dimensions of the package.
• The foil is welded (with the exception of a 2 cm slot for ventilation).
• The foil is stretched and
• put on top of the sawn timber like a cap.
• When the package leaves the station, the label is put on it.

More work for the forklift driver

The wrapper does not only have advantages. Only one forklift driver feeds the planing mill in the front and transports the finished packages from the back to the respective loading area, which can be quite stressful. The package labels are helpful, though. “The driver has all the logistical information on his forklift”, explains Johansson.

No criticism equals positive feedback

Nowadays, a neatly wrapped package is like a sawmill’s business card, and Vida is sending its business cards to countries all over the world. This is why at Vida Nössemark sawn timber tends to be referred to as “studs”. At the moment, the main markets are Great Britain, Australia and China which attribute great importance to appealing packaging. “Up until today, our packaging has not been praised by our customers, but, what is more important, it has never been criticised either. A lot can happen when products are loaded several times and when the transport on cargo ships takes a few weeks. So far, our wrapping has withstood all of it”, says Johansson with a smile.

Half- and quarter-packages

“The wrapper is also suitable for the packaging of half- and quarter-packages”, says Stephan Lohmeyer with regard to another detail. His company Scantech develops solutions for the automatic packaging of sawn timber. “The wrapper is well-engineered and efficient and has proven it for years at Fiskaheden and Holmen Braviken (since 2015), and now at Vida. In future, it will also be part of the machine layout at a major Finnish sawmill group.” The wrapper has been part of Gunnarssons product range since 2013. The company acquired the patent rights for Europe from its Canadian inventor and has used them to further improve the wrapper. The Swedish machine supplier uses a servo instead of a pneumatic drive, a more robust construction and state-of-the-art control technology. All of this results in a faster, more reliable and most of all more precise process, which CEO Johansson describes as “smooth”, adding that “it just works”.

VIDA

Sawmills: 9
Group turnover 2017*: 524 million € (5.4 billion SEK)
Group operating income 2017*: 46.7 million € (487 million SEK); generated by sawmills: 43 million € (454 million SEK)

* Company magazine Vidanytt #1/2018

VIDA NÖSSEMARK

Part of the group: since February 2016, prior to that: Moelven
Production of sawn timber: 200,000 m3/year (target, 2018 150,000 m3)
Employees: 36
Raw material: 90 % spruce, 10 % pine
Log dimensions: 10 to 20 cm top diameter; 2.45 m length
Drying rate: 100 %

CGV GUNNARSSONS

Established: 1951
Management: Jörgen (sales manager), Tony (head of automation) und Jonas (head of construction)
Products and services: Complete systems for pre- and post-sorting, high-performance planing lines, automation
References: Derome, Holmen, Hedin, Moelven, Norra Skogsägarna, SCA, Setra, Södra, Vida etc.
Distribution (DACH region): Scantec, Feldkirchen/DE