Södra Wood Värö does a ECOSAVING

The maintenance department at Södras Sawmill in Värö, with UH leader Magnus Olsson at the helm, has together with FB Kedjor AB carried out a successful development project that generates better economy, reduced maintenance and at the same time good environmental savings in the form of reduced CO₂ emissions (Scope 3) and reduced water consumption.

The assignment FB Kedjor was given was to find a solution for chains with a longer life cycle in Södra’s chip conveyors. The project, which was carried out in December 2017 for SEK 500,000, has at the time of writing saved Södra Wood Värö:

SEK 798,637
3 tonnes of CO₂
40,884 litres of fresh water

Södra’s Magnus Olsson explains: “The service life of the equipment in these conveyors was previously approx. 30 months. We had challenges with unforeseen operational disruptions and a lot of corrective maintenance, and felt that we needed to do something to improve the availability of the machines.”

FB Kedjor’s Patrick Schönfeldt explains how they tackled the task:
“We did what we usually do when we are faced with challenges like this – to look at the carrier’s unique conditions with operating environment, material handled, speeds and lubrication, combined with Södra’s goal of achieving higher availability of the machines, with secured production and reduced maintenance as a result.”

The solution this time was the concept FB HYDRO where we use materials that are suitable for corrosive environments with high moisture levels and low pH values. It has proven to be very successful and now the chains have been spinning almost every day for 93 months. Meaning that for every day that passes, there are further savings for Södra’s wallet and our shared environment.

Thanks to FB Kedjors web application ECOSAVING it is also possible to calculate the exact savings in terms of economy, CO₂ and water consumption. This information can then be accessed by Södra and used in their sustainability reporting for Scope 3 emissions.

Södra’s Maintenance Engineer Fredrik Molén has followed the project closely and comments on the outcome:
“At Södra, we are at the forefront when it comes to sustainability issues, and from the perspective of the maintenance and purchasing department, it is not always easy to contribute to this work. Thanks to suppliers such as FB Kedjor we also have the opportunity to contribute to a sustainable world where the consequences of our development projects can also be quantified and reported in black and white. It feels very stimulating to work in this way and we see potential for more development in the future,” concludes Fredrik.