New Mieco particleboard plant starts up in Kuala Lipis

Apr 01, 2005. /Lesprom Network/.The need to keep increasing capacity was recognized some time ago, and in 2003 Mieco embarked on an expansion phase to install the single largest particleboard line in the Asia-Pacific region, with a built in capacity of 2.000 m³ per day. The 20 hectare plant site was selected near the town of Kuala Lipis, Pahang State, approximately 3 hours north of the country’s capital Kuala Lumpur. The area is rich in forest plantations and has a vast number of sawmills operating in the nearby area, serving as a major supply source of valuable raw material for the particle board process. Dieffenbacher GmbH +Co.KG of Eppingen of Germany, one of the world’s leading panel plant suppliers was assigned the responsibility for project planning and engineering, equipment design, supply and installation, as well as providing commissioning and process-optimising assistance during the initial start up phase. The contract with Dieffenbacher was signed at the end of August 2003, and project planning work commenced in September the same year. The green field Plant was ready for production of the first board on February 11, 2005. The complete particle board process designed by the Dieffenbacher Project and Planning Division comprised supply of the entire plant package starting from woodyard infeed decks to the sanded and finish cut-to-size panel stacks leaving the factory. Wood intake utilises logs and sawmill offcuts to feed the 95 tonne per hour drum chipper, which discharges via an overhead conveyor system onto a chip storage and reclaim area. Alternatively chips from outside suppliers and other raw materials such as saw dust can be delivered into the process after passing a screening and cleaning area. In addition provision has been made to enable the use of low grade recycled wood. The chip screening and flaking area is followed by a silo dosing system allowing blending of flakes prior to entering the 75 tonnes per hour drum (maximum mechanical output) dryer supplied by the Dieffenbacher subsidiary company Schenkmann & Piel of Leverkusen, Germany. All wood furnish then passes through a set of mechanical screens and special gravity sifters for core & surface layer material. A glue storage, glue metering and blending system provides the next process step before entering the new generation Dieffenbacher particle mat- forming system. This consists of 4 head formers designed to achieve an extra fine surface, and has special features for maximum product flexibility and to enable rapid production changes with minimum downtime. The forming line with a heavy duty prepress feeds the particle mat to the new generation Dieffenbacher CPS (Conti Panel System) hot press. The CPS has an advanced design infeed and position profile control system for high technological flexibility. Master panels of 8 feet width and up to 24 feet in length pass through star coolers before being stacked by a fully automated system into giant master panel stacks of up to 4 metres height. The Dieffenbacher Handling Systems supplied STS (Stack- Storage-System) provides automated warehouse management of these large panel stacks, thereby reducing the storage area needed to an absolute minimum. The finishing line incorporates an 8 head sanding system design with an “in-line” panel sizing line for standard finished panel formats. The Dieffenbacher planning and engineering team designed all auxiliary plant and service systems, covering also supply of an energy plant, pneumatic exhaust and filtration systems by Dieffenbacher. Plant electrics and automation was provided from Dieffenbacher’s subsidiary group of companies. Installation and commissioning was very much facilitated by the crew of experts from both customer and supplier, who combined to form an excellent alliance. Team spirit was the keynote, and the Mieco staff displayed a high level of professionalism, combined with extensive process experience. Dieffenbacher has set yet another record with the start up of this industrial complex, the largest particle board plant in the dynamic Asia Pacific region, and is a further indication that Dieffenbacher commands a position as market leader in Malaysia for large capacity continuous panel plants in the fields of particle board and MDF production.