This Dust and Wood Shaving Extraction Solution for Lockwood Homes shows how cutting-edge engineering can solve complex manufacturing challenges. Egmont Air designed and installed a sophisticated system for New Zealand’s iconic solid timber home manufacturer that has been crafting quality homes for over seven decades.
A Legacy Built on Craftsmanship
Founded in 1951 by the Dutch-born La Grouw family, Lockwood Homes remains a family-operated business under their stewardship 74 years later. Their commitment to quality and sustainability has established them as one of New Zealand’s most trusted home builders, with their unique solid timber building system becoming synonymous with durability, earthquake resistance, and environmental responsibility.
Lockwood invested in a substantial upgrade to their manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a large Leadermac 8 spindle planer. This high-speed precision machine processes the specialist timber profiles that make each Lockwood home unique, though this efficiency comes with a substantial by-product: 20 cubic metres of wood shavings per hour. While this represents a significant advancement in production capacity, it also presented a complex challenge: managing the enormous volume of wood waste generated by this powerful equipment.
The Challenge: Volume, Separation, and Sustainability
The new planer’s impressive output created multiple operational challenges for Lockwood. The sheer volume of shavings produced required a sophisticated collection system that could handle continuous operation without interruption. Additionally, Lockwood needed to separate treated and untreated wood shavings for environmental compliance and waste management efficiency.
Traditional dust extraction systems simply weren’t designed to handle this scale of operation whilst maintaining the separation requirements that align with Lockwood’s environmental commitments. The company needed a dust and wood shaving extraction solution that could match their operational scale whilst supporting their sustainability objectives.
Egmont Air’s Innovative Solution
Egmont Air designed a comprehensive dust and wood shaving extraction system that addresses every aspect of Lockwood’s requirements. The solution demonstrates how thoughtful engineering can transform operational challenges into competitive advantages.
Automated Container Management System
The centerpiece of the installation is an ingenious automated collection system featuring four 20-foot shipping containers arranged in a bank formation. This system continuously monitors the filling level of each container through sophisticated sensors and automatically switches between containers using pneumatic diverters controlled by an advanced PLC logic system.
This automation ensures uninterrupted production flow whilst maximising storage efficiency. When one container reaches capacity, the system seamlessly redirects the flow to the next available container, eliminating manual intervention and preventing production delays.
Advanced Pre-Separation Technology
Recognising that high-volume operations can quickly overwhelm filtration systems, Egmont Air incorporated a specialised decantation chamber into the design. This innovative pre-separation technology removes the bulk of wood shavings before they reach the filters, dramatically reducing the dust load and extending filter life.
The decantation chamber represents smart engineering thinking—by handling the heavy lifting of particle separation early in the process, the downstream filtration system operates more efficiently and requires less maintenance, translating to reduced operational costs and improved reliability.
Environmental Compliance Through Smart Separation
Perhaps most importantly, the system enables Lockwood to maintain their environmental stewardship by effectively separating treated and untreated wood shavings. This separation capability ensures that untreated shavings can be repurposed into products like wood pellets for pellet burners, whilst treated materials are handled according to appropriate environmental protocols.
This aligns perfectly with Lockwood’s broader sustainability mission, where they already minimise waste by treating only finished timber products, allowing offcuts and shavings to be repurposed rather than discarded.
Intelligent Maintenance Systems
The system features automated cleaning mechanisms that maintain filters in optimal working condition, ensuring maximum suction performance at the Leadermac planer. This automated maintenance approach reduces manual intervention requirements whilst maintaining consistent performance levels.
The Broader Impact
For Lockwood, the wood shaving extraction system ensures their production capabilities can meet growing demand whilst maintaining the quality standards that have defined their brand for decades. The automated nature of the system allows their skilled craftspeople to focus on what they do best: creating beautiful, durable homes from sustainably sourced New Zealand timber.
For the broader construction industry, this project demonstrates how wood shaving extraction engineering can address the scale challenges that come with modern manufacturing whilst supporting environmental objectives. The separation capabilities ensure waste streams remain manageable and appropriate for different disposal or reuse pathways.
Engineering for the Future
The Lockwood project showcases Egmont Air’s ability to design systems that don’t just solve immediate problems but anticipate future needs. The modular approach and automated systems provide flexibility for future expansion while the robust engineering ensures reliable operation under demanding conditions.
As New Zealand’s construction industry continues to evolve towards more sustainable practices and higher production volumes, wood shaving extraction solutions like this one point the way forward. They show that operational efficiency and environmental responsibility aren’t competing objectives—with the right engineering approach, they can work together.
Ready to Optimise Your Dust and Wood Shaving Extraction?
If your manufacturing operation faces similar challenges with high-volume dust and wood shaving management, Egmont Air can design a custom solution tailored to your specific requirements. From automated collection systems to environmental compliance solutions, our engineering team delivers proven results for New Zealand’s leading manufacturers.
Contact Egmont Air today to discuss how we can transform your dust and wood shaving extraction challenges into operational advantages.