The new office of the plant and machine manufacturer Raute Oyj of Nastola, Finland, in Shanghai opened for business on 18 August 2022. As announced in June 2021, the new facility accommodates the sales and engineering departments as well as various office and administrative functions with a total of 25 employees.
The relocation of the Chinese production plant currently trading under the name of Raute (Shanghai) Machinery Co. Ltd. has not yet been completed, however. When the plans for the move were announced, Raute had been aiming to put it into operation in the first quarter of 2022. According to a release published at the end of August, the official opening is to take place on 31 October after several months of trial operation. At the same time, like the existing works in Shanghai, the new facility in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, will be geared to machines of the “R3” series for the entry-level segment.
At the beginning of 2020, Raute had announced extensive investment measures in the development of plywood and LVL technologies for customers in the emerging markets including China as well as in the appropriate sales and distribution activities. In connection with this, the range has been combined into three product series that meet the needs of customers in terms of aspects such as production capacity and investment budget. From what the company says, the R3 series stands out by virtue of standardised solutions and the plug-and-play design, affordable costs, and quick installation and commissioning. In contrast, the “R5” and “R7” series offer solutions for applications with higher demands with regard to automation, capacity, and production flexibility.
The order placed by the plywood manufacturer Guoxu Springwood Wood Panel Co. in May 2020, with which the company entered the Chinese market for automated production systems, covered, for example, an R3 veneer dryer, two R3 veneer-repair, and four R3 veneer-laying lines. Four R5 analysis units, featuring surface-inspection systems for identifying defects in addition to a moisture measurement system, were added to the drying line.
This year, among the orders Raute has received are three from customers in Indonesia and New Zealand for R3 veneer-laying lines. According to a release published in mid-May, more than 40 R3 veneer patchers for repairing veneer have also been delivered to Indonesia since their market launch in 2019.
