Motta Baluffi, Italy – From logs to lumber to finished pallets, Storti offers the most complete lines of equipment serving the needs of the pallet industry. And its manufacturing facility in Italy is state-of-the-art.
During a tour last year of facilities throughout Italy it was impressive to see the wide variety of equipment in operation that was manufactured by Storti.
Mario Cucciari, sales area manager of Storti, explained, “Storti makes equipment to order, and that is why we can produce in Europe machinery for the North American market. We are known for producing entire lines not just single pieces of equipment.”
Two interesting uses of Storti technology were its small log processing line at Aschieri-DePietri srl, a pallet and lumber manufacturer in Fossacaprara – Lombardia – Italy, and a flexible pallet nailing system at CasollaLegno, located in Trentino, North Italy.
Efficient Lumber Processing
Managing the raw material supply and getting the most out of its production is a key for Aschieri-De Pietri. The company manages its own timber lots in Italy and produces poplar for its own use. Sourcing local supply helps Aschieri-De Pietri compete by lowering transportation cost and securing a staple supply. This also allows the company to ensure quality and a strong commitment to the environment. Aschieri-De Pietri also processes a lot of small logs that otherwise might not be utilized. The maximum diameter that Aschieri-De Pietri processes in the small log system are 6-14 inches in diameter logs.
Cucciari commented, “The Storti small log system is good for the North American market because it can reduce manpower and allows utilization of small diameter logs. It also offers improved accuracy in cutting and a small footprint requirement compared to other technologies on the market.”
This line does not scan each log instead the sawyer controls the process. It only requires five people to run – one sawyer, two line supervisors and two workers at the end of the lines (main cant line and slab recovery line) grading and separating boards before stacking. The system can process logs of various lengths depending on the customer requirements. It can produce 65 cubic meters in an eight hour shift.
The small log processing line using the slab recovery line can get more boards from the same amount of logs stated Cucciari. It uses a circular saw blade that operates faster and produces better quality boards than a bandsaw does, according to Cucciari.
Enea Aschieri, the founder of Aschieri-De Pietri, explained, “Our small log system provides an advantage in purchasing logs. Since we have a sawmill (Artiglio/Storti) for logs with a diameter of 30-70 cm (12-27 inches) and the second sawmill (Storti) for logs with a diameter of 15-30 cm (5.5 – 12 inches), this allows us to buy lots without any difficulty.”
Upon arrival, logs are weighed and inspected for quality. Logs are sorted to size in the yard and stored. They are then picked up with a grapple and loaded into a PGS 350 4 Prismatic saw. Another saw crops the sides (slabs). A D93 horizontal multiripsaw further processes the material splitting the cant. A vertical introducer multi-rip saw produces the finished boards that are then automatically stacked at the end of the line. The Aschieri-De Pietri sawmill department can produce about 70 cubic meters of finished products per eight hour shift. (30,000 bf in an eight hour shift).
The sawmill processes primarily fir, poplar, pine and spruce logs. Concerned about the environment, Aschieri-De Pietri only works with reputible loggers and timber sources. Earlier this year, the company obtained FSC® certification for pallets and wood packaging. The FSC® trademark identifies products which contain wood from forests managed correctly and responsibly according to strict environmental, social and economic guidelines.
Aschieri-De Pietri controls the entire process from timber harvesting to final production to ensure environmental stewardship and quality control. Marco Aschieri, partner and production manager of the company, said, “We have the certifications to ensure quality from ISPM-15 certification for international transit to FSC for environmental stewardship. Our customers know they are getting a quality product backed with integrity and monitoring.”
With such a high commitment to quality, Aschieri-De Pietri selected Storti for the same reasons. Marco commented, “We chose Storti because it is a leader in the wooden packaging industry in terms of care and professionalism. Storti equipment meets or exceeds all of our requirements. And Storti offers excellent customer service.”
Marco added, “Our Storti representative, Mario Cucciari, is always available to help us and is very professonal.”
