Vida, Vislanda/SE (cutting volume 600,000 sm³/yr) is the owner of the formerly first high-speed planing mill in Europe. The system that was installed in 2008 was almost entirely provided by Gunnarsson (CGV), Vislanda/SE. The planing mill is capable of speeds of up to 1200m/min, in practice, however, feed speeds between 600 and 800 m/min are used for production. Another Gunnarsson highlight at Vida’s Vislanda site is the lumber sorting plant with 42 single-board-layer trays, each 65 m long, for pre-sorting downstream of the sawline. The installation at Vida is one reason for Gunnarsson's longstanding excellent reputation throughout the Scandinavian sawmill and timber industry. The company stands for high speed, efficiency and reliability. It is hardly surprising that the systems from southern Sweden can be found in many big companies throughout Northern Europe.
Sawmill 4.0
Automation and programming of systems prior to the eventual launch of a machine are increasingly gaining importance. Gunnarsson likes to speak of a whole new generation of machines. Tony Gunnarsson, in charge of automation, has had a look around in other industries to see how this issue is handled there. A particularly interesting comparison, for instance in terms of machine type, are CNC machines in the tool industry. The individual machine components of whole systems are increasingly interconnected according to the lock-and-key principle.
The perfect synchronization of system components is of central relevance. To ensure this, Gunnarsson prefers to act as general contractor. "With optimal synchronization, the entire system becomes more dynamic, operation becomes smoother and most of all more efficient. If speed is changed in one particular place, all other machines within the system simultaneously adapt to the new timing," Jonas Gunnarsson, managing director and head of technology, puts it in a nutshell. By means of an OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) analysis it is possible to identify where in the system intervention is necessary to optimize output, efficiency of the entire system and yield. It is important that the system operates without interruptions and that set-up times are minimized. “Yes” to speed, but not at the expense of efficiency, such is the credo at CGV.
Today, only one person is necessary for monitoring the entire fully automated sorting line – provided that the most modern scanner and control technology is used.
Newly installed wrappers
The fully automated, compact wrapper packaging machine is one of the showcase models by Gunnarsson. One package can be wrapped within 30 seconds. Five different types of film (with/without logo, film thickness/type) are freely selectable. The wrapper speed is adjusted automatically, and the machine can also wrap half and quarter packages as well as increase production thanks to its low maintenance and energy costs. Therefore, the investment is also profitable for companies with small package lots where packages are wrapped manually and individually, Jonas Gunnarsson emphasizes.
The effective wrapper has already been in successful use at many well-known Scandinavian companies such as Vida, Holmen or Fiskarheden for years. UPM, Pori/FI, installed a new wrapper in November 2018 to increase packaging speed while at the same time reduce staff. In the Fiskarheden sawmill in Trävaru, Transtrand/SE, the wrapper purchased in 2010 for foil wrapping packages had to be replaced by a new one in the winter of 2018 after the sorting hall collapsed due to a high snow load.
Sorting lines or package stacking machines
Holmen Timber Braviken, Norrköping/SE, has been using a planing plant with post-sorting from Gunnarsson since 2010 already. In the course of a capacity expansion (1.3 m sm³/yr), Holmen will launch a second post-sorting by Gunnarsson at the beginning of 2020. The sawmills of Rågsveden-Sveden Trä, Äppelbo/SE, as well as Norra Timber, Sävar/SE, installed new and powerful stacking systems with fully automated slat laying. At both locations, the "StickChecker" (working title of a Gunnarsson innovation) is in use: A scanner examines the roof battens upstream of the automatic slat laying, and unusable slats are automatically sorted out.
Automatic slat laying
ATA Timber, Sandsjöfors/SE, has been working with two new Gunnarsson stacking lines for main and side boards both of which are equipped with a fully automatic slat laying since 2018. After taking over the location from Rörvik Timber at the end of 2017, a new line for small-sized wood (cutting volume 200,000 sm³/yr in single-shift operation) was installed. Not only roof battens are laid fully automatically, also underlays are automatically placed on top of packages. For all current projects, increase of efficiency and staff savings have top priority. GP Wood, Lissarda/IE, is a new Gunnarsson customer.
After the fire in the summer of 2018, the area between the new EWD sawline and the existing sorting boxes was remodeled. Production launch is scheduled for this year.
At the Ligna in Hannover, interested visitors can get more information on Gunnarsson's product range and services at the company's trade fair booth.
Gunnarsson (CGV)
Company foundation: 1951
Employees: 50
Shareholders: Jonas (management, Head of Construction), Jörgen (Head of Sales), Tony Gunnarsson (Head of Automation)
Assortment: Complete systems for pre- and post-sorting as well as high-performance planing lines, automation, packaging systems
References (selection): Holmen, SCA, Vida, ATA Timber, Hedin, Setra, GP Wood, Södra, UPM
Sales (Germany, Austria & Switzerland): Scantec, Feldkirchen/DE
