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The rotary peel veneer mill will process 150,000 m3 of timber that currently is classified as pulpwood.
The merchandising yard provides timber billets in approximately 2.5 m lengths. The billets are placed on a machine that rounds them up (that is it makes the billet into a perfect cylinder). The peeling lathe transforms this cylinder into a continuous strip of veneer by rotating the billet against a long knife. Depending on diameter of the billet and the thickness of the veneer the sheet is between 60 and 100 m long. The 7 cm core of the billet is normally chipped to recover the wood fibre.
The peeling system peels 3 to 6 billets each minute.
A scanner identifies faults in the sheet that are removed through a clipper that also cuts the sheet into drying lengths (approximately 2.5 x 1.3 m). The sheet is then sorted into different stacks normally based on moisture content. (Green timber is drier in the middle of tree than it is on the outer layers).
The green veneer sheets are then fed into a drier. The drier has six moving decks that run through a series of drying sections. Each section is heated to a precise temperature using steam. The movement of the decks is controlled so that the veneer sheet entering the drier with a moisture content of about 50% leaves the drier with a moisture content of about 8% in about 15 minutes. The veneer sheet shrinks about 20% in volume passing through the drier.
The dried veneer is then graded using both a scanning and ultrasonic process. The sheet then is packaged ready for sale.
In future the rotary peel veneer mill may be expanded to include a plywood manufacturing line that can make various grades of plywood and laminated veneer lumber, but for the present all of the veneer will be exported.
The rotary peel veneer mill will work 3 shifts and employ about 100 people.
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