Improving the production efficiency of timber companies

For our customers Vankkapuu Oy and Savitaipaleen Teknolista Oy, a system for measuring production efficiency was developed in cooperation with the ERDF-funded Twininno project.

kasvu business mill

The project kicked off during a Business Mill visit when we got to talk about how LAB University of Applied Sciences can help find improved ways to work with digitalisation. TwinInno aims to make the expertise of LAB's two campuses available to businesses. Experts in wood and mechanical engineering were found at the Lahti campus, and the development project was then launched between the two companies, LAB students and a lecturer.

The project was both multidisciplinary and multi-regional

Markku Levanen, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Technology at LAB, worked as an in-house specialist and supervising lecturer in the project. Levanen tells that the project was enjoyable and in line with LAB’s strategies. The project was multidisciplinary, incorporating both wood and automation technology. In addition, the project intensified regional cooperation across South Karelia and Päijät-Häme. The students were given a hands-on project to develop real businesses. The students had high expectations.

And boy, hast this spring been like that!

Leevi Palo, a third-year student of mechanical engineering, gives only positive feedback about the project. For students, the most anticipated thing was the work experience, as they had studied only the basics of logic programming. The systems were assembled and tested at LAB before the companies bought the equipment. Installations and system testing at the company premises in Savitaipale and Joutseno gave students a chance to learn in real-life situations. The spring fulfilled the students’ expectations.

The work was professional, the students were enthusiastic, and the guidance was high quality

The entrepreneurs were very pleased with the cooperation with LAB, and they warmly recommend it to others.

”We achieved the desired result”, tells Mikko Vanhatalo, the entrepreneur at Vankkapuu.

"A very successful project for us with LAB," says Harri Hirvonen from Teknolista Oy.