Improved ecoeffectiveness of interior hardwood products in the house-building industry as a way to promote sustainable forestry

Abstract

Sawn hardwood is required by the market to be homogeneous, even in texture and colour, but the products produced by Swedish hardwood sawmills exhibit a wide variation in characteristics. This makes it difficult for hardwood sawmills to find profitable markets for all their products. By developing new products with other properties for the building industry it may be possible to utilize hardwood more efficiently and increase the prices. This would result in higher ecoeffectiveness (defined as value in relation to environmental impact) of the forest-related business system by giving an incentive to grow deciduous forests, which leads to richer biological diversity. Diversity is fundamental to achieving sustainable forestry. At the same time, other less ecoefficient materials in buildings may be replaced. Exploring the requirements of the customers is essential before developing new products, in order to maximize the value of a product. In this study, the requirements of interior hardwood products in the Swedish house-building industry were studied in interviews and through questionnaires. The most important requirements, ranked higher than price, are delivery on time, shape stability, packaged products, rapid delivery and accurate moisture content. The results make it possible to focus on critical factors to gain market shares for hardwood as an ecoeffective building material.     

Value-added strategies and forward integration in the Swedish sawmill industry: positioning and profitability in the high-volume segment

Abstract

The changing market conditions for the Swedish sawmill industry place a focus on a better understanding of the pros and cons of value-added and forward integration strategies. The purpose of this article is to describe and explain recent value-added strategies in the Swedish sawmill industry. The study includes strategies from 13 of the 15 largest sawmill companies for the period between 2002 and 2005, describing a differentiation between value added in primary sawmill production and forward integration into secondary production. It also aims to relate some basic conditions, such as company size, company growth and corporate strategy, to value added and forward integration to profitability. The results show strong positive and significant correlations between forward integration, value added in primary production (somewhat weaker) and unit revenue, and profitability measured as return on investment. There were no strong or significant correlations between size and profitability, playing down the importance of economies of scale (among these already large companies). An interesting result is the much higher profitability of the buying sawmill companies compared with the forest corporations, stressing the importance of both a long-term strategy when investing in value-added activities and ultimately the priorities of ownership.     

Improved ecoeffectiveness of interior hardwood products in the house-building industry as a way to promote sustainable forestry

Sawn hardwood is required by the market to be homogeneous, even in texture and colour, but the products produced by Swedish hardwood sawmills exhibit a wide variation in characteristics. This makes it difficult for hardwood sawmills to find profitable markets for all their products. By developing new products with other properties for the building industry it may be possible to utilize hardwood more efficiently and increase the prices. This would result in higher ecoeffectiveness (defined as value in relation to environmental impact) of the forest-related business system by giving an incentive to grow deciduous forests, which leads to richer biological diversity. Diversity is fundamental to achieving sustainable forestry. At the same time, other less ecoefficient materials in buildings may be replaced. Exploring the requirements of the customers is essential before developing new products, in order to maximize the value of a product. In this study, the requirements of interior hardwood products in the Swedish house-building industry were studied in interviews and through questionnaires. The most important requirements, ranked higher than price, are delivery on time, shape stability, packaged products, rapid delivery and accurate moisture content. The results make it possible to focus on critical factors to gain market shares for hardwood as an ecoeffective building material.     

Modelling of vertical density profile of particleboard,manufactured from hardwood sawmill residue

Abstract

Particleboards are generally made in three layers using softwood as the major raw material. Limitation on natural wood resources and concerns about the carbon footprint of products has created a significant interest in environmentally friendly or ‘green’ building materials. Hardwood sawmill residue, which has been disposed as solid waste, was investigated by authors as the main raw material for producing particleboard at RMIT University, Australia. Physical and mechanical properties of final particleboard were measured and analysed against original materials and process variables. The density of a particleboard along its thickness direction is not uniform, and is called the vertical density profile (VDP) which is dependent upon processing parameters. The VDP influences particleboard properties including flexural strength and its dimensional stability and fastening capacity. It is important to influence the formation of the VDP, altering processing variables, to achieve optimum particleboard properties. This paper presents an attempt to develop a model to predict the formation of the VDP of hardwood residue particleboard compared to processing parameters, using the theory of experimental design. The advantages of such a model in optimising particleboard properties are also discussed.     

