New Gear Equipment Sawmilling
Valutec introduces Valmatics 4.0 control system to optimize drying

Lumber drying is one of the most crucial factors when it comes to quality in the sawmill production process. Valutec announces the launch of its Valmatics 4.0 control system, which will enable sawmills around the world to automate and optimize drying in all types of lumber kilns. The high quality of the process is ensured by simulators programmed with data from hundreds of thousands of measurements to enable the calculation of drying processes with unbeatable accuracy from beginning to end.

“Sawmills want to streamline production while also ensuring the quality of every product. This calls for intelligent automation, and we’ve dedicated major resources to developing it. Valmatics 4.0 provides the kiln operator with the help and support necessary to optimize the drying process. This means gains at several levels as operators have more time to focus on quality-critical operations such as sampling and checks,” said Thomas Waming, head of R&D at Valutec.

Valmatics 4.0 is the result of R&D and dialogs with the sawmill industry. It builds on Valutec’s proprietary Valmatics control system, which changed the way lumber drying was managed when it was launched by providing the ability to simultaneously optimize quality, capacity and energy.

“Valmatics 4.0 is a further development of Valmatics and also a result of the way sawmills have changed up until today. We must not only be able to optimize the drying processes for new types of kilns such as the TC progressive kiln, but also take full advantage of the information generated from business and package management systems. This is how we help make production chains yet more robust and quality-assured,” said John Karbin, automation manager at Valutec.

The increased automation made possible by intelligent simulators is also necessary to take full advantage of the increasingly common TC progressive kilns, where drying can take place in parallel in up to ten different zones with different conditions such as dimensions and moisture content.

“This is not something people can do on their own without system support in the form of automation. Our simulators mean calculations are extremely precise when we know the input moisture content. This creates confidence in the process and a less stressful work situation for the kiln operator,” said Karbin.

Valmatics 4.0 alludes to industry 4.0, the fourth Industrial Revolution that concerns automation, digitalization and smart factories with fully connected production chains.

“Because we want to see an increasing use of wood, we quickly arrived at the issues of efficiency and the right quality. We know that sawmills are working incredibly hard to develop their markets and take market share away from other materials. We’re proud to be a partner who facilitates this development through our world-leading lumber kilns, control systems and support,” said Robert Larsson, Valutec CEO.