Advanced automation MIS on Schauman Smart-Scan

PLYVISIONS
R AUTE C U STO M E R M AGAZ I N E 3/2003
Focus on automation:
Advanced automation
MIS on Schauman
Smart-Scan XY+
Machine vision
Cross Wrap
contents
features
4
Advanced automation in
plywood manufacturing.
6
Schauman Wood standardizes
its production information
management:
Mill-level data collection and
production control.
10
12
14
Mr. Jari Taavitsainen, Development
Manager of IT Systems:“At Schauman Wood,
the information systems already cover the
entire order-delivery process but the production lines are still partially gray zones.”
Smart-Scan XY+.
Wesbeam selects Raute to
supply Greenfield LVL plant.
FINNFOREST SUOLAHTI:
Higher efficiency and quality with
machine vision.
Mr. Pertti Heiskanen, Plant Manager of the
Finnforest Suolahti mills:
“The modern value adding chain is under
control, right from the cutting stand. The
existing wood stocks are known and production is controlled on basis of this knowledge.”
18
Nelson Pine enjoys the
best of automation.
20
LVL from Western Siberia
JSC “LVL-Ugra” - the first LVL
plant in Russia.
Wesbeam management stated that
Raute’s technology offered the best
ROI for their LVL plant project.
23
Machine vision
applications to control veneer
production.
26
Automation improves
productivity and working
conditions at Scauman Wood.
27
High-Tech packaging
system Cross Wrap.
28
FAIR TOUR:
During 2003, Raute participated
in several exhibitions around the
world.
2
IMS-Engineering chose
Raute as their partner for
the first LVL plant project
in Russia.
PLYVISIONS
Published by RAUTE OYJ, P.O. Box 69, 15551 Nastola
Finland. Tel: +358 3 82 911, Telefax +358 3 829 3200
Editor-In-Chief: Merja Hakala. Editorial Group: Matti Aho, Merja Hakala, Ulla
Hillu, Antero Hyvönen, Mika Hyysti, Markku Korhonen, Rick Massey, Jussi Toivio
Layout and art work: Non-Stop Studiot Oy, Paul Hitchman.
E-mail: [email protected] /www.raute.com
Cover Photo: Veli-Matti Lepistö
Copyright RAUTE OYJ, All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction permitted with permission from Raute Oyj.
ISSN 1459-3165
Dear Reader,
Time is running fast.You are already reading
issue number three of Raute’s customer magazine,PlyVisions.The earlier issues have been
well received. Thank you all for your feedback. In the first issue we launched this year’s
topics:Services were the main topic in the first
issue of PlyVisions. The second concentrated on Technology.And the focus of this issue
is on Automation.
We do realise that most, if not all,
our customers share four targets when
improving their business performance:
higher recovery, better quality, improved
productivity and bigger capacity. Automation is a tool to achieve improvements in all
these respects. Automated machines can
perform more accurately and repeatedly
than any human ever could. Computerized
controls don’t have any “Monday mornings”. More and more complicated optimisation tasks can be performed in fractions
of seconds. Automatic machines do truly
run eight full hours a shift, all weeks and
around the year with full capacity.
Therefore often the only means to achieve
the maximum capacity is to apply the maximum of automation.
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
In this magazine you will read about
our customers’ experiences of Raute’s
automation systems from very wide mill
level information systems to separate fully
automated production lines and function
specific machines. You will learn how
Schauman Wood of Finland uses online
information to effectively manage production and respond to customer needs.
Machine vision is a topic which comes up
again and again when extending automation in panel industry, also in this magazine. You will also be the first ones to hear
about Raute’s new revolutionary XY charger. The automated packaging line we introduced preliminarily in Ligna is now introduced in more detail.
You will also find a Ligna review
from Raute’s point of view in this magazine. This year’s Ligna show was a success
for Raute.Our seminar gained a lot of interest and audience and the new Smart Peeling
Technology we introduced has proven very
interesting and promising. Thank you for
your attention and participation.
I wish you nice and interesting
moments with our magazine.
Tapani Kiiski
VP, Sales and Technology
Raute Oyj
3
Advanced
Automation
in Plywood Manufacturing
The main challenges facing the plywood industry today
are declining market share due to competing products, the
changing resource base and rising production costs.
■ “Experienced professionals running
plywood mills know that a high level of
automation is required to be profitable.”
BY RICK MASSEY
PHOTOS MERJA HAKALA, RICK MASSEY
4
Some producers are being forced out of
the market while others are succeeding.
Why? One reason why some succeed
while others fail is that successful companies understand the benefits of advanced
automation. They invest in technology
that supports the market’s need for better, cheaper products and the need to
reduce production costs and utilize
resources better.
Raute’s R&D program supports
the global plywood industry by developing advanced automation programs.
Manager of Automation Technology,
Mika Hyysti, talks about Raute’s growing
focus on automating the plywood manufacturing process and results to date.
What key issues are driving the
need for advanced automation in
the plywood industry?
There are many. Some global, some
regional. Globally, raw material costs are
rising,but the selling price of the end product is not rising at the same rate. Labor
costs are also rising as standards of living
improve. Consumers are demanding better and cheaper panel products. Regional
issues include worker health and safety.
Authorities,like OSHA (The Occupational
Safety and Health Agency) in the United
States, are very strict. Now, countries that
have neglected worker health and safety
must comply and that is a cost. It is a positive step,but it must be properly managed.
Then there is order-based production
batches. Instead of carrying big inventories, producers may prefer to make product to order. Without advanced
automation, it is not financially viable.
Why is it advanced automation?
Automation in the plywood industry is
not new. advanced automation is the next
level; machines that perform tasks beyond
just repetition and labor replacement. It
deals with the decision-making process
itself. Cameras as eyes, computers as
brains, for example. Instructing machines
to make correct decisions every time.
Ensuring that they do the same task over
and over in the same way. Making accurate choices. Machines that don’t have “off
days”, or suffer injuries, or leave the company. Machines that have monitors, not
operators.
Give examples of how advanced
automation has benefited the
plywood industry?
For example, Raute’s new XY charger produces 3D images that enable every protruding defect to be seen by the computer. The carriage can be positioned with-
■ Part of Raute’s automation team in Nastola, Finland
out risk of spin-out. Recovery improves
and so does productivity. Then there is
automatic grading and patching of dry
veneer. The machine doesn’t downgrade
when it is unsure. If it has been programmed properly it always makes the
same decision. Human operators usually
downgrade if they are unsure and that
means that good veneer is lost. Some mills
have greatly improved recovery of highgrade veneer with automatic camera grading. Without advanced automation is
would not be possible to make 8x8 plywood; raw material savings and a reduced
labor are just two advantages. Actually,
labor per m3 is about 1 man-hour, instead
of 2 or 3.
Does the plywood industry have
the people and skills needed to
deal with advanced automation?
Actually,
well-planned
advanced
automation doesn’t require special skills
to manage. User interfaces and diagnostics help the user instead of requiring deep
understanding of the technology.
Experienced professionals running plywood mills know that a high level of
automation is required to be profitable.
They don’t get involved deeply in the actual automation equipment, but rather they
concentrate on improving the process and
business.
Do automation needs vary
regionally?
Yes,slight variation can be found.In North
America, for example, capacity seems to
be important. In Asia, where labor costs
are low and raw material prices high, maximum recovery is emphasized. In Europe
all these needs are more equal.
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
...and in New Westminter, Canada.
Is advanced automation expensive
to implement?
Of course, a line with advanced
automation is more expensive than one
without because it requires more sophisticated components and R&D. However,
automation is an investment that will pay
back for sure. I want to point out that the
purpose of automation is to strengthen
our customers’ business and to help make
more profit on the bottom line.
Why should regions that have
access to cheap labor, invest in
advanced automation?
It’s not only the cost of labor. Machines
under the control of advanced automation simply do a better job. Remember,
too, that the quality of the raw material is
decreasing, which makes processing harder. And the cost of raw materials is increasing at the same time as the availability of
the best quality raw material is decreasing.
