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HewSaw's Finishing School

If a picture's worth a thousand words, here's a 14,000-word essay on CWP's tour through eight Finnish wood products plants as part of HewSaw's Finnish Wood Safari 2007, held in early May. This is just a teaser based on some common themes we picked up on at most or all of the mills we visited. A more detailed report will be published in Canadian Wood Products June/July.

 

Logs are extensively sorted according to precise cutting patterns, with 50 to 100 log sorts the norm. A wide range of final lumber products allows the mill to match specific logs with a wide range of cutting patterns and sideboards, maximizing both recovery and four-square production. With delivered log costs ranging from $60 to $100/m3 and more, and representing as high as 80% of total costs, value and volume recovery are key.

 

  

  

                                                          

As a result, ribbon feeding of logs is common, at much slower speeds than Canadian sawmillers are used to. Still, 7,000 or more good sized logs per 7.5-hr produciton shift is common, and sawing quality outstanding. On-line, real-time laser size control like this SEECON INX system (purple box at top left) is common, and at this bandsaw mill was applied after each step in the process.

 

 

 

Staffing is at an absolute minimum, with just five total production staff per shift not uncommon, and production:manpower ratios of 1.2 MMBF to well over 2 MMBF per man-year typical of the mills we visted, even when total annual production was down to 25 MMBF. Automation, good logs, and smooth operation are keys to this one above, with operators like this running 15 or more screens and several remote-control cherry pickers (forget log pikes). This operator ran a 150 MMBF/yr line from the log deck to the green chain lug loader, including two cherry pickers, and never broke a sweat.

 

 

Automation plays a huge role in low staff operations here,  from a wide array of clean-up and residual handling systems that never seem to need attention (above left), to slick sticker recovery systems (see the butterfly-wing paddle-gate above right tidying stickers for a singulator) and even automated fileroom grinders and simple, but effective systems to move and store cutting tools and saws (The carriage below loads worn saws on one side, and then spins to load fresh saws on the HewSaw, ferrying both between machine and fileroom on an overhead rail).

 

 

Those who think HewSaw makes just single-pass curve sawing systems would be surprised at the number of multi-station complete sawing lines the supplier also offers, like this SL250 Duo small-log line with optimized log rotator, canter and profiler, sideboard diverter, cant turner, and separate edger with 2+2 sideboard/profiler at Versowood's new mill in Vierumaki (at left). Like other HewSaw lines, it makes ready-to-trim lumber. The line can also make elk barriers and poles in a single pass and targets half of the mill's 300 million bdft/yr production.

 

 Employee turnover is almost non-existent in the mills we visited, and the few employees mills do have are well treated to massive, sealed cabs (above left), bright, dust-free and quiet mills, and wooden highlights and features throughout. With turnover measured by the decade, training pays huge dividends. 

 

Even spaces between drag chains were treated to wood in this one new mill. Note also the wooden structural beams at right and on the ceiling.

 

 

 

The resulting timber is georgeous and wane free (below), and there are no shortages of innovative ways to move it around. Here big centre boards destined for timber homes are singulated via a lumber step feeder.

Grading in both green and dry mills is almost entirely automated, and FinScan Boardmaster systems (grey scale andcolour) are a dime a dozen. So too are professional looking company uniforms.

 
             

Logistical systems differ from Canada as well, with extensive use of GPS, log marking, tracking and more. Logs come into the mill via self-loading rigs that carry five tiers of CTL wood (above top); and lumber may leave unwrapped in trailers with piston-driven elevated roofs and roll down sides, so the customer has no wrap or staples to fight. Mill yards are 100% paved (below). Note also the solid wood  rough board siding on all the buildings and storage sheds.

 

Wood-fired heat and/or power is almost universal in this energy-hungry country, even to the point of setting cut-to-length logging slash aside at cut blocks for further bundling or chipping and transport to mill boilers. Stumps are also taken at times.

 

 

 

 
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