Northumberland sawmiller A&J Scott has been treading the investment trail since 2012/13 after an evaluation of its facilities, log availability and the market convinced it the time was right to expand production.
"The site wasn’t maxed out so we thought we had some more capacity up our sleeves," said Robert Scott, managing director.
"The demand for fencing was growing year-on-year, especially for the larger section sleepers and the availability of oversized logs was increasing so we saw opportunities there."
These factors, combined with the fact that the existing processing machinery was aging and becoming less efficient, were the compelling motives for a £4m investment in a new mill.
"Based on what we were looking to do with the oversized logs there are only two ways you can cut them efficiently and only one way that we were used to and which is tried and tested in the UK and that’s with a log bandmill," said Mr Scott.
"It was pretty set in stone what we were going to do but it was finding the supplier and deciding on the configuration and the end specification that took the time."
Research took the company "all over Europe and the UK" visiting machinery manufacturers and other sawmills. Two years of travelling, awarding contracts and "tweaking and refining" equipment later and the new Mill 9 was up and running in the first week of January this year.
The machinery running order through the new mill building comprises a Holtec log infeed; a Bruks butt reducer; a Valon Kone debarker; an EWD double-cut log bandmill with an inclined carriage and a chipper canter head; an EWD optimizing edger; and two Paul cross-cut lines. The latter are identical lines with one handling the heavier material and the other handling boards and rails.
But that’s just the sawmill – there is plenty more new kit at work in Mill 9.
The company has also invested in a Rudnick & Enners complete waste handling line for chips and sawdust. An existing Bruks chipper is being re-deployed to chip the slabs and offcuts.
In terms of lifting equipment, a five – tonne Konecranes overhead crane facilitated installation of the 24.5 tonne bandmill machinery and will be used for tasks such as blade changes and movement of equipment into the saw doctor workshop, maintenance and servicing and the occasional movement of oversize timbers.
A Linde H35D counterbalance truck completes the lifting picture.
The new bandmill sports blades that are a lot longer than the company’s saw doctor workshop had been used to – or had room for – so a new saw shop has been incorporated into Mill 9. Investment here includes an Iseli RZ1 automatic leveling and tensioning machine.
The decision to opt for the EWD log bandmill at the heart of the investment was based on reputation, build quality and the overall package of service and online support, said Mr Scott.
"It was tried and tested," he said, "and the Paul equipment gives us good versatility." He added that commissioning the mill went smoothly.
"We took delivery of the first bit of kit in week 37 and had the first log through the line on December 8. We started production properly in the first week of January and have ramped up since then and are now at 80-85% of where we want to be.
"We’re looking to produce about 650m3 of sawn timber per week when we’re at capacity. We were producing around 110,000m3 on an average year and we’re now going to peak at about 125,000m3 per year."
It’s not all about volume, however. "It’s given us the ability to saw anything," said Mr Scott. "We can contract saw hardwoods and softwoods and can handle up to a 1.2m diameter log. It has allowed us to be more competitive on longer length, large section material such as agricultural purlins and 300×300 beams."
And that’s not the end of the story. Facilities on site have been reorganised and consolidated to increase efficiency and a follow-up programme of works will see upgrades to A&J Scott’s main production line in its current Mill 7 that will increase the company’s output of its main range of fencing and pallet wood ranges.
"We’ve created more capacity so we’re going to put more bandsaws into the existing Brodbaek line [installed in 2007]," said Mr Scott. "We’re upgrading the optimizing scanning software and changing from circular saws to bandsaws to increase the yield because timber isn’t getting any cheaper and sawdust doesn’t pay the bills." Soderhamn Eriksson was awarded the contract for a quad bandsaw in February and the installation will be carried out in December.
The ongoing investments reflect A&J Scotts’ confidence in the domestic market.
"The market was certainly good last year," said Mr Scott. "This year is a bit different but there is work in the pipeline and there is massive demand for housing. We think we’re going to be busy and that the investments will stand us in good stead."