This makes waste reduction very important. It is profitable to use advanced
automation to achieve the highest possible recovery because there is no way to
control the high recovery process at high
speed without it. The quality requirements of the end products are also rising
and advanced automation is the only way
to ensure uniform, repeatable quality.
technologies, which are not necessarily
better than the others but just create confusion,which makes selection difficult.We
must be careful not to waste our resources
on the “rat race” but focus on designing
durable and value adding automation
solutions.
There were great expectations
about the Internet for remote access
between machine suppliers and the end
users. Unfortunately network security
issues have caused some setback in that
development.
And, finally, a word or two on how
Raute is addressing the automation
needs of its customers?
Raute has a lot of knowledge and experience in manufacturing machinery and in
the plywood and LVL manufacturing
processes. We are constantly developing
new and improved processes, and
advanced automation plays a key role.
Our goal is to be the trendsetter in this
business. On the other hand, we are good
listeners and involved in co-operative
development projects with customers.
There are plenty of Raute’s engineers all
the time somehow involved in the customers’ processes collecting data valuable
for even better automation solution in
future. ●
How is the www contributing to
the growth in automation and
how do you see this growth in the
future?
The Internet has made the world smaller.
Different technologies, applications,
automation equipment etc. are now easy
to source. On the other hand there is an
excessive supply of alternative and new
5
■ Jari Taavitsainen, Development Manager (Production IT Systems) is in charge of
the implementation of the information management project at Schauman Wood.
Schauman Wood standardizes
its production information management
Mill-level data
Schauman Wood is standard-
izing and improving the information
management of its plywood production
lines with a new management information (data collection) and production
control system. This IT product has been
developed by Raute and it will combine
the main production lines in plywood
manufacture and the ERP (Enterprise
Resource Planning) systems of the plants
into one entity, where data is transferred
in two direction. The implementation of
the project at Schauman Wood is on the
responsibility of Development Manager
(Production IT Systems) Jari Taavitsainen.
BY MIKA HYYSTI
6
Schauman Wood is a pioneer in
production information
management at plywood mills
Ever since data processing computers have
been used in the control of production
lines, Schauman has used automatic collection and reporting of information on
its main production lines.
It is not the first time Raute and
Schauman Wood cooperate in tailoring of
■ Raute’s IT product will combine the
production lines in plywood mill and the
ERP-system into one entity, where data is
transferred in two direction.
■ Raute’s mill-wide Management Information System
(MIS) allows you to control the entire manufacturing process
and respond quickly to interruptions in production.
collection and production control
management information systems. Already
in 1994, Raute designed the first production
control application for a veneer manufacturing line,where the production recipe was
transferred from the foreman’s terminal into
a job queue on the production line. It was
implemented with an IBM OS2 operating
system, which was chosen because the first
MS-Windows operating systems then on the
market were not very well applicable for
demanding industrial conditions.
Later on, however, when the 32-bit
MS-Windows based SCADA-applications
(Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) became more common, reporting
applications for different production lines
have been implemented, both in-house
and by specialized companies, with the aid
of monitoring programs and the like.
Production lines - a gray zone
When Mr. Taavitsainen was asked about
the importance of IT and the reasons for
implementing a mill-wide management
information and production control system, he lists following grounds:
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
At Schauman Wood, the information systems already cover the entire
order-delivery process but the production
lines are still partially gray zones in the
chain.
Even if the efficiency indicators
continuously improve, the improvement
speed has generally slowed down. Therefore a change from estimated to exact figures and indicators is important.
Information technology is a factor gaining more significance; it enables further
improvement of efficiency and all its capabilities have not yet been utilized.
Both the management and the
working methods at plants are developing
towards lower and more flexible set-ups.
Heavy hierarchies are broken down whereas new modern tools are needed for operations management, says Mr. Taavitsainen.
Challenge to control
16 mills at the same time
There are 16 veneer and plywood production plants within Schauman Wood. The
company aims to automate the manage-
ment information systems of the main production lines of all plants and to build up
an IT-based system to support their production control within a couple of years.
The starting point was to standardize the system architecture at all the
mills as far as possible so as to make the
maintenance and development as flexible
and cost-efficient as possible. The conformity of the interfaces within the system was also important, both to the production lines and to the ERP system of the
company.
Schauman Wood went ahead to
implement the challenging goals together
with Raute, leaning on Raute’s new IT
product.
Confidence in product and
understanding of process
favored Raute as partner
As a business, plywood manufacturing
differs widely from other industries and it
is rather difficult to find confidence
among the IT companies for a successful
project implementation. Understanding
7
■ The team of instructors came from
both Schauman Wood and Raute. Front row
from the left: Sami Kaplas, Jarmo Mäkelä,
and Timo Kuusa of Schauman, Pasi Rujala
(IT project manager on Raute’s side) and
Timo Nevala. Back row, left: Heikki Metso,
Jarmo Heikinmäki and Teppo Paajanen of
Raute and on the far right MIS project manager Mikko Hirvonen of Schauman.
the process is as important as programming skills. But not only understanding
the process and programming skills found
at Raute but also competence to further
develop the systems during the project.
Raute’s system was regarded as a product
that could be rapidly started up and adopted by the users, says Mr. Taavitsainen.
With its features and interfaces,
Raute’s IT product was also simple and open
enough to allow Schauman Wood’s own
personnel to participate in the project and
its installation by themselves. The openness
enables flexible connection of new production lines into the system later on.
Line-by-line implementation
The implementation of the system was
planned together with Raute. Because the
production lines to be connected to the
information system are counted in hundreds, it is important that the implementation is systematic and that knowledge
and experience once gained is made use
of. Raute specified and implemented the
first pilot projects while Schauman
Wood’s group of IT and automation professionals was trained to install systems on
other lines of the same type within
Schauman Wood’s organization.
Connecting some of the old control
systems to the new information system was
particularly challenging in connection with
8
the first pilot line and caused some delays
in the schedules. Despite of that, the lines
have been connected to the information
system in the planned sequence.
The installation proceeds line by
line. Raute’s information system team continuously supports and implements special
features necessary in the program product.
Technical support and development cooperation between the professionals of the
two partner companies is on a continuous
basis. Communication involves direct contacts, project meetings and training events.
The two teams play well together;
the work with common interests and goals
speaks for itself, Mr. Taavitsainen describes
the cooperation.
Incorporating of all
veneer manufacturing
lines before end of year
The implementation of the information
system has proceeded fast, which is not
typical for this type of projects in general. To this date, about 80 production lines
have been incorporated. The goal for 2003
is to have all veneer manufacturing lines
in the system. Then all the essential data
from the veneer manufacturing process
will be in a database for later use.
The IT teams of Schauman Wood
at the different localities around southern
Finland have adopted Raute’s system
extremely well and are installing and
maintaining the systems according to the
original plan.
Raute’s IT product covers the
operations between production
lines and ERP
Raute’s management information product incorporates reliable data collection
and transfer into a database, versatile production reporting, running time and failure reporting and the administrative tools
for database diagnostics and maintenance.
The production control product
incorporates a tool for the production
manager for creating the production
recipes and for their transfer into operation. The production queues are displayed
at the respective line control console,where
the recipes are selected for run.
The interfaces of the information
system are open upwards and downwards.
The product has been designed to operate with a wide range of different production lines and to transfer data between
ERP systems of different types.
The data is saved in an open SQL
database where it can be transferred from,
when needed,to other systems.The browser-based user interfaces allow access to
reports without program installations. ●
■ Information system keeps track of the
production flow and product storages. The MIS
features an easy to use web-based system for
viewing a wide range of reports. In this project
the display has been configured to match
Schauman Wood corporate colors.
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
9
BY RICK MASSEY & MIKA HYYSTI ILLUSTRATIONS BY VELI-MATTI LEPISTÖ
■
Measuring points in increments of 25mm
along the surface of the block. This enables
true 3D profiling to achieve maximum
recovery.
