binderholz will reportedly finish the construction of its new solid wood panel plant in the municipality of St. Georgen, Salzburg, Austria, with production scheduled to start in late 2022.
Plant II comprises a fully automated production plant, with a production hall boasting an area of 180m x 40m, and a height of 27m for the high-bay warehouse and of 20m for the hall itself.
In the future, the site will turn side-cutting panels into blocks from 290-300mm-tall. These blocks will be turned 90° and cut to the appropriate thicknesses as needed on two band saw lines. This way, the middle layer production is expected to achieve higher yields and quality. The lower lamella widths and vertical growth rings will reduce the distortion of the finished solid wood panels.
From Plant I, the host computer in the control centre can take care of controlling the entire production, including logistics. Quality grading the cover lamellas will be taken care of by a Woodeye Scanner with a feed rate of 400m/min.
Another feature that differs from the previous production process of binderholz is that the production procedures for cover and centre layers were updated to meet the latest state of technology.
These new processes were intended to improve product quality as well as resource utilisation. Plant II will furthermore relieve the bottleneck systems at Plant I. Particular focus was put on panel finishing and quality assurance where panels with 1,250mm and 2,050mm in width can be finished and packed.
The intended maximum performance of the new plant is set to be achieved as soon as possible, doubling the current production capacity.
binderholz reported that apart from three-ply solid wood panels made from spruce, pine, larch and Douglas fir, St. Georgen also offers Swiss pine, fir or steamed, chopped or brushed antique wood.
The manufacturer will also intensify production of profiled three-ply panels to become even more efficient and extend the product range for their international customers. In the DIY sector, the product range is extended by tailor-cut panels and underfloor panels. Profiles such as tongue and grooves with chamfer are offered.
Plant II features
The first floor will comprise a hybrid structure made of reinforced concrete and binderholz’s cross-laminated timber (CLT) BBS, while the upper floor as well as the high-bay warehouse will be solid wood constructions.
The entire production logistics of the high-bay warehouse will be controlled using two storage and retrieval machines. Plant II’s concept attaches high importance to resource efficiency and optimised energy input. Particular focus was put on the production of the cover and centre lamellas.
The high-bay warehouse’s total of 60 towers, totalling 27m in height, consist of CLT BBS XL walls, into which glue-laminated timber (glulam) beams are hooked. The glulam beams are partially screw-press-bonded with the CLT BBS XL panels to be able to establish the tower’s necessary stiffness.
A total of 2,300m2 of CLT BBS and 1,300m3 of glulam were used for the high-bay warehouse. In order to keep the assembly time on-site as short as possible, it was decided to prefabricate the walls and the stiffening plates in Jenbach, Tyrol, Austria in a ready-to-assemble fashion.