浅析我国造纸工业木材原料市场及发展趋势

随着纸及纸板生产与消费数量的不断提高,我国造纸工业结构调整的发展对木材原料的需求将持续增加。我国木材市场数据显示,以原木、锯材等为代表的木材原料,以木浆、木片为代表的造纸原料进口均呈平稳增长趋势,木材市场供需矛盾突出。造纸工业竞争的核心是木材原料的争夺,而我国木材市场自有木材供给的严重不足性和进口总量的绝对依赖性特征决定了造纸工业木材原料未来仍将依靠进口。     

提升我国纤维板产业国际竞争力的对策探讨

运用国际市场占有率指标对我国纤维板产业国际竞争力的现状进行定量评价,分析了影响我国纤维板产业国际竞争力的主要因素,寻找中国纤维板产业国际竞争力的优劣势所在,从原材料、产品、企业规模等方面提出增强中国纤维板产业国际竞争力的具体对策。     

Integrated production of semi-finished components in sawmills,part I: External interactions

Abstract

In a changing business landscape, where globalization and new customer requirements create new business opportunities, some Swedish sawmills have taken over the production of components from their industrial customers. In light of the emerging network-centric perspective on business, sawmill managers' perceptions about component customers' operational requirements, customer interaction processes, and their sawmills' offerings are researched and discussed in this article. A multiple case study design, based on face-to-face interviews with Swedish sawmill managers and on various forms of secondary data, produced comprehensive information about sawmills' interaction processes with component purchasing customers. Thematic data coding facilitated the assessment of the research information in relation to the conceptual and empirical findings of previous research. The findings of the study indicate that more process orientation in housing-, joinery-, and furniture-manufacturing implies an opportunity for sawmills to make service-based offerings including not only physical goods, but also administrative services, logistics, and expert advice. The results of the study confirm the network-centric perspective on business where value is created through the interaction between firms. However, noteworthy barriers in the form of process-, culture-, as well as socially related factors at customer firms must be considered.     

Investment Behaviour in the European Pulp and Paper Industry

This study analysed the location of investments in the European pulp and paper industry. Three continuous investment models were estimated allowing for fixed as well as random effects using data for 10 European countries over the period 1978-1995. The results indicated that labour wages, market size and agglomeration effects were the most important determinants of investment levels. The impacts of raw material prices were somewhat ambiguous. However, in the long run wastepaper availability seems to matter in the sense of attracting investments. A comparison of the economic significance of changes in the costs of input factors with changes in the market size indicated that proximity to output markets had a larger impact on the decision to invest than proximity to abundant raw materials or cheap access to electricity and labour. Furthermore, the agglomeration coefficient indicated that the power of sunk costs is important.     

Moisture content target optimization in lumber drying

Abstract

A Lumber Quality Model developed to predict lumber grade after drying was applied and validated in industry. The model was calibrated with a 198-piece lumber package that was dried at a local sawmill in British Columbia, Canada, and 30 sawmill grade reports were recorded from 2008 to 2010. The calibrated model was then used to predict the target moisture content that would result in the maximum lumber value. It was predicted that lumber value should increase by approximately 17 CAD (Canadian dollars) m^?3 if the target moisture content were reduced from the historic 17% to an optimum of approximate 13%. The sawmill implemented the recommendations and the predictions were validated with another seven industrial drying runs.     

