Scottish flagship sawmill

They say about Scottish whiskey: "The older, the better." In a way, this saying also applies to the BSW Timber Group – after all, its roots go all the way back to 1848. The company was founded by the Brownlie family, has matured over the years and was developed step by step. Today the group operates seven sawmills in Scotland, England and Wales and one plant in Latvia. "This year's total demand for softwood lumber in the UK will come to approximately 8 million m³. In 2007, that figure was 11 million m³", says Tony Hackney, BSW's managing director, as he describes the development of the market. The BSW Group holds a market share of 14% (1.12 million m³/year). In terms of production in Great Britain it is even 30%.
The recent coup of the largest lumber producer in the UK, which will contribute to a further strengthening of its market position, is the construction of a new saw line – including center and side board sorting, a planing mill and a biomass power plant at the northernmost sawmill site in Scotland, Killmallie in Fort William.

Processing wood domestically

Sawmill "K1" (Killmallie 1) in Fort William has been a member of the BSW group for over 30 years. The annual lumber output so far has been 110,000 m³. BSW's management has always held on to the principle to process and market the wood in the country. This was also the reason for the investment in the new sawmill. BSW bought the 26 hectares of land from the neighbors. Previously there had been a papermill which was closed in 2005.
2008 saw the construction start of sawmill "K2". Since then, work has been steadily progressing, starting with the "downstream" units of impregnation, the drying chambers, the biomass cogeneration plant and the planing mill.

The baby has arrived

The actual "heart", the sawmill, followed midyear 2012 with the saw line and the sorting and stacking units. Just nine months later – on February 12 – the first log was cut in BSW's sawmill "K2" in Fort William. Decisions on the equipment were given a long time before they were made: Already ten years prior, BSW had started paying visits to sawmills around the globe.
Ultimately, the decision was made in favour of a HewSaw SL250 3.4 designed by Veisto, Mäntyharju/FI. "The Veisto-saw lines we had inspected just were convincing, and Veisto offered good value for money", Hackney explains why they decided for the Finnish supplier. "What is more, Veisto was very flexible and responsive to our needs when it came to system configuration." Parts of the log yard and the infeed were purchased in Finland second-hand. Kallfass, Baiersbronn-Klosterreichenbach/DE supplied the sorting units of center and side boards. Scanners designed by Canadian manufacturer Prologic, Saint-Georges/CA, were integrated both in the saw line as well as in sorting units. BSW's total investment at Fort William amounted to £ 40 million (€ 46 million).

In line with the time schedule

Veisto began installation work of the HewSaw 3.4 SL250 line in September 2012. Only six months later – ahead of schedule – the first log was cut. Mounting the line was tricky at times as Tuomo Kauppinen, Veisto's sales manager for Central Europe, recalls. "For security reasons we could not use ladders. So we had to put up scaffolding which meant a significant extra effort for us. But the supplier BSW was supportive in all that." The HewSaw SL250 3.4 is one of Veisto's largest lines. Nevertheless, the saw line is quite unique, as Kauppinen explains during a tour of the sawmill. "We have installed about 400 lines worldwide. Only two of them are absolutely identical."
The chipper profiling line installed with BSW converts roundwood of diameters between 12 and 45 cm and lengths between 2.4 and 6 m. The feed speed of the line is between 60 and 180 m/min, depending on the cutting pattern. The number 250 of the type name HewSaw SL250 3.4 stands for the maximum height of the center product – 250 mm.

Robust machines

"Our HewSaw SL250 3.4 is a very efficient sawing line which was designed for high yield", says Kauppinen. Veisto is particularly proud of the machines' robust construction: Each of the units installed at BSW is between 30 and 45 tons. Walking through the halls at BSW, one thing immediately catches the eye – the cleanliness. This may be due to the company's philosophy. But it also has to do with the closed construction of the Veisto machines, allowing but little sawdust and wood chips to land outside of the units.
The pre-sorted and debarked roundwood – mainly spruce – enters the sawing line through a scanner designed by Prologic. The controlling unit positions the wood and the infeed LogIn 2R turns the wood based on the measurements. The HewSaw-line machines all four sides in the first pass, including controlled curve sawing. Kauppinen particularly highlights the chipper head. "We develop and produce our own tools. Due to our long experience, we have created a special component that generates ideal wood chips for the pulp and paper industry." The length of the chips is between 20 and 30 mm. A second Prologic 3D scanner determines the shape of the squared timber, optimizing the side boards before the timber is fed into primary breakdown. The saw takes off up to two side boards on the left and right just before edging the sideboards. The board extractor EK2 separates the side boards automatically which then go on to the sorting unit. More on that later.
After a rotation of 90° around the longitudinal axis, the square timber goes on to the ripsaw unit. Here circular saws simultaneously cut off the side boards and the center product is ripped into up to eleven components following the curve. Edging is next. As conveyor unit EK3+ separates the side boards, the center product moves on. Depending on the cutting pattern, the CRS 250-unit can also perform breakdown in a cross-shaped pattern (up to five components).

