SCA has completed the digitalization project B700 at its Bollsta Sawmill in Bollstabruk, Sweden.

"In the B700 project and the investments in technology it involves, I can affirm that we have laid the foundation for the next generation of sawmills. A considerably more digital sawmill in which no element of our manufacturing process need longer be left to chance," says Johan Olofsson, technology and operations development manager at SCA Wood and director of the B700 project.

This has been made especially clear by the CT scanner installed at the log sorting station as part of the project. Where once the sawmill relied on a visual inspection of the exterior properties and shape of a log, Bollsta is now one of the few sawmills in the world with the capability of creating added value by sawing logs based on images of their interiors.

"The logs we saw have often been growing in the forest for between 70 and 100 years and the fact that we can now see straight through them using advanced imaging technology is a real game-changer. It means that, before we saw the log, we can decide which product it is best suited to and no longer leave any aspect of our manufacturing process to chance. In combination with the increased production capacity of the grading mill, this gives us a genuine competitive advantage," says Olofsson.

The CT scanner and its fingerprinting technology also enables SCA to follow the logs journey through the sawmill, from sorting to finished product in the warehouse.