“Valutec’s TC continuous kiln is an excellent choice for us, as this solution meets our high demand for capacity combined with flexibility. We have also had very good experiences working with Valutec in recent years,” stresses Kai Matthies, head of wood drying at Ziegler Holzindustrie.
Valutec has ensured its tenth continuous kiln delivery in ten years to central Europe. This follows a further order from the German Ziegler Holzindustrie, Europe’s largest privately owned sawmill. The TC kiln to be delivered will be used to dry side boards and has a capacity of 110,000 cubic meters (46 600 MBF) of lumber per year.
“This is our third order from Ziegler Holzindustrie. Renewed trust is a great acknowledgment for us and it's pleasing that they’ve chosen to invest in a TC continuous kiln. This shows they really believe in our solutions,” says Robert Larsson, CEO at Valutec.
Valutec has previously supplier two continuous kilns to Ziegler Holzindustrie. The first delivery was ten years ago and was followed up in 2014 with an OTC continuous kiln, boasting a capacity of around 50,000 cubic meters (21 200 MBF).
The new TC continuous kiln will be designed with space for three packages at air-blow depth, instead of two - which has long been standard. It will have ten individual drying zones.
“Valutec’s TC continuous kiln is an excellent choice for us, as this solution meets our high demand for capacity combined with flexibility. We have also had very good experiences working with Valutec in recent years,” stresses Kai Matthies, head of wood drying at Ziegler Holzindustrie.
There is huge market potential for timber drying in central Europe, where there has been a high proportion of timber that does not have a long drying phase, when compared to places such as the Scandinavian countries. In line with clients increasing their quality requirements, greater volumes of side-sawn boards have begun to be dried, which has created openings for Valutec, specifically for TC continuous kilns.
“With TC continuous kilns, you have a unique flexibility that is highly valued by many people. In theory, when you can have ten different products in the kiln, this reduces the need for production planning and therefore there is also a high utilization ratio,” says Robert Larsson.
The kiln is being made from stainless steel and will be equipped with Valutec’s Valmatics control system. It will be put into operation in February 2018 and will then be the second TC continuous kiln in Germany. Over the year, Valutec has supplied and put into operation a kiln for Egger Brilon.