Low Investment and Maximal Flexibility
From small construction companies to the wood industry. What makes vacuum presses so popular in CLT production? The Swiss machine manufacturer Woodtec Fankhauser provides information. With over 40 vacuum presses in operation, he has been successfully active in this area for fifteen years.
Holzkurier, BSP-Special 2017
Automatic Google-Translation from German Original:
From and up to which company size are vacuum presses interesting for CLT? Benjamin Fankhauser cannot answer this question in one sentence. The Woodtec marketing manager identifies two trends for his vacuum presses. On the one hand there are small and medium-sized companies who decide not to buy CLT any longer. “With our presses, we offer these companies an extremely cost-effective solution. In most cases, it is not about great achievements, but about easy market entry, ”says Fankhauser. With subsequent automation, shift operation or an additional press, production can then be increased step by step. A procedure that, according to Woodtec, is not only interesting for the production of CLT for their own building projects, but also for sawmills and glued wood manufacturers who want to act regionally as suppliers of CLT. As a second group of customers, Fankhauser names industrial companies that maximize output through automatic lamella feed, vacuum lifters and other automation measures. Marketing manager Binderholz cites an example. The Tyroleans produce a considerable proportion of their CLT output on the five 20 m vacuum presses from Woodtec – according to Fankhauser’s estimates, well over 100,000 m3.
Flexibility an important issue
In addition to the low investment costs, the advantage of a vacuum press is the flexible plate dimensions. “The elastic membrane under which the vacuum is created adapts to any surface. The simultaneous pressing of panels of different sizes, elements with door cutouts or curved shapes is thus possible without additional effort, ”says Fankhauser. He adds that panels with a width of more than 3.5 m are also possible without any problems, where large technical hurdles are encountered with mechanical presses.
Expansion of existing systems
Last year, Woodtec Fankhauser put more than ten vacuum presses into operation, including systems at Stora Enso and Metsä Wood in Finland. “In addition to the two existing presses, the Spanish timber manufacturer Egoin ordered two further vacuum presses with automated lamellar feed from the finger joint for a completely new system,” reports Fankhauser. France is seen as another future market. In 2013 Woodtec was able to set up the first CLT production there, and in 2017 four Woodtec vacuum presses were put into operation. The Swiss is particularly proud of a project in Scotland that was completed a few months ago: “This is the first plant in Great Britain that offers the possibility of commercially producing cross-laminated timber panels,” explains Fankhauser. It was set up at the Construction Scotland Innovation Center and aims to provide Scottish SMEs with a bridge from business plan, certification and full-size production testing to the installation of their own CLT system.
New functionality for a proven system
The vacuum presses that have been on the market for 15 years have been continuously expanded with new functions over the past few years. These were often developed together with customers and often retrofitted to existing systems. The vacuum press now has hydraulic transverse pressure to significantly improve the visual quality of the joints. The adhesive application is completely digitized and has 16 individually switchable individual nozzles. This means that even large panels can be glued over their entire surface in 60 to 90 seconds. It is also now possible to switch between two types of adhesive, which greatly optimizes production. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that our customers are also at the forefront tomorrow,” concludes Fankhauser.
Low Investment and Maximal Flexibility
More News
Show allMaking your own CLT – is it worth it?
The leading timber journal mikado interviews Benjamin Fankhauser
First Hardwood CLT
BPS made of rosewood for MultiPly Pavilion in London on a vacuum press
Make your own CLT
BSP in Kundengrösse, gewünschter Qualität, Holzart und termingerecht herstell…
Low Investment and Maximal Flexibility
From small construction companies to the wood industry. What makes vacuum pre…