Neural Grader launched at Fehrensen to automate grading with AI

Fehrensen sawmill, a renowned name in the industry since 1920, is now revolutionizing the world of hardwood lumber sorting. The company, based in the heart of Germany, Hannoversch Münden, has begun testing the Neural Grader in production, an AI-based lumber grading system, to automate its grading operations, improve yield, and provide better data to its buyers.

The Neural Grader is the new brain child of the founders of Fordaq.com and TallyExpress. It harnesses the power of next-generation AI systems and cutting-edge algorithms to deliver unparalleled, high-quality results consistently. The team has worked with Fehrensen to identify correctly the various types of defects in beech and grading rules used by the company. The Neural Grader also does reductions on dimension measurements based on the rules of the client. As explained by Dominik Wieners: "We're teaming up with the programmers, feeding the system with our specific data. The Neural Grader team refines the configurations to meet our stringent quality standards.” The hardwood sawmill sees great potential for simplifying and speeding up the sorting process and thus reducing the workload on staff.

The goal of the project is also to facilitate the interaction with potential buyers. As Dominik says: “We trade our wood worldwide and also see the Neural Grader as a great opportunity for modern quoting. While it used to be common practice to travel from all over the world to inspect lumber before the contract, this is rather annoying for the current generation of buyers. They prefer meaningful pictures in order to avoid some trips. With the Neural Grader we can provide a level of detail that can truly replace an on-site assessment.”