■
The point at which the knife contacts the
block is optimized. Together with precise
knife carriage control, maximum recovery is
achieved.
10
Superior scanning resolution
Currently, XY systems provide from 7 to 32
lasers along the surface of the block.
Although effective in determining the best
cylinder from which to maximize veneer
recovery, the limited number of lasers creates gaps that lead to “blind spots” along
the surface of the block. As a result, protruding knots and other irregularities may
be missed during the optimization phase.
With Raute’s new XY+ technology, a digital image of the block is created containing
numerous measuring points in increments
of 25mm along the length of the block. The
result is a true 3D image, what we call XY+.
True 3D imaging
Conventional XY systems produce a rough
3D model of the block that is stored in
memory. This data is used different ways
to determine the best center axis for the
block that will yield the longest possible
unbroken ribbon of veneer during peeling.
With Smart-Scan XY+, a 3D
image of each block is created. This data is
used to determine the best cylinder, after
which advanced optimization begins.It does
so by carrying out a virtual peeling of each
block and by optimizing the value of the
veneer according to preferred sheet dimensions. As a result of the optimizing the peeling path of the knife as well as the point at
which the knife should contact the block at
the start of the peeling cycle is calculated.
Different recovery improvements can be
achieved on a variety of wood species.
General rule is that the greater the block
varies from a true cylinder, the greater the
improvement that Smart-Scan provides.
Optimizing knife carriage positioning
Smart-Scan eliminates blind spots during
XY scanning, creating a 3D image that
enables all defects, such as protruding
knots, to be identified. This data is used
to automatically control the position of
the knife carriage relative to the incoming
block and to position it as close as possible to the surface of the block. Without
this feature, the lathe would be under the
Raute advances plywood technology with the
introduction of the new Smart-Scan XY+, a
block optimization system based on the latest
advancements in infra-red laser scanning.
Smart-Scan can be supplied as part of a
complete Raute lathe deck or as a retrofit for any
XY-charger. In either case, it offers superior performance due to its state-of-the-art measuring
technology incorporating advanced software
functions and features.
Not all protruding knots and irregularities
can be detected with individual laser sensors
due to gaps between scan points.
A safety margin is required when advancing
the carriage, wasting time and reducing
throughput.
■ Advanced user interface shows optimizing results in real time.
control of the operator who manually jogs
the carriage into position. With the carriage in the optimum position at the start
of peeling, throughput increases and spinouts are eliminated.
Simplified calibration
Conventional XY systems require that the
line be stopped when undertaking calibration. With Raute’s process, all parameters and motions associated with XY calibration can be carried out with the line
in operation. This optional feature
reduces downtime, saves raw material and
eliminates calibration errors.
Advanced user interface
The advanced user interface enables the
operator to view the block as a picture image,
a grid, or a geometric shape. In every case,
a true 3D image of the block is generated
and can be stored in the computer’s memory. The system is network ready, making it
accessible for remote diagnostics, reporting
and servicing.
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
Available as a retrofit
In addition to offering Smart-Scan as
a component in new lathe installations,
Raute is able to undertake upgrades to all
existing XY systems. Given the large percentage of lathes that are equipped with
XY’s, it is apparent that the plywood
industry has benefited from this technology through improved recovery, reduced
random and higher throughput. For this
reason, advancements in XY optimization
are inevitable and Raute is pleased to be
at the forefront with the new SmartScan XY+. ●
■ Conventional and Smart-Scan
controlled knife carriage retract.
Without the safety margin, the carriage may
harshly impact the block, causing spin-outs.
With Smart-Scan technology almost all irregularities are detected.
Carriage retract position always optimized /
good-wood-to-good-wood time optimized /
lathe charging failures minimized.
11
Wesbeam
selects Raute to supply Greenfield LVL plant
has ordered LVL (laminated veneer lumber) production equipment from Raute for their plant to be located in the new
industrial area of Neerabup, 45 kilometers north of Perth, Australia.
Start-up of the plant is set for mid-2004.
Wesbeam Pty Ltd.
BY ANTERO HYVÖNEN ILLUSTRATION BY VELI-MATTI LEPISTÖ
■ Mr. Denis M. Cullity, Chairman of Wesbeam Holdings (right) and Risto Mäkitalo, President and CEO of Raute Oyj.
■ The First Surveyor’s
Peg was driven in by The
Hon. Clive Brown MLA State
Development Minister (middle) witnessed by Mr. Denis
M. Cullity and Mr. James
Malone, CEO of Wesbeam.
■ 3D rendering of the new medium
capacity automatic in-line lay-up station.
The Wesbeam plant will pro-
duce about 90,000 m3 of LVL,plywood and
veneer each year from an annual intake of
160,000 m3 of Maritime and Radiata pine
logs.
The delivery will include one
veneer drying and grading line with automatic feeding, dry veneer stacking, moisture meter,VDA visual defect analyzer and
Metriguard strength tester, one core composing line, one LVL production line with
billet handling and a management information system (MIS) for the complete
LVL plant.
One of the latest innovations in
this LVL production line is the in-line
fully-automated lay-up station. Its simple, yet robust construction provides
accurate placement of the veneer sheets
without the need for manual handling.
According to Wesbeam management, the main reasons behind their decision to purchase from Raute were Raute’s
advanced plywood and LVL technology,
thorough process know-how and proven
record of fast LVL plant start-ups.
Wesbeam also stated that Raute’s technology offered the best ROI for the project.
Wesbeam Pty Ltd is a privately
owned company with headquarters in
Perth, Australia. Until February 2001,
Wesbeam was a subsidiary of Wesfi Ltd. It
was established for the purpose of investigating the feasibility of Wesfi to produce
LVL in Western Australia using maritime
pine. Wesbeam Holdings was subsequently established to carry on the investigative
work initiated by Wesfi prior to its merger with Laminex in February 2001.
Wesbeam purchased the intellectual property gained by Wesfi prior to the merger
and has since invested in further research
and plant design. ●
■ Maritime pine will be one of the two species
used to produce LVL. The other is Radiata pine.
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
13
Higher
efficiency and
Finnforest Suolahti:
BY JUSSI TOIVIO PHOTOS JUSSI TOIVIO AND MECANO
■ The development in information technology made
automation innovations possible, says Mr. Heiskanen.
“Many are the changes that have happened in plywood manufacturing during my years in the business. The most
significant, however, was in the early
1990s when automation was applied on
a large scale”, recalls Pertti Heiskanen,
Plant Manager of the Finnforest
Suolahti mills in central Finland. Having
worked in the plywood industry since
1965, Pertti Heiskanen took charge of
the Finnforest Suolahti mills in the
spring of 2002. His experience and
knowledge provide a valuable perspective on the role played by automation in
the production of plywood.
Finnforest is the biggest wood-processing
group in Europe and part of Metsäliitto. Its
two industrial business areas are Engineered
Wood and Solid Wood. Finnforest offers
wood-based products and services for its customers operating in construction, industry, distribution and retail. The company operates in
over 20 countries and employs almost 8 000
persons. In 2002 turnover was 1.8 billion euros.
The Engineered Wood business area accounted for 278 million euros in 2002 and employed
1500 persons, 600 of them at Suolahti plywood mills. The Suolahti softwood mill produces 170,000 m3 and the birch mill 70,000 m3
of plywood per annum.
Among the main Engineered Wood
products are also thermal treated lumber
(Thermo Wood), laminated veneer lumber
(Kerto), gluelam beams and I-beams as well as
HSL Elements, a partition and separation system for office building and interior decoration.
qualitywith machine vision
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
15
■ High labor costs and raw material
prices were among the drivers when automation of production lines and the use of
machine vision systems started.
Automation boosted by need
to improve efficiency and quality
Efficiency driven by competition on one
hand and the need for higher quality on the
other forced plywood mills to automate
their operations in the late 80s and early 90s.
