Because the end products must endure demanding conditions for decades, window and door component manufacturers set very exacting quality criteria for sawn timber.
Slow-grown Nordic pine is excellently suited for this purpose, thanks to its closed grain and high proportion of heartwood. As a non-toxic natural product with good rot-resistance, heartwood extends the useful life of doors and windows.
The main customers for window and door components are found in Finland. Products are also exported to the other Nordic countries and Estonia.
Cutting-edge technology ensures consistent quality
Production Manager Niko Öhman says Metsä Fibre’s competitive edge in this product segment comes from the consistent quality, dimensional accuracy and regular knot frequency of its sawn timber. Furthermore, the production and drying process is designed to meet each customer’s demands as accurately as possible. The company quickly reacts to fluctuations in demand.
“Finger-jointed glulam made of sawn timber with an optimal knot frequency of 30 centimetres is used to manufacture window and door components. This helps customers avoid and reduce material waste and achieve greater cost-efficiency.”
The raw material is sawn from the middle log, and quality assurance is carried out with the help of modern X-ray technology. This technology grades the sawn timber based on the growth ring width, knot frequency and heartwood content, as specified in the customer’s quality requirements.
Modern measurement systems ensure highly accurate dimensions. Drying schedules specified for individual grades and dimensions ensure the right target moisture for sawn timber.
“The range of fluctuation for moisture is only around two per cent,” says Öhman.
Reliable deliveries an important part of the whole
Reliable sawn timber deliveries that arrive precisely on schedule are an important part of the whole process.
In addition to offering consistent quality and fixed lengths, the deliveries are handled and scheduled to closely fit the customers’ own production processes. In the future, the sawmills’ production data will be shared increasingly with customers.
“Customers often give us good feedback on the consistency of deliveries regardless of the sawmill they come from,” says Öhman.