Certification services: Strength Grading at Grup Boix
The process began with defining a sourcing area, covering Scots Pine and Black Pine from the Catalan Coastal Range and the Pyrenees in Spain, France, and Andorra. This ensured that the grading models reflected the actual raw material that Grup Boix uses in production.
Timber samples were then collected to represent natural variability, processed into boards, and dried under real production conditions. A total of 2000 boards were initially scanned using Goldeneye and Viscan at MiCROTEC’s headquarters in Bressanone and later tested in Catalonia to determine mechanical properties such as bending strength, modulus of elasticity, and density.
The machine data from scanning and the practical test data from the laboratory were then correlated. This step was handled completely by MiCROTEC, removing complexity for the customer and ensuring that the statistical relationship between measured characteristics and actual strength performance was properly established. Based on this work, the grading algorithm was developed, and machine settings according to European standard EN 14081-2 were derived.
The final documentation was then submitted to the European committee CEN/TC124/WG2/TG1 for approval. Once approved, the result was a certified grading machine tailored to Grup Boix's raw material and production requirements.
“MiCROTEC handled all the procedures and helped us enormously. Therefore, for us it was very straightforward to obtain the certification”, says Josep Ferrer, Head of Production.
This example illustrates how certification services support customers throughout the full process, from preparation to approval. For customers, this means that certification is not treated as a one-time administrative step, but as a structured technical process.
