Swedish sawmills continued a high rate of production during the first months of the year, according to figures issued by Statistics Sweden. This was partly the result of a good supply of saw timber, with the exception of the north of Sweden where a shortage has resulted in many sawmills having difficulty in obtaining raw materials. The half-year industry barometer published by Sif, the trade union for white-collar workers in the private sector, also confirms that the forest industry is doing well and indicates that investments in increased capacity as well as in training are expected to increase, suggesting a continued rise in production.
Another indication of expansion is the fact that a total of 329 million forest plants were delivered in Sweden in 2003 – 6% up on the previous year. One of the companies that is increasing production is Svenska Skogsplantor AB (Swedish Forest Plants), part of the Sveaskog Group. The intention is to expand up to 20 million plants in stages, involving an investment of around SKr15m.
Among a number of new investments is SCA‘s investment of SKr15m in an optimised cross-cutting saw line at Rundvik’s sawmill and the inauguration of Orrefors’ planing mill line which can handle 60,000m3 of timber per year following an investment of SKr30m. Furthermore, Geijer Timber in Torsås has invested SKr6m in rebuilding and the replacement of an edging mill while a further SKr1m has been invested in one of the drying sheds. The company has invested between SKr7-10m annually over the past six years and a number of bottlenecks have been removed.
University trials
Trials have been carried out by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the National Board of Forestry using a model aeroplane to film storm damage and make forestry plans. In the results obtained so far detailed video pictures show wind-felled trees, snow breakage, insect damage and fungus attack. The pictures can provide a basis for planning felling operations and projecting forest roads. The method is inexpensive at a total cost of SKr5,000 per plane.
A project aimed at achieving safer and more environmentally-friendly forest transport has shown that the transport can be optimised with the help of IT aids. The project is being run by the Swedish National Road Administration in conjunction with the drivers of timber trucks. The aim of the project is to devise a more efficient way of transporting timber from forest to industry, leading to better economy, reduced fuel consumption and lower carbon dioxide emissions.
The trucks have been equipped with different technical aids including vehicle computers with GPS, automatic regulation of tyre pressure for roads that will not cope with heavy loads with normal tyre pressure, interlocks and a system that reminds the driver of the speed limits and sounds an alarm if the vehicle is going too fast.
A computer program under the name of Sawinfo, which keeps track of timber packs inside sawmills, has been developed in Skellefteå and is now being used by three large sawmills in Sweden. The identity of a pack is kept in a database and truck drivers can see where each pack lies by means of a graphical picture on a screen. With the aid of sensors, radio tags in the ground and the base of the pack, the truck itself can even ‘know’ which pack is to be moved.
Biofuel energy
Biofuel is now as large a source of energy in Sweden as nuclear power, according to SVEBIO, the Swedish Bioenergy Association. It says that there is no conflict over raw material with the forest industry as half the tree goes to paper or timber and half to energy.
The Swedish Forest Industry Federation’s Timber Prize for 2004 has been won by the Universeum building in Gothenburg. The jury said it showed convincingly that it is possible to build large wooden structures and that the use of the material was strong and without compromise. The architect was Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB and the glulam-framed roof structure was built by Martinssons Trä of Bygdsiljum.