Flexibility and high production are a must for the Aschieri-De Pietri pallet department. The company has two automated lines for producing two-way, stringer pallets. One of the lines is Corali and one is a Storti Flex 61 line. Also, the company has two lines for making
4-way, block pallets. One produces 800 x 1200mm sized pallets and another produces all sizes and brands.
One of the Storti lines uses a robot to stack finished pallets. Marco said the reason for the robot is ability to accommodate and changeover quickly for different stacking patterns. Compared to having multiple stackers, it also reduces the required work space.
Total pallet production is 7,000 pallets per eight hour work shift. The pallet department has 14 production employees. The sawmill has 10 workers. There are five office workers and two mechanics/maintenance staff for the plant. Aschieri-De Pietri serves a variety of customers from construction to chemical manufacturers to food manufacturers and processors.
Aschieri-De Pietri has established a solid reputation thanks to its state-of-the-art technology and strong quality controls. Marco added, “Our company has developed a solid reputation in the industry thanks to our tradition, quality control, undivided attention to our valued customers and the highest product safety and environmental standards. Although a solid company in terms of resources, we treat everyone like family and have been able to keep pace with the changes in what our customers need.”
Flexible, Fast Changeovers for Small Production Runs
Serving demanding customers who buy lots of sizes requires precision and fast changeover in automation. For years many of these pallets were made by hand by CasollaLegno located in Trentino, Italy. But the addition of Storti lines has made all the difference.
Last year, the company added a second Flex line and worked with Storti to develop software for faster input orders into the machinery.
Nicola Casolla, sales manager for CasollaLegno, explained, “We are happy with this new Flex line. It saves lots of time, reduces the number of workers we need and has improved quality.”
Casolla said, “We mainly focus on customized pallets and normally have small orders. Our clients are mainly paper mills that have so many sizes of paper sheets.”
It is not unusual to receive 60 different sizes or types of pallets to be produced when making only 600 pallets for a customer. Casolla commented, “We may produce only 8-12 pieces of a certain size and usually never have more than 100 of any size. Thus we needed a way to get specifications into the machine faster and improve changeover speeds.”
Storti developed software to manage all the different sizes and types included in one order. This software loads the order (all pallet specifications and number of each pallet size to be produced) onto the machine automatically creating a pallet drawing for each pallet ordered that will be followed by the nailer. Casolla said, “It may take three minutes to load the order information from the office, one minute to setup the nailer which changes automatically and a few minutes to load the wood onto the machine depending on the number of pallets to produce. The complete Flex line produces about eight pallets per minute and takes about 7-8 minutes to complete a specific model of pallet depending on the number to be produced.
These types of specialty pallets would normally be produced by hand in the United States. But the high cost of labor makes automation a necessity according to Casolla. He said, “Before the Storti nailer, we built all these specialty sizes by hand with nail guns. And it was really hard on workers and more workers were needed to do the job.”
The costs of labor and raw material are the two largest costs for the pallet industry in Italy. And labor costs are much higher than those in North America. Casolla explained, “We had to push for greater automaton to decrease labor costs. A normal worker earns 1,200 Euros per month, but the true cost to the company is double when you factor in taxes and government fees.”
CasollaLegno has two full lines from Storti. The Flex 51M just produces tops for block pallets. Instead of stocking a large number of lumber sizes to accommodate the many size changes, the line was designed with two saws inline that trim the deckboards. Excess wood is ground up and dried and used for the co-generation plant. Wood waste produces electricity for the plant and steam for the dry kiln. CasollaLegno has a co-generation plant to produce electricity and sell it back to the grid.
Another Storti machine produces the base and handles final assembly of block pallets. This total line can produce 1,500 pallets in an eight hour shift with 60-70 changes in size only requiring two workers. The company also has two other complete Storti lines. One line produces larger runs of 800x1200mm pallets. And the other one manufactures specialty sizes.
