Ried/Austria. Global market leader Wintersteiger presented one highlight after another at this year's Thin-Cutting Days at the company's headquarters. In addition to new and established products in the thin-cutting frame saw and band saw sector, there was also a presentation of two bandsaw blades with patents pending. With so much commitment on the part of engineering, no wonder that a large number of visitors found their way to Ried in Innkreis despite ice and snow.

High numbers of visitors despite snow-covered roads: This year around 150 customers from all over the world braved arctic road conditions to visit the Wintersteiger Thin-Cutting Days in Ried. From 9 to 15 December interested parties could find out about new and established products in the thin-cutting frame saw and thin-cutting band saw sector at the premises of the international market leader. Franz Haas, Head of the WOODTECH Division was very satisfied with this year's in-house exhibition, "Wintersteiger stands for thin-cutting solutions from a single source. Our customers were able to see the quality of these process solutions in the qualitative thin-cutting sector for themselves at the in-house exhibition." The entire product range emphasizes Wintersteiger's philosophy of being able to offer the customer an optimum combination of machine, tool and service.

That certain extra: customer-specific machines

When it came to products, attention was focused on the DSG Notum in the case of thin-cutting frame saws - this new entry-level product in the thin-cutting frame saw sector attracted a particularly high number of customers. There was also strong interest in the two special DSB Twinhead thin-cutting band saws which were presented at the in-house exhibition. One of the two machines that are designed for different areas of application is manufactured for an Italian producer of top quality multilayer parquet. The DSB Twinhead can cut all hardwoods and tropical woods in both wet and dry cutting. This 4-module band saw is additionally equipped with the option of countersinking three modules in the feed table. This new flexibility means that it is possible to cut with any number of modules - without costly and time-consuming conversion.

Pencil producer Faber-Castell relies on Wintersteiger

The second DSB Twinhead system is a 4-module band saw in the high-speed range for the production of pencil slats for the world's largest producer of pencils - Faber-Castell. The customer will save valuable raw materials thanks to the new system by Wintersteiger that has a feed rate of up to 40 metres a minute.

This machine is additionally fitted with an integrated scraper saw module for removing frayed areas on the exit side of the saw. Further it is designed to run two blocks parallel that come directly from the customer's own pine plantations.

The most significant benefit for the customer: Previously double-shaft gang rip saws were used to produce around seven million coloured pencils, lead pencils and cosmetic pencils per day. This required 23 truck loads of pine timber every day. With the new DSB Twinhead system by Wintersteiger, the timber requirement in the ultimate installation phase will be reduced by up to five truck loads of timber per day.

Maximum precision: Thin-cutting band saws in series connection

Three DSB Singlehead thin-cutting band saws connected in line with a Shuttle feed system certainly were the undisputed highlight of the exhibition. This customized thin-cutting line can cut large-format timber blocks with a maximum block height of up to 520 mm and a minimum lamella thickness of 2.5 mm. Block transport by means of a Shuttle system with vacuum holder is particularly advantageous for this special requirement. The system is also impressive due to its solid construction and its flexibility in terms of application, execution and configuration.

Innovative saws: Patent for X-Well and X-Clean

The saw sector featured still more qualitative highlights in the shape of the thin-cutting band saw blades X-Clean and X-Well, both of which have patents pending. The special feature of the X-Clean saw is its back serration which produces an air vortex that transports the sawdust outwards. Sawdust on the lamellas is reduced by up to 92 % as a result. The X-Well saw wins favour for its individuality: the customer defines a specific surface structure and Wintersteiger produces the saw according to the customer's special wishes. This saw is particularly interesting for the production of wooden floors for the wellness sector due to the variety of different surfaces it can produce (regular or irregular).

Wintersteiger's Easy Saw Management was also presented live for the first time ever. Tools are read in by means of barcode or by entering the numbers manually thus providing the operator with a constant overview of his current inventory. The Easy Saw Management software offers valuable assistance in the area of inventory management and cost transparency and also has an impressively user-friendly interface.

High-quality innovations, satisfied customers and a full house despite driving snow: there is no doubt that this year's Thin-Cutting Days by Wintersteiger can be viewed as a huge success.