One part of the logs delivered to the plant is taken to the warehouse and the other part goes to the round timber assorting line by Holtec company, Germany. Constant stock of the raw material at the warehouse is about 60,000 cubic meters. The Holtec line of the Kraslesinvest, JSC is the longest one (350 m) imported into Russia. It consists of 80 pockets that allows to assort logs of any length. The line is equipped with the Jorg Elektronik 3D scanner. Capacity of the equipment for lumber logs with the diameter up to 50 cm is 25 logs per one minute.

TIMBER SAWING

Conveyor lines transfer assorted logs to the barkstripping workshop equipped with two VK8000 bark peeling machines by Valon Kone company (Finland). Peeling machines of this type are used mainly for debarking of the logs with medium and large diameter. The plant is equipped with two peeling machines, so possibility of the failure due to an accident is almost completely excluded, because there is always a backup flow that will ensure execution of the production program. After that the logs move to the sawmill equipped with the EWD cutting and profiling line (Germany).

The first stage creates a double flat-faced cant that is turned through 90° and moved to the next machine which creates square unedged timber. Then the central part of the timber is cut to centre and edged boards using the FR 12 multirip bench by EWD company. The maximum sawing depth in the operating mode using one arbor saw is 130 mm, the maximum feed rate is 150 m/min. The forest industry complex uses logs with the diameter from 10 to 46 cm to produce lumber. The maximum diameter of stem base that can be used is 55 cm. The lumber yield of the lumber logs is 50–53%.

DRYING AND ASSORTING MACHINE COMPLEX

The sawed boards move to two assorting lines for green timber with 50 pockets each by Jartek company (Finland). The line assorts green timber by cross-section, length, and type of the wood. The end of the line is equipped with a stacking machine that creates a package for drying with the width of 2 m and height of 5 m. The package automatically enters a drying equipment complex by Jartek company. The machine complex consists of 12 tunnel-type drying chambers. 4 of them are for intermittent operation, the other 8 are drying tunnels for continuous operation. The chambers can hold about 4,500 m3 of lumber at a time.

Two-zoned design of the drying chambers for continuous operation ensures quick and high-quality drying of lumber of different species and diameter to the shipping-dry condition (18–22%). The intermittent chambers allow to dry the lumber to the humidity of 10–12% preserving quality of the finished product. After that the dried lumber is transported by a transfer car to the dried lumber assorting line by Jartek company where it is assorted by type of the wood, cross-section, quality and volume by both flat sides. Capabilities of the equipment allow to ensure the required accuracy of the dimensions and assorting according to the traditional standards GOST 8486-86 and GOST 26002-83 “Softwood Lumber” and “Northern Softwood Lumber for Export”.

After that the final product is formed and issued in the form of a goods shipping package. The lumber package ready for shipment is covered with film and marked according to terms of the contract. The markings usually include type of the wood, the number of boards, and the volume of the package. Also the line is equipped with a strength tester for the finished product by Limab company.

SAW FILING

The cutting tools preparation area is equipped with machines by Vollmer company (Germany): machines for sharpening of the front, back as well as tangential and radial cutting edge angles. The area is also equipped with other machines for reconditioning and preparation of cutting tools: the Reform surface grinding machine for sharpening of plain knives; the Petshauer stretching and rolling machine; the Gerling soldering machine for brazing of carbide blades as well as the DeSonic ultrasonic washer for cleaning of the cutting tools.

WASTE RECYCLING

The Kraslesinvest plant implements a waste-free production system. Bark, sawdust, and chipped wood, remaining after wood processing, are shredded by the Vecoplan grinder (Germany) up to the required grade and used as combustible for the boiler station built by Polytechnik company, Austria. Capacity of the boiler station is 20 MW – two boilers of 10 MW each. It provides enough heat for the chamber driers. Besides, part of the energy is used to heat the facility and boardinghouse. The in-house boiler station fired by biofuel allows the company to save a lot of expenditures for heating. The company is designing a pellet plant to ensure full processing of the chipped wood.

DELIVERY TO CUSTOMERS.

SALES PATTERN

The products are delivered by rail from the Karabula cargo station to any port or destination station. The end product is shipped to customers in containers mainly, so customers receive the product in the same condition as it was right after production. The sales plan for 2017 includes delivery of 258,000 m3 of lumber. About 20,000 m3 of the lumber will be shipped to European markets (Germany, Belgium, France). 238,000 m3 will be shipped to China in containers and open wagons. The supply program for 2018–2023 includes a plan to increase supply to Europe as well as establish trade relations with Japanese and Korean customers.