Howie Forest Products has commissioned four new kilns at a cost of £1.1m as part of the continuing development programme at its Kenmuir Sawmills site.
The Mahild kilns each have capacity of 260m³ and feature the “Ecovent 11” heat recovery system which, says Howie, transfers heat from exhausted warm air to incoming cold air, significantly cutting the energy they need.
They also include radio transmitting moisture sensors, which are claimed to be more reliable than the silicon cabled variety, and give consistent readings up to 85ºC.
In a UK first, the kilns additionally have radio transmitting probes which monitor that core temperatures of the timber reach 56ºC in line with the ISPM 15 international plant health rules. In tests, said Howie, this has proved to be accurate to within +/-0.1ºC.
The new units take the company’s kilning capacity up to 200,000m³ a year and it is also now installing a system to control all its existing equipment from one PC so that controlled heat can be delivered to each kiln as required.
