Woodworkers in Romania Restore Forests and Save Wood with Wood-Mizer Technologies

Rotil Prest, a Romanian woodworking company, is on a mission to restore valuable timber resources for future generations, nestled in the heart of a country with centuries-old woodworking traditions.

Located in Moldovita, Suceava County, amid the breathtaking landscapes of Bucovina, Rotil Prest has been in operation for over 30 years. At the helm of the business is Liviu Țiplic, an entrepreneur who unconventionally entered the woodworking industry.

"I don't have formal education in woodworking," Liviu Țiplic says with a smile. After finishing his studies in Belgium in 1992, he returned to Romania with the dream of creating a factory for electronic components.

"I envisioned an electronics company moving from Taiwan to Romania, but that never happened," he recalls. At that time, the country’s infrastructure wasn't prepared for such a technological leap.

Driven by a strong desire to build a business, he began exploring other opportunities, and found himself in Bucovina – a region with a long-standing tradition in woodworking. Here, in Moldovita, the center of Bucovina, there was once a large factory that had been processing timber for over 130 years.

"I immediately felt a connection to this place. I fell in love with the smell of sawn timber. The landscapes are beautiful, and the people are wonderful," explains Liviu Țiplic. "These were the main reasons I became attached to this area."

Liviu’s first encounter with Wood-Mizer took place more than ten years ago at a Wood-Mizer customer day in Sibiu, where the Romanian branch is based.

"I was invited to a meeting in Sibiu, where I was introduced to Wood-Mizer, and I decided to purchase the Wood-Mizer LT20 band sawmill," says Liviu Țiplic.

The LT20 is part of Wood-Mizer's professional series, built around a patented design with a console-mounted saw head, full hydraulics, and a control panel with an electronic Setworks. LT20 mills are often chosen to start businesses and get acquainted with the narrow band blade cutting technology, as they are easy to operate, provide high-quality wood cuts, and are cost-effective.

"This was the first Wood-Mizer sawmill I bought, and I was very satisfied — not just with the machine itself, but also with the service support. I always get excellent support, far better than from other equipment suppliers," says Liviu Țiplic. "That’s how I became a loyal Wood-Mizer customer."

His dedication to the brand runs so deep that he admits, "When I want to buy a new machine, the first place I go to is Wood-Mizer. The non-Wood-Mizer machines we use here are only because Wood-Mizer doesn’t make that type of equipment — that’s the only reason."

Today, Rotil Prest’s factory is fully equipped with Wood-Mizer machinery, from the powerful LT70 Heavy Duty sawmill to the multirip, planer/moulder, and blade maintenance equipment.

For example, the small HR115 horizontal resaw at Rotil Prest's handles the production of pallet boards with great efficiency. The low cost of this resaw and its simple design allow the HR115 to effectively cut beams into pallet boards when there is a need for producing small batches of boards in various sizes. The HR115 has a fixed saw head for horizontal cutting, while the material is fed and removed from the tables.

"Later, I bought the MR200 double-arbour multirip, which I am extremely happy with. I've used it numerous times to produce timber of various sizes, and I can confidently say it surpasses all expectations in terms of both product quality and functionality," says Liviu Țiplic.

The MR200 double-arbour multirip is a robust, durable machine that significantly increases productivity by quickly cutting beams into boards. Each shaft can hold up to 12 circular saws, and with the high-quality Wood-Mizer carbide-tipped circular blades, the MR200 can process up to 10 cubic meters of timber per hour. This machine has proven its worth in industrial sawmill lines, including pallet production.

As part of its commitment to advanced woodworking, Rotil Prest also invested in the Wood-Mizer MP360 four-side planer/moulder.

"The Wood-Mizer four-side planer/moulder offers an excellent price-to-quality ratio," says Liviu Țiplic.

Recently, the company acquired the Wood-Mizer LT70 Heavy Duty sawmill, the most powerful model in Wood-Mizer's professional series. It has a high level of mechanization and automation, featuring a strong, multifunctional hydraulic system for handling logs, a computerized control for managing saw head functions (including a laser sight for indicate the cuts), and a built-in conveyor system for fast board removal. This sawmill uses a narrow band blade and therefore produces thin kerf of 2 mm thickness, which yields more timber and less sawdust from every log.

For Liviu Țiplic, success in woodworking goes hand in hand with environmental responsibility. The company holds FSC certification and has organized reforestation events, planting over 10,000 saplings in recent years alongside the local community.

"We must not only consume timber but also restore it," he emphasizes, sharing his vision for the industry’s future.

"That’s why we’ve already organized two tree planting events. The first one was before the pandemic, in 2019, when we, together with company colleagues, created a plantation of 3,500 saplings. This volunteer initiative was even covered by Romanian media. Three years later, together with a large company that is also our client, we organized another initiative with around 140 participants. I think about 7,000 saplings were planted in our area at that time," says Liviu Țiplic.

"I’m always open to evolution, and my projects are built around progress," says Liviu Țiplic when discussing his plans for the future, noting that he will continue to closely follow Wood-Mizer innovations that could upgrade his production.

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