New solutions in technology and automation were taken into use at an ever-rising
speed. The development in information
technology made automation innovations
possible, says Mr. Heiskanen. For example,
real-time imaging of veneers in grading,
processing the huge amount of data thus
retrieved and the necessary control commands required efficient processors and
advanced programs. High labor costs and
raw material prices were also drivers when
automation of production lines and the use
of machine vision systems started.
16
Higher production speeds
opened doors for machine vision
The higher line efficiencies brought about
a rise in speeds. At the same time, accuracy requirements rose onto new levels.There
was a need to improve the yield on the raw
material and the control level of production. From the point of view of production
management it was necessary to know what
veneer qualities were being processed in
each and every phase. Stacks of unusable
veneers filling the gangways were no more
allowed at the plants. The human ability to
watch and grade production visually on the
high-speed production lines became limited. This created a clear order for the application of machine vision. Systems based on
machine vision used in other fields of
industry were applied in the plywood
industry. For example in sawmilling, grading systems based on imaging of logs had
already been taken into use and good experience gained from them made it easy to
grab the offer made by Mr. Markku
Korhonen of Mecano Group to develop
machine vision applications for grading of
veneers, says Mr. Heiskanen.
The first machine vision
applications for quality
grading of dried veneers
Where did it all start? Grading after drying was a natural starting point to develop the first machine vision application
for veneer production. It was a known
fact, that the human ability to work with
persistent concentration and accuracy
for longer periods in grading was rather
limited; the results in some of the working shifts were really poor. Machine
vision brought about a revolutionary
change in grading: individual scanning of
each and every veneer after the dryer. The
camera saved a “bit map” of the veneer
into the computer with all the different
defects in the veneer distinguishable, e.g.
splits, holes and open knots. Grading
rules “taught” to the computer were the
basis for grading of the veneers into different qualities and stacks. At its best,
grading accuracy improved by tens of
percents and now it was possible to know
what the veneer stacks really contained.
I purchased the first Mecano VDA, which
was installed on the drying line at
Koskisen Oy plywood mill, my employer
at that time. Since then over 50 of these
systems have been taken into use all over
the world, says Heiskanen.
Surface quality and exterior
features becoming more important
Tens of years ago the strength was the
most important criterion in plywood
manufacture. Nowadays strength is
regarded as a natural, basic feature of the
panel. The technical quality of the plywood has become more important than
before, along with surface quality and
appearance. The decorative surface
properties must meet the customer’s
requirements but more attention is also
focused on the technical properties of
the surface.
Is color camera technique
the next step?
Angle grain, fiber structure, knot groups
and defects that do not differ much in
color from the wood, are properties
whose detection and analyzing with
machine vision could be developed. This
would not only enable evaluation of the
physical properties of the veneer on
basis of the optically analyzed structure
of the wood, envisions Plant Manager
Heiskanen. Color camera applications
would be the next step in veneer grading. Especially the grading of face
veneers is becoming more important
than ever, and the high resolution in
color camera technique would surely
improve the grading result.
Automation to serve customer
needs, value adding to improve
competitiveness
Quality will most probably beat quantity
in the development of Finnish plywood.
The future lies in manufacturing a highquality end product with better technical
properties that customers are ready to pay
for.Value adding by overlaying or machining improves the competitiveness of
plants. In this chain, automation applications based on machine vision play an
important role. Mr. Heiskanen is inspired
by his vision: The modern value adding
chain is under control, right from the cutting stand. The existing wood stocks are
known and production is controlled on
basis of this knowledge.
Data collection in veneer handling
to serve ability to deliver products
that meet the customer needs
The control of the entire production chain
is based on the knowledge of the customers’ orders and needs. The logs are
■ The 50th delivered Mecano VDA
was taken to use at Finnforest Suolahti mills
in December 2002.
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
measured at the mill before cross cutting.
The raw material flow is based on the customer specifications. The graded logs are
taken by qualities into the soaking pond.
The green veneers are measured on the
peeling line to ensure the correct qualities
and quantities. The veneer is graded
before the dryer to ensure it complies with
the orders, and the same is repeated after
the dryer. In order to optimize the product, the data collected about the visual and
physical features of the veneer is used to
control all the links in the production
chain (veneer handling, grading, patching, panel grading).
Controlling the entire chain also
requires that the different systems work
together. The amount of information in
the process is enormous and all competences shall be channeled to serve the
common goal: to deliver the customer a
product that meets his needs, concludes
Mr. Heiskanen. ●
■ Mecano VDA G2,
Visual Defect Analyzer.
17
Nelson Pine
was established in 1984, as a manufacturing
facility to add value to the Nelson
region's renewable resource of
Pinus radiata plantation forests. In May 2000 the
company announced plans for a LVL plant at its
Richmond site.
Nelson Pine Industries
BY RICK MASSEY
■ The green stackers stack veneer according to moisture sort.
enjoys the benefits of automation
18
Nelson Pine
is the World’s largest
producer of MDF at around 400,000 m3
annually. An LVL facility, started up in
2002, has increased staffing to 215, making Nelson Pine one of the region’s largest
employers. The company is 100% owned
by the Sumitomo Forestry Company Ltd.
of Tokyo, Japan.
Move into veneer-based
production
In 2001, Raute delivered a high-speed
peeling line and a composer to Nelson
Pine. The equipment is used to produce
veneer for the LVL mill. All raw material
used is Radiata pine, with an average log
diameter of around 290 mm. After arriving at the mill, logs are debarked, cut to
length and separated into four diameter
classes. The peeler blocks are placed into
hot water ponds, after which they are
conveyed to a Raute 9 ft. softwood peeling line.
Bark waste and sawdust is transferred to the adjacent power plant and is
used to generate steam for the mill. Green
veneer waste and cores are utilized by the
MDF mill.
After peeling, veneer is clipped and
stacked according to three moisture sorts.
Random is removed and reassembled into
full sheets by a 9 ft. Raute composer. The
lathe is equipped to produce high quality
veneer, with an XY optimizing system,
high-speed spindles, full-length back-up
rolls, digitally-positioned knife carriage
and a clipping trash gate.
Automation a major
feature of the line
Significant advanced automation has been
incorporated into the peeling line at
Nelson Pine to ensure that the line runs at
peak efficiency with minimal downtime.
A Wonderware-based Graphical
User Interface (GUI) is used to select peeling parameters. The screens display
images of the lathe adjustments, such as
knife set-up, carriage gap and back-up roll
adjustment. Parameter adjustments are
displayed in real time and in a visual manner that is easy for the operator to follow.
Wonderware is used widely in industrial
applications and is favored because of its
simplicity and clear graphical representation. The software also logs all parameter
adjustments,such as lathe set-up and peeling performance.
Most of the lathe’s hydraulic
motion functions are actuated by servo
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
solenoid valves, including positioning of
the knife angle and gap, and back-up roll
positioning. The servo-solenoid valves are
more reliable and more able to tolerate contaminants than older style servo-valves.
The lathe’s open architecture Delta
RMC motion controller offers precise and
smooth control of motions and a diagnostics tools for capturing and output of
motion curves in graphic form. This simplifies tuning and troubleshooting. The
SSI MTS temposonic probes offer resolution of 0.005 mm for precise placement
and velocity control. An advanced AC
drive system controls the knife carriage.
The AC-servo feed allows veneer thickness
setup in 0.01 mm increments.
After the lathe, advanced automation features ensure high recovery and precise stacking. A defect camera optimizes
clipping with the operator being aided by
a GUI that displays the defects and defect
parameters. A green moisture meter at the
clipper infeed determines the moisture
content of the veneer and instructs the clipper to clip the sheet according to moisture
content.Veneer with high moisture shrinks
more in the dryer and so is clipped wider
than veneer with less moisture, which
improves recovery. The veneer is then
stacked according to its moisture class. The
green sheet weight function detects high
moisture sheets and activates the knockoff cylinder early to ensure that the heavier sheets are stacked squarely.