Well sorted

The center and the side boards sorter at BSW were delivered by Kallfass. "We have been working with the German machinery manufacturer for some time already using their cross-cut saw. This technology has convinced us", says Hackney appreciatively. Looking back on the short operating time so far reaffirms that his decision was the right one. "The installations have worked for us just perfectly."
With a separator, Kallfass removes the center product from the HewSaw line. The sorting plant is housed in the second part of the hall which is at right angles to the sawmill. Via multilevel and buffer conveyors as well as a singulator, the timber moves towards the plant operator. This person may sort out poor quality if necessary. In cross pass the boards are screened by a rough edge scanner designed by Prologic which is done by cameras from above and below. "Goods with a rough edge are automatically ejected via a flap. There are plans to forward this wood to an edging unit - on conveyor belts that have already been installed. But the edger is yet to come", explains Kallfass project manager Ernst Hauser.

"Up above and down below"

A chain conveyor sends the center goods to the other end of the hall – crossing the sorting unit for the side goods below. There they are sorted into 58 boxes which BSW has bought used. "The control of this process lies in the hands of Kallfass", Hauser points out.
As for the stacking of the center products, BSW has two options:
1. Lumber with smaller cross sections follow a bypass below the sorting unit for the side goods to be piled in the side goods stacking unit which is equipped with a forklift, a multiple cross-cut saw, automatic stack strapping and stack disposal.
2. The larger dimensions of the center goods are forwarded to the stacking unit for center goods at the end of the hall by means of a movable chain conveyor.

Technical "treats"

The second option allows the center products to form stacks of up to 6.3 by 2 by 2 m. After various units for transport and alignment and the impressive Kallfass Tongloader for singulation, the wood is placed on a special chain cross conveyor. Here every second carrier is elevated which allows for "boxstacking", i.e. an alternate stacking mode. Currently no cross-cut saw is installed in this stacking line. The transport units were designed in such a way that an installation can be carried out easily at a later point in time.
In the center products stacking unit Kallfass has installed an automatic stack pad feeder with automatic placing of the boards. According to Hauser, the capacity of the stacking is eight to ten layers per minute. The finished stacks are then moved downward by way of a lifting table to be technically dried later on.

Arrayed for optimum board yield

From the Veisto line, the side boards are sent to a separate sorting unit. Here also a Prologic rough edge scanner has been integrated. To optimize board yield, Kallfass came up with a newly developped feature: The "fencing" system aligns the boards based on scanner results. "Until recently this was done with individually adjustable dampers. But this had a disadvantage: The positioning of the parts was error-prone. Now we achieve this with accompanying carriers that are installed above and below which move the parts gently and position them precisely", says Hauser. This is done at a rate of 120 to 140 parts per minute.
The new Kallfass sorter allocates each board into one of 40 boxes on the basis of their dimension. When a certain filling level is reached, the boxes are discharged downward. On a step feeder and a cascade conveyor the boards "climb" onto the level of the operator. This employee once more checks the boards before the layers are formed and the stacks go through the multiple cross-cut saw. The stacking unit piles up the layers to form stacks of up to 1.2 by 1.2 m. "14 layers per minute are possible here", says Hauser. A hoist moves the stacks down to the strapping unit from where it is forwarded on a roller conveyor for dispatch.

Planned output of the saw line is 260,000 m³ per year in a two-shift mode. Once "K2" operates to full capacity, BSW will shut down the old sawmill. The company is marketing the products under two brand names: "Easi" and "Timeless Timber". This underscores how easy it is to use wood and is a reference to its timeless beauty over the years.

BSW Timber Group

Established: 1848
Owner: Brownlie Family
BSW stands for: Brownlie | Smith | Western Softwood
Managing Director: Tony Hackney
Headquarters: Earlston/GB
Locations: seven sawmills in the UK, one in Latvia
Planned sales in 2013: £ 175 million (€ 202 million)
Employees: 900
Products: 50% construction timber, 30% paletts and packaging products, 15% garden wood, rest deckings, DIY
Output: 1.2 million m³/year
Main Market: UK
Export: 80,000 m³ of lumber a year, 100,000 tons of chips a year

Sawmill Fort William
Investment: £ 40 million (€ 46 million)
Employees: 150
Planned output: 260,000 m³ of lumber a year in two shifts
Wood species: 85% of spruce; pine, larch

Veisto

Established: 1964 by Esko, Kauko, Jouko and Hannu Rautio
Managing Director: Markku Rautio
Headquarters: Mäntyharju/FI
Branch offices: SE, DE, CA, AU, ZA
Representatives : FR, PL, RO, CL, AR
Employees: 205
Products : Sawing machines and saw lines
Export: about 80%
Installations: over 400 worldwide, only two of which are identical

Kallfass

Director: Ernst Kallfass
Locations: Baiersbronn/DE, Wernigerode/DE
Turnover: € 20 million
Employees: 100
Products: Stacking- and destacking units, multiple cross-cut saw lines, sorting lines, mechanization for planing mills, glulam plants, mechanization for CLT plants
Export: 70%