Topi-Keittiöt Oy – the largest manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom furniture in Finland – relies on the UNTHA LR1400 shredder with special low-temperature equipment for shredding chipboard, MDF, solid wood, pallets and veneer.
Topi-Keittiöt Oy is one of Finland’s largest manufacturers of kitchen and bathroom furniture. Their products stand out for their timeless design, high quality and long lifespan, and the company sets great store by sustainability and environmental protection. In 1939, Toivo Ojala founded a small carpentry workshop in Kalajoki. Over the years, the company grew into one of the country’s leading furniture manufacturers, and today employs more than 150 people.
Furniture production entails a large amount of residual products such as chipboard and MDF panels, solid wood, veneer and pallets. Previously, Topi-Keittiöt Oy had been using a shredder from a competitor. However, the narrow feed opening meant that not all residual wood products such as panels and pallets could be fed into the unit and shredded in a single step and that some of them had to be disposed of at the company’s expense. Topi-Keittiöt Oy required an efficient, holistic solution that would be suitable for all of its residual wood. Another requirement was smooth operation even in the rough Finnish climate.
The UNTHA shredder has been in operation since June 2022: The company opted for an LR1400 with a 45° machine casing. The shredder was fitted with a customised hopper, suitable for feed-in using a wheel loader. The residual wood for shredding may contain small metal parts such as screws, nails, or fittings. To ensure that these do not end up in the wood chip container, a pipe magnet that separates these parts was added to the suction system, as was a profiled pusher floor that helps to fully shred veneer. The shredder is positioned outdoors, with temperatures in winter reaching -25° C and less. In order to ensure smooth operation during the colder months, the machine was fitted with a heating unit for the hydraulics aggregate. In addition, low-temperature oils and grease are used. Penope, our partner in Finland, developed a system for removing the wood chips: A suction system takes the shredded material for interim storage to silos or containers. The furniture manufacturer and local farms use the wood chips for heating, which means that the residual wood is utilised to the full.
Penope had already placed four UNTHA shredders in the vicinity of Topi-Keittiöt: two in Ylivieska, one in Pyhäjoki and one in Kalajoki. These four machines, paired with the positive experience of the respective companies, make excellent references and prove that the units work well even in the rough Finnish climate. This also convinced Head of Production Iiro Ojala that the LR1400 was the right choice for the company’s requirements and the climatic conditions of Finland.
