/INS. As veneer and plywood producers across Europe work with increasingly variable raw materials, maximizing recovery from every log has become a key production priority. Smaller-diameter timber, changing raw material availability, and growing expectations for resource efficiency are placing greater emphasis on how effectively veneer can be recovered and converted into value.

One way producers are addressing this challenge is by combining conventional spindle peeling with spindleless peeling in the same process. This hybrid approach enables mills to process a wider range of block sizes while continuing to recover veneer from smaller cores, helping improve overall raw material utilization.

"Recovery becomes increasingly important as available raw material changes," says Matias Pusa, Product Manager at Raute. "Smaller-diameter logs leave less room for inefficiency. Centering accuracy, peeling geometry, core diameter and veneer optimization all have a direct impact on how much usable veneer can be recovered from each block."

The opportunity is particularly significant as log diameters decrease. Hybrid peeling technology can process blocks from 130 mm up to 600 mm in diameter while reducing the remaining core to as little as 25 mm. Compared with conventional peeling methods, this allows producers to recover more veneer from the same raw material and utilize smaller-diameter logs more efficiently.

Achieving higher recovery is not only about peeling deeper. It requires optimization throughout the production process. Accurate block centering helps position each block for maximum veneer yield, while advanced veneer analysis supports clipping decisions that maximize the amount of face veneer and full sheets recovered from every ribbon.

According to Pusa, the greatest gains are achieved when the entire peeling process is considered as a whole. "The objective is not simply to reduce core diameter. Block sorting, centering, peeling, clipping, and grading all contribute to recovery. When these elements work together, producers can make better use of available raw materials and improve overall mill performance."

Improved recovery also supports broader sustainability goals. Recovering more usable veneer from each log enables mills to increase production output without increasing raw material consumption. By making better use of available timber resources, producers can reduce waste, improve material efficiency, and generate more value from every cubic meter of wood.

As raw material efficiency continues to shape competitiveness in the veneer and plywood industry, producers are increasingly looking for solutions that help them get more value from every cubic meter of wood. Hybrid peeling demonstrates how process optimization, automation, and production expertise can work together to improve both recovery and resource efficiency.

Further information
Matias Pusa, Product Manager, Spindleless peeling, +358 45 639 2817

RAUTE IN BRIEF – Making Wood Matter
Raute is the partner to future-proof the wood industry. Our technologies cover different production processes with supporting digital and analytics solutions for engineered wood products. Additionally, we offer a full-scale service concept ranging from spare parts to regular maintenance and modernizations. Our innovative hardware and software solutions are designed to support our customers’ efficient consumption of natural resources. In mill-scale projects, Raute is a global market leader both in the plywood and LVL industries. Raute’s head office and main production plant is located in Lahti, Finland. The company’s other production plants are located in Kajaani, Finland, the Vancouver area of Canada, and in Pullman, WA, USA. Raute’s net sales in 2025 were EUR 175.5 million. The Group’s headcount at the end of 2025 was 698.

More about Raute: www.raute.com.