Massive delivery for the new wood room in Bäckhammar: "Unique in Europe"

A 30 meter long and 350 000 kilos heavy drum-debarker. The new wood room at Nordic Paper Bäckhammar will house a truly gigantic piece of equipment.

“It’s exciting to have the drum-debarker in place. You can now begin to visualise the final result,” says Martin Isacson, project manager.

When producing pulp and paper, the wood room is the first check point for the logs. In the wood room, the bark is removed, and the logs are chipped. Nordic Paper is currently constructing an entirely new wood room in Bäckhammar.

“It will be unique in Europe, packed with new technology and smart solutions,” explains Martin Isacson.

The largest single component in the wood room is the so-called drum-debarker, a giant steel cylinder where the logs are debarked. The debarker measures 5.5 meters in diameter and an impressive 30 meters in length. Apart from its massive size, there are other noteworthy features:

“The bark will be thawed with steam instead of hot water. This makes us more energy efficient,” says Isacson.

Advanced installation

The drum-debarker was manufactured locally at Deform’s workshop in Degerfors. Past week, it arrived and was installed in Bäckhammar – which could be described as a complex operation. Besides transporting the debarker by truck, which was a challenge in itself, a special setup was created on site to bring the debarker into the building.

“We left the southern gable of the building open, which is where we brought in the debarker. The debarker was attached to a gantry crane – a large frame that runs on tracks. The entire crane was slowly moved into the building, where the debarker was finally lifted into place on its foundations.”

"Historic investment"

The new construction project is also creating new job opportunities.

“In total, we are recruiting for six positions, which is fantastic,” says Kristin Israelsson, mill manager at Nordic Paper Bäckhammar. She continues:

“This investment is historic for Nordic Paper and represents a commitment to the future. It’s amazing to be part of this journey.”

The new wood room is scheduled to be operational in the fall of 2025. The supplier of the machinery is Andritz.