Not too long ago, José Cardoso Botelho, CEO of Vanguard Properties, and Kozowood Industries’ CEO Nuno Vale mainly used concrete for their construction projects. “That was the standard way of building for a long time. In recent years, however, we have seen that sustainable construction and building in wood are playing an increasingly important role,” Botelho says, referring to numerous international studies which support this trend.
Against this background, Botelho, whose company Vanguard Properties is one of the largest luxury real estate developers in the country, started a transformation process which is already bearing fruit.
Meanwhile, Vale had been building compact modular buildings for tourism called Ooty for several years before he established the Black Oak Company in 2015: “Contrary to Central Europe, timber construction is not a tradition at all in Portugal. Nevertheless, in recent years, we have seen a clear trend towards sustainable building and thus timber construction, especially in individual luxury properties.” Since 2021, when Vanguard Properties became a major investor, his company has been operating under the name Kozowood Industries.
Trust as decisive factor
Equipped with a mid-double-digit million budget, Kozowood is currently carrying out a multi-phase investment project which is to be completed in 2025. Vale chose an existing industrial site in Esposende in the northwest of the country as location. “Located close to the Spanish border, it is the greenest part of Portugal with an abundant timber stock that we will use for our production,” Vale says, explaining the choice of location, and adds that he was also born and raised in that area.
The first phase of expansion included a production line for wall and roof elements including CNC bridges, joinery machines and turning tables from Homag subsidiary Weinmann. Those first machines went into operation in 2022. “We manufacture around 200 houses a year with this line,” Botelho tells us and emphasizes that they are not box-like houses. Most of them are, in fact, sophisticated architect-designed houses.
Then, in 2023, a cross-laminated timber line was started up, and Kozowood once again relied on Homag subsidiaries. “Of course, we also looked at other solutions but, in the end, Kallesoe and System TM had the best production line for our goals. Also, Homag is well known in Portugal, and Marco Silva is always available,” Vale explains, who particularly appreciates the high-frequency technology of the CLT press. “It enables us to use a two-component MUF adhesive, which gives us additional security when it comes to fire safety.”
Complete package offered
The package delivered by System TM begins with the separation of the raw material for the CLT. The Opti-Feed 6000 Vack vacuum destacker lifts the laminations layer by layer and separates them on a crosswise conveyor. The system has several vacuum heads, which enable the infeed of pieces in lengths of 3 to 6 m. The Danish company puts the per-minute cycle times at up to four layers of laminations with different and uniform lengths and widths.
On the crosswise conveyor, the laminations pass through a Microtec Curvescan and are turned to the correct side if necessary. Moving in the longitudinal direction, the moisture content is measured after that, and a Microtec Goldeneye scanner is used to identify possible wood defects. “We have integrated Microtec’s scanner systems into our line, as Kallesoe did with the Rex lamination planer. We have worked successfully with Microtec before, which is why we included their systems in the project planning phase,” System TM’s Peter Simonsen explains, adding that together with Kallesoe, they can be a full-service provider for the customer.
Solid finger-jointing technology
After the quality assessment, an Opti-Kap 3003 optimizing cross-cut saw cuts out the defects. Next, the 0.5 to 3 m long pieces enter the tried-and-tested high-performance Opti-Joint H-L type finger-jointing machine supplied by System TM.
According to Simonsen, this horizontal machine is characterized by its high capacity and availability as well as by its long service life and high precision. When designing the finger-jointing machine, System TM paid attention to an open and accessible design and the use of as many standard components as possible. “This gives our customers additional security and saves them time and money during maintenance work,” Simonsen tells us. He also mentions the sophisticated machine control and production software as special features of the machine. “An intelligent machine control guarantees high throughput as well as precision and availability, while the higher-level master computer ensures that enough laminations for longitudinal and crosswise layers are available for the subsequent panel production at any time.”
Reduced to the essentials
Behind the finger-jointing machine, System TM “hands over” the laminations to Kallesoe, which is followed by a curing warehouse and a Rex planer. After that, the laminations for the longitudinal layers, which are up to 12 m long, enter the buffer next to the laying station. The pieces for the crosswise layers are cut to the desired length by a cross-cut saw, the maximum panel width being 3.5 m. Next, they are rotated by 90°, aligned accordingly and positioned on the other side of the laying table. “According to the customer’s wishes, we kept the entire line compact and reduced the mechanization to the essentials without having to accept any major losses in flexibility,” Kallesoe’s CSO Jens Kallesøe says about the basic principles behind the line.
Tried-and-tested pressing technology
A vacuum lifter positions alternating longitudinal and crosswise layers on the laying table. After each layer, the latter moves under a Mixon adhesive application system which applies the MUF adhesive. Once the panel has been laid, the laying table which leaves the press is raised so that the press cake can be moved underneath it and towards the press. “We specially developed this solution for Kozowood. Compared to laying tables which are aligned in a circle, this model is a little slower, but it saves space and also investment costs thanks to the reduced mechanization,” Kallesøe explains.
The press used is a high-frequency press which Kallesoe has continuously further developed over the past few years. It is equipped with a 200-kW generator. “This powerful production unit enables our customers to have extremely short pressing times and a corresponding throughput,” Kallesøe emphasizes and adds that his company also offers a press with a 400-kW generator, which significantly increases performance.
Once they have left the press, the panels are lifted using a crane and fed to one of the two CNC joinery machines.
Huge “showroom”
While the CLT line, whose planned annual capacity Botelho puts at 30,000 m³, is being ramped up, Botelho and Vale are already working on the next phases of expansion. “In addition to element production and the CLT line, we plan to put a combined line for glulam and CLT into operation. In the future, we also want to offer all the interior fixtures, including bathrooms and kitchens, and thus create a holistic cluster for sustainable building.”
In order to be able to utilize their production lines in the future, Botelho is working on a massive luxury project in the south of Portugal, among other things. On an area of 50 hectares, Terras da Comporta will comprise around 1,000 villas, two golf courses with clubhouses, four hotel complexes, spacious sports facilities, an art gallery and many other amenities. “With this project, we are not only creating high-quality real estate and 1,500 jobs, but also an impressive live showroom.”
