Jari Trygg praises the collective spirit of the Rauma sawmill. All employees are united by the same goal, which is to produce first-class sawn timber for the world.
Precise drying refines the quality of sawn timber. It requires time; products that have been dried too quickly may crack. Drying is based on drying formulas, which determine how the air temperature and relative humidity are regulated. The moisture content varies from approximately 17 per cent, typical of shipping-dry sawn timber, to 10 per cent for extra-dry grades. Drying is always designed to suit the intended end product. Customers must be able to trust that products such as windows and doors made from sawn timber produced in Rauma will retain their shape in demanding climate conditions. “In the woodworking industry the right moisture content is critical. We invest in quality. It shows the results of our work,” says Tamminen.
The conveyor lines automatically carry the sawn timber bundles to the lorry waiting by the door at the far end of the hall. Thanks to automation, operators can concentrate on supervising the loading process and ensuring the quality of the sawn timber packages. Safety at work has improved now that forklifts are no longer used to move packages. The control of the automated loading process is linked to the sawmill’s control system, so loading can be monitored from the control room. The system also allows waybills to be submitted automatically to the customer, port, transport company and loading system supplier. Trygg and the rest of the packaging team are responsible for ensuring that packages leave the sawmill as smoothly as they were produced. Specially equipped lorries pick up packages from the sawmill in three shifts. “The sawmill has no warehouse for finished sawn timber. The packaged products are transported immediately to the Port of Rauma, a few kilometres away,” says Trygg. Before transferring to Rauma, Trygg worked at a paper mill for 37 years. He is relatively new to the sawmill industry, but his long career gives him calmness and confidence. Like all the other operators, Trygg speaks warmly about the team spirit. The operators in the central control room help and learn from one another. They all share the same goal: to ensure that nothing but premium sawn timber is shipped to the world from Rauma sawmill. •
Automated loading is new in the sawmill industry
Grade-sorted sawn timber is ready for packaging. The pressing device squares off the ends of the sawn timber bundles and ties them with a hoop. The next machine in line slips a protective hood over the package. Jari Trygg is one of the operators on the packaging team. His team is responsible for ensuring that the sawn timber is of the right dimensions, and that the packaging looks as it should.
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