Robots promote job satisfaction
“Getting things to work has been very frustrating. The robots do the work, but the humans behind them are the ones who make things work.” says Atle Holmlund Løkken.
Mr. Løkken, who is a qualified carpenter, has now become a CNC operator on one of the company’s two production lines. The robot and CNC machines prepare the finished materials and sheet packs for the modules.
Investing in people
“We have invested approx. NOK 32 million on new machinery and buildings. At the same time we have given our employees both the time and opportunity to learn about the machines properly. Anyone can buy machinery, but it is the people who make the difference,” says Factory Manager Rolf Johan Sørli.
Questions and answers
Have employees been replaced by machines?
No employees have been replaced by machines. Employees who previously worked as carpenters have been given training and are now working as robot operators.
What do the robot and CNC machine do?
The CNC machine has taken over the work that was previously carried out at various work stations at the factory. This machine prepares the kit required for walls with finished sills, uprights, interties and similar components with cuts, holes and marks so that they can be assembled like Lego blocks instead of having to be processed inside the factory.
The Biesse machine formats sheets around doors and windows, ventilation holes and holes for electrical applications.
This makes production easier, more efficient and safer.
What does Moelven Byggmodul AS manufacture?
Moelven Byggmodul AS manufactures modules for construction rigs and buildings for schools, kindergartens and offices. The factory manufactures over 50 modules per week.
What impact has this investment had?
When the machines now approach optimal function, the modules in the factory are produced more efficiently. The machines are currently still in the start-up phase, so their effects cannot yet be fully measured. This project has had a very positive impact on the working environment in the cutting factory, something which is evident from lower absence from work due to illness, etc.
Photo: Moelven.
2019 saw fluctuations – 2020 brought a virus
The first half of 2019 was very good, while the second half was characterised by uncertainty in the world economy due to the trade war between China and the US, Brexit and surplus timber in the market as a result of powder-post beetle attacks and storm fellings in Europe. The posed a challenge to market activities and profitability for Moelven towards the end of the year. While 2018 was one of the strongest years in the history of Moelven, in 2019 it was back to normal. Sales in 2019 decreased by NOK 723.3 million compared to the previous year, and the operating result was NOK 250.8 million lower. “Our industry is not unfamiliar with such fluctuations, and this shows how important it is to maintain constant focus on cost-effective operations and a sustainable corporate structure,” Kristiansen says.
Outlook characterised by pandemic
Until the pandemic was declared in March 2020, we saw a trend towards an improved situation compared to the end of last year. Among other things, this applies to the Timber division, which supplies wood products and components to the domestic and international industrial markets. Moelven’s Wood division, which targets the building materials trade and building market, has seen strong developments in interiors, while building wood deliveries are affected by a decline in new building activity in both Norway and Sweden. For the Building Systems division, with glulam, office solutions and building modules, 2019 was characterised by somewhat reduced activity. This particularly applies to building modules, where we had to reduce capacity for parts of the year. Until the coronavirus outbreak we saw a clear trend towards improvement in the module business. At the time of writing, society is marked by the virus outbreak, and it’s too early to say how this will impact us going forward. The only thing we know is that it will affect Moelven in 2020, but how severely and for how long is impossible to tell for the time being.
Intensifying HSE work
2019 was characterised by a number of new measures in Moelven’s HSE work. The group has a vision of zero injuries, and last year even more effort was applied to reducing the number of injuries. We have put into place a more systematic follow-up system for injuries with subsequent learning measures that are shared throughout the group. This, combined with new systems and solutions, allows us to intensify HSE work. Every injury is one too many.
Eventful year
2019 arrived with numerous important milestones for Moelven. Several of our companies were established after the First World War, and the glulam manufacturer Moelven Töreboda AS, the sawmill Moelven Våler AS and Moelven Treinteriør celebrated their first centenaries in 2019. Moelven also celebrated a world record when Mjøstårnet (85.4 metres) was officially named the world’s largest wooden building by the international skyscraper organisation Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Moelven Modus AS and Moelven Limtre AS played a major part in Finansparken Bjergsted in Stavanger, which opened in October. This is one of Northern Europe’s largest wooden commercial building, and is in line to achieve the highest standard in environmental building certification (BREEAM Outstanding). 2019 also saw a few contrasts. The Moelven family was joined by a completely new member in the form of the newly-established Moelven Pellets AS at Sokna. This is Moelven’s largest investment of all time, with a scope of NOK 270 million. A new, joint bioenergy centre at Sokna now supplies both Moelven Soknabruket and Moelven Pellets’ new factory with thermal energy, and the first pellet deliveries left the factory in late autumn. The same year it was also decided to close Moelven Eidsvold Værk AS. This led to 60 people losing their jobs, and the oldest sawmill in Norwegian history closed down operations in 2020. Excessive costs and need for investments were the background for the decision.