■ Radiata pine, with
its wide annular growth
rings, is the raw material
processed at Nelson Pine.
nance. It also enables the mill to use its
own reporting formats and to output
information in Windows-compatible programs, such as Microsoft Excel.
Web-Based Management
Information System (MIS)
A web-based MIS provides remote access
to the line from Raute’s factory by way of
a standard modem connection. The MSSQL database provides a high level of data
logging and performance data, which is
important when undertaking mainte-
Improved composer efficiency
A 9 ft. Raute composer processes dry random veneer into full sheets by removing
defects and providing parallel leading and
trailing edges. These pieces of veneer are
then joined into a continuous ribbon of
veneer with string and glue. The composer reduces random veneer handling, produces high-integrity core and enables
automatic layup.
A line camera detects defects,
which are removed by the clipper.
Positioning of the veneer is controlled by
servo drives. The operator marks areas of
wane with a fluorescent sensor for autoclipping. This eliminates the need to manually rip the veneer containing wane, saving time and reducing veneer loss.
All data from the composer is
incorporated into the MIS and is accessible through the same database as the peeling line. ●
■ The Nelson Pine lathe features
the latest in high tech peeling automation.
■ The composer uses a line
camera to identify defects at the composer.
19
LVL
■LVL-Ugra is
located in the city of
Nyagan in the
Autonomous Region of
Khanty-Mansiysk,
Western Siberia, Russia,
some 2030 km from
Moscow. KhantyMansiysk has a total area
of 534,800 km2 with close
to 49 million hectares of
State forests (4.5% of
Russia’s entire forest
resources).
from
Western
Siberia
JSC “LVL-Ugra” - the first LVL plant in Russia
BY MERJA HAKALA PHOTOS LVL-UGRA
■ LVL-Ugra uses local pine Pinus Sylvestris as raw material.
20
Most of the region is occupied by swamped taiga. The air temperature
stays below zero centigrade from October till April. The average temperature in January varies from -18 to -24 °C (-0.4 to -11.2 °F). The minimum temperature ever, minus 59.3 ºC (-74.7 °F), was recorded in 1973.
The steady snow cover, up to 50 - 80 cm in wintertime, lasts for 180 - 200
days, from end October till the beginning of May.
For these rather extreme conditions IMS
Engineering chose Raute as their partner for
the first LVL plant project ever in Russia. The
contract comprises the supply of a complete
LVL plant, including consultancy and training services in production start-up and product end uses. The decision to choose Raute as
partner was based on the confidence in Raute’s
know-how. It was common knowledge that
Raute had been one of the pioneers in developing of LVL technology.
Own processing of
wood raw material
For many years the Khanty-Mansiysk region’s
woodworking industry was developing as a
minor industry despite the great forest
resources. This can be explained by the lack
of advanced wood-processing technologies as
well as by the tradition ofraw materials export.
For the year 2002 only 1.75 million m3 ofwood
was harvested while the harvesting capacity
constitutes over 25 million m3/a.
The region’s government carries out
a policy focused on the development ofa wood
processing complex. The Regional Program of
Development and Restructuring of The Wood
Industry for 2000-2010 has been adopted.The
program states a number of measures to stabilize and develop the wood processing industry,essentially through construction ofa number of high value-added wood-processing
plants. The government of the region supports the creation of new production facilities, both financially and politically.
The final goal for the region’s government is to create, in addition to the existing
oil industry, a strong wood-processing sector
that manufactures and exports high valueadded engineered wood products and relies
on the rich and renewable forest resources of
the region.
LVL was found by accident
Mr.Miroslav Alexeev,Director for Economy,
LVL Ugra, recalls the history of the plant. All
began four years ago when Mr. Peter Ilin,
Chairman of the Board of IMS Engineering
(St. Petersburg), and Mr. Joseph Adelsky,
President of IMS Associates, USA, visited
Khanty-Mansiysk to acquaint themselves
with its forest resources and examine possibilities of developing advanced wood processing in the Khanty-Mansiysk Region.
Together they tried to find ideas how
to utilize the local pine resources. Joseph
Adelsky and Peter Ilin remembered to have
seen building materials made of softwood
veneers and used in different constructions in
USA.They learned that the product was called
LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) and that it
could replace large-dimension solid pine lumber. Finally they found Raute who had the
most advanced technology available for the
production of LVL.
Later on IMS Engineering took charge
of the management of the plant construction
process, including civil works, equipment
delivery, personnel training, etc.
Studies and Raute gave
faith in the project
In the beginning the project was very vague.
Raute could, however, answer the numerous
questions of the client and so a contract was
signed in May 2001. The representatives of
IMS-Engineering are grateful to Raute, especially Mrs. Astrid Vähä-Touru, Regional
Sales Director, and Mr. Hannu Sinko,
Technology Manager for LVL, for the trust
and confidence in the project and for their
activities in its implementation.
Independent market studies and business analyses were made so that the buyer had
a good overall idea of the possibilities of LVL.
Raute made a study of the compatibility of
the raw material for LVL production.
The raw material was tested in the
plant-scale laboratory of the Forestry and
Wood Technology Department of
Kymenlaakso Polytechnic, Finland. Mr.
Timo Välttilä and his team from Raute collected and analyzed the information and finally compiled the report. The team was supported by Mr. Tuomo Väärä, Mr. Olavi
Liukkonen and a group of students from
Kymenlaakso Polytechnic.
■ The temperature development in the
center glue joint was examined in the pressing test to determine the optimal pressing
conditions.
■ Raute’s Timo Välttilä prepares LVL
test samples.
■ Ready product in a bending test
according to LVL standards.
■ Ready LVL products (39 x 100 mm).
continues overleaf…
21
■ The LVL-Ugra plant is housed in the
premises of a former concrete element factory.
●
●
●
●
●
■ The inauguration of the plant was
on 24 September 2003
From left to right: Mr. Alexander
Ryzhenkov, Mayor of the city of Nyagan,
Mr. Alexander Filipenko, The Governor of
Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region, Mr.
Valeriy Bobylev, Deputy Governor for
Wood Industry, Mr. Viktor Paivin,
Managing Director of LVL-Ugra, and
Raute’s Production Manager, Mr. Petri
Strengell.
The LVL- Ugra plant delivery
The LVL-Ugra plant delivery was scheduled for February 2002 and comprised following production lines:
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
log debarking and cutting line
6-ft. peeling, clipping and stacking line
veneer drying and grading line
with 12-cell dryer
veneer defect clipping and composing line
veneer scarfing line
6-ft lay-up and pre-pressing line
2-opening LVL pressing line
6-ft billet handling line
by-product chipping
glue kitchen by Raute Precision
In addition Raute supplied a basic
set of spare parts and supervision of installation. Following machines and equipment were acquired from other suppliers:
22
●
●
log handling before debarking
veneer stack turning device
exhaustion system (saw dust)
sharpening and grinding equipment (for circular blades and linear knifes)
laboratory equipment
secondary product handling
(Waste veneer and chip conveyors, etc. handling devices)
auxiliary equipment (e.g. operator platforms, stairs for the
machinery, air condition rooms
for line controls, maintenance
tools, compressors, pipe works,
cranes, etc.)
The test runs were performed in
the summer and the plant was started up
in September 2003. The planned production capacity is about 40,000 m3 of LVL
per annum and the plant will employ more
than 400 people. Typical products are
bearing structures with long spans.
European standard products
90% of the raw material is local pine, the
rest being spruce and cedar. The raw material is acquired within a radius of 50 -100
km from the plant.The trees are felled mostly in winter and summer when the ground
is solid, as harvesting in spring and fall is
almost impossible on the swampy terrain.
The maximum thickness of the
produced LVL beams is 75 mm and the
available width 1.8 m. The length of one
LVL billet is up to 18 meter.
