Just over a year ago, the mechanisation specialist Kallfass from Baiersbronn-Klosterreichenbach in Germany installed a new cutting and stacking system at Woodfab Timber in Aughrim, Ireland. The challenge was to accommodate the system in an existing hall – including an external infeed for re-sorting.
In recent years, Woodfab Timber, founded in 1974, has continuously invested in increasing output and efficiency. One of the most recent projects was the expansion of the sorting line with a cutting and stacking system from Kallfass. "Sorting and stacking was a major bottleneck in our production. That's why we decided to invest in this area," explains Sean Brady, owner and managing director of Woodfab.
The sawmill is located in Aughrim on the east coast of Ireland, about an hour and a half by car south of Dublin. The company manufactures various products for fences, decking boards, posts and the packaging industry from softwood logs – almost exclusively spruce.
No bottleneck, more output
With the new Kallfass line, a bottleneck has now been eliminated. Stacking and cutting can be carried out by just one employee. Brady puts the output last year at around 110,000 m³, which represents a 10% increase compared to 2024. The plan for this year is 115,000 m³ in one shift. "This increased volume is only possible thanks to the new Kallfass system," Woodfab operations manager Richard White points out and he confirms: "We were able to significantly optimize our production process. Furthermore, we are now very flexible in production and our employees on the sorting line are no longer under so much pressure.”
Mr. Brady explained the decision to collaborate with the Baden-Württemberg-based specialist for the first time: "Kallfass listened, offered us the best solution and was able to perfectly implement our vision." Installation began in November 2024, and the line has been operational since February 2025. "Despite the challenge of integrating the new system into the existing production facilities, we didn't have a single day of downtime," Brady emphasized.
Satisfied with the project delivered by Kallfass: Woodfab Timber Managing Director Sean Brady (left) and Operations Manager Richard White (Pic. Woodfab)
Large variety of dimensions
Another key advantage of the new system is its wide range of cross-sectional and length capabilities: "It is designed for wood thicknesses from 16 to 150 mm and widths from 70 to 250 mm. Infeed lengths range from 2.1 to 3.8 m. At the stacking station, we can stack packages with lengths from 800 mm to 3.6 m," explains Kallfass project manager Matthias Link. Kallfass implemented the integration of the new stacking and cutting system into the existing sorting system with 35 boxes. The wood batches are fed onto a buffer chain conveyor with a swivelling device. "When swivelled down, the wood arrives at the stacking system. When swivelled up, the wood arrives on our new buffer conveyor, which is mounted under the existing system. The boards and squared timbers are then transferred to the curved conveyor," says Helge Widmann, responsible for design engineering at Kallfass.
The wood arrives at the aligning roller conveyor via an unscrambler with raised carriers for large cross-sections – designed without a step feeder for space-related reasons. After subsequent layer creation, the wood is fed to the Kallfass multiple circular cross-cut saw. The saw is equipped with five automatically positionable saw aggregates. The shortest cutting length is 800 mm. The offcuts fall onto a belt conveyor and are disposed of.
Kallfass has equipped the stacker with eight magazines for automatic stick placing. According to Matthias Link, the output is up to twelve board layers per minute. The special feature of the system is that it can also perform offset stacking for internal handling. Roller conveyors transport the wood packages to the strapping station, after which they are prepared for transport. The stacks are labelled for wood package tracking. "These labels show the quantity and dimensions, while the quality is entered manually by the employee," explains Matthias Link.
In addition, Kallfass supplied an external alimentation system with tilt destacking unit. After destacking, the lengths of wood are fed via a roller conveyor to the aforementioned unscrambler and stacked. The new system can also be used for re-stacking or re-sorting.
The sawn timber – coming from the boxes – is first separated. The carriers are raised for large cross-sections
"Expectations were exceeded"
The managers of Woodfab Timber and Kallfass both confirm that the collaboration between the two companies on the project was excellent. "With the new system, we can now respond to inquiries very quickly. Due to the wide range of dimensions it can produce, we are now very flexible and have additional capacity if needed. The high increase in output that is now possible with our Kallfass system has exceeded our expectations," confirms Mr. Brady.
After layer creation, the timber is transported to the Kallfass multiple circular cross-cut saw
Kallfass supplied a stacker with automatic stick magazines
For re-sorting, Kallfass also installed an external alimentation system with tilt destacking unit at Woodfab Timber
These timbers are fed to the unscrambler via a roller conveyor
