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Breakthrough in North America for Valutec’s TC continuous dry kilns
“We visited several Swedish sawmills that were using Valutec products and they exceeded our highest expectations in terms of the details, quality of design and energy efficiency. At the end of the day, it was a very easy decision. Valutec has a product that will position us at the leading edge throughout North America when it comes to drying technology,” says Jason Brochu, owner of Pleasant River Lumber.
Pleasant River Lumber of Maine, USA, is the first company in North America to invest in TC continuous kilns from Valutec, which is the leader in Europe for comprehensive wood drying solutions. Since it was founded, Valutec has delivered more than 4,000 lumber kilns to sawmills around the world and with this new agreement, TC continuous kilns will be installed and operational on three continents.
“We visited several Swedish sawmills that were using Valutec products and they exceeded our highest expectations in terms of the details, quality of design and energy efficiency. At the end of the day, it was a very easy decision. Valutec has a product that will position us at the leading edge throughout North America when it comes to drying technology,” says Jason Brochu, owner of Pleasant River Lumber.
Pleasant River Lumber primarily serves its domestic market and the two continuous kilns it has purchased will be used at two facilities, throughout the entire sawmill production process.
“These kilns are very important to our efforts to increase capacity. We’ve conducted a detailed analysis, focusing primarily on the kiln’s quality, drying efficiency, energy efficiency and price,” explains Jason Brochu.
For Valutec, the agreement represents an important step in positioning the company as a world leader in comprehensive wood drying solutions. In the global market, Valutec is firmly established as the supplier which, over time, has invested the most in research and development of lumber kilns and control systems. The TC continuous kiln is no exception:
“Thousands upon thousands of hours have been invested in the development effort underlying this leap in technology. We have studied, evaluated, tested and reinvented all parts of the TC continuous kiln, which first started being used already in 1927. It is truly motivating to see how it all has paid off, confirming that we are on the right path,” says Ingo Wallocha, Managing Director of Valutec Inc.
Six years ago, the first next-generation TC continuous kilns were installed at SCA Bollsta, just outside the town of Kramfors in Sweden. The advanced climate control system enables sawmills to freely select the dimensions of the wood to be dried, which has been a huge success in this industry, resulting in many new customers and agreements for Valutec over the last few years. During the past 12 months, kilns manufactured by Valutec have been installed or sold to customers throughout Europe and Russia. Many leading sawmill groups are customers of Valutec, the largest of which is the German company, Holzwerke Ladenburger, with a total annual production of over 800,000 cubic meters (340,000 MBF).
“The leap in technology has fundamentally changed the way of working at many sawmills. Higher flexibility creates significant advantages, particularly when it comes to planning. Competition is extremely tough in the sawmill business, where margins are tight. So, customers in this sector rely on high efficiency and quality,” says Ingo Wallocha.
TC continuous kilns use cross-circulation. In this process, the wood is inserted lengthwise, with air circulating across the longitudinal direction of the kiln.