One of three such units working in the Russian log yard, this Sennebogen 735 material handler unloads a truck at the Modern Lumber Technologies plant.

Once a waste product of the plywood industry, oriented strand boards have become a successful business for a Russian company using Sennebogen material handlers in both its log yard and inside its production facility.

The company, Modern Lumber Technologies (MLT) LLC, recently launched one of the largest oriented strand board plants in not only Russia, but the world, designed for about 784,770 cu. yds. (600,000 cu m) of annual output. Created by pressing strands arranged lengthwise and crosswise into boards under high pressure and temperature, oriented strand boards are used for structural paneling, interior wall and ceiling paneling, and sill plating.

Pick & Carry in the Log Yard

The lumber, which is delivered by truck from the heavily-wooded area around Torzhok, is unloaded and sorted in the Taleon Terra log yard by three Sennebogen 735 material handlers. Equipped with 4.2 cu. yd. log grapples, the mobile machines then place logs on the feed table for the production facility.

For those in charge at MLT, the 735 material handlers are perfectly suited for this role.

“The positive experience with our current Sennebogen machines, high component quality and, not least, the reliability of the material handlers by Sennebogen are what convinced us,” said Vladimir Tsveltkov, MLT technical director.

The 735's pick and carry concept gives the machine flexibility in the yard. It can unload an entire semi-trailer in just four loads. The 360-degree slewing uppercarriage, with a range of 36 ft. (11 m), can load the double-chain debarking line on the feed table from the side or from the end.

Electric Machine Feeds Chipper Line

The actual production process starts inside the facility. The complete system with a stationary Sennebogen 835 electric material handler feeds the chipper to produce the strands. The material handler is driven by a 215 hp (160 kW) electric motor and operates in shifts around the clock. The machine itself is positioned in an isolated cage above the chipper. From the elevated, spacious Mastercab cab, the material handler's operator controls the system with an ideal view of the stalls below.

During the tough Russian winter, the debarked trunks are first thawed by two conditioning channels to chip the frozen wood with the best results. After this conditioning, the Sennebogen units place the trunks into the hoppers of the chipper. The chipper itself turns the logs into strands approximately 0.02 in. (0.6 mm) thick, which are then sifted, dried and glued into boards up to 1.5 in. (4 cm) thick and 9.2 ft. (2.8 m) wide.

For more information, visit www.sennebogen-na.com.

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