October 1999 Volume 5, Number 10
October 1999 Volume 5, Number 10
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The controls do not replace the skills of a quality grader, Jeff said; the controls enhance the grader's skills. "Inovec's hardwood optimization software improves mill management's control over product quality while increasing recovery and improving value," said Jeff. "The success of the optimizer comes as a result of the marriage between the grading skills of a trained operator and the abilities of the scanning and optimization software."
Many softwood mills already have recognized the benefits of greater efficiency that optimization technology can provide, noted Jeff. "Today, hardwood mill owners are also becoming increasingly aware of the benefits optimization can bring to their mills. New software and scanning equipment for hardwood edger and trimmer applications has been made available and has shown excellent results in hardwood mills, and not in just large mills."
Generally, a mill sawing between 4,500 to 5,500 board feet of red oak or mixed hardwoods per hour will realize enough increase in value to pay for an investment in Inovec controls in about two years, according to Jeff. However, every mill is different, he pointed out, so results vary. One result is constant, though; in nearly every installation, optimization increases yield.
"Every mill has its own unique set of conditions, including types and sizes of logs, the production machinery in place, product mix and market conditions," said Jeff. "Basing yield increase estimates on rules of thumb or the experience of other mills is just not good enough to justify this large of an investment." To help mill owners project what they can expect to achieve, Inovec developed a testing method in which mills grade boards manufactured on their own system and then compare the results with optimized solutions. The difference indicates how much room there is for improvement.
The increased volume of board feet is not the only measure of success, Mike noted. "I actually believed that we would lose some board footage when we put the edger optimizer in. But if you're producing a higher value board, you actually come out ahead when it comes to profitability. Right now I'm pleased to say that it appears I was wrong on that. We don't appear to be losing anything when we measure by the number of board feet we are producing, and we are definitely getting increases in value. So, at this moment, it looks as if we will be very happy with this improvement to our mill."
Mike and William plan to continue to upgrade the Gilkey Lumber mill with more optimization controls in the future. Optimized trim saws are the next logical step, Mike said. "I don't see how we can fully benefit from optimization until we've integrated the break-down, the edging, and the trim saws into a fully optimized system," he said. "We get improvement with each piece of equipment we install, but full improvement is only possible when all three elements are working together."
The company also plans to add a new Salem horizontal resaw next year. "In order to fully take advantage of the optimized edger, we need more piece count going through the equipment," Mike explained. "We think this will up production by 20 percent. We're told it will do better than that, but we prefer to be conservative. Then, if the equipment does better, we're happy."
Only a few years ago, optimization was a technology that mill owners, especially those with decades in the industry, looked at with a jaundiced eye. Today, the technology has matured and become widely accepted, and many view it as a necessity, not an option. Long a proven technology for significantly improving yield in softwood mills, recent innovations by suppliers such as Inovec have resulted in optimization systems especially suited to hardwood mills.
As the experience of Gilkey Lumber Company demonstrates, progressive mill owners who want to compete effectively in the 21st century are looking to optimization technology to increase yields, improve service to customers, and maintain profitability.
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