Sveza Group is showing smart tech to drive birch plywood to new heights

 Friday, December 5, 2025

Sveza Group, which is integrating smart technology across the value chain, is spearheading the birch plywood industry’s quick adoption of digital solutions to boost productivity and quality. In recent presentations at the CNews Forum 2025 and the CFO Russia conference, Nikolay Gorodetsky, Business Systems Development Director at Sveza, articulated how the company’s aggressive digital strategy is not just about adopting new software but fundamentally rethinking the organisation at every level. This profound shift aims to build a robust management ecosystem where data, not intuition, governs key decisions.

The ambitious targets laid out by Gorodetsky underscore the potential impact of digitalisation on the traditionally asset-heavy wood processing industry: the company expects to reduce operating costs by 15–25%, increase forecasting accuracy to 90%, and double the speed at which new products reach the market.

One of Sveza’s most significant achievements in its digital journey lies in quality control—a critical factor for premium birch plywood, which is prized for its strength, dimensional stability, and flawless surface finish in furniture, construction, and vehicle flooring.

Gorodetsky detailed the company’s proprietary in-house technology for detecting peeling defects. This innovative solution involves a high-speed scanner that uses machine vision and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify minute imperfections in the veneer ribbon immediately after the log has been peeled. This real-time analysis is crucial because defects, such as knots, splits, or rough areas, are much harder and more costly to correct later in the pressing and finishing stages.

The results of implementing this AI-powered scanner are compelling: it helps to reduce peeling defects in final products by an impressive 90% and has led to a 3% increase in the output of high-grade products. This technological leap directly improves material yield and allows the company to consistently meet the stringent quality specifications demanded by international markets, enhancing the overall value proposition of their products.

Beyond the factory floor, digitalisation is reshaping Sveza’s corporate governance and inter-site cooperation.

The company is fostering a data-driven decision-making culture, moving away from relying on fragmented information or manual processes. A key tool in this effort is the digital decision board, powered by the ELMA 365 platform.

This system serves as a central hub for continuous improvement by:

• Capturing and analysing production deviations: It aggregates data on manufacturing anomalies, equipment failures, and quality issues across all production sites.
• Identifying recurring issues: Intelligent analytics help pinpoint systemic problems rather than treating symptoms, allowing for long-term strategic fixes.
• Facilitating best practice exchange: Managers across the group’s mills can access centralised data and successful solutions implemented at other sites, accelerating knowledge transfer and standardising superior operating procedures.

Gorodetsky stressed that this tool provides the foundation for more accurate forecasting and robust managerial decision-making, transforming data from a simple record into a strategic asset.

In modern high-volume manufacturing, the procurement process must be agile and error-free to prevent bottlenecks. Sveza’s transformation prioritises modernising its buying cycles.

The introduction of an integrated digital platform now manages the full procurement process, from the initial request generated on the factory floor to the final supplier delivery and invoicing. This automation has yielded multiple benefits:

1. Accelerated cycles: Cutting down the time required for administrative approvals and interactions.
2. Reduced manual workload: Freeing up employees from routine data entry and paperwork.
3. Improved supplier interactions: Creating a more transparent and efficient digital channