Ready for the future
Full success through team work
Successful site optimisation in Kundl
Task
At the Kundl site, Pfeifer has been continuously investing in modernisation measures since acquiring the location in 1978. In 2021, the renewal of the roughly 40‑year‑old log yard was due. Despite individual upgrades, the sorting line no longer met current requirements.
The goals were to eliminate the bottleneck in the debarking process ahead of the sawing line, to expand the sorting system to handle a maximum small‑end diameter of 58 cm (previously 42 cm), and to increase overall performance while improving safety and optimising internal traffic flows. Before the conversion, around 200 trucks crossed the site every day, and material and forklift movements were partly running in opposite directions.
The particular challenge: the conversion, including commissioning, had to be completed within a two‑week shutdown – despite numerous customised solutions. In addition, the new installation had to demonstrate full performance before the old system was finally taken out of operation
Solution
Together with HOLTEC, Pfeifer opted for a precisely planned, step‑by‑step implementation. In an intermediate test, the new system was trialled under real operating conditions with twelve boxes and a provisional drive. Only after the performance test was successfully completed did the dismantling of the old installation begin, with selected components being integrated into the new line. The planned 14‑day shutdown and subsequent run‑up were completed on schedule.
The new system processes logs from 3 to 5.5 metres in length. After separation by a step feeder, the first scan is performed, followed by debarking via two Nicholson machines – one for thin and one for large‑diameter logs – including a double‑shaft butt reducer installed upstream. Additional quality checks (metal detector and scanner), crosscut saws and 62 sorting boxes complete the line.
HOLTEC Log‑Runners and GapControl optimise acceleration and gap management within the material flow. A new high‑performance debarker is positioned upstream of the sawing line.
In addition, traffic routing on site was reorganised: trucks now bypass the plant, and material flows are clearly structured. Ergonomic Ergo‑Control operator cabins improve working conditions and enable low‑fatigue operation with optimal visibility.
With the new system, we handle the same volume of logs as with the old one. But the old line could only sort them. Now, on this line, we can also debark, butt‑reduce and grade the logs.
Georg Walcher
+ 800000
m³ / year
+ 2
week downtime
from left to right:
Alexander Gebele (General Manager Holtec),
Georg Walcher (General Manager Pfeifer),
Georg Horngacher (Maintenance Manager Pfeifer),
Gottlieb Kirchmair (Log Yard Manager Pfeifer) and
Jan Zimmer (Head of Project Management Holtec)
Date: 2022
