Wood-Mizer Products Help In Educating About Responsible Sawmilling

Wood-Mizer is a global manufacturer of sawmills and wood-processing machinery with a strong awareness of ecological and environmental issues. Sustainable and careful management of wood resources from forest to final form can contribute to preserving rich and thriving forests for the next generations. Wood-Mizer helps maintain forests, parks, and other green areas serving nature and the surrounding communities with the products and technology developed for the responsible utilization of wood. We encourage and educate sawmillers to practice the rules of a circular economy in which every single log is used responsibly, no logs are cut down if unnecessary, and new trees are planted as often as possible.

More and more organizations have become aware of sustainable forest management, which means protecting the environment and efficiently using wood resources. “Well-managed forests are an important part of the local economy,” explains Alberto Dotta, director of the Forest Consortium in the Italian valley of Alta Val di Suza. “With good forest management, its functions – from timber production to biodiversity conservation – remain sustainable over time. We use the Wood-Mizer LT20 sawmill to convert wood into lumber and maintain forest bridges, walkways, and fences.” During the UN Climate Summit COP26 in Glasgow (Scotland), Wood-Mizer showcased its sawmilling products to hundreds of visitors to learn how Wood-Mizer is helping people sustainably build their dwellings and revitalize them in damaged areas after a disaster or salvage urban timber from being used as firewood or compost material. “Wood-Mizer supports and encourages individuals, communities, and businesses to make better use of urban timber since every urban tree we salvage for lumber is one less tree that must be cut from a healthy forest,” shares Scott Francisco, an author of various sustainable wood utilization programs (Pilot Projects, Cities4Forests).

The entrepreneurs that advocate for the reasonable use of wood resources in the production process tend to choose Wood-Mizer sawmilling products, as they allow for smart and efficient sawmilling. With the original thin-kerf Wood-Mizer sawmill blades, the operator can gain more timber from each log, producing as little sawdust as possible. “In my company, we transform the entire log into valuable products. All the raw materials must be converted into products with the highest possible added value,” explains Gabor Erdelyi, the Hungarian Robinia Group KFT owner, specializing in outdoor construction products made of black locust. Wood-Mizer sawmill owners are environmental stewards dedicated to proper resource management, reduced energy consumption, and a lighter touch on the land. The technical solutions that prove our devices are environmentally sound include these three main aspects – the use of thin-kerf sawmill blades, the benefits of a mobile sawmill, and the application of economical and efficient sawmill engines.

Sawmill Blades

All Wood-Mizer sawmills use thin-kerf blade technology, which means that the sawmill blades are only 2-3 mm thick, and while sawing, they make a tiny cut in the log. With a thin and narrow sawmill blade, the operator reduces sawdust waste and gains more timber from every log, meaning fewer trees must be cut to produce the same amount of wood. Wood-Mizer sawmill blades reduce the amount of waste produced (sawdust, woodchips) which usually would be left unused (less energy is consumed in the process of sawmilling). In general, narrow and thin sawmill blades do not require increased power consumption from the engines (or motors) compared to the circular or frame sawmill technology. Narrow sawmill blades are easy to maintain (resharpening), which means less energy is used for powering the blade maintenance equipment and the blades have a longer lifetime.

Mobile Sawmilling

Portable sawmilling allows people to use renewable and ecologically-friendly materials to construct houses and buildings while using less artificial materials like metals, plastics, and concrete. Additionally, by taking the sawmill to the logs, the environmental impact of timber production is reduced, which means fewer trucks are involved in the process. Reducing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide pollution is a positive environmental benefit. Furthermore, with a portable sawmill, you can easily clean up any area in the neighborhood from unwanted logs (trees damaged by storms, infected trees, dumped logs, etc.), which generally would be left to rot and emit carbon into the atmosphere. Turning logs that would have otherwise been discarded into valuable lumber stores carbon and is good environmental stewardship.

“The mobile LT40 sawmill first brought to Europe in the 1990s offered a new way of sawmilling. When we drove with the first sawmills around the nearby villages to cut logs for our customers, entire neighborhoods turned up to look at the machine. People couldn't believe that the sawmill bed would hold the weight of a large log, but to their surprise, the LT40 was cutting such logs into boards and beams without much effort. Our customers could get significantly more timber from a single log than expected. For the industry, it was not just a breakthrough. It was a revolution!" remembers Dariusz Kujawa, Customer Service Department Manager and one of Wood-Mizer's most experienced employees with a career starting with the company in the early 1990s.

“The wood we source for production is a waste material, and it comes from the demolition of redundant farm buildings or the clearing of old fruit orchards. With the Wood-Mizer LT15 Mobile sawmill, we can mill the logs right on the spot. When arriving at a place for sawmilling, we only need to remove the fenders, unlock the sawhead, and level the bed,” explains Kamil Broda, the Polish wood company OLD Mountains specializing in manufacturing furniture and everyday objects from recycled wood. 

Efficient Sawmill Engines

All engines and motors used in Wood-Mizer sawmills are known as economical and efficient units, consuming as little fuel/electricity as possible. The engines used in the sawmills (e.g., G57 and D42S) comply with the latest Stage V emission standard, while most of the electric motors used in the Wood-Mizer sawmills are certified with IE3 efficiency class (less energy consumed for generating the same power). Moreover, Wood-Mizer sawmilling equipment's electrical and electronic components comply with the RoHS directive (hazardous substances are used in the manufacturing process only in a limited way).

Additionally, the European Wood-Mizer division's production facility in Koło, Poland, is managed and maintained in a way that allows the manufacturing process to be as neutral to the environment as possible. The Health and Safety Policy in the company includes proper segregation of waste materials, use of carbon filters in the factory chimneys and exhaust systems, or use of paints and chemical substances that are as harmless to the environment as possible. Moreover, Wood-Mizer cooperates only with the suppliers and contractors that have applied an acceptable environmental protection policy in their factories.  

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