Antti Löfbacka
Inno-Forest Project
Puukympit Oy
Sisällysluettelo:
1. Presentation 3
1.1 History 3
1.2 Nowadays 4
1.3 Future 4
1.4 Keski-Suomen Puukympit Oy after ten years 5
1.5 Production 5
1.5.1 Roof Truss models 5
1.5.2 Stages of production 6
1.5.2.1 Designing 6
1.5.2.2 Collecting material 7
1.5.2.3 Sawing 7
1.5.2.4 Pressing of roof truss 7
1.5.2.5 Bundling 7
1.5.2.6 Storage 8
1.5.2.7 Transportation 8
1.5.3 Turnaround time and the delivery time 8
1.5.3 Quality control 8
1.5.4 Cost of structure 9
1.5.3 Material 9
2. Investment in the new production plant 9
2.1 Problems and conclusion 9
2.2 Construction of the new plant 10
2.2.1 The first stage 10
2.2.2 The second stage 10
1. Presentation
Keski-Suomen Puukympit Oy is a company which operates mainly in Kuopio and manufacturers roof trusses. The company was established in 1988 in Pitkälahti Kuopio. The is limited a company. Depending on the season, the number of employees varies between forty and seventy. From eight to ten employees work in the office and the rest on production lines.
The President of the company is Pekka Pietiläinen, who owns the majority of shares. The Marketing Manager is Hannu Patronen who is also a considerable owner of shares. Arja Bastman is responsible for finances.
1.1 History
Before starting to manufacture of roof trusses, the company was selling wood. The production of roof trusses begun in Pitkälahti Kuopio in the year 1986. In 1988 “Puukeskus Oy” bought the wood selling business and the corporation called “Puukympit“ was astablished for roof truss production plant. The new production plant from Kelloniemi, Kuopio, was bought in the same year and the production in Pitkälahti was finished. The greatest turnover and amount of roof trusses ever was reached in the year 1989. The amount was about 70000 roof trusses in the same year. The reason for the great growth was the exports to the Soviet Union and building houses trough the whole year.
Company changed its name to “Kympit” and a couple of years later the name “Keski-Suomen Puukympit Oy” was registered. After the successful eighties the economic resession reduced the demand of roof trusses because of diminished construction volume. In the nineties there wasn’t any development in roof truss production and the company concentrated to other business like selling of timber. Economic resession decreased exports. In the early nineties the company invested in new production plants in Tuusniemi and Vaajakoski. Roof trusses are manufacturedin Vaajakoski and in Tuusniemi the timberware is classified according to the strength. Only inthe 2000 the production of roof trusses begun to increase again and the company invested in product development. Also exports started to increase again. Especially the exports to Russia increased, but even today it is not the same as in the late eighties, it is just 1/5.
1.2 Nowadays
Nowadays the company’s turnover is about 6,7 million euros and it is in the second position what comes to the market share. The company produces about 60000 roof trusses per year. The biggest company which produces roof trusses is “Sepa Oy” with over 200000 roof trusses per year and its turnover is over 17 million euros. Sepa Oy’S market share is about 30 percent.
The production in Vaajakoski was finished and the production in Tuusniemi will be finished soon. Most of the production will be moved from Kelloniemi to Pitkälahti.
Over 70 percent of production goes to factories that produce prefabricated elements for houses. Roof trusses are supplied to 28 house factories. The most important countre for the exports is Russia, the second is Germany. The company exports about 5% of its total production.
1.3 Future
There are nearly fifty companies that produce roof trusses. Large companies will survive better than small companies in increasing competition. Because of the unsuccesful business, small companies will have to finish their production. Several house factories have finished or will finish their own production of roof trusses and that bring new customers for big roof truss companies. Keski-Suomen Puukympit Oy will raise the level of production capacity so that they can answer to the growing demand. The plan is to raise the maximum capacity so that 100000 roof trusses could be made in one year. The goal is to increase the turnover with 50 percent in three years. What comes to amount of roof trusses the aim is to produce 80000-90000 roof truss every year.
The production of roof trusses has never been an unseuccesful business. In future the construction industry will will in balance and therefore, Keski-Suomen Puukympit Oy will start new forms of service like design service, sales of timber and broaden the product range by launching, for example, laminated beams. The exports must increase strongly. The most important country for exports will be Russia also in the future.
1.4 Keski-Suomen Puukympit Oy after ten years
Roof trusses will remain the main product, but new products will be launched. In winter there won’t be that much nead for the labour so the company offers labour leasing in addition to timber and design service. The company has some subsidiaries in Russia which all contribute others operations and business.
1.5 Production
1.5.1 Roof Truss models
Normal ridge truss
Scissoss truss
Single pitch truss
Beam truss
Attic frame truss
Attic frame truss with inclined bars
Attic frame truss with straight bars
T-scissors truss
Mansard truss
Rafters
1.5.2 Stages of production
1.5.2.1 Designing
Roof trusses are designed with suitable software with a computer. The customer must give specific dimensions when ordering. It is possible to make the order on the internet or in the traditional order-form.
