2018 International Forest Industries December 2017 January 2018 | Page 23

LUMBER PROCESSING NEWS CONT’D
Södra introduces new measurement technology for timber
stacks at Värö mill in Sweden
The measuring station at Värö will
be the first at Södra to introduce
new technology for measuring
timber stack volumes on trucks.
The new method is based on
automated volume measurement
using laser technology, developed
by Swedish company, Mabema AB.
Introduction of the new
technology will also involve a
transition from manual to digital
timber stack measurement.
This will speed up the process,
while maintaining and gradually
improving measurement precision,
and bring logistical gains due
to faster passage through the
measuring station. The data
produced by the new method will
include gross volume under bark,
the height, length and width of the
stack, and average diameter of the
logs.
“Södra has been working
with Mabema AB for some
years – throughout the entire
development phase of the new
technology – together with several
other industry players. To have
now reached the stage where
this is being realised represents
a technological shift for timber
measurement in the forest
industry,” said Roger Andersson,
head of timber measurement at
Södra Skog.
The new measurement
technology at Värö is being
introduced gradually and will soon
be used for all softwood pulpwood,
with other ranges to follow. While
Södra owns the measuring station,
VMF Syd – an independent timber
measurement association that
operates throughout most of
Götaland – will be using the new
method.
“The roll-out and introduction
of Södra’s new laser measurement
system has been a highly
successful joint project,” said
Anders Svensson, President of VMF
Syd.
This is the second facility of this
type in Sweden, and the first for
Södra and VMF Syd
China’s plywood production rose 7% in 2016
In 2016 China’s plywood production
rose 7% to 177.56 million cubic
metres accounting for nearly 60%
of total woodbased panel output
and was valued at RMB367.5
billion ($56.6 billion). Of the total,
163.82 million cubic metres were
plain plywood, 7.34 million cubic
metres were laminated or wood/
bamboo composite plywood and
6.4 million cubic metres were
bamboo, as ITTO reported.
The output from mills in
Shandong province, China, was
the largest and rose 6% to 51.57
million cubic metres in 2016. The
output in almost all provinces
increased in 2016. The output of
Hebei, Fujian, Jiangsu and Hu’nan
provinces grew dramatically
by 38%