At the moment, installations are being done worldwide. Ledinek profits from the fact that it was part of the pioneering installations in Central Europe at the beginning of the millennium. Those installations set a standard which then became established in the whole world. “The production of CLT is the same everywhere. Every company more or less copies what was invented in Austria”, sums up Felix Voglhofer, CLT Key Account Manager. “The panels’ composition varies only slightly.”
Big in Japan
The most recent admission for a new CLT production was given to Japanese newcomer Sunadaya in August. In Saijo, Ledinek installed a 12-metre press (“X-Press 12”). This was press number 7 which the Slovenian company sold. In the meantime, Ledinek officially reached a dozen – and even more unofficially.
After the JAS certification, the production site is now working in a two-shift operation.
Special features
In Japan, only EPI and melamine are admissible. The system installed at Sunadaya thus has two special characteristics, which reflect Ledinek’s flexibility:
- EPI is used as an adhesive.
- The types of wood used for production are cedar and cypress.
For the two-component EPI application, Ledinek chose Swedish adhesive application systems supplier Mixon.
Convincing technology
“We provided Sunadaya Japan with the entire production system. However, our company was chosen primarily for our finger-jointing and pressing technology”, remembers Voglhofer about receiving the order.
Panels of up to 12 metres in length and 3.05 metres in width with possible panel thicknesses of up to 36 cm are produced thanks to the flexible production system. According to Ledinek, annual output can reach a total of 22,500 m³ which corresponds to an output of about 45 m³ per shift.
Complete delivery
As to the main machines, the delivery included a Kontizink finger-jointing machine for up to 120 pieces per minute, a Rotoles planing machine for laminations, a multi-level storage unit, an X-Cut cross cut saw and the X-Press 12 mentioned before.
The first in the US
In the United States, Ledinek has been challenged with yet another type of wood, i.e. Southern Yellow Pine, and a different adhesive, the so-called “US-Polyurethane”. “US” was added in order to underline the fact that a different type of polyurethane adhesive is used in the US. The adhesive application system has been provided by Oest of Freudenstadt, Germany.
The system in question was ordered by International Beams subsidiary IB XLAM, and has an annual production capacity of 60,000 m³, which is possible thanks to an X-Press 16.
US-certification pending
This year, International Beams is going to start its CLT production in the southeast of Alabama. At the moment, IB XLAM’s test production is pending certification. Among other products, nine-layer panels, which are to be produced in the future, are glued in this test phase.
More machines are requested
Interest in the first CLT sample panels is said to be massive in the US. Even before this first system has started operating, a further increase of production performance is being considered. According to Voglhofer, this would be possible by adding a finger-jointing machine and an additional press, since Ledinek’s systems offer the possibility of a modular expansion. After all, interfaces are minimised at a general supplier.
International Beams has a lot of experience in the North American timber construction market. The company has been active since 1995 and produces, among other things, I-beams, glulam and LVL. International Beams also has a distribution partnership with one of the pioneers of CLT, i.e. KLH.
Ledinek has received an order for another complete CLT production system for North America, which includes package infeed, a defect cutting saw, a Kontizink L S120 finger-jointing machine, a Multiplan planing machine for laminations, an X-Cut for the cutting of the crosswise layers and a third generation X-Press 16.
All these machines come with a lightweight aluminium/PE laying and pressing table which can be moved safely and fast even with ever more heavy CLT panel structures. This makes it possible to reach an adhesive application speed of up to 120 metres per minute.
The new X-Press is thus prepared for the coming product range of fast-curing 1K PU-adhesives and can make the most use of their characteristics.
Fast narrow side gluing is coming
At the moment, Ledinek is developing the Z-Press, a very flexible assembly and joint gluing machine for laminations of up to 16 metres in length. The Z-Press can produce width-glued double laminations, triple laminations, panel segments or, if desired, complete 16 metre single-layer panels from narrow dimensions.
This type of assembly gluing has two advantages. Firstly, it significantly increases safety in the laying process of the CLT production, thereby making it possible to use faster-curing adhesives even when narrow sideboards are used. Secondly, from a construction physics point of view, closed joints have advantages since it basically comes down to the pressing of single-layer panels.
All of these advantages could mean that in the future, many new CLT production sites are going to be equipped mainly with a Z-Press joint gluing machine.
Right now, a system of this kind is in the final development process and a second one is already being produced for a German manufacturer. The systems have been adapted to laminations of 10.5 and 16 metres in length.
Joint gluing machines are not new. However, the Z-Press is a more affordable and flexible system. According to Ledinek particular attention has been given to flexibility in the setting of lengths. This is done in a way that the system’s performance is not negatively affected.
Different adhesive systems can be used. A Hotmelt is going to be the first choice for the performance and flexibility of the system.
