Professional after the storm

25 March 2011 kl 10:28

When a winter storm flattened several years’ worth of felling in the forests the portable sawmill was not enough by a long way. Janne Hellgren purchased a larger band sawmill and a timber kiln. This was also the start of the professionalisation of the business.

The large timber kiln.
The recipes for all the moldings and panels are printed on the test pieces. The range has become very large.

“It is the planer that creates added value from the farm’s own forest,” says Janne Hellgren. To the right is Kent Lindh, who is employed by Janne.

Janne Hellgren worked for many years for in South Africa. But when the opportunity arose to purchase a family farm in Sweden, the family moved back home. Janne bought a portable sawmill, carried out sawing at home on the farm and drove around with the sawmill on the roof to saw for others.

Winter storm
However, the major boost for Janne came in 2005, when a winter storm flattened several years’ worth of felling in the forests. The Logosol sawmill M7 was not enough by a long way, and Janne purchased a larger band sawmill.
This was also the start of the professionalisation of the business, from a sideline alongside forestry to a real company.

Large timber kiln
The next investment was a large timber kiln, with a carriage on rails for the timber. This was his own design, although it appears as though Janne took his inspiration from large-scale sawmills before he began to build. The kiln means that the business is not dependent on the weather or the season. It is always possible to produce the right timber of the right quality from his own forest.

Mixed user with an employee
Today the company also has an employee in the shape of Kent Lindh, who is both involved in timber processing and works out in the forest, for example carrying out planting.
“This is the best job in the world, with freedom and a lot of fresh air,” says Kent who, unlike his employer, has grown up with a chainsaw and has spent time in the forest ever since he was small.
Like most professionals in the field of small-scale wood processing, the Hellgren family run a mixed farm, with other income coming from flea markets, horses and the hiring out of summer cottages. There are also a number of small buildings on the farm that are hired out all year round.
“It doesn’t make us rich, but it is definitely possible to make a living if you work hard,” Janne Hellgren sums up.


All over Sweden traditional agriculture is being replaced by horse farms.
But a horse farm can be so much more than a place where you live with the horses.
Christian and Therese Sämberg have horses, but their plans are bigger than that.

It is wise to remove the trees that were felled by the strong winds this winter, otherwise there is a danger of insect infestation in the wood.
But how can you easily transport individual trees over logs and rocks?
Logosol has the solution, a smart log skidder trailer for four-wheelers.

In Sweden the trend is evident: Young people become more and more interested in crafts of the old times and dream of a life in the country.
Three of those are Johannes Kabell, Timothy Ohdin and Per Hansson.
They have started a crafts collective and are building a large workshop with the help of their jointly owned sawmill from Logosol.

Tormek’s grinding machines and their method for sharpening edge tools have a solid good reputation all over the world.
Here comes their top model in a bespoke version made for Logosol’s customers.

There are not days enough in the year for Anders Assarsson who runs Svenshult’s Sawmill south of Gothenburg on the Swedish west coast. Even though the largest model of Logosol-Låks frame saw is going at full speed and the neighbours are helping out.
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”Slice up your storm-felled trees! It is done quickly and you preserve all the good qualities of the timber.” This advice comes from Logosol’s founder, Bengt-Olov Byström, who continues thinking small-scale after the hard winds of this winter.

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Part of a solution was presented this summer in a one thousand year old church ruin: doubly eco-labelled wooden flooring, produced in southern Chile with equipment from Logosol.

Boat building has ancient traditions. Lars Wigren belongs to the growing number that carries the traditions on with the help of an own sawmill.

This year it is the tenth anniversary of the Logosol Sawmill model 7. 
Logosol celebrates this by taking the next step in development, the M8. But what happened on the way here?

The Logosol Sawmill M8 is the new model of the world’s most sold sawmill.
”We collected feedback from Logosol Sawmill owners all over the world,” says the product manager Mattias Byström at Logosol’s headquarters in Sweden.

For the first time in ten years, the wood-processing company Logosol presents a new Logosol Sawmill. The model passes under the name of M8 and includes a number of new modifications. Comfort and performance have been further raised. A new design gives the small sawyer more possibilities for both efficiency and job satisfaction.

Arne Larsson is a man of actions. He seldom regrets anything. Except when he a couple of years ago, cut up a large quantity of alder into firewood.
”Alder is the most beautiful sort of wood in the Swedish forests,” says Arne, who recently built a sauna, panelled with spalted and oiled alder.

What will a boat builder do when he cannot obtain mahogany that is wide enough? He takes his sawmill and goes to the woods.
”In the Swedish woods there are several interesting sorts of wood, like oak, elm and ash,” says Johan Nilsson, one of three boat builders behind the company Båthantverkarna (‘The Boat Craftsmen’ in English) in Stockholm.

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After investing in a sawmill the couple bought a Soloplaner. "A sawmill without a planer, it's like a computer without a printer," says Ronny Karlsson.

John Haag in Sweden has found his niche in small-scale wood processing. With his two sawmills he started a log home factory. His band sawmill can handle the rough logs, the portable sawmill runs the log house molder.

With his own sawmill, Gerard Saulnier can finally realize his dreams: making logs from the trees growing on the family estate.

Eight Laks saws turned a wrecked pine plantation into profitable forestry with record-low investment costs. The alternative would have been to burn down the whole forest plantation.

A new bimetallic blade with HSS teeth has been developed by Hakansson Sawblades. We visited the company and met CEO Olle Bergren for an interview.

The big challenge when it comes to industrial projects in developing countries is to find simple and durable equipment that give high productivity and quality.  Klas Bengtsson in Sweden has made this challenge his mission in life.

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