The facility has a full sawmill that processes only softwood bigger than 14 inches, especially Douglas fir, spruce and fir. The company does not use pine because it tends to be really wet and can change color affecting the quality of pallet used to ship paper rolls. The sawmill has a Primultini Machine bandsaw. Then downstream in the process is a Storti rip saw and a Storti chop saw.
CasollaLegno started in 1988 when Nicola’s father, Ivano, quit being a logger and started to build a sawmill and pallet operation. Today, it has 22 workers and three Storti nailing lines. It serves primarily paper mills, the steel industry, chemical and some plastic manufacturers. About 10% of the facility produces timber for large roundwood poles and fencing while the rest of its production is lumber and finished pallets.
Total product per year for the facility is 700,000 pallets per year and 20,000 cubic meters (more than 8 million bf) of logs. About 80% of the timber comes from the Italian Alps. The remainder is bought from German and Austrian timber markets because the company can’t obtain enough material from Italian suppliers.
About 80% of the pallets are heat treated for international shipment. The company has a kiln that can treat about 2,000 pallets at a time.
One of the big advances that CasollaLegno has developed is its power generation capabilities. Besides the co-generation facility and biomass burner, the facility has solar panels on the roof that can generate 150 kw/h and are able to meet one third of the electricity needs of the sawmill. This saves 76,230 kg of CO2 emissions per year.
Casolla added, “I would also like to point out that we produce over 15,000 m3 of lumber per year” (6,250,000 bf). The company has positioned itself to be a green producer of wood packaging and timbers.
Explaining why the company chose Storti as its primary equipment partner, Casolla praised, “We have a strong relationship with Storti. They fix any problems we ever have very quickly thanks to their in-house engineers and experts.”
Pointing to the enhanced software upgrades and new machine, Casolla said, “Year by year our relationship with Storti gets better and better thanks to its excellent customer service. Storti has responded to our requests to make unique solutions for us.”
World Class Manufacturing Expertise
Storti offers an extensive line of sawmill and pallet equipment specializing in complete lines and systems. It has manufactured equipment for companies across the world starting with its inception in 1960. The oldest piece of equipment still in service is more 40 years old. Dating back to original days when Giuseppe Storti stated the company, it has focused on quality production.
Giuseppe Storti said, “I started making everything by hand and controlling the quality through the whole process, and the tradition continues today with our world class factory. The Storti name stands for quality engineering and construction.”
Cucciari explained that Storti does all of its own metal fabrication and does not buy molded steel frames as some other companies do in the industry. He added, “The frame of each machine is welded by one person. This helps to control the quality of the construction.”
A family run business since its inception, today Giuseppe’s son, Giancarlo Storti, lives right next to the factory and still keeps a watch on operations to ensure that everything meets his family’s high standards. Giancarlo’s son, Gianluca Storti, is the CEO of the company, and he oversees daily operations.
Also, Storti has started to use American parts in machines made for the North American market. This makes it easier to get replacement parts although domestic service through Pallet Machinery Group has made sales and service very convenient for customers.
Cucciari commented that Greg Wine of Pallet Machinery Group and his staff provide export support although Storti’s engineers are also able to help diagnose almost any problem remotely. He said, “Most of our new generation machines are connected to us via Internet. This helps us identify problems and troubleshoot issues.”
Pushing the envelope with new innovations. When I visited the plant last year, I saw a new approach to increase the speed of the delivery of nails into the chucks for nailing lines. This approach relies on a blowing system compared to being gravity fed.
The company is still owned by the Storti family. And the founder lives right next to the plant to ensure that quality remains up to his high standards. From producing its own electric panels to multiple checks for quality and consistency, every machine arrives at a customer location in prime condition. Cucciari proclaimed, “More than 20 checks are done before each machine is delivered and everything is run at the factory to ensure a smooth setup process.”
And when you are looking for a custom solution, Storti can deliver. It has wide catalog of products. It has an in-house department of 20 engineers. Cucciari said, “We can make almost anything you need for a pallet machine from automatic lumber feeders to fast changeover to nailing large size pallets to specialty paint booths or monitoring. We are like a tailor. We produce machinery to custom order.”
