New extraction system set to boost economy and climate footprint at Hjallerup Spærfabrik

When the old extraction system at Hjallerup Spærfabrik was facing a major overhaul, the company chose a new complete solution from Aagaard instead. The investment is set to reduce heat loss and energy consumption, ease daily operations, and prepare production for future climate requirements.

The old extraction system at Hjallerup Spærfabrik had many years behind it. According to CEO Henrik Sørensen, an upgrade would have cost around 250,000 DKK without solving a fundamental problem: the system was extracting up to 18,000 cubic meters of heated air out of production every hour.

That's why the company chose a new, modular extraction system from Aagaard, featuring return air and a chain conveyor, among other things.

Different needs required adjustments

Extraction needs vary from around 5,500 cubic meters of air per hour during daily production to 18,000 cubic meters when the factory's largest machine is running.

This placed heavy demands on the system. The first solution didn't deliver the necessary suction capacity, so Aagaard had to adjust the dampers, ducting, and extraction from the machines, among other things.

Two additional suction nozzles and changes to the ducting subsequently improved the extraction noticeably.

"There aren't the same wood chips inside the machine as there used to be. It extracts better than what we had before," says Henrik Sørensen.

For him, working through the challenges together has been an important part of the collaboration with Aagaard.

From a quarter-hour of cleaning to just a few minutes

The improvement can also be felt in daily operations. Previously, cleaning one of the machines took around 10-15 minutes. Now Henrik Sørensen estimates the work can be done in about two minutes, since far fewer wood chips are left behind in the machine.

At the same time, the new system is designed to reuse the warm air that was previously sent out of the building. Hjallerup Spærfabrik spends around 130,000 DKK a year on heating, but the full savings can only be assessed after a complete heating season.

The investment is therefore about both economy and the company's future climate footprint.

"If suppliers can't bring a lower CO₂ impact into construction, it's going to become a competitive factor at some point," says Henrik Sørensen.

Can grow with production

The new system is modular, so Hjallerup Spærfabrik can expand capacity if production grows.

That was part of the decision to replace the old system rather than spend money on an extensive renovation.

"It's not like we've done this and then, if we need something else, everything has to be new. It can be built upon," says Henrik Sørensen.

In the longer term, the investment is thus set to give Hjallerup Spærfabrik a more operationally efficient production with lower energy consumption, less heat loss, and the ability to expand.

"I'm hoping to see savings on both our CO₂ footprint and our finances. And on top of that, we have a system that's far more operator-friendly," says Henrik Sørensen.