Wood drying kilns, heat recovery and TMT heat treatment for the global wood industry
Mahild Drying Technologies GmbH
Nürtingen (Headquarters)New on Amplifa
About Mahild Drying Technologies
Mahild Drying Technologies GmbH, headquartered in Nürtingen, specializes in lumber drying and manufactures wood drying kilns for all wood species and applications. The portfolio includes pre-dryers, standard kilns, steaming and conditioning chambers, combination chambers, progressive kilns (CONTRAFLOW, UCK) and systems for thermal wood modification (TMT/UHT). In-house developments such as the ECOVENT, SUPERECOVENT and LUVO heat recovery systems, the CRT impulse ventilation program, the PENTAVENT high-efficiency fan impeller and the MAHILD PV photovoltaic integration significantly reduce the energy consumption of the systems. In addition to new installations, the company offers modernization of existing kilns from any manufacturer, control systems and controls (MM4000), energy concepts, charging and door systems, turnkey installation including electrical and mechanical assembly, as well as consulting, training and worldwide spare parts supply. Customers include sawmills, furniture and door manufacturers, and the pallet and construction timber industry in Europe, South America, Australia/New Zealand, Asia and Africa; reference projects range from Rettenmeier and Rothmund in Germany to BSW Latvia, Timberlink, CMPC and Sincol.
- Site
- Nürtingen
- Processes
- Pre-drying, Steaming and reconditioning, Conventional drying (55–80°C), Accelerated Conventional Temperature drying (ACT), High-temperature drying UHT (95 to over 140°C), Progressive kiln drying CONTRAFLOW, TMT heat treatment (Thermally Modified Timber, up to 240°C), Kilns for low-temperature heating media (hot water from flue gas condensation)
- Materials
- Softwood, Hardwood, Pinus Radiata, Pinus Elliottii, Pinus Taeda, Spruce, Pine, Australian hardwood (eucalyptus, Hurford Roasted)
- Industries
- Sawmills and planing mills, Wood industry/lumber drying, Furniture industry, Door manufacturers, Pallet industry, Construction timber/KVH
- 01
Project inquiry and process analysis
- 02
System planning and design (drying process, heating medium, charging)
- 03
Manufacture of chambers and components
- 04
Electrical and mechanical installation (turnkey or with
- 05
Control software and commissioning (MM4000)
- 06
Training, consulting and worldwide spare parts supply
Wood species and drying processes
Softwood
Drying of pine, spruce and plantation timbers such as Pinus Radiata, Elliottii and Taeda in standard, ACT and UHT processes.
Hardwood
Gentle pre-drying, steaming and conditioning of hardwood to avoid discoloration and stresses.
Thermally modified timber (TMT/UHT)
Heat treatment up to 240 °C for durable, upgraded wood products.
Stainless steel
Prefabricated stainless steel elements for TMT chambers, e.g. for the project in Uruguay.
Aluminium
Pre-dryers in aluminium construction with zone control for usable volumes exceeding 3000 m³.
Locations
Nürtingen
DEHeadquarters with planning, engineering and control technology
- Materials
- Softwood, hardwood
- Wood drying kilns (pre-dryers, standard kilns, steaming and conditioning chambers, combination chambers)
- Progressive kilns CONTRAFLOW and UCK
- TMT/UHT systems
- Heat recovery ECOVENT, SUPERECOVENT, LUVO
- MM4000 control systems
- MAHILD PV photovoltaic integration
Systems and processes
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-dryingHeat treatment | – | – | – | – | Softwood, Hardwood |
| Steaming and reconditioningHeat treatment | – | – | – | – | Softwood, Hardwood |
| Conventional drying (55–80°C)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Softwood, Hardwood |
| Accelerated Conventional Temperature drying (ACT)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Pinus Radiata, Pinus Elliottii, Pinus Taeda |
| High-temperature drying UHT (95 to over 140°C)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Construction timber, Pallet timber |
| Progressive kiln drying CONTRAFLOWHeat treatment | – | – | – | – | Softwood, Hardwood |
| TMT heat treatment (Thermally Modified Timber, up to 240°C)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Softwood, Hardwood |
| Kilns for low-temperature heating media (hot water from flue gas condensation)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Softwood |
| Special processes: paper products, veneer post-drying, conditioning chambers for hygroscopicHeat treatment | – | – | – | – | Paper, Veneer |
