SCA's Tunadal sawmill invests SEK 210 million ($25.6 million) in a new automatic grading mill

Apr 03, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. Intensive work is going on in SCA’s Tunadal sawmill in Sweden with the SEK 210 million ($25.6 million) investment in a new automatic grading mill. The new plant will be operative this summer and will allow for increased production and improved product quality. The new technology is less work intensive and the staff of the sawmill will be reduce by 22, of which 5 employees will be redundant, as SCA Timber informed Lesprom Network. In the new automatic grading mill, the dried wood products will be graded using modern image analysis technology and acoustical strength sorting. The products will move from the grading mill to packaging or to further processing. The new grading system is prepared for a future completion with a planing mill. “This is an important step for the Tunadal sawmill to improve competitveness” says sawmill manager Ville Huittinen. “During the last two years we have invested more than SEK 300 million ($36.5 million) in new drying kilns and in this grading mill. We work hard to qualify for the further investments we need to be a spruce sawmill in the highest European league. And that is where we have to be.” The investment will result in reduced production costs, higher quality outcome and reduced waste. The new grading mill will have a capacity for handling a production of 750 thousand cubic metres of sawn products “We have increased production and productivity at the Tunadal sawmill through a number of investment steps,” says Ville Huittinen. “Unfortunately, modern technology is less work intensive. We see it as positive that we have been able to reduce the number of positions with only five redundancies.” Currently, there are 144 employees and contractors at the Tunadal sawmill.