A key initiative of that commitment is increasing the use of recycled wood for particleboard production.
“We started using recycled wood in our particleboard production 10 years ago,” explains Guillaume Salmon, Industrial Director at Swiss Krono France. “In 2019, 50% of our raw material came from recycled wood. Then we set a target to increase the share of recycled wood even more.”
To hit that target, Swiss Krono commissioned Dieffenbacher to modernise, optimize and expand its wood recycling line. Today, two years after acceptance, the modernised line has boosted the share of recycled wood in the plant’s wood mix from 50% to about 65%.
“We chose Dieffenbacher for the modernization project not only because we were convinced by the proposed solution and the price was fair, but also because we had a good connection with their people, especially with Jean-Marc Domecq, the local representative here in France who closely followed the project from the very beginning,” reminisces Guillaume Salmon.
The Dieffenbacher solution for Swiss Krono included a stone separator in combination with new rollers to clean the microchips, X-ray sorting to remove non-wooden impurities from the chip-sized material, a flip-flop screen that separates unusable dust upstream of the dryer, sifting tables that clean fine particles from sand and MDF fibers, and a Prallfiner to produce the fine core layer material.
“Despite the challenging circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the collaboration with Dieffenbacher was excellent at all times. We always found a solution to every issue,” says Guillaume Salmon. “In the engineering phase, Dieffenbacher created a 3D scan of our existing structures. This was very important because the whole setup—most of it is located in a multistory tower—was quite complex. Thanks to the 3D scan, we were not only able to integrate the new equipment perfectly into our existing structures, but we also used it frequently in communication, for example, to inform our employees in the factory about the project.”
In addition to increasing the share of recycled wood in the wood mix, the Dieffenbacher solution has provided other improvements. “The whole installation is cleaner now. Processing recycled wood creates a lot of dust, and the machines can get dirty very quickly if they’re not properly maintained and cleaned. The new line is easier to keep clean than the old one,” reports Guillaume Salmon.
Another of Swiss Krono’s goals was to ensure perfect board quality while increasing the recycled wood ratio. “In the past, customers sometimes complained about metal parts in the boards, which damaged their machinery,” Guillaume Salmon recalls. “Since we started using the new Dieffenbacher equipment, we’ve had zero complaints. We’re satisfied and would recommend Dieffenbacher recycling solutions to anyone,” he concludes.