The corporation has two designers, but also a design office is used. The design of one order costs approximately from 30-60 euros and it takes from three days to one week to get the working drawing.
1.5.2.2 Collecting material
At this stage the right timber material is collected for the sawing. The worker looks for the necessary information on the partlist, so that the amount of waste is as low as possible. This stage takes one worker.
1.5.2.3 Sawing
The exact angles and dimensions are fed into an sawmachine that saws the parts into the right form. Because of the construction of roof trusses, the dimensions have to be very precise. This stage employs two workers, a sawer and a receiver. The receiver puts the sawed parts to a carriage in the right position.
1.5.2.4 Pressing of roof truss
The dimension of roof trusses and other necessary information are shown in patterns. Roof trusses are assembled on tables which are attached to a sheet iron floor with electric magnets. The most important dimensions to be checked are the rooftop height, the length of eave and the crosswise measure. The junctions are joined with nail plates which are pressed with a hydraulic pressing device. Finished roof trusses are lifted to the carriage with a lift or by man-power.
This stage employs three workers, two to make the pattern and pressing and one to organize the parts and nail plates.
1.5.2.5 Bundling
Roof trusses are bundled together with a strapping machine. The strapping machine tightens straps and melts connection points. The one bundle is not allowed to exceed the weight of 1000 kilograms. The roof trusses are marked with red stamp ink. With the information in the mark, it is possible to find out where the product is produced, when it is produced and who has produced it. The working drawing of roof trusses is also sent to the customer.
1.5.2.6 Storage
Roof trusses are stored inthe upright position on stands and they have to be about half a meter off the ground. If to the assembly takes time, roof trusses must be protected against rain with a tarpaulin.
1.5.2.7 Transportation
Roof trusses are transported to the customer by trucks. The tranport is planned by Keski-Suomen Puukympit Oy, but arranged by a transport company. Transportation is a quite remarkable part of the cost structure and that is why it is important to optimise.
1.5.3 Turnaround time and the delivery time
The turnaround time depends on the starting point. If onl production is taken into account, the turnaround time is from three hours to six hours. If the parts are sawn in Tuusniemi and transported to Pitkälahti, the turnaround time is around two days.
If the design is also taken into account, the turnaround time can be over a week. The design takes about half an hour from our own designer, but using a hired designer it takes from three days to a week and costs around fifty euros per order.
The delivery time depends on the season. In summer, the delivery time can be even three months. The shortest possible delivery time is about a week. If a customer needs roof trusses in summer, the order must be done in springtime.
1.5.3 Quality control
The products are SFS-certified and the quality inspection is completed by an outsider quality controller. The quality controller makes two unpreconcerted quality controls in a year.
1.5.4 Cost of structure
In the year 1989 the cost structure was the following: the cost of material was one third, the cost of work was one third and the profit was one third. Nowadays the cost of labour is about 30%, the cost of material about 30% , transportation even 10% and the rest is profit. For example hardened comptetion and the oil price have an impact on the cost structure.
1.5.3 Material
Roof trusses are made of spruce and the widths used are the following:
· 72 mm
· 97 mm
· 122 mm
· 147 mm
· 172 mm
· 197 mm
· 222 mm
The timber is always 42 mm thick and company uses about 11000 m3 timber products per year. The company uses about 500 tons of nail plates of hot galvanized steel made by MiTek corporation.
2. Investment in the new production plant
2.1 Problems and conclusion
Roof trusses are seasonal products and demand is highest in summer. Due to the production capacity, the company can not answer to the high demand. It is possible to produce the required amount of roof trusses during the year, byt not in the busy period. The production capacity has to be increased to a new level with an optimal solution. The purpose is to increase the production capacity to 100000 roof trusses per year by the year 2008. Compared to the situation now, the increase is about 50%. Because of the limited production area, the only choice is to get a new production plant.
After calculating the costs, it was decided to purchase a new production unit in Kuopio or nearby it. A suitable hall was founded in Pitkälahti, Kuopio. The building lot and the hall are the same where the company had operated in the late eighties.
2.2 Construction of the new plant
2.2.1 The first stage
It was decided to carry out the investments in two stages. In the first stage, the hall was modified to suit the need of the company. Two pressing lines and the sawmill were constructed in the old hall. The modification demanded a lot of changes. The floor, inside walls, lights, balks, painting and electric installations had to be done before the assembly of machines. The pressing hall was ready in March 2006 and the sawmill in July 2006.
2.2.2 The second stage
It is planned to demolish one of the old halls and build the new hall of 600m2 in the old place . The new hall will be for pressing of roof trusses. The technology to be used has not been decided yet. The alternatives are are the same technology used previously or a new and more advanced system. The new system consist of pre-pressing and final pressing with a pressing mangle. In any case the level of automation will develop a lot. The new hall will be ready for the next busy period in the summer 2007. In future the production plant in Kelloniemi will be used only in summer when the demand is high.