UK - Kronospan, a global leader in wooden panels manufacturing, is investing € 200 million in its site in Chirk, Wales as part of its Vision 2020 program.

The factory has been comprehensively upgraded, streamlined and future-proofed and will produce Krono Original, Kronobuild and Kronodesign product lines.

To this end major production technology has been incorporated into the process, from pre-production through to finishing. Stands out the new silos where raw material is stored and rotated and in-feed into the plant in a fully automated process.

Space has also been cleared for the anticipated 50 m long continuous OSB line and all the raw board lines fed automatically into the melamine department, which comprises four presses—three new and one refurbished. The T&G line for P5 flooring has too been replaced with a new line which is already capable of making particleboard and OSB T&G for flooring.

This has doubled Chirk’s melamine facing capacity as the presses are two times faster than their predecessors. The worktop line is also completely new and of the three flooring lines, one is brand new and two have been completely refurbished to the latest standards.

The aim of the investment and redevelopment of the Chirk factory is to double the size of the business, both in terms of turnover and capacity, while keeping to the same number of employees (currently 630).