Single-minded

14 August 2012


The Imal-Pal Group has continued to play to the strengths of its two component companies in making an integrated whole, with a one-source approach to the global panel making industry

There has been substantial realignment among machinery makers supplying the panel industry in recent years, with several strategic takeovers and partnerships taking place.

Since Imal-Pal became a fully independent group, with no outside investment, in mid-2008, it has increased its offering to the panel manufacturing industry to the point where, by strategic alliances and by maximising its own internal resources, it is able to offer the complete production line - including a continuous press.

The two constituent companies, Imal and Pal, also continue to trade as separate entities as well as jointly on many projects, each with their own specialism. Today the group is owned by three partners, Paolo Benedetti, Loris Zanasi and Antonio dal Ben, whose sons and daughters are all employed in the companies.

In 2011, Imal-Pal entered a 50/50 joint venture with Chinese machinery maker Jencheng to form Impa Shanghai machinery Ltd. Jencheng is an experienced manufacturer of presses, sanders and MDF refiners.

Through this joint venture, the group produces parts for the continuous press, called the Dynapress, or Dynasteam press, in Shanghai at lower cost, while maintaining high manufacturing standards, says Imal-Pal.

The control systems for the continuous presses were developed by Imal with fully open customer-accessible, hardware and software, with standard PLC, while all the commercial components for the Dynapress are from European manufacturers, such as the high pressure oleo-dynamics (from Bosch), heating system and the steel belt.

Four continuous presses (three Dynapress, one Dynasteam press) have been made and sold in just over a year, including what Imal-Pal says is the longest in the world, at 4ft x 46m.

The third of those presses is the Dynasteam press. It is 9ft wide and is currently under erection in Italy to make an ultra-lightweight OSB panel.

The Dynasteam is a major development from Imal-Pal, which Mr Zanasi believes could revolutionise the panel making world.

This unit, installed immediately before any continuous hot press, injects dry super-heated steam into the mat - crucially without injecting water which would condense in the mat, potentially causing blows and coloured spots on the board's surface.

"The equipment is small and easy to install. It does not even require any extra foundations as it is mounted directly on the existing structure and it is cost-effective, recouping its small cost in only a few months of panel production," said Mr Zanasi.

The system consists of two steam boxes, one above and one below the mat. Steam flow is controlled by two flow meters and two proportional valves.

The bottom feed belt is replaced by one with perforations that allow the steam through, while the upper box is height-adjustable.

Advantages claimed for Dynasteam are: The super-heated steam raises the core temperature of the mat to 100oC earlier than usual, thus permitting an increase in line speed and significant reduction in press
factor; it can compensate for the reduced press factor normally experienced with switching to E0 resins; internal bond is more homogeneous over the mat width; density profile is improved; more compact surfaces are produced, reducing subsequent lacquer consumption and reducing formaldehyde release; and the softer mat produced reduces power consumption of the main drive motor of the press and this means less strain on the belt, roller and chains.

The first Dynasteam was installed in one of panel maker Egger's factories and was soon followed by another for the same client. To date Imal-Pal has sold 24 Dynasteam units.

"One customer, thanks to the installation of the Dynasteam, has beaten the three seconds/mm barrier for particleboard," said Mr Zanasi. "This is a major innovation. It can increase the throughput capacity of a continuous press by a minimum of 20% to a maximum of 40%."

Five Dynasteam units were commissioned in June 2012, in Seihoku in Japan, Sonae in South Africa, Yildiz Sunta in Turkey and two in a mill in Latvia. Metro Fibreboard in Thailand has also installed one Dynasteam.

Mr Zanasi added an interesting point: "Consider that, if all existing lines increased their capacity by just 20%, there would be less new continuous press lines required to be built".

He also mentioned that larger wood preparation areas would be required to meet the increased capacities - and that is the core business of Pal.

The Imal division has also developed a new gluing system for OSB.

Instead of the traditional blender with large drums containing spinning spray nozzles, the Imal system employs application of the resin before the blender, thus avoiding the heavy cleaning required in traditional blenders.

Two large brushes, rotating at different speeds, open up the strands and the strands are then sprayed with a high-pressure spray as they fall. These 'spray-painted' strands are then mixed in a smaller and gentle mixer which is claimed only to require 20 minutes' cleaning every few weeks.

Another new development from Imal is the online density profile analyzer, CDP 700, which has both the x-ray sensors located below the board, rather than one above and one below, thus avoiding the problems of vapours affecting the upper sensor and variation in board-to-sensor gap with different thickness panels, said Mr Zanasi.

Then there is the new bond analyser/blister detector after the press. Here, the company president says the innovation is that its new system measures 100% of the width of a board, in 25mm increments, not just part of the width.

New developments from Pal
Meanwhile, Pal has also not been idle in innovation and is expanding its offices at Ponte di Piave to double the size of its R&D operations.

"There is increasing interest in the wood preparation area these days and that is our strength compared with other manufacturers," said Pal sales director Gabriele Nardin.

The first Pal innovation is a system to remove the most difficult fraction from recycled wood - plastic. The Plastic Killer, launched at Xylexpo in Milan in May this year, is claimed to effectively remove plastic from both particleboard and MDF furnish.

This can be combined with the established Metal Killer and Pal's screening systems in a Cleaning Tower. The tower is said to benefit the user with a smaller footprint than individual units and to have lower energy costs and no conveyors to wear.

"We see a big future in upgrading existing plants as well as in supplying new projects," said Mr Nardin.

For instance, Sonae Group's particleboard line in Knowsley, England, has purchased a complete new wood preparation area with a capacity of 600m3/hour (90tph) of recycled wood chips and the largest capacity silo storage area to date, at 28,500m3.

Kronospan's mill in Sandebeck, Germany has also ordered a complete new system to expand its wood preparation to increase recycled wood usage to around 70% and to improve the quality of that wood supply.

In China, Pal is supplying another wood preparation area to Ningfeng Particleboard in Guangxi Province. This line has a Yalian continuous press.

Woodsun in Foshan City, Guangdong, has ordered all wood preparation equipment up to and including a special-design forming station with three-head forming to produce a particleboard with sanding dust surface and chip core.

In mid-2011, Pal also supplied Woodsun with a recycling centre, from crushing to the refining area, for its MDF line on the same site.

Arauco in Chile and Cuyoplacas in Argentina also both have Pal wood preparation lines up to, but not including, forming, for their particleboard lines. Both have a capacity of 1,000m3/day of particleboard.

Imal and Pal - two companies with proud histories in supplying the global panel manufacturing sector - have continued to develop in Imal-Pal a combined company with a full range of supply from wood preparation to board quality monitoring; and a continuous press.

With a turnover of €120m in 2011, the Imal-Pal Group is obviously a significant player in the market. It fully intends to grow further, with the 2012 order book indicating an increase this year, said Mr Zanasi.

The Plastic Killer is designed to remove that difficult ‘pollutant’
The Imal blowline resination system
The Dynasteam is claimed to reduce your press factor
Imal’s particleboard glue blender