LVL-Ugra is committed to the
healthy environment and they stand for
highly ecological program using phenolformaldehyde (E1) glue in their LVL production. The LVL-beams meet the appropriate European standards, EN 300. A glue
factory in the area is being planned as a
joint venture with a glue supplier.
Marketing cooperation
and future plans
The marketing of the LVL-Ugra products
happens in cooperation with a foreign
partner and his sales network. The products are used by the construction industry both in Russia and abroad. The peeling capacity allows to increase the production up to 80 000 m3 - 100 000 m3,
which, however, depends on the availability of raw material. Selling of veneer could
be an option.
A decision for a birch plywood
plant has been made but as the financing
is still unsettled, no schedule has been
fixed yet.For the time being,an MDF plant
project is under implementation in the
area and there have been discussions of
starting a softwood plywood plant. ●
■ Representatives of the customer in the LVL plant project,
from the left: Mr. Miroslav Alexeev,
Director for Economy at LVL-Ugra,
Mr. Joseph Adelsky, President of
IMS-Associates, USA, and Mr.
Peter Ilin, Chairman of the Board
of IMS Engineering, St.Petersburg,
Russia.
■ Mecano Visual Defect Analyzer.
Machine
vision
applications to control veneer production
BY MARKKU KORHONEN AND JUSSI TOIVIO PHOTOS MECANO
■ Mecano MDA Dry
Veneer Moisture Analyzer.
Veneer grading and patching have always been
labor-intensive phases in the plywood industry.
On high-speed production lines the human performance in demanding visual grading cannot
last for long without hampering the results,
which are prone to human errors and inaccuracies. Veneers end up in the wrong quality classes
because of fatigue or insufficient alertness of the
operators; manual patching is not always as accurate as it should be, too many patches are made
or the patches are not on the correct spots. The
staff turnover requires continuous training of
new workers in the grading criteria and patching
rules. Also the grading results between working
shifts may differ enormously. A significant
improvement to these problems has been made
by machine vision. Machine vision applications
can improve both the controllability of production and the value on the raw material throughout the veneer production process.
24
Mecano’s experience in machine
vision covers over ten different species
Automatic grading based on machine
vision has several advantages that boost
production: it improves accuracy, guarantees an optimized and even veneer grading quality, increases flexibility of production and is programmable. The system
is provided with illustrative controls based
on a visual user interface. Mecano’s experience in quality grading of veneer covers
over 10 species of wood.
Automation of patching is also one
of the veneer production phases where
machine vision can help improve productivity. The improvement is a result of
higher quality, efficiency and flexibility of
production, all based on the accuracy and
the optimizing possibilities of machine
vision. The veneer patching automatics
patch the sheets on basis of given initial
data without fatigue and with unfailing
accuracy. The automatics are also applicable for large sheets.
Easy programming
Product sizes, thicknesses and grading
rules can be programmed into the line
control system. Quality grading can be
started with just one keystroke.Production
management is easier as the data is available also on a remote terminal.
Customized defect libraries
The different products within the
Mecano VDA (Veneer Defect Analyzer)
product family have many features in
common, for example the parametering
■ Example of a moisture map
created by the DMA.
possibility. For defect scanning, the customer’s veneers and their different
defects are “taught” to the system. The
images of the defects and knots are collected in a defect library on the computer. An individual defect library is established for each customer, based on his
own quality criteria. The data of the
sheets scanned in grading and patching
is compared with the library data to find
the defective spots. The user interface is
open to allow the operator to choose any
features for use. New running programs
are easy and fast to create.
Moisture, stress and roughness
analyses also available
The camera display works on real-time
basis and shows the critical defect factor
that determines the quality of each sheet.
The classification of the defects on the display happens by means of colors. The
quality can be examined for example by
the quality distribution based on defects
or by the variations in length and width.
The system can be complemented with
data of moisture distribution, strength
(given by Metriguard) and roughness.
The display of the veneers can be
stopped with one keystroke. Browsing of
the veneers is possible backwards and the
analyzing and qualification of a selected
veneer can be re-examined in detail while
quality grading goes on interrupted in the
background. A remote terminal can be
attached to enable creation of new running programs and running of simulations.
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
■ Different moisture limits set for
different parts of the sheet is an efficient tool
in moisture grading.
Simulated quality grading to
optimize different grades
A common feature for all Mecano
machine vision applications is the simulation of quality grading or the “what if
scenarios”. The machine can make a “new”
patching or grading on basis of collected,
real veneer data. The “re-patching” or “regrading” can be run after changes have
been made in the critical defect factors,
after which the changes in the distribution
are examined. Simulation is an efficient
tool for optimizing the different grades.
Moisture map - new tool for dry
veneer moisture measurement
Mecano’s new DMA (Dry Veneer Moisture
Analyzer) offers numerous new features for
moisture measurement of dried veneers.
With the system it is possible to perform
moisture grading and control the veneer
dryer on a reliable basis. In addition to
measuring the average and peak moistures,
there has been a need to locate the moist
spots in the veneer more exactly. For this
purpose Mecano has further developed its
moisture analysis so that a moisture map
made of each sheet can be made on basis
of the DMA result. The maps can be stored
in the system memory for closer examination. Different moisture limits set for different parts of the sheet is an efficient tool
in moisture grading. For example, higher
moisture content can be allowed at the ends
of the sheet than in the middle. The illustrated example shows how the control limit
is set at an average moisture of 7% in the
DMA.When the value is exceeded,the sheet
is stacked for re-drying.
The moisture map and the grading
based on its analysis have brought about a
totally new tool for production management. Together with the VDA they form a
new generation in the automation of veneer
production that meets the most challenging demands in veneer grading. ●
25
Automation improves productivity and working conditions at
Schauman Wood
Not only to improve yield and quality, Schauman Wood Jyväskylä mills also
improves the working conditions of its personnel by investing in an automatic
patching line. There is always a shortage of face veneer and efficient patching
contributes to improve the yield. Traditional patching involves inconvenient
working positions and patching is not pleasant as a job either.
BY MERJA HAKALA PHOTOS SAULI SALMELA
“These problems
were eliminated
when the automatic patching line was
taken into use”, says Plant Manager Kari
Hyvönen. Nowadays the running of the
line means control and monitoring of the
quality produced. The new line is operated mostly by the same people that worked
with patching before. They have been
trained for the new tasks in connection
with start-up. On-the-job training has
also been used for training of completely
new operators. The Schauman line runs
under control of one single operator.
Well planned, almost ready
The contract was signed in the spring 2002
and the line was installed at the end of the
year.The line was delivered in ready-assembled modules that were installed at the site.
Before delivery the different components
were tested at Raute’s Nastola works.
Getting the line into working condition
took about a month. Raute’s installation
crew worked six days a week in two 8-hour
shifts. The test run of the 40-meter patch-
26
ing line as a whole was made only after
installation and was ready in record time.
Common goal and commitment
“The Schauman personnel at the plant
were eager to participate both in installation and training”, says Raute’s Project
Manager Olli Hakanen. “Cooperation is
good when the parties are committed to
reaching a common goal”, says Mr.
Hakanen. Mr. Hyvönen of Schauman confirms, and adds that the goals were set on
a realistic basis from the start. In this kind
of long-term projects it is important that
the chemistry works between the individuals.
Record line
Both birch and spruce veneer is run on
the line in thicknesses of 1.5 - 2.6 mm
and sizes 1300 and 1600mm x 2600-3200
mm. The guaranteed capacity for the 3head line is 45,000 patches an 8-hour
shift, but even higher capacities have been
reached.
Weekly service
The weekly service includes cleaning of the
line, replacement of the tools, change of
anvil and lubrication of the patching
heads. This service takes place every
Monday during the morning shift.
Keeping in track
“Raute was chosen because it is a familiar
supplier”, says Mr. Hyvönen. Other features according to Mr. Hyvönen were
Raute’s references as a patching line supplier and the fact that the product met the
buyer’s needs. Other reasons for choosing
Raute were the continuous development
of plant operations to ensure profitability and keeping up with the development
in the industry.
