Teknosavo brings Indonesian wood debarking into a new era – Million-euro savings and environmental benefits ahead
Indonesia ranks as the world’s seventh-largest pulp producer, right behind Finland. While debarking technology in Finland has been optimized to a high degree, in Indonesia, debarking lines are still largely operated manually. Teknosavo, based in Savonlinna, aims to change this with the help of funding from the Developing Markets Platform (DevPlat).
Pulp mills worldwide are increasingly focused on enhancing production efficiency, maximizing capacity, reducing energy consumption, and improving worker safety.
“In Finland, wood debarking lines operate through automation and digitalization, but in many other parts of the world, 90% of the work is still done manually. The challenge is that the human eye can’t maintain the same precision for more than a couple of hours, unlike automated production lines that run 24/7,” explains Teknosavo’s Sales Director, Kari Kallio.
Teknosavo’s solutions optimize wood handling processes at pulp mills, ensuring more efficient use of raw wood and minimizing wood waste, all according to the customer’s specific requirements.
“This translates into more pulp produced from the same amount of wood,” Kallio notes enthusiastically.
The environmental impacts are substantial, starting with a reduced need for raw wood and extending to less logging and fewer timber transports.
“At the same time, consistent-quality wood chips reduce the use of chemicals and energy consumption, while also minimizing wear and tear on drums and other equipment in the pulp cooking process. Energy savings can be as high as 30%.”
Significant savings and increased efficiency for local pulp mills
Indonesia is one of the world’s largest pulp producers, with an annual output of nearly nine million tons, accounting for over 15% of global pulp exports.
The wood species used in Indonesia’s pulp production are plantation-grown eucalyptus and acacia, which have been replacing natural forests. While deforestation in Indonesia has slowed in recent years, improving the efficiency of wood use is crucial for achieving sustainability goals.
“We have experience with many types of wood, but acacia, with its dense and heavy structure, is new to us. The DevPlat project aims to work with our partners to optimize the processing of acacia wood,” Kallio says.
In Indonesia, Teknosavo’s partners include Nordic Ventures Group, a provider of paper and pulp technology services, and one of the world’s largest pulp mills.
“The mill has several debarking lines, and we are beginning to automate the first one with our technology.”
“Conservatively, our optimization solution will reduce wood usage on the debarking line by 1-2% and increase overall capacity by 7-10%. The financial savings could reach millions per line,” Kallio concludes.
DevPlat boosts Finnish development innovations in emerging markets
Developing Markets Platform (DevPlat) is a joint endeavor of Business Finland and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. It helps Finnish companies and their partners develop sustainable business and access market opportunities in growing developing markets. Our funding for co-innovation in developing markets enables companies to (further) co-develop and co-create sustainable innovations jointly with local partners in developing markets
The DevPlat pilot project, funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, has already accelerated several Finnish companies’ opportunities to develop sustainable innovations in collaboration with local partners in Indonesia and the Philippines.
DevPlat funding complements Business Finland’s research, development, and innovation financing and provides additional funding for existing or recently completed R&D projects. DevPlat support, granted as a de minimis aid, can amount to up to €300,000 and cover up to 75% of the project’s approved total costs.
“To qualify for funding, the solution must not only meet commercial and economic criteria but also advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” emphasizes Minh Lam, Investment and Development Expert at DevPlat.
Currently, Business Finland is accepting applications on an ongoing basis until September 30, 2024.
TEKNOSAVO
Teknosavo Ltd, founded in 1988 and based in Savonlinna, is a family-owned business. It provides clients with a comprehensive service that includes complete automation solutions with measurement devices and software, as well as maintenance services. In addition to Indonesia, Teknosavo exports to 24 other countries.
