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new screening and gluing line. Its scope of supply included the new screening and resin application system as well as a chemical components storage and dosing system. Approximately 100 truckloads of machine parts, with a total weight of over 800 tons, were delivered for the project, says IMAL. In addition, there are around 400 tons of steel construction and over 35km of electrical cables. Around 50 fitters worked on the assembly at the same time. The aim of the investment is efficient screening and gluing of the sawdust and wood chips produced in the company’s own sawmill. This will save up to 5,000 tons of CO2
, says IMAL.
In a further investment step, energy generation and chip drying are to be completely renovated in 2026/27. The new supply integrates with the existing plant, with the aim of reducing the consumption of chemical components used in the process and the output of CO2 from the process, in line with Elka’s strong sustainability ethos.
The scope of supply from IMAL was divided into the following functional areas: 1. Storage of dried raw material and related particle size selection.
In this phase, the material coming from the dryer is stored in a silo then sent to the screening machines, whose purpose is to divide it into different particle size fractions to be used in the various layers that make up the panel (in Elka’s case this is two layers: core and surface).
2. Resin application. This consists of two bunkers (core layer and surface layer), with dosing units and scales to deliver the correct quantity of material to the resin applicators. Inside the resin applicators, mixing occurs between the raw material and chemical components. In addition to the aforementioned bunkers, IMAL has also provided an air suction and filtration system with a bag filter. Also, for technological reasons, the resin applicators require a cooling system, which has also been supplied by IMAL.
3. Transfer, storage and dosing of chemical components. Here, IMAL’s scope of supply included transfer systems from haulage trucks; storage tanks and related transfer pumps; dosing boxes and related pumps; and a high-pressure injection system designed to achieve optimal atomisation of the chemical components used. Once resin-coated, the material is transferred to the existing forming machines via tubular conveyors.
IMAL says that the project was designed with three key requirements of Elka in mind. The first of these was reduction of glue consumption, with glue savings being ensured through the installation of the high-pressure glue injection system, Hi-Jet, which IMAL,
says is a well-established solution, already in use by many of its clients, with over 240 systems installed worldwide.
The second requirement of Elka was the reduction of noise emissions and IMAL says that all the machines have been designed and supplied with suitable solutions to minimise acoustic emissions.
The third requirement of Elka was for the reduction of electricity consumption and IMAL says it implemented solutions using various technologies to minimise electrical consumption.
This screening and gluing upgrade was preceded at Elka by another major investment.
“Two years ago, we bought a large cut- to-size line from Schelling of Austria,” said Ms Kuntz. “Ultimately, as a result of our ongoing investments, our target is to increase particleboard production capacity to 250,000m3
Elka’s esb board is also given a sanded finish.
Again, in common with all Elka’s products it only uses fresh (spruce) wood from a 150km maximum radius of the factory; another environmental plus.
Elka says its esb board comes in four types: esb Standard; esb Plus; esb Traverse; and esb Reno.
a year – doubling the current
output of the mill.” Obviously, a new continuous press line will be a very significant investment for Elka but it does have financial support from the German government for the new screening/ gluing line and for a continuous press because these improvements will not only increase its efficiency but will also bolster the company’s sustainability/environmental credentials.
“Our investments would not be possible without this support,” said Ms Kuntz. “We are also committed to not producing pellets to be burned as biomass – we insist on utilising all our fresh wood supply in our production of timber and panels.”
It is not just particleboard that Elka produces. The company also manufactures a unique board which it calls ‘esb’. That is not a misprint for OSB.
Elka’s esb is a panel that is similar in appearance to OSB but is actually a form of particleboard, produced on the same line. The name esb stands for Elka Strong Board. The line produces about 60% esb and 40% particleboard. “We supply a lot of panels to the German door manufacturers – that is a good market for us,” said Ms Kuntz.
“It is a single-layer P5 board with properties similar to OSB3, but with important differences,” explained Ms Kuntz. “OSB3 has good longitudinal strength but not so good lateral strength. Our esb gives good values in all directions, with transverse strength being 40% better than OSB, and it also has significantly better swelling characteristics than OSB. Also, in common with all our products, it contains no recycled wood. This not only gives it good environmental credentials, but also means it is better for our clients’ tools as it does not contain the abrasive contaminants found in particleboards made from recycled wood.”
The first of these panels – esb Standard – is the base board, with a formaldehyde content of E1/E05 and excellent technical properties; esb Plus is especially suitable for structural timber engineering and prefabricated house construction, with a formaldehyde content of ≤0.03ppm and low VOC emissions; esb Traverse, or ‘Cross-Beam’ offers installation components for fastening higher loads to walls in dry construction, for example, with CW profiles with the esb standard board; and esb Reno is the newest panel, suited to attic renovations due to its size – narrow staircases and small roof hatches are not a problem. “We supply 50-60% of all prefabricated timber house manufacturers with esb because of its emissions performance,” said Ms Kuntz. In standard particleboard (or chipboard, as Elka also calls it), a number of panel types are offered, in compliance with DIN EN 312: 2010-12. These are as follows: 1. P1: Boards for interior use, non-load bearing.
2. P2: Boards for interior furnishing for use in dry areas.
3. P3: Boards for non-load-bearing purposes for use in humid areas.
4. P4: Boards for dry areas, load bearing. 5. P5: Boards for humid areas, load bearing. 6. P6: Heavy duty boards for load-bearing purposes for use in dry areas.
Tongued and grooved particleboard is also offered, machined in Elka’s own factory. Another advantage legitimately claimed by Elka is its ability to deliver multiple products in a single load. Sawn or machined timber, vita panels, particleboard and esb can all be combined on one vehicle, thus reducing transport pollution. Elka Holzwerke is a company with a very strong ethos. It doesn’t create any waste, using sawmill residues, which others may make into pellets for burning, to make particleboard and esb; it only uses fresh, sustainable wood from locally-supplied logs in all its production; and its vita board CLT offers a green construction material, together with its sawn and planed timber. And when its products leave the Morbach factory site, where possible they leave in mixed loads, thus economising on the use of road transport. The investment already made, and the further investment planned for the Morbach site suggest that Elka is also firmly committed to a growing future in the supply of ‘green’ wood products. ■
www.ttjonline.com | March/April 2025 | TTJ
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