New order for Siempelkamp: The US door manufacturer Steves & Sons, Inc. placed an order for two forming and press lines for the production of door skins. Siempelkamp's comprehensive expertise in the area of wood-based panel plants, in particular for the production of thin MDF and HDF boards, was convincing here.
The new Texan customer also placed an order with Siempelkamp subsidiary BÜTTNER for two fiber dryers and an energy plant. Steves & Sons, a Texas family-owned company, is entering the door skins manufacturing business with this project. "Quality, superior craftsmanship, and style" form the definitive commitment of the Texas family-owned business with 157 years of tradition in its markets.
The two press lines each consist of a fiber classifier, mat forming, forming line and the multi-daylight press yielding millions of door skins per year. For the press line design, the focus was specifically on the wide product variety, combined with the minimization of trim waste. For the process heat supply of the mill, BÜTTNER contributes an energy system, based on biomass combustion, including flue gas pre-cleaning as well as two fiber drying systems. The energy system not only supplies thermal energy to the drying systems, it also heats thermal oil for press heating and generates steam for wood defibration. Commissioning and start-up is scheduled for 2024.
The decisive factor for the cooperation is Siempelkamp's outstanding competence in the wood-based panel industry, which includes plants for the production of thin MDF and HDF boards. This expertise is also in demand for the production of door skins – thin molded hardboard panels which, glued to frames on both sides, are used as interior doors. Siempelkamp has already proven its experience in the area of door skin production with a high-performance plant operated by a Turkish customer. The surface qualities of the panels require highest demands: From appearance and material density to thickness tolerances, many factors affect the appearance, the final quality, and ultimately the production costs of the door skins.
In addition, other factors contributed to the fact that two family-owned companies with almost identical longevity came together in this project. "Our experience in the North American market, our competence in being able to adapt technical designs very specifically to local requirements, convinced Steves & Sons. We can also bring our exceptional expertise in the planning of complete plants to the table. This ensures an optimal process technology and operating cost design, for example in the form of low maintenance and energy costs, a minimized use of raw materials, and a high degree of automation,” say Dirk Koltze, President Siempelkamp LP/BÜTTNER in Charlotte/USA, and Andreas Krott, Senior Sales and Project Engineer Siempelkamp Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH.