JPJ-Wood has been a customer of Champion Door since 2018. The annual capacity of the sawmill is 200,000 m3 of finished timber, for which the production premises must be as well-suited as possible. JPJ-Wood recently installed six new doors from Champion Door in their new planing mill site, making it a total of seven Champion Doors in their premises. The products of Champion Door were already familiar to Mikko Huttunen, the Maintenance Manager.
"The sawmill environment has demanding conditions, so our doors must operate as expected. I already had a positive impression of Champion Door. When they also came in the door bidding process, the choice was clear."
Smooth operation of the doors is reflected in the condition of the machines, production figures, and comfort.
According to Huttunen, the most important feature of the production facility's doors is smooth and quick operation. When you have to stick to goals and schedules in production, every minute counts. Champion Door's doors can be controlled from the process interface, that is, from one's own workstation. This way, you don't have to physically go to the door to operate it."
"Champion Door has made the use of doors really easy. Remote control speeds up our work significantly. We save 2–3 minutes with each door opening. The time savings are directly reflected in our production figures."
Remote control also has a positive impact on the maintenance of the equipment and the comfort of the work environment. If the door is difficult or cumbersome to close, it is likely to be left open if one is in a hurry, for example after moving a package. This allows cold air to enter the production facilities through the door opening. JPJ-Wood's modern production line has several devices that require stable temperatures to operate. According to Huttunen, for example, the plastic of the banding machine stiffens when the air is cooler, making it significantly more difficult to operate the machine. A stable temperature also makes the working conditions more comfortable.
"Champion Door's doors also have features essential for the safety of our staff, such as a damage prevention function. Because of this, the door will not close if the door way is not clear."
The significance of the doors to operations is greater than expected
The most recent project, which involved six doors, went according to plan, according to Huttunen. Champion Door quickly understood the solution that JPJ-Wood needed. Huttunen particularly liked that the plans were accurate: they were reviewed several times at the initiative of Champion Door to ensure that the final product would certainly meet the customer's wishes and needs. The installation work proceeded on schedule and was carried out with real professionalism, according to Huttunen.
"The installer was able to think for himself. He didn't blindly follow the plan, but considered a solution for the issue that came up and acted accordingly. He really knew what to do. The entire Champion Door staff is pleasant, and it feels like we can work smoothly with them."
Huttunen notes that the importance of the functioning of building doors is often overlooked by some businesses.
“People might think that it's 'just' a door. However, the truth is that, for example, for our large facility and production process, it's very important that our doors operate as expected."
JPJ-Wood Oy, based in Juupajoki, Finland is a company specialized in producing sawn and planed products from Finnish spruce and pine. Their product range includes dimensioned structural timber, standard timber, and customized customer products. 90% of their production is exported, and they had a turnover of €65.1 million in 2022. The company directly employs around 60 people.