Stora Enso's sawmill in Ala, Sweden is investing in one TC progressive kiln, two FB-continuous kilns and three cart-fed batch kilns from Swedish Valutec.
"When the new Valutec dryers are in place, we will have a state-of-the-art, sustainable drying park, tailored to our product range. We will become more energy-efficient with high-tech drying technology in all our kilns," says Jenny Andersson, sawmill manager at Stora Enso Ala.

Since its launch in 2019, the Valmatics 4.0 control system has quickly become established in sawmills around the world. More than 1,200 systems have been sold to date.
   “For example, several major groups have decided to use Valmatics 4.0 in all their lumber kilns, which is having a direct, large-scale impact. More and more are seeing the benefits of making the move to 4.0,” says Robert Weithofer, Valutec’s North American sales agent.

The decision to build stainless steel kilns was initially the result of classic Swedish engineering. Professional pride gave rise to robust designs that were able to withstand the changing seasons and deliver the right quality – year after year. We now know that they are also sustainable in many other respects.

It’s time to sum up the year and look ahead to 2024. Following a few truly successful years for the industry, 2023 saw a major slowdown. The economic unrest was not confined to our industry, but characterized many parts of society.