Chipboard market overview
In pursuit of super-profitable and often overly technologically sophisticated industries, beginning businessmen often simply do not pay attention to the simplest materials, which for various reasons seem to them outdated, unused and unattractive to investors.
Such materials include, for example, chipboard, or chipboard. Many people generally consider this material to be only an attempt to utilize woodworking waste and are surprised to learn that special chopping machines and wood-shaving machines made from non-timber wood are often used in chipboard factories. technological chips - i.e. main component of particleboard.
But chipboard is used very widely: furniture manufacturers use a laminated plate in the manufacture of doors, sidewalls, facades, and polished - for various hidden elements; builders and finishers also make extensive use of wood-based panels - mainly to create a variety of flooring; In addition, truck and wagon manufacturers make partitions and bulkheads from particle boards. Although, of course, the main consumer of this material is furniture production.
But why not produce some more technologically complete material - the same laminated particleboard or even blanks for modular furniture? The answer is simple - the production of source material is much cheaper and technologically (and therefore in terms of investment) low cost. The production of particleboard requires much less equipment, and the cost of materials, than for the manufacture of its derivatives - for example, chipboard.
Obviously, opening a chipboard production can be a very profitable business, especially if there is access to cheap raw materials - sawmill waste. The sales market is almost unlimited, so there will be no problems with this.
Technology and equipment for chipboard production
Chipboard is obtained by hot pressing a mixture of chips and thermosetting resin. In general terms, the technology is as follows - the chips are mixed with a binder material, and placed in molds, where it is glued together under the influence of high pressure and temperature. Then the finished plate is removed, cooled, cut and subjected to grinding.
The chipboard production process itself can be divided into several stages: preparation of raw materials, obtaining chips, mixing chips with glue, forming a carpet, pressing and gluing plates, cooling and trimming edges, grinding the ends and layers.
By and large, the first two steps are optional if you are using imported material. If not, you will have to purchase a crusher or chipper (160-460 thousand rubles. Depending on the type, power, etc. characteristics), as well as a chip machine (about 1280 thousand rubles.).
As you can see, some additional costs, although small, will still be required, so it makes sense to think about the feasibility of working on finished or preparation-requiring raw materials.
However, this issue, due to its financial meagerness, is rather resolved when studying suppliers: are there any relevant manufacturers of technological chips in your city?
Mixing chips with glue is carried out in special mixers (235 thousand yuan per unit), where chips and heated resin with hardeners and other additives are fed. It should be remembered that the weight fractions of chips and resin are strictly regulated and from the violation of their ratio in any direction, the physical and mechanical properties of the products may deteriorate.
Carpet formation is carried out using forming machines; they stack the tarred shavings into a mold. Pressing and gluing of particle boards is carried out in special thermal presses. The total price of a twin molding machine and an 8-story press is only 1536 thousand yuan per set. After manufacturing the blank sheet, it is trimmed to the specified size using the automatic sheet trimming unit (88 thousand yuan per unit) and fed to grinding.
Chipboard grinding is the final stage of machining during production, and the grade depends on the quality of surface grinding: according to GOST 10632-89, first-class plates should not have indentations (protrusions) or scratches, paraffin, dust or tar spots, chipped edges, chipping corners, under grinding, surface waviness.
Slabs of the second grade may not be polished at all, but they are used only in construction — polished slabs are required for furniture production, although manufacturers of chipboard often purchase slabs of the second grade and grind them on their own.
For grinding chipboard sheets, grinding machines are used, when choosing which parameters such as processing width, number of grinding heads (usually 2, 4 or 6 grinding heads) and power are taken into account. According to these parameters, there is a spread of prices - from 440 to 995 thousand rubles.
The above equipment for the production of chipboard is the main. Additional include vibrating screens; various types of roller, belt, spiral and chain conveyors connecting different units; roller lifting table for laying sheets of finished chipboard in packs; ventilation system to remove dust during grinding and some other specific devices (forklifts; stackers, etc.).
As you can see, the list of equipment for the production of chipboard is quite small. However, in addition to equipment, production facilities are also required.
To deploy full-fledged chipboard production, about 1800 square meters are required. m of production area plus at least 600 square meters. m of storage space - and this is not counting utility rooms, offices, sanitary and others.
Prospects for a chipboard business
The prospects for the production of particleboard are determined by the specifics of this production. As you may have noticed, grinding, coating and other forms of final processing significantly increase the selling price of boards.
Ideally, the first grade plates are best not to be implemented at all, but laminated or veneered on their own. This, of course, will require small expenses, however, the sale of such plates occurs at prices much higher than usual.
In addition, on the basis of chipboard production, it is also possible to organize the production of related materials: MDF, fiberboard, etc., not to mention furniture production.
Pavel Biryukov
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