| Modernization of existing wood drying kilnsEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Control systems and software (MM4000 controller)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Energy concepts / energy saving (ECOVENT, LUVO, MAHILD PV)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Turnkey systems incl. electrical and mechanical installationEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Charging and door systems (forklift, side loader, rail wagon; doors; manual/automated)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Consulting, analysis, training, drying schedule development, quality controlsEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
24 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood drying kiln (standard kiln) | MAHILD | – | – | – | Nürtingen, Germany |
| Pre-dryer (aluminium construction, zone control) | MAHILD | – | Usable volume over 3000 m³ | – | – |
| Drying kiln MH 2000 ACT HPS Reco ECO | MAHILD MH 2000 ACT HPS Reco ECO | 2 | – | 2022 | Eswatini |
| Combination chamber MH 2000 ACT HPS Reco | MAHILD MH 2000 ACT HPS Reco | 3 | – | 2022 | Chile (Forestal Leonera) |
| Steaming chamber | MAHILD | 1 | – | 2023 | Chile (Forestal Leonera) |
| UCK progressive kiln | MAHILD UCK | 1 | – | 2022 | Brazil (Sincol) |
| DUO-FAN series drying kiln | MAHILD DUO-FAN | 13 | – | 2022 | Latvia (BSW Latvia) |
| Drying kiln (chamber volume approx. 130 m³) | MAHILD | 1 | approx. 130 m³ | 2021 | Rutishauser |
| UHT TMT chamber | MAHILD UHT-TMT | 1 | – | 2021 | Uruguay (Maderera Piedra del Toro) |
| CONTRAFLOW progressive kiln | MAHILD CONTRAFLOW | 2 | 75 m and 100 m length | 2021 | Rettenmeier Wilburgstetten, Germany |
| ACT drying kiln | MAHILD ACT | 4 | – | 2020 | Brazil (Todesmade) |
| Progressive system type CFX | MAHILD CFX | – | – | 2019 | Costa Iberica |
| TMT system | MAHILD TMT | 1 | Capacity 50 m³ | 2023 | Canada (Cedarland) |
| TMT system TMT-40 | MAHILD TMT-40 | 1 | – | 2018 | Maderas Hermanos Castro |
| Drying kiln MH2000 ACT ECOVENT DUPLEX | MAHILD MH2000 ACT ECOVENT DUPLEX | 4 | – | 2018 | Forestal Andes |
| CONTRAFLOW system MH2000 CF LT (low and high temperature) | MAHILD MH2000 CF LT | 1 | – | 2018 | Pfeifer Uelzen, Germany |
| Drying kiln MH2000 ACT ECOVENT (forklift charging) | MAHILD MH2000 ACT ECOVENT | 2 | – | 2017 | Bagaro Maderas |
| Drying kiln MH2000 K ECOVENT | MAHILD MH2000 K ECOVENT | 1 | – | 2020 | Usutu, Eswatini |
| Drying kiln (forklift charging) | MAHILD | 2 | – | 2021 | Ecuador (Reybosques) |
| Drying kiln (Mahild, with energy management system and impulse interval system) | MAHILD | 4 | – | 2016 | GELO Holzwerke, Weißenstadt, Germany |
| Heat recovery system ECOVENT / ECOVENT DUPLEX / SUPERECOVENT | MAHILD ECOVENT, ECOVENT DUPLEX, SUPERECOVENT | – | up to 35% thermal energy saving | – | – |
| Heat recovery system LUVO (low-temperature hot water 60–75°C) | MAHILD LUVO I–IV | – | Return temperatures up to 40°C | – | – |
| High-efficiency fan impeller | MAHILD PENTAVENT | – | up to 30% efficiency increase | 2019 | – |
| Impulse ventilation system | MAHILD CRT | – | up to 60% energy saving | 2018 | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
Development and innovations
- 1998
Commissioning of the first ECOVENT system, start of development of the heat recovery system
- 2002
ECOVENT II (up to 8% thermal energy saving) and VARIFLEX introduced
- 2004
ECOVENT III (up to 12% savings, reduced noise emissions) and TURBO-VENT (up to 20% more air volume flow)
- 2005
MAHILD AIR (ventilation system with high air capacity) and UNI-VENT (new air guide louvres) introduced
- 2007
DUO-FAN ventilation technology for large chambers introduced
- 2010
ECOVENT DUPLEX launched with doubled efficiency
- 2011
ECOVENT SOLAR combines ECOVENT with solar energy
- 2012
LUVO I (low-temperature hot water 60-75°C) and ECOVENT DUPLEX retrofit (up to 25% savings)
- 2015
LUVO II and SUPERECOVENT (central exhaust air routing) introduced
- 2016
PENTAVENT high-efficiency impeller tested (up to 30% more efficiency); first ECOVENT DUPLEX successes at Bagaro
- 2017
LUVO III (can be combined with a noise protection module) and SUPERECOVENT with exhaust air condensation (over 35% thermal energy saving)
- 2018
CRT impulse ventilation program (up to 60% energy saving with unchanged drying times); first CONTRAFLOW system in Europe commissioned at Pfeifer Uelzen
- 2019
PENTAVENT introduced as a product; trade fair appearance at Ligna 2019
- 2020
New CONTRAFLOW commissioned at Timberlink Tarpeena
- 2021
Modernization at CMPC Mulchen (ECOVENT DUPLEX, 10% steam saving); CONTRAFLOW systems at Rettenmeier Wilburgstetten (400,000 m³/year); UHT TMT chamber for Uruguay
- 2022
LUVO IV (additional savings of up to 15%); new systems at Usutu, Forestal Leonera, ForAction Chile, Sincol, BSW Latvia and Rothmund
- 2023
TMT system (50 m³) for Cedarland in Canada