Bygdsiljum's Sawmill invests in batch kilns from Swedish Valutec

To increase quality yield and gain greater flexibility in production, Holmen, one of Scandinavia's leading sawmill groups, has chosen to rebuild its drying fleet at its sawmill in Bygdsiljum, Sweden. An older continuous kiln is being "retired" and replaced with four state-of-the-art batch kilns from Swedish Valutec.

“It is an honor that Holmen chooses us again. We have had a very good collaboration for many years,” says Joakim Berglund, Sales Manager at Valutec.

At Holmen’s sawmill in Bygdsiljum, glulam has been manufactured since the mid-1960s, and today the mill is one of the largest producers in the Nordic region. In addition to glulam, they also manufacture cross-laminated timber (CLT) and produce sawn timber.

Bygdsiljum Sawmill already operates nine batch kilns from Valutec. The four new kilns now being installed are very similar to the existing ones, with the difference that the new kilns are slightly wider, making it easier to load and unload. In all other respects, they are essentially copies of the nine batch kilns that Holmen is already satisfied with. Having 13 identical batch kilns is an advantage for production planning, as it creates greater flexibility and makes it easier to optimize the drying schedules when the kilns have the same conditions. This makes the drying process predictable and repeatable.

“The fact that we have many years of experience from projects together with Valutec was a major advantage in choosing a supplier. The projects are predictable, schedules are followed, which provides a sense of security, and we never have to worry. Valutec is a professional supplier in every respect,” says Andreas Jonsson, Production Manager, Sawn Timber, Bygdsiljum Sawmill, and continues:

“We want to take the best possible care of the raw material. The trees we saw were planted, thinned and tended by our forefathers. When the timber enters production, our driving force is to refine it in the best possible way in order to extract the highest value. That is why we want to ensure that we have kilns that make this possible. We simply want it to be easy to do things right,” says Andreas.

In connection with the investment, Bygdsiljum Sawmill is also taking the opportunity to upgrade to the latest Valmatics control system, Valmatics 4.0, for all of the site’s kilns. Having the same control system across the entire kiln plant will make the work easier for kiln operators.

“Bygdsiljum Sawmill has long been one of our partner sawmills where we have had the opportunity to test and develop new drying solutions,” says Joakim Berglund, Sales Manager at Valutec. “This is an important part of the collaboration that contributes to our continued development work. It is valuable and fully in line with our ambition to increase the use of sustainably produced wood.”

Press contact

Joakim Berglund

Sales Europe
+46 910-879 52 +46 70-577 05 14
joakim.berglund@valutec.se