Wood fiber insulation board manufacturer Gutex has successfully produced first fibers with its new ANDRITZ fiber preparation system in Eschbach, Germany. This is the second system ANDRITZ has delivered to GUTEX.
Oliver Bauch, Plant Manager, GUTEX, says: “The new line will perfectly support the environmentally friendly production approach for our ecological insulation board products. Thanks to the excellent cooperation and the great effort of the whole ANDRITZ team we were able to produce first fibers even ahead of schedule.”
Michael Rupp, Vice President for Panelboard Systems, ANDRITZ, adds: “We are proud that GUTEX again chose to collaborate with us and that we had the opportunity to provide them with our complete front-end technology.”
The scope of supply comprised a complete fiber preparation line, including a debarking and chipping line as well as the steel structure, piping material and installation work. The highly efficient system processes softwood chips as raw material and features the following technological highlights:
- ANDRITZ RotaBarker debarking system and horizontally fed HHQ-Chipper for consistently good chip quality at high production rates
- Fully automatic chip storage system with reclaiming and screening equipment
- High-consistency pressurized refining system to obtain high fiber quality and low specific energy consumption
- Steam Recovery System (SRS) for efficient recovery of surplus steam and greater thermal efficiency of the fiber preparation system
GUTEX is one of Europe’s pioneers in ecological insulation solutions. The family business based in the German Black Forest started making wood fiber insulation products back in 1932. In 2006, GUTEX was the first company to start producing wood fiberboard insulation with a homogeneous raw density profile using an innovative drying process. This technique allows GUTEX to manufacture single-layer wood fiber insulation board up to 240 mm thick and with significant quality advantages.