Chile-based Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A. (Arauco), the world's second-largest manufacturer of wood-based panels, has commissioned DIEFFENBACHER to supply an OSB plant to replace an existing MDF line at its Trupan site in Cholguán in the Bío-Bío region of Chile. The plant is scheduled to start production in the second half of 2026.

"We operate eight production lines from DIEFFENBACHER, and they're all running great. We're very satisfied with all our equipment from DIEFFENBACHER," says Tito Jara, Composite Panels Corporate Industrial Director at Arauco. "That's why we chose DIEFFENBACHER for this brownfield project to convert our Trupan I MDF line into a state-of-the-art OSB line," he adds.

"It's a special project for us, not only because we are happy to be working with our friends at Arauco again, but also because we will be building the new plant around the existing 10-opening press from 1988, which will remain at the center of the production line," explains Diego Coelho de Oliveira, Area Sales Director and Managing Director of DIEFFENBACHER do Brasil. "I want to thank our partners at INSERCO for their valuable support in the sales process with Arauco," he adds.

The DIEFFENBACHER scope of supply will range from the wood yard with debarking to the raw board handling including pneumatic systems and plant electrics and automation. "We're especially pleased that Arauco has included a MAIER Rotor Debarker, an OSB Disc Screen and a Belt Dryer in the plant order," says Coelho de Oliveira.

The interaction of rotation, friction and surface moistening of the logs makes the fully automatic MAIER Rotor Debarker highly efficient. The logs are laterally fed into the trough, set into rotation by long rotors with debarking tools and moved to the discharge area by the tilt of the rotors. The OSB Disc Screen separates the strands into two or four fractions. In a first step, equalizing rollers spread the infeed strand-flow, pre-screen it and loosen it up. Two-disc roller decks then separate the strands according to their length.

Featuring low thermal energy consumption, DIEFFENBACHER's Belt Dryer saves costs and supports sustainability because it works at lower temperatures than drum dryers and can use low-calorific energy from the waste heat of other plant components that would otherwise remain unused. "Installing a DIEFFENBACHER Belt Dryer is in line with our sustainability strategy. Just recently we became the world's first forestry company to certify its carbon neutrality," says Jara. In addition to its high capacity and variability, the Belt Dryer features easy and product-friendly material transport. Its self-supporting construction requires only a small footprint, and its modular design makes it adaptable to different capacity requirements and is easily expandable.

In recent years, Arauco and DIEFFENBACHER have worked together on many new plant and modernization projects. Alongside several retrofits using EVOjet and PROjet glue-saving systems, highlights of the collaboration were the construction of a particleboard plant in Beeskow, Germany, for the Sonae Arauco joint venture, which went into operation in July 2020, and an 800,000 m³ per year complete particleboard plant in Grayling, Michigan (US), in operation since February 2019.