In Sweden, solid wood processing major Moelven has completed several milestones on multi-project investments at its Moelven Edanesågen, and Moelven Valåsen sawmills respectively. For the latter, once completed and fully operational, it will have increased its annual sawn wood production capacity from around 350,000 m3 to 500,000 m3 along with 80,000 tonnes per annum of wood pellets thanks to a new saw line and state-of-the-art pellet plant.
In recent years, Norway-headed solid wood processing major Moelven Industrier has invested over SEK 900 million (≈ EUR 78.5 million) to modernize and increase the production capacity of its Moelven Edanesågen and Moelven Valåsen AB sawmills in Sweden.
For the latter sawmill, the Group’s largest production plant, the investments in Karlskoga include a new small-diametre sawlog line, a biomass heat plant, kiln-dryers, rebuild of the planer line, and an 80,000 tonnes per annum wood pellet plant – the second pellet plant for Moelven Pellets, a new subsidiary in the Group.
State-of-the-art small-diameter sawlog line
In May this year, the new small-diameter sawlog line – 80 mm to 280 mm in top diameter – saw its first day of work.
The new sawlog line means that it will be possible to increase sawn wood production at the plant while log-by-log measurement/sorting of small-diameter sawlogs is completely eliminated.
The new HewSaw R200 1.1 V4 line has a sawing capacity of up to 40 logs per minute at a top speed of 200 meters per minute, which equates to approximately 160 planks and boards per minute.
First pellets produced
In September 2024, the company began starting and commissioning the new pellet plant.
Built by Estonia’s Hekotek, which also built Moelven’s first pellet plant at its Soknabruket sawmill in Norway, the sawdust and planer shavings from the sawmill are dried using a Mühlböck belt dryer, and pressed in one of three CPM pellet presses.
We have test-run the plant, produced our first pellets for delivery, and tested that we are ready to take over the facility under our management, which feels great. In addition, I have eight new employees and colleagues on site. The fact that we can already produce pellets and the very successful takeover test proves that this investment project went exactly as well as we had hoped. Now I look forward to gradually ramping up production together with my new talented colleagues at Moelven Pellets, said Gunilla Pettersson, Site Manager at Moelven Pellets.