Supply chain management in the Swedish wood products industry – a need analysis

This paper examines the potential of supply chain management (SCM) to address challenges associated with Swedish wood-based supply chains (SCs). Information drawn from a review of literature concerning SCM in the wood products industry is compared and contrasted with data obtained from a case study of an integrated sawmill SC in Northern Sweden, focusing on interviewed participants’ perceived needs and benefits of integrating SC operations. Key components of SCM for the wood products industry are suggested for categorizing the literature and results from the case study. Previous SCM studies have largely focused on solving planning problems by operational analysis, and/or SC strategies, while several important aspects including risk management, integrated performance indicators, power relations, leadership and culture have received relatively little attention. The interviews highlight needs to enhance SC actors’ coordination and communication, as well as for more systematic study of the potential for enhancing efficiency and profit margins in SCs of Swedish wood products.     

Simulation of the yield of knot-free components from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.): A comparative study of star-sawing and square-sawing

Abstract

The production of knot-free wood is important since the market demands wood without knots for reasons of both appearance and material properties. This work describes a simulation of the removal of knots from star-sawn and square-sawn timber. The efficiency of the two methods is compared in terms of the length of the knot-free components obtained and the volume yield. The simulation was based on data for trees and logs taken from the Swedish Stem Bank. These data were then used to simulate the sawmill process in a computer program called the Virtual Sawmill. Data related to the boards obtained were used in a MATLAB model simulating the cross-cutting of knots. Simulated star-sawing of logs with a top diameter exceeding 230 mm gave a mean knot-free component length of 417±321 mm, while the mean length of knot-free components for simulated square-sawing of the same logs was 298±122 mm. The volume yield of knot-free components from the two sawing patterns was 91% for star-sawing and 87% for square-sawing. For timber with cross-section dimensions of 38×75 mm², the mean length and yield of knot-free components from simulated star-sawing were 451±349 mm and 90%, respectively. In simulated square-sawing, the corresponding values were 263±197 mm and 82%, respectively. This shows that star-sawing has potential for the production of knot-free timber.     

Prediction of Board Values in Pinus sylvestris Sawlogs Using X-ray Scanning and Optical Three-dimensional Scanning of Stems

As the sawmill industry strives towards customer orientation, the need for sorting of logs according to quality has been recognized, and automatic sorting based on measurements by three-dimensional (3D) optical log scanners has been implemented at sawmills. There is even a small number of sawmills using the X-ray log scanner for automatic log-sorting. At the log-sorting stage, the potential of the raw material to fulfil the needs has already been reduced by the decisions taken when the trees were bucked (cross-cut) into logs. Thus, the application of predictions of the boards’ properties at the bucking stage is desirable. This study investigates the possibility of predicting board values from logs based on 3D scanning alone and 3D scanning in combination with X-ray scanning of stems. This study is based on 628 logs scanned by computed tomography that make up the Swedish Pine Stem Bank. Simulated sawing of the logs gave product values for each log. Prediction models on product value were adapted using partial least squares regression and x-variables derived from the properties of the logs and their original stems, measurable with a 3D log scanner and the X-ray LogScanner. The results were promising. Using a 3D scanner alone, R ² was 0.68, and using a 3D scanner in combination with an X-ray LogScanner, R ² was 0.72.     

Analyzing time and fuel consumption in road transport of round wood with an onboard fleet manager

Round wood supply in Austria is often affected by different factors such as bottlenecks or oversupply due to changing market, weather and road conditions. An additional factor impacting the complex wood supply chain is the rising transport costs from the landing to the sawmill. Logging trucks are the primary transportation technology used from the forest to the customer??s site. The objectives of this study were to analyze the actual situation and characteristics of typical trucking activities for round wood supply from the region to an Austrian sawmill. The study used time and fuel consumption, proportion of travel on forest roads and average speed on different functional road classes to estimate productivity and costs. Data collection including GPS-tracking was done using fleet management equipment built into the driver??s cabin. The GPS-routes were analyzed in ArcGIS 9.3 based on the national road network and its attributes. The sawmill studied with a yearly demand of 600,000 m³ round wood was located in southern Austria. In total, more than 2,000 round trips operated by seven logging trucks recorded close to 100,000 km. The transport distance from the forest to the sawmill averaged 51 km. The average share on forest roads within a route to the sawmill was 14.2% with an average speed of 13.5 km/h, whereby the forest road is defined as road with minor importance. Transport costs from the forest site to the sawmill with a truck and trailer were ? 11/m³ solid timber based on an average load size of 25 m³. An average 0.77 l of diesel fuel per kilometer was consumed during a round trip including all work phases. A trip to an interim storage location consumed 2.05 l/km due to the number of work phases without driving distance.     

