Decor Cabinets installs innovative flagship project

Decor Cabinets Ltd. of Morden, Manitoba produces high-quality kitchens for the North American market using state-of-the-art machinery and sophisticated production logistics.

More than 500 employees design, produce and plan designer kitchens six days a week and every kitchen is individually planned and manufactured to fulfill even the most unusual customer requests.

Decor Cabinets manufactures its bespoke kitchens utilizing a high degree of automation and consistently high product quality and in order to maintain that level of excellence, the company has taken another important step into the future via its 2024 plant expansion — an additional production line.

Processing machines and extraction technology working hand in hand

Stan Pauls, CEO of Decor Cabinets says: “We love our kitchens and it makes us feel great when our customers continue to enjoy one of our kitchens even after many years of use.

“To ensure that that level of satisfaction with our products continues, we use only state-of-the-art technology in our production and provide our employees with a safe working environment.”

So when it came to expanding the factory, Pauls says they placed as much emphasis on modern dust extraction technology as they did on the machinery.

“Our planning team gathered extensive information in advance, scoured the global market for innovative extraction technology providers and then opted for Höcker Polytechnik GmbH from  Germany with its Canadian trading partner Taurus Craco.

“In May 2023, we traveled with our team to LIGNA in Hanover, Germany to clarify the last questions at the Höcker Polytechnik stand and finalized the contract for an energy-saving extraction system with two MultiStar filter systems.”

Pauls says following LIGNA they started to work with teams from Taurus Craco and Höcker Polytechnik, to plan for the installation of the new extraction system as part of the plant expansion.

The new system was installed during ongoing operations and the entire production was gradually converted to the two new MultiStar dust plants without any significant production downtime.

“The result is impressive and we are delighted with our expanded production capacities and a state-of-the-art extraction system that meets our high standards for a healthy and safe workplaces, resource-saving use of energy and optimum production conditions,” Pauls says.

New extraction system ensures high air quality

The new facility houses a modern production line with a panel dividing saw, an automatic loading system, an edgebanding machine, a drilling center and a CNC processing center.

These are all powerful machines and place high demands on the extraction technology. The new machine extraction system is designed to ensure optimum air quality at the workstations, further improve product quality through dust-free processing and use electricity and heat resources sustainably and sparingly.

Decor Cabinets knew that a modern and well-thought-out  extraction system for the production lines was a forward-looking investment for the company, as it can generate important competitive advantages, especially given rising energy costs.

Taurus Craco Machinery Inc. from Brampton, Ontario, was chosen as the partner for the renovation because of its experience in providing innovative solutions for the woodworking trade and the furniture industry for more than 30 years.

Taurus Craco’s technology partner is Höcker Polytechnik GmbH from Germany with a broad product portfolio of energy-efficient and productivity-enhancing systems, such as the MultiStar filter systems, Vacumobil dust extractors and BrikStar briquetting presses. The electrical engineers at Höcker Polytechnik have many decades of experience in programming process-optimized control technology and thus enable the optimal integration of machine extraction into production. Working closely with the customer, the teams from Taurus Craco and Höcker Polytechnik designed a customized extraction concept for Decor Cabinets.

Taurus Craco relies on MultiStar filter systems from Höcker Polytechnik

For Kyle Roseneck, project manager at Taurus Craco, this project presented a very specific set of challenges.

“Decor Cabinets was already operating a high-performance production facility before the expansion, which means the expansion would place very high demands on the new dust and chip extraction system,” Roseneck says.

“We had to replace the existing old hose cyclone extraction system in stages, during ongoing operations and with minimal disruptions. And given the required energy-efficient extraction  performance, the MultiStar filter systems from Höcker Polytechnik offered the perfect solution.

“For the project here in Morden, we opted for an extraction system consisting of two MultiStar filter systems. This creates safety in daily production operations and the entire system was networked with smart control technology to create a highly efficient system. And because health and safety at the workstations was particularly important to the Decor Cabinets team, sensors for automatic system and dust monitoring have been installed throughout the entire plant.”

The system is designed to reduce electricity and fuel costs by introducing modern filter technology. At the heart of the new system are two almost identical MultiStar filter systems with a total extraction capacity of 320,000 m3/h. The use of two filter systems offers considerable advantages in terms of production reliability and facilitates maintenance. Eight 37 kW clean air fans work in cascade operation in each fan attachment module (total operating capacity: 596 kW) of the filters. The principle is simple but effective, as each processing machine is assigned a defined air output and the filter adjusts the ventilation output with watt precision each time the machine is started. In addition, filter hoses are cleaned regularly by means of purge air cleaning, which not only ensures consistently high filtration performance thanks to optimally cleaned filter material, but also reduces the amount of energy used for extraction, as power losses due to dirty filter material are reduced.

Heat recovery reduces heating costs

99.95% of the dust is cleaned in the MultiStar filter systems, allowing Decor Cabinets to utilize one of the greatest savings potentials in extraction technology — the recovery of the valuable heat energy that is extracted with the dust-laden air at the processing machines.

The cleaned and heated air can be fed back into production without turbulence. By using the thermal energy, Decor Cabinets  can reduce heating costs by up to 20%, thus creating further competitive advantages. In the summer, fresh air can be fed in via a fresh air flaps or mixed as required.

Increased safety thanks to PLC sensors

Health and safety for its people and the plant in general are a top priority for Decor Cabinets and a key factor for choosing a Höcker Polytechnik solution.

MultiStar filter systems are certified to meet the high requirements for fire and construction protection. The filter houses provide at least 90 minutes of fire resistance in accordance with EW90 and have been pressure surge tested to 0.22 bar. This standard safety feature simplifies the positioning of the filter systems close to buildings and the system operator benefits from the high safety standards of Höcker Polytechnik GmbH.

A PLC-supported safety management system with networked sensor technology monitors the entire extraction system and the teams at Höcker Polytechnik GmbH developed a sophisticated monitoring network with more than 80 sensors for Decor Cabinets. The system includes spark monitoring of the air supplied, pressure monitoring of the filter houses, rotation monitoring of the rotary valves and residual dust monitoring of the circulating air. The entire system can be monitored via a large control panel or the company’s own intranet.

Uwe Rother, project manager at Höcker Polytechnik, has been involved with this project right from the start and is particularly proud of the energy management system with integrated power quality monitoring.

“Stan Pauls has made it clear from the very beginning, that the new system had to be safe, reliable and energy-efficient,” he says. “Our MultiStar filter systems are safety-tested and have proven themselves a thousand times over. In addition, our electrical engineering department meets even the most complex requirements and implemented our extraction system in the customer’s modern production plant. This is a decisive safety bonus. We have also integrated an energy management system that provides Decor Cabinets with consumption histories as well as power quality monitoring with load monitoring.

When our customers have this much understanding of technology and an enthusiasm for efficient extraction technology, it is easy to implement sensible ideas and the results are impressive. Together, the teams from Decor Cabinets, Taurus Craco and Höcker Polytechnik have created one of the most modern extraction systems in Canada.

“For me and my friends at Taurus Craco, it was a flagship project that shows what is technically feasible today and how technology can help reduce energy costs.”

Author: Heiner Kleine-Wechelmann, Höcker Polytechnik GmbH