Overview of the “Optidrive” edger optimizer installation installed in December: From the right, the side material is fed from the pre-cut of the chipper line via the equalisers onto the cross conveyor in front of the enclosed control stand. After the end cross-cut and the scanning in the transverse pass, the board is aligned before the second scan in the longitudinal pass. Behind it, the closed feed (yellow cover) to the edging circular saw, at the back left of the image.
High yield, productivity and reliability Holzindustrie Losheim (Hilo) has replaced its hard working EWD ‘Optimes’ edger after 28 years of service. In its place is the new EWD ‘Optidrive’ highperformance edger
W
ith its processing speed of 28-30 bd/min, the EWD ‘Optimes’ board edger at Hilo Holz in Losheim, Germany, had become a bottleneck. Last December, in a first step toward upgrading the existing sawline, the Optimise unit was replaced by an ‘Optidrive’ board edger from EWD and its TAE edger with skew and slew function of for circular saws, giving higher performance and better yield. Founded in 1992, the family business is managed by Thomas Perings. The sawmill cuts about 220,000 m3/y of logs, mainly Spruce, but also Douglas fir and a mix of the other softwoods available in the region for packaging lumber. The round timber is purchased as long logs and cut to lengths of up to 5.1 m and diameters of up to 55 cm. The company employs 45 people in the sawmill, operating an EWD chippercircular sawline, in single-shift operation. Producing mainly green sawn
22 International Forest Industries | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021
Matthias Koch (EWD), responsible for the planning and implementation of the project, and the two owners Pascal and Thomas Perings (from left). Not pictured is Hilo production manager Rouven Schmaus
lumber for pallet and packaging, Hilo also offers KD lumber and value-added lumber, planed and available in numerous profiles. For garden and outdoor use, lumber is available impregnated. Important customers for the
company are packers and pallet manufacturers, horticulture and, increasingly, gluelam producers.
