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20.03.2018

Heinola Sawmill Machinery exports Yaskawa-equipped sawline to Japan

20.3.2018

 

 

The Finnish company Heinola Sawmill Machinery Ltd. has been exporting sawmills and equipment to Japan for almost thirty years. In the summer of 2018, the company will build, together with its Japanese partner, a new type of HEINOLA Scala 250 full-range sawing machine for a Japanese customer Matsumoto Lumber Ltd.

The HEINOLA Scala saw line uses the company’s developed round-rolling method, called HEINOLA Syncro Cutting System. In the method, the two axles of the biaxial saw machine are placed on top of the same line. This minimizes the distance with which the blades are longitudinally in the tree area. In addition, the outer periphery of the blades passes to each other’s area minimizing the resulting midseam. The method achieves a very good quality of sawn timber and the ability ability to saw meticulously heavily curved balks. Experience has shown that smaller lateral forces allow the blade to drive as many as 15,000 logs before re-sharpening. In practice this means more effective working time and lower blade costs.

  • Design work is already on the right pace and the manufacturing process in both Heinola and the partners has already begun. Equipment deliveries from Heinola will take place in the early summer, and will be installed and commissioned next fall, says Kari Kiiskinen, Managing Director of Heinola Sawmill Machinery.
     
  • VEM motors Finland supplies to the project 53 pieces Yaskawa’s new GA700 frequency inverters. The inverter’s current values ​​are from 11.9 to 568 A, and they are connected to the saw automation system via Profinet bus. The Yaskawa brand works well because the delivery is to Japan for a Japanese customer, who favors the locally well-available and well-known brands in the components. Customers also appreciate the extremely long durability of the devices. The GA700 is Yaskawa’s latest technology that enables ease of use, broad connectivity and energy-saving features combined with built-in security and bus breakdowns, says Product Manager Janne Karjalainen of VEM motors Finland.

Japan has a centuries-old tradition of using wood especially in residential construction. Over the past few years, the export of Finnish sawmills has been constantly growing. According to MTV3’s news, about 300,000 wooden houses are being built each year in Japan, and over 70% of them use Finnish wood. For quality-conscious Japanese, Finnish wood is the number one. On the other hand, the country has long been investing in the exploitation of domestic raw materials.

Although the main islands of Japan are densely populated, and all suitable land is harnessed either for housing, industrial or agricultural purposes, there are also very suitable areas for growing forests in the mountains.

After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the use of local raw materials has gained momentum, and in this context, Japanese sawmills are increasing their production and investing in productivity growth of the traditional industry.

HSM Scala 250 saw line

Ask for more information:

Heinola Sawmill Machinery Ltd.
Kari Kiiskinen

VEM motors Finland Oy
Janne Karjalainen

 

Author

VEM motors Finland Oy