“Schauman hopes that the plywood plant is a great workplace for future
generations as well. Therefore the working conditions are developed on a continuous basis from the point of view of
recruitment. Automation helps in this
respect”, summarizes Mr. Hyvönen. ●
High-Tech packaging system
Cross Wrap
Raute is pleased to offer Cross Wrap® fully-automatic stretch-film wrapping
equipment. This patented 3D wrapping technology seals all edges and corners of the package, making it virtually impervious to moisture. To date, over
100 units have been sold to companies packing sawn goods, wood-based panels, waste/recyclable materials and silage.
BY RICK MASSEY PHOTOS CROSS WRAP
●
●
●
This type of
operation has typically been carried out manually using a variety of packaging materials - metal or plastic straps to bind the sheets together, corner supports between the straps and the
product, and plastic or plywood sheets for
further protection of all six sides. The
Cross Wrap process produces a solid package using a single wrapping material, recyclable PE-film.
PE - film is fully recyclable and can
be disposed of in landfills or incinerated.
Packages are moisture resistant and watertight and do not require additional banding. No pallet is required, but support
blocks can be included for forklift handling.
One supervisor only is required to
remove loads from the line and to monitor the process. The lower labor and material requirements of the Cross Wrap
process have been shown to save as much
as 60% in packaging costs compared to
conventional banding.
3D wrapping ensures that the package remains intact during transportation
and storage. Packages may even be slit and
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
product removed without compromising
the stability and integrity of the package.
Cross Wrap adapts to a variety of
package sizes. It will even handle packages
that are asymmetrical, such as those composed of random-sized panels. Cross
Wrap packages even stand up to the most
demanding conditions. To emphasize this
fact, a Cross Wrap package was rolled
repeatedly by a forklift and remained
intact, proving that under normal operating conditions, Cross Wrap provides
excellent protection for your goods.
In order to test the effects of moisture
on the contents of a Cross Wrap package,
research was undertaken by the VTT
Technical Research Centre of Finland in
February, 2003. A variety of tests were conducted in temperatures ranging from -18°C
to + 40°C. VTT’s conclusions were as follows:
●
Sawn lumber (16-19 % M.C.) and
warm plywood can be packaged
using the Cross Wrap method
where the package is totally
enclosed on all six sides.
●
When a piece of high moisture
sawn lumber was packaged with
lumber of lower moisture content
there was less moulding and blue
staining than typically occurs with
conventional packaging.
Moisture transference does not
occur within the fully-sealed package and moisture does not accumulate against the coldest surface
of the package to cause mould and
blue stain.
Large variations in vapour pressure
do not occur inside the Cross Wrap
package, enabling moisture to be
distributed more evenly. This prevents lumber from twisting.
Warm plywood, packaged using the
Cross Wrap method, was placed in
cold exterior storage. The plywood
remained perfectly preserved and
there was no damage done by
potential condensate.
Packaging is an important step in production as companies seek to win new markets and eliminate transportation damage
and shipping claims. It is important to customers that their goods are delivered clean
and free from damage. The Cross Wrap
stretch-film packaging process not only
ensures the integrity of your product, it also
helps to convey a positive image of your company.End-users will also appreciate the use of
recyclable PE packaging material that demonstrates your concern for the environment.
Cross Wrap is a complete packaging solution that makes a strong marketing statement about your company and
your product. ●
27
Fair Tour
BY MERJA HAKALA
PHOTOS MERJA HAKALA, ANTERO HYVÖNEN, VELI-MATTI LEPISTÖ
■ The new Raute visual image and
logo were on show at the modern booth.
During 2003, Raute participated in several exhibitions around the world.
Ligna Hannover, Germany, May 2003:
The new Smart-Peel concept
A large group of people from Raute
attended the traditional Ligna Fair. CDs
with video highlights of the popular seminar arranged in connection with the show
have been sent to the participants.
“Your partner in performance”
seminar at Ligna
Around hundred participants gathered at
the seminar where the outlook for plywood
and LVL industries and Raute’s new technologies were discussed. Raute’s specialists
highlighted the Smart-Peel concept, the
manufacture of 8x8-ft. plywood, mill-level
production automation, machine vision
applications and Raute’s worldwide operations and maintenance services.
First prize in the identification of
different veneer species arranged at the
seminar went to Mr.Maris Bumanis,Head
of Project Implementation Department,
Latvijas Finieris, Latvia. His lot, drawn
among the correct answers, awarded him
with a birch plywood bowl by Petri Vainio,
a young Finnish designer.
■ Top: Our agent for our Frenchspeaking customers, Mr. Christian Lallia
(middle) with Area Sales Manager for
Russian-speaking customers, Mr. Esa
Saastamoinen of RWS-Engineering in the
background.
28
■ Bottom: Valuable customer’s comments on Raute’s performance were given by
Mr. Murray G. Sturgeon, CEO of Nelson
Pine Industries, New Zealand, when he
related successful peeling of Pinus Radiata.
■ Mr. Bumanis visiting Raute’s head
office in the summer, with his prize under
portraits of members of Raute’s owner family. “Co-operation gives strength”, said Mr.
Bumanis and admitted he had been given
specialist advice by Raute in his answers.
Wood & Forest Exhibition,
Jyväskylä, Finland, September 2003:
Lesprombusiness, Moscow, Russia,
September 2003:
WoodmacAsia, Singapore,
September 2003:
The Smart-Peel Concept
in modernizations
Technology and services
Participants from Raute Wood and RWSEngineering specializing in the sales to
Russia attended the exhibition arranged
in Moscow for the first time in September.
Peeling, patching and parquet
Raute’s new image showed also in Asia,
where Raute Wood met Asian customers
at the Singapore fair. The Smart-Peel concept along with patching and parquet were
the main topics among the customers. The
fair was also hosted by our agent from the
Philippines and by people from Mecano
and RWS-Engineering.
■ Top: The share of services of Raute’s
turnover has shown continuous growth.
Consequently, Raute’s services were the main
topics at Jyväskylä, including modernizations
of machines and production lines. Raute people met customers, sub-contractors and other
partners, as well as teachers and students in
forestry and wood product industry.
■ Middle: Mr. Tapani Kiiski, Vice
President, Sales & Technology, Raute (middle) visited Jyväskylä to meet Raute’s Finnish
partners. Mr. Kiiski together with Mr. Juha
Vaajoensuu, Chief Technology Specialist of
National Technology Agency in Finland
(TEKES) and Mr. Markku Korhonen, CEO of
Mecano Group (right).
■ Bottom: Mr. Kalle Leino (left) of
Raute Precision introduced truck scales.
Dealing in weighing and dosing systems,
Raute Precision has delivered glue kitchens to
Raute Wood’s projects. Mr. Arvo Kartano of
Raute Jyväskylä, right.
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
■ Bottom picture: from the left
Administrative Manager Doris Doh,
Marketing Assistant Merja Hakala, Senior
Sales Manager Patrick Wong and President
Jukka Siiriäinen together with local customers. Doris, Patrick and Jukka are stationed at Raute Wood’s office in Singapore.
SFPA Show, Atlanta, Georgia, USA,
June 2003: Cross Wrap and 8x8
The show was directed primarily at the logging and sawmill industries.On hand from
Raute Wood were Area Sales Manager,
John Nalley and Marketing Manager, Rick
Massey. Of interest to attendees who visited our information booth were Cross
Wrap stretch wrap packaging machinery
and new technology for the manufacture
of 8x8 plywood and LVL.
29
appointments at raute wood
Matti Ukkonen
Antti Aholainen
Tarmo Niskanen
Rick Massey
30
Jarmo Piironen
Mr. Matti Ukkonen
has started as Technology
Manager, Engineered Wood
Flooring, at Nastola. With
his background and strong
experience with the EWF
industry in Finland we will
better be able to understand
our EWF customers' needs
and to develop this business. In future Matti will
take over the global sales
responsibility of these products, with the local support
of respective Area Sales
Managers.
