2018 International Forest Industries IFI Feb March 2018 Digital | Page 39

ent that starts
beyond
www.hewsaw.com
The Metsä Fibre Vilppula sawmill in Finland features some of the latest HewSaw technology. This SL250
3.4 line, which replaced two older sawlines, was a major technological step forward for the mill.
Crossing Oceans
Not long after the Vilppula start-up, HewSaw was busy
commissioning another SL250 3.4 line, but on the other
side of the world. This time, the Finnish technology was
being installed at the Idaho Forest Group’s dimension
sawmill in Lewiston, Idaho, USA. Originally built in
the early 1920s and tied to an adjacent pulp mill, the
sawmill facility was purchased in 2011 by Idaho Forest
Group (IFG) and is now run independently, although
the neighboring pulp mill is still a large customer for the
sawmill’s high quality chips and other by-products.
Installation of the new HewSaw at IFG began in late
2013 when the line was positioned inside of a brand
new building, and then just four months later in, April
2014, the first log was processed through the new
HewSaw. With the capability of handling logs up to 55
cm (21.5 in) in diameter, the line features a European
log merchandizing system and x-ray scanning, and a log
sorting system that can provide over 120 different sorts.
Sawline Process
In both the IFG and the Vilppula lines, the first step
following scanning is four-sided chipping. Next in line
is the cant saw where up to two edged side boards
are taken from two sides of the cant. The cant is