Capacity and quality in focus when AB Karl Hedin invests in six batch kilns from Valutec
In order to increase its drying capacity while maintaining a high level of quality, the privately-owned sawmill group AB Karl Hedin is investing in six batch kilns for its Swedish sawmills in Säter and Krylbo. The investment increases the group’s drying capacity by approx. 77,000 cubic meters (32,630 MBF).

We are in the midst of a market development that is almost unprecedented in the history of sawmills. Demand is soaring in a situation where a wood building boom, record low lumber prices in Central Europe, the pandemic, and past concerns about trade barriers have created sunny weather on the global market. After sun comes rain, or at least some clouds in the form of an expected shortage of several types of wood products after the summer.

Many of us will soon be taking a short break for the Christmas and new year holidays before a new business year begins. Even though 2020 hardly turned out the way we all expected, Valutec can think of three reasons why we should look forward to 2021. We're talking smarter processes, the sustainability benefits of wood, and faith in the future.

One hour's fan rotation reversal has long been the standard in modern batch kilns. All the same, there have been few proper studies into how lumber is affected by fan reversal time. Because changing fan rotation parameters in the control system is easy, Valutec, Luleå University of Technology and RISE wanted to conduct a study within the Bioinnovation project into whether a longer reversing time can help improve the drying process.