X-ray for Central Europe as well

“We will start installing the system in March,” says Finnos CEO Jere Heikkinen in the interview. Finnish X-ray scanners produced by predecessor company Bintec are already in use in Germany. However, the new scanner has little in common with the previous technology. For example, one container is sufficient to fit in the entire system. Also, with this state-of-the-art X-ray technology, the company wants to focus mainly on the adaptation to local wood characteristics and common practices in the receipt of wood.

Wide range of applications

Holzwerk Schilling is particularly suitable for the first installation of this system. The traditional company cuts five types of softwood (spruce, fir, pine, Douglas fir, larch), and even hardwood is to pass through the Joro-X from time to time. With a cutting volume of just over 200,000 m³ a year, the company is representative of Central European sawmills. The length of the logs ranges from 2.5 to 5 meters.

The scanner is supposed to help Schilling in further improving the classification of qualities. In this pilot project, the focus is on the recognition of knots in particular. Heikkinen is convinced that he can prove how quickly such an installation can pay off in Central Europe as well.

3D measurement and service from Germany

In the Joro-X container, there is a calibrated Jörg 3D measurement system followed by the Finnos X-ray scanner. “We will also provide the sorting control and offer service and first-level support,” explains Jacob Fehr, sales manager at Jörg Elektronik.

Special features for Central Europe

Together with Jörg Elektronik, Finnos wants to develop features which are particularly interesting for Central Europe, such as bark beetle detection, at Holzwerk Schilling. Heikkinen promises a “very good learning curve” for applications like this one in the coming years.

Technology limited to the essentials

X-ray scanners are also available from Central European producers. Heikkinen gives cost-effectiveness as an argument in favor of Finnos’s product. “Installations in so many Finnish sawmills also prove that a competitive price does not have to be at the expense of accuracy in measuring.”

The smallest sawmill which uses this X-ray technology has an output of 20,000 m³ a year. “There is no upper limit,” says Heikkinen with a smile, referring to Stora Enso as an example.

For the “world’s most modern sawmill”

Finnos technology is also used in Metsä Group’s new € 200 million sawmill in Rauma/FI which the group proudly describes as “the world’s most modern sawmill”. Finnos will provide both the measurement solutions at the log yard and the ones which will be used at the sawmill’s entrance. Heikkinen calls this further development which will reach into the sawmill hall the “second development stage”.

The combination of log yard and sawmill can be found at a customer who is known for top-quality lumber in Central Europe and for the highest level of automation in Finland: Mustola Timber. The spruce sawmill with an output of 50,000 m³ has one X-ray scanner at the log yard and a second one at the sawmill’s entrance. “This is already the second generation of scanners in the saw line. It demonstrably recognizes 99.7% of the logs from the log yard. It’s like analyzing fingerprints – each log has its own individual characteristics,” says Heikkinen with delight. In 2018, Mustola Timber received the first scanner system of this type. The successor version followed last year.

Check and re-check

When a sawmill is equipped with two measurement systems, it controls the correct assignment of the log wood to the boxes. Furthermore, it is possible to determine whether a sawmill really gets the most out of every log.

Artificial intelligence in the sawmill

“The next step would be to integrate a lumber scanner,” says Heikkinen, looking to the future. This would be a possible application for Artificial Intelligence (AI). In this field, Finnos has an innovative partner: Fourkind of Helsinki. Together, they are carrying out a € 2 million EU research project which will run until March 2022. “It’s about simulating the entire process from purchasing the log wood to selling the lumber. We receive real data from numerous Finnish customers, which we use for our simulation.”

The AI gets smarter with each log. “Metsä Group’s sawmill in Rauma will be one of the first real applications of it. We also deliver a production simulation system there,” says Heikkinen happily. “Our aspiration is to use artificial intelligence to control a sawmill.”

This rounds it off for Finnos, a company which actually has its roots in the software industry. Since Finnos did not find any suitable scanners on the market, it started to develop them itself – or with partner companies like Jörg Elektronik.