Wotan Forest, Czechia - Overcoming production bottlenecks through data-driven service optimization

MAKING WOOD MATTER

Summary

Czechia’s Wotan Forest, a leading wood processing company, faced a production bottleneck in its veneer peeling line, limiting growth potential. Instead of investing in new equipment, Raute introduced a performance-based service agreement in late 2022, combining data-driven optimization, onsite audits, and proactive technical support. The result? Increased production volume, improved material recovery, and measurable cost savings – all aligned with Wotan Forest’s sustainability and growth strategy.

Wotan Forest

Wotan Forest is a modern, fast-growing wood processing company specialising in primary wood processing and sawn timber production. With three sawmills and four processing plants, the company manufactures pallets, pallet boxes, plywood, and counterweight veneer for European markets.
Founded
2003
Location
Solnice, Czechia
Annual output
45,000 m3 of plywood
Raute Partner Since
2015

Challenge

Before adopting the performance-based service agreement, Wotan Forest faced several operational hurdles that limited their ability to scale production and improve efficiency. Despite having a modern veneer peeling line and regular service visits, growth ambitions were constrained by the following challenges:

  • Production bottleneck
    The peeling line had become the first major obstacle to increasing overall production volume, restricting Wotan Forest’s ability to meet rising demand.
  • Limited optimization without major investments
    While the equipment was functional, achieving higher efficiency seemed to require substantial capital investments – something Wotan Forest wanted to avoid.
  • Need for data-driven improvement
    Existing service agreements lacked systematic performance analysis and proactive measures to unlock the full potential of the peeling line.
  • Alignment between service and business goals
    Traditional service models did not fully connect operational targets with service deliverables, making it harder to ensure continuous improvement and accountability.

 

We realized that to maintain our competitive edge, we needed a smarter approach – one that focused on optimizing what we already had rather than investing heavily in new machinery.

– Milan Maxa, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Wotan Forest

Want to learn how Wotan Forest overcame these challenges and achieved significant gains in production volume and material recovery?

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