Wild Cherry (Prunus avium L.) for Timber Production: Consequences for Early Growth from Selection of Open-pollinated Single-tree Progenies in Sweden

Prunus avium L. is a fast-growing hardwood tree species that has demonstrated good production on both well-drained forest soils and farm land in southern Sweden. Growth rate and breeding value were tested in 101 open-pollinated single-tree progenies of Swedish origin and five German seed sources. After eight growing seasons and two selective thinnings the mean tree height reached 4.7 m. The mean tree height of the progenies varied between 3.3 and 6.1 m. A total rotation period of 50-60 yrs and a dominant height of 20-22 m can be expected. The results indicated great phenotypic variation within progenies and good possibilities for improving production and stem quality by early selective thinning. In terms of height growth and stem straightness the best Swedish progenies were as good as the tested German seed sources.     

美国林业工业企业战略研究

根据竞争环境的变化，不断调整企业战略，是食品店企业生存与持续发展之关键。本文介绍了美国林业工业产业结构状态及企业战略重点态势，试图给我国林业工业发展战略讨论以启迪。     

中国茶产业发展现状分析

我国茶园总面积、茶叶总产量及绿茶、特种茶、乌龙茶出口创汇呈现持续上升的态势;茶叶功能成分的深度开发与利用,使得茶叶提取物作为膳食补充剂、医药原料及化妆品原料等在国际市场上呈急剧攀升之势。对比分析茶叶等植物原材料的销售产值与茶叶等植物提取物的销售产值,指出在世界茶产业面临供过与求的情况下,扬长避短,生产绿茶、特种茶、乌龙茶等具有国际竞争力的茶叶产品,加大茶叶深加工产品的开发与利用,出口符合国际保健品市场需要的茶叶功能产品,促进茶产业升级换代,是我国茶产业经济增长及发展的重要途径。     

Crash simulation of wood and composite wood for future automotive engineering

ABSTRACT

Multi material mix is a promising approach to reduce weight and the carbon footprint in automotive engineering at competitive costs. As a result, automotive industry is getting more venturous, exploring and applying other materials than metals and plastics – e.g. fibre reinforced plastics (FRPs). In this context, engineered wood products (EWPs) and wood composites should be considered: Wood composites provide high stiffness, strength, excellent damping, high resistance against fatigue and a very low density at low material costs. It is hypothesized that modern wood composites are competitive to metals and artificial fibre-reinforced materials when designed and applied properly. The application of wood and wood composites in automotive engineering calls for precise and reliable material data, required for initial material selection and later in numerical simulation. In this study, a material model normally used for modelling FRPs was adopted. A material database was generated for three hardwood species, to establish the required material parameters and validate material model. Results prove that wooden components can be simulated in crash situations and the selected material model is applicable, even in full vehicle simulation.     

试论发展阔叶树工业原料林的政策和技术问题

就当前发展阔叶树工业原料林所遇到的一系列政策和技术方面的问题进行相应的分析和探讨，并提出了一些解决的思路，以供有关部门决策参考。     

我国发展林纸一体化项目的市场前景

由于我国实施天然林保护工程大幅度调减天然林采伐量,并受制于国际市场,造纸原料供应十分紧张,严重制约着我国造纸工业的发展。解决这一问题的办法就是发展林纸一体化项目。文章采用弹性系数方法,分别对国内纸市场、纸浆市场、木材市场进行了预测分析,并表明我国发展林纸一体化项目具有广阔的市场前景。