Sveza in St. Petersburg reduces raw material consumption thanks to laser technologies

2025: Cutting Raw Material Costs Thanks to Laser Technologies

The plywood plant of the timber industry group Sveza"" St. Petersburg in expanded the project to use a veneer thickness measurement system. The company installed laser sensors on two more of its gushing lines. The updated system will save about 1.5 thousand cubic meters of raw materials, which can be compared in scale with the preservation of a birch grove. Sveza announced this on December 10, 2025.

𝓲

Фото: Sveza

Laser thickness meter - a thin optical device of domestic production using Russian software. The accuracy of its measurements reaches 98% with deviations within 0.03 mm. For six months of work on the pilot line of the St. Petersburg plant "Sveza" equipment has proven its effectiveness. The company will be able to save up to 700 cubic meters of raw materials per year from one line by optimizing the calculation and minimizing losses on subsequent alterations.

The decision to install laser thickness gauges on the first and second humming lines was made based on the results of successful operation of equipment on the third line. Also, the specialists of the plant were faced with the task of analyzing large amounts of data coming from the scanner. The solution to this problem was found by a trainee at the Plant Technological Development Center, who developed a methodology for collecting and converting statistics into a format that is convenient for analysis. This made it possible to quickly adjust the settings of the gushing lines based on the collection of objective data and an assessment of the accuracy of the thickness gauge.

As a result of this refinement, a special tab has been added to the system interface. It displays detailed information from the sensors: the breakdown of the veneer tape into segments, the thickness distribution diagram and data on the technical condition of the thickness gauge. This function enables the production to see variances in feed quality directly during the peeling phase. This will allow more efficient use of wood and will provide a higher level of consumer properties of the final product.

{{quote "Based on the results of monitoring the work of the thickness gauge on the third line of humming, we took into account all the comments of colleagues and finalized the system both technically and programmatically. Ultra-accurate sensors of the new generation have been installed, the distance between the veneer ribbon and the meters has been increased - now the length of the laser beam reads a large area. Adjustments have also been made to the measurement logic, which make it possible to reliably determine the thickness of the veneer with coarse freezing, "said Vladimir Voroshilov, an expert on the production technology of the Svezy plant in St. Petersburg. }}

As of December 2025, the plant has completed commissioning of equipment. Analysis of the system operation is ongoing to identify all factors affecting the measurement accuracy factor, and the project replication to other Svezy plants is being worked out.