In Ledinek's Maxipress, the laminations are made into glulam.
© Günther Jauk
Nowadays, speed and flexibility are key factors for the success of any construction project. This is true not only for timber construction companies working on the construction site, but also for manufacturers. “The time span from order to delivery gets shorter and shorter. Also, there is a clear trend towards order picking”, says Albert Baumgartner. The unconventional but very successful timber merchant delivers products primarily to clients in Vienna and its wider area.
Delivery times that he considered too long prompted Baumgartner to start his own production. After start-up in a few weeks, he wants to deliver solid structural wood (KVH) within two days and glulam within three days of ordering.
What distinguishes Baumgartner from other manufacturers is the choice of wood types. Apart from standard indigenous coniferous wood, Baumgartner focuses on Siberian larch. “Thanks to its mechanical and optical properties, Siberian larch is especially suitable for laminated timber, glulam beams and KVH products. When it comes to the indigenous larch, there are lacks in quality and availability”, tells us the entrepreneur who is currently making an effort to obtain a certification from Holzforschung Austria for his product.
Baumgartner is one of the biggest importers of Siberian larch. On his production site, a sawmill formerly owned by Schweighofer/Stora Enso, on average 30,000 m³ of this wood type are stored. Baumgartner bought the 25-hectare-site in 2016.
Siberian larch is especially suitable for glulam and solid structural timber products.
Flexible production
Finger-jointing
© Günther Jauk
After the decision for a combined production line for glulam and KVH had been made, the search for suitable machines began. “We wanted a line for as many products as possible without sacrificing throughput”, explains Baumgartner. In the end, he opted for Slovene machine manufacturer Ledinek, specialised in glue-laminated timber, who designed a machine concept for KVH, duolam and triolam beams as well as glulam. In addition to that, non-laminated solid wood elements can be inserted in front of the planing machine. “We knew about the quality of Ledinek machines and lines. The company’s experts found the perfect solution for us”, says Baumgartner with regard to his decision to purchase.
After quality evaluation, the raw laminations pass through the X-Cut cross cut saw and on to one of the two Eurozink finger-jointing machines. According to Ledinek, the maximum performance is six pieces per minute and the machine’s output is 50,000 m³ of solid structural wood a year in a three-shift operation. Widths range from 75 to 330 mm and thicknesses from 20 to 170 mm. After milling and gluing, the elements, which are up to 16 metres long, are brought in the four-storey curing warehouse.
Once the PU-adhesive is completely cured, the wood enters the Superplan 400 planing line. Prior to this step, it is possible to use a band saw for the separation of the elements according to their respective length. Inside the planing machine, two horizontal shafts and four connectable vertical profiling units offer various possibilities in terms of woodworking. “For example, it is possible to produce finished block house planks or ceiling beams without changing tools”, explains Felix Voglhofer, Key Account Manager at Ledinek.
20,000 m³ of glulam a year
After leaving the planing machine, KVH and glulam go their separate ways. If necessary, the solid structural wood is cut to a precise length and, depending on the client’s wishes, single pieces or complete packages are wrapped in plastic foil. As to the glulam, the adhesive is applied on the laminations which are then transformed into glulam in the Maxipress. After curing in another warehouse, the wood undergoes cosmetic corrections if necessary and then enters the planing line once again. According to Ledinek, the glulam-line’s production capacity is 15,000 to 20,000 m³ a year. Voglhofer is satisfied with the result: “Thanks to the generous and open spaces which Baumgartner left us in the planning phase, we were able to create a special machine layout in Sollenau.”
Available in all dimensions
The Baumgartner team as well as Ledinek's Key Accountant Manager Felix Voglhofer (second from right) and technician Bojan Tomazic (right) auf die Inbetriebnahme © Günther Jauk
Baumgartner sees his warehouse as a competitive edge compared to other manufacturers. “In our air-conditioned halls, sufficient quantities of all relevant wood types, especially Siberian larch, are available in all raw dimensions, and they are dried and pre-sorted.”
For the entrepreneur, the production site with its annual capacity of 50,000 m³ of KVH might only be the first step. Ledinek has designed the machines in such a way that by including a third finger-jointing machine, the annual capacity can be raised to 75,000 m³. Also, sufficient space has been left for an additional Rotoles planing machine for laminations.
Furthermore, the production site offers enough room for other production lines. “As soon as the machines are running, we are going to analyse which other products might be needed on the market. Further investments are quite possible”, concludes Baumgartner.