Mr. Antti Aholainen
has started as Purchase
Manager at Nastola working
for both Raute Wood and
Raute Precision with
responsibility for raw materials, components and
stocks. His earlier experience covers several years
with an engineering works,
both as Plant Service
Manager and with acquisitions and purchases.
Mr. Jarmo Piironen
has started as Project
Manager working with
delivery projects worldwide.
Among his earlier employments he worked for several
years as Service Manager for
a company with international installation projects
and services.
Mr. Tarmo Niskanen
has started as Automation
Engineer at Jyväskylä.
Having worked as a designer and start-up engineer for
a sub-contractor, Tarmo has
a strong experience with
Raute’s projects.
Mr. Rick Massey has
assumed the responsibilities
of Raute Wood's Marketing
Manager. Rick will stay
located in Raute's North
American head quarters in
Vancouver, BC, Canada
with marketing manager
responsibilities for of Raute
Wood Ltd. as well.
FINLAND
ITALY
Raute Oyj
Raute Wood
Rautetie 2
P.O.Box 69
FIN-15551 Nastola
Tel: +358-3-82911
Fax: +358-3-829 3511
[email protected]
Intercomer S.R.L.
Via Paracelso 14
20041 Agrate Brianza
Milan
Tel: +39-039-605 8057
Fax: +39-039-605 6462
[email protected]
Renzo Orbolato
Luigi Gaviraghi
Raute Wood Inc.
10240 SW Nimbus, Suite 1-11
Tigard, OR 97223
Tel: +1-503-684-1166
Fax: +1-503-620-7954
[email protected]
CHILE
Raute Wood Santiago
Hernando de Aguirre 162
Office 704
Raute Wood
TURKEY
Providencia, Santiago
Customer service
Yentür Ticaret
Tel: 56-2-233 4812
P.O.Box 69
General Nekmi Öktem Sok 4/1 Fax: 56-2-233 4748
FIN-15551 Nastola
Erenköy
[email protected]
Tel: +358-3-829 11
81060 Istanbul
24 h: +358-3-829 3600
Tel: +90-216-368 3573
ARGENTINA
Fax: +358-3-829 3345
Fax: +90-216-368 4756
Oscar E. Bruschstein
[email protected]
[email protected]
Demaria 336
Yentür Mehmet
RWS-Engineering Oy
(1846) Adrogué
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Tuhkamäentie 2
Tel: 54-11-4294 1488
FIN-15540 Villähde
Fax: 54-11- 4293 5997
Association of Wood
Tel: +358-3-829 61
[email protected]
Processing Manufacturers
Fax: +358-3-762 2378
T.G. Masaryka 24
BRAZIL
[email protected] 96053 Zwolen
Tel: +421-45 5330 278
Indumec Indústria Mecánica
Raute Jyväskylä
Fax: +421-45 5330 278
Ltda
Hakkutie 3
[email protected]
Rue General Potiguara 1115
FIN-40320 Jyväskylä
Roman Reh
Fazendinha, PR Curitiba
Tel: +358-14-445 4400
81050-500
RUSSIA
Fax: +358-14-445 4429
Tel: +55-41-347 2412
[email protected] Raute Oyj
Fax: +55-41-347 4545
Arhangelsky per., 1
[email protected]
Mecano Group Oy
101934 Moscow
Eduardo Koller
Syväojankatu 8
Tel: +7-095-207 8794
Stefano Koller
FIN-87700 Kajaani
Fax: +7-095-207 8794
Irina Shadrina
Tel: +358-8-877 6700
MEXICO
Fax: +358-8-612 1982
CANADA
Equipos Interpulp S.A. DE
firstname.lastname@
C.V.
Raute Wood Ltd
mecanogroup.com
5 Capilano Way
Eugenio Sue 35,
FRANCE
New Westminster, B.C.
Col.Chapultepec Polanco
CANADA V3L 5G3
CP 11560 Mexico DF
Finnso Bois S.A.R.L.
Tel: +1-604-524-6611
Tel: +52-5-5279 0540
18, quai Louis Blériot
Fax: +1-604-521-4035
Fax : +52-5-281 0689
F-75016 Paris
[email protected] [email protected]
Tel: +33-1-452 773 40
Rolando Palomares Hilton
Customer Service
Fax:+33-1-452 773 41
~iga
Gonzalo Idarraga Zun
USA and Canada
[email protected]
Christian Lallia
SINGAPORE
Spare parts
SPAIN
Adecor Consulting S.L.
Calle Azalea 88-3-1
28109 El Soto
Alcobendas, Madrid
Tel: +34-91-650 1130
Fax: 34-91-650 6093
[email protected]
Hannu Vainio
Toll free: 1-877-297-2787
Fax: 1-866-615-1379
24-hour emergency pager:
1-604-640-8311
[email protected]
Equipment Service
Toll free: 1-877-728-8373
Fax: 1-866-517-6811
24-hour emergency pager:
1-604-667-0482
[email protected]
INDONESIA
Raute Wood Indonesia
Rep.Office
Jl. Kelapa Tiga/Joe No. 75
Jagakarsa, Jakarta 12620
Tel: +62-21-788 86461
Fax: +62-21-788 89867
PT Wooil Indonesia
Jl Raya Pasarkemis, Desa
Sindang Sari
Tangerang
Tel: +62-21-593 50101
Fax: +62-21-593 50123
Um Soo Eui
KOREA
J & C Corporation
RM 922 You One Golden
Tower
474-80 Bujeon 1 Dong,
Pusanjin-Gu
Pusan
Tel: +82-51-803 6586
Fax: +82-51-803 6588
[email protected]
J.J.Je, President
PHILIPPINES
Nicky Yao
12 Katherine St.
Parkway Village
Balintawak, Quezon City
Metro Manila
Tel: +63-2-414 5747
Fax: +63-2-362 2320
[email protected]
THAILAND
S.W.D. Machinery Co. Ltd
35/172 Moo 4 Soi Yuvijit,
Banga-Trad Rd km 1
Bagna, Bangkok 10260
Tel: +66-2-399 2113
Fax: +66-2-399 2119
[email protected]
Santhiti Siricheowsakul
Raute Group Asia Pte Ltd
35 Jalan Pemimpin # 06-02
Wedge Mount Industrial
Building
SINGAPORE 577 176
Tel: +65-6250 4322
Fax: +65-6250 5322
[email protected]
CHINA
Raute Wood Beijing
Rep.Office
Kauko Metex Ltd.
Office 969 Poly Plaza
Raute Wood Inc.
Sloneczna 35
14 Dongzhimen Nandajie
50 Commercial Loop Way,
00-789 Warsaw
Dongcheng District
Suite A
Tel: +48-22-330 1200
Beijing 100027
Rossville, TN 38066
Fax: +48-22-330 1212
Tel: +86-10-650 116 98
Tel : +1-901-853 7290
[email protected] Fax: +1-901-853 4765
Fax: +86-10-650 117 98
[email protected] [email protected]
Artur Kozohorski
POLAND
PLYVISIONS RAUTE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 3/2003
USA
31
Raute_autom_216x280.fh9 23.10.2003 09:47 Page 1
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Raute combines Mecano machine vision
and moisture measurement functions into
a single unit. This enables the use of
different moisture parameters
covering a range of visual
grades and provides accurate
grading distribution data.
www.raute.com
Double-Click on
automation benefits
Doing more with less, that’s the engineered wood processing challenge. But it’s a challenge
that can be met. How? By double clicking on Raute’s advanced automation, process
optimization and information technology solutions.
To get maximum value out of your raw material, select Raute’s machine vision and
process measuring solutions. Power up our mill-wide database server and data storing
applications, go to our production and downtime reporting and production control systems,
and you’ll output optimum process performance.
Simply put, Raute’s advanced automation and information management solutions
mean increased productivity, better recovery and higher quality. That’s what automation
is all about.