PORTADA respecto al futuro. “En Chile, esta industria seguirá creciendo, porque el proceso de fabricación del plywood es rentable y existe suficiente disponibilidad de materia prima”. Asegura que el contrachapado chileno, por ejemplo, es un producto que tiene sus propios mercados y que no compite directamente con otros paneles fabricados con madera más barata.
Mejora permanente
A pesar de los vaivenes de la economía internacional, la industria apuesta a futuro. Y para esto debe actualizarse constantemente en términos de equipos, tecnología y maquinarias, con el fin de mejorar sus niveles de eficiencia, calidad e impacto medioambiental. Rodrigo Correa destaca los beneficios de estar al día en términos tecnológicos. “A medida que se automatiza un proceso se obtiene más información, se definen las variables críticas y se perfeccionan los procesos más erráticos o defectuosos, lo que genera más y mejor información que permite seguir optimizando los procesos”. Aunque la estructura básica de los productos sigue siendo la misma, numerosas innovaciones en la producción se focalizan en un mejor aprovechamiento de materias primas y en lograr un producto con mejores propiedades y características físico, químicas y mecánicas (y a menor costo). “Los clientes siempre buscan obtener un mejoramiento en
Panel manufacturing
Lower costs, top efficiency Panels producers today not only require equipment and technology that allows them to take the most from the available raw material and reduce energy consumption, but – through sophisticated automated processes- manufacture products with a perfect surface finishing. One of the most successful areas of the Chilean forest industry these last years has been panel manufacturing. And companies, as you will be able to realize in other reports in this magazine, are investing large amounts in production expansion in different panels types (MDF, MDP, Plywood, Particleboard, OSB, Edge Glued Panels) in the country and abroad. Louisiana Pacific Chile, as amatter of fact, introduced a few years ago OSB in Chile and has announced expansion plans. Masisa has bet in MDP and MDF panels manufacturing in its cutting edge technology plant in Cabrero. CMPC is duplicating its plywood capacity in Mininco and Arauco, besides purchasing plants in the US and Canada, opened last month its Teno facility and is also rebuilding the plywood unit that caught fire this last summer in Nueva Aldea. Other producers, as Tulsa and Eagon Lautaro, are also firmly developing their business. “Thanks to all of them we have been seeing this industry grow with a mix of products which has gained world recognition to our country”, says Rodrigo Correa,
partner at Teknip Paneles, machinery supplier for the industry. As a matter of fact, he says that “ten years ago the Chilean plywood was unknown; today there is no one in the forestry sector that does not respect it”. Panel consumption for furniture, construction, decorative uses and for industries that use them as raw material, follow a growing trend at the world level, say Marcial Gonzalez, CEO at MAGA, a company that supply equipment and technology for the wood based panel industry in Chile. “Wood based panels are well-known and have homogeneous properties and characteristics. At the same time, they are versatile, as there are different panel types for different uses and applications”, he underlines. Gonzalez adds that “this is the area that has developed the most in the forestry sector, not as much in terms of volumes, but in the mix of export oriented wood products”. Today, the national wood based panel industry is well developed and has a wide experience. “It has positioned as a leading one at the global scale, successfully participating in highly demanding markets”, says Jorge
¿Qué exigen los fabricantes? Las principales demandas de los fabricantes de tableros al invertir en tecnología son: • Bajo consumo energético por unidad de producto terminado. • Elevado aprovechamiento de materias primas e insumos (madera, adhesivos, preservantes y abrasivos, principalmente). • Automatización de procesos, robotización y factibilidad para incorporarlos a futuro. • Aspectos de seguridad y prevención de accidentes en la operación de los equipos. • Equipos amigables con el medio ambiente que permitan reducción de consumos, tratamientos de efluentes y manejo adecuado de residuos, entre otros. Fuente: Maga Ltda.
Agosto
2012
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