Comfortable Shredding
If you’re looking for comfortable upholstered and lounge furniture in Johannesburg, South Africa, there's been no alternative to Calgan Recliners for almost 30 years. From now on, the company will rely on WEIMA’s shredding technology for the wood waste generated during the production of frame structures. A WL 4 shredder has been able to drastically reduce disposal costs.
When up to 600 employees work in one location, chips are going to accumulate, many chips, usually only in the form of solid wood sections or chipboard residues. Calgan Recliners manufactures and exports high-quality living room seating. This includes armchairs, individual sofas and entire seating groups.
Project facts
Reducing waste volume and disposal costs
The continuous growth of the family-owned company, founded by Cecil Kagan in 1993, has also led to a sharp increase in waste volume. Production Manager Garth Anderson commented:
The majority of our waste comes from pine or eucalyptus wood. Since the waste is often voluminous and bulky, our containers filled up much too quickly and had to be emptied twice a week. To reduce the volume, we decided on a shredder.
The wood shredder has made a huge difference. The sections, no matter how large or which type of wood they are made of, are turned into wood chips that fill our containers in an optimal way. Now we only have to have them picked up once every three weeks. We're saving a lot of money.
Goals for the near future
The company also has ambitious plans for the coming years. This includes separating solid wood and chipboard. Shredded solid wood could then be sold to livestock breeders in the surrounding area. Another idea is using wood chips for energy production in a biomass plant.
Standing up to Asian competition
Anderson added that increasing competitive pressure from the Far East is also fueling the company’s drive to increase efficiency:
Furniture imports from China have completely destroyed the cabinet and shelf construction industry in South Africa, and we don't want this to happen to our upholstered furniture (recliners) market here. The only way to combat this competition is to increase efficiency. We want to produce modular seating furniture in as high a volume as possible and sell it to a broad customer base. This modular concept also allows us to optimize shipping. And now we have found the ideal solution for our waste wood management.
WEIMA says thank you to WoodBiz Africa and editor Joy Crane for this customer success story.
