Evergreen Engineering Teams Up for Successful Russian LVL Project

Full production of a “World-Class” Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) Plant in Russia will begin in the first quarter of 2009. The LVL plant is located in Torzhok, Russia, in the Tver region located between Moscow and St. Petersburg. First board at this plant was successfully produced on September 15, 2008.

The plant has been designed and built utilizing an international team of specialists and equipment suppliers. Having multiple cultures to interface with at the jobsite created many unforeseen challenges above and beyond the usual challenges faced during a normal plant installation and start up.

Language is obviously the biggest obstacle to overcome during all phases of a project of this size, and when you add to the equation that there were up to six different languages being spoken during the peak of construction, this was a major concern. The translators at the plant had a heavy burden to bear, but they conveyed information accurately, sometimes under very stressful working circumstances.

The harsh weather conditions at this site also created unique challenges that had to be faced and overcome. The winter temperatures can normally reach -30 degrees Celsius for extended amounts of time. Careful consideration was used to select equipment that could withstand continued use under these extreme conditions while maintaining the high production rates required at this plant.

Evergreen Engineering of Eugene, Oregon has supplied a full-time presence since the project conception for coordination between client, contractors, suppliers, and local Russian engineers. Engineering and designing a plant of this magnitude cannot be solely done from the USA. Evergreen staff has also been responsible for on-site technical support and coordination throughout the duration of the project; including document translation from English to Russian and overall review of other designs and engineering by Russian engineers.

The LVL plant Owner, Modern Lumber Technologies (MLT), of St. Petersburg, Russia along with its Management Company, Taleon Terra, of St. Petersburg, Russia are very proud of the fact that such a large number of foreign and local companies could overcome any differences they may have and team-up to build this “State-of-the-Art” plant.

Initial production capacity is 5,000,000 cubic feet/year (120,000 cubic meters/year)
based on 1-¾” thickness (44 mm) and 17 ply 2.0 MOE grade LVL. The plant also has the ability to add cross-plies from a veneer composer.

An unfortunate act of weather a few months ago delayed full implementation of all production. Four shipping containers of critical equipment in route to Russia from the U.S.A. were lost at sea during a typhoon. Alternate solutions to work around this lost equipment were developed while replacement equipment was ordered, built, and is scheduled for delivery in late February for an April 2009 full production run. In the meantime, the plant has been in limited production while it tests its finished products, fine tunes the production process, and works to gain local and international certifications for its finished products.

Log Conditioning Pond Engineering

The following is a list of the multi-cultural team of companies involved in the LVL project and their nationalities:

Civil and site work installation contractor – Leokaspis, of St. Petersburg, Russia
Labor for building the plant was from Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia
Local engineering company – RAPS, of St. Petersburg, Russia
Overall mechanical and electrical installation contractor – SGS, of Austria
Log yard and handling equipment – Hekotek, of Estonia
Log conditioning ponds and debarking line – Vitech Engineering, of Canada
Green veneer line, lathe, clipper, and stacking system – Coe Manufacturing, of U.S.A.
4 line veneer dryer, grading, and stacking system – Grenzebach, of Germany
Veneer composing system – Hashimoto, of Japan
Veneer scarfing line – Corvallis Tool Co., of Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.
200 foot long LVL Continuous press line – Dieffenbacher, of Germany
Veneer feeder line – Corvallis Tool Co., of Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.
Veneer layup line – Corvallis Tool Co., of Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.
Glue kitchen – YIT, of Finland/Russia
500 kW microwave preheat station – Radio Frequency Technologies (RFT), of U.S.A.
Billet cutoff saw – Dieffenbacher, of Germany
Billet stacking and handling equipment – Corvallis Tool Co., of Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.
Billet cranes – Coastal Crane Co., of British Columbia, Canada
Billet finishing and sawing line – Corvallis Tool Co., of Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.
Fuel collection and handling system- Corvallis Tool Co., of Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.
White wood collection and chipping system – Corvallis Tool Co., of Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.
Dust collection system – Western Pneumatics, Inc., of Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A.
Thermal oil heating and piping system – Maxtech, and Energy Capitol, of Russia
Building heating and ventilation system- ITM, of Russia
Fabrication and installation of equipment access platforms – YIT, of Finland/Russia
Overall Engineering and site coordination – Evergreen Engineering, of Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A.