Raute mill improvements - Get more out from your existing mill

Raute has delivered veneer, plywood and LVL mills and machines since the early 20th century. Dozens of complete mills, thousands of machines and a significant amount of mill improvement services around the world to the veneer-based wood industry.

THANKS TO the long history and excellent co-operation with our customers, we have collected a huge experience in plywood and LVL mill development. That experience, combined with the latest technology and service innovations, gives us the possibility to provide the strongest customer support for developing the production of existing mills.

Focus on the production process

An efficient production process is the most important factor for a profitable mill. But can a right way to process improvements be found? A deep understanding of product end users helps in achieving a world-class production process. Why are customers buying panels or beams, how are they using it and what are the most critical factors for them to succeed in their own business? Knowing end user needs gives the possibility to reach or even exceed customer expectations and, at the same time, maximize a mill’s profitability.

The end user understanding and Raute’s production process and technology knowhow form a strong combination to achieve better overall production efficiency. Quality, capacity and yield are the key factors for each mill, but the weighting of those varies between different mills. The understanding of where to focus on is the base for mill development analysis. Raw material, processes, machines and operations need to be analyzed to find an overall view for the production process.

The typical life cycle of plywood/ LVL mills and machinery is very long thanks to Raute’s robust machine design and smooth production possibilities. The utilization of old machines via modernizations tends to be the most cost-efficient way to improve production lines. That is also a sustainable way to boost mill efficiency, compared to totally new investments. Raute SmartMill products, tools and services ensure the accurate measurements from the existing production lines and make it possible to see how the process was improved.

Mill improvement concept

A typical case for mill development is that a customer would like to have a more efficient production process. In some cases, raw material or panel sizes will be changed to increase the value of the product. Raute has developed its own modularized concept for the mill improvement process.

QUALITY, CAPACITY AND YIELD ARE KEY FACTORS FOR EACH MILL.

Mill audit phases

1. Background data collection and analysis
2. Field study at the mill
3. Planning and Reporting

Mill audit phase sorts out the most efficient ways to improve mill and achieve expected targets. The outcome is a detailed mill development plan with evaluation of improvement potential and payback calculations for investments. The plan works as guideline for mill improvement project execution.

Execution phase

1. Immediate actions, operation, and process improvements
2. Project execution step by step. Investments based on mill development plan
3. Ramp-up period – shortest payback time
4. Service agreement – to upkeep achieved high OEE

The target of the execution phase is to get the shortest possible payback time for our customer investments. With Raute service agreements, we ensure the highest possible OEE. Many customers have taken benefit from Raute’s experience and wide range offering for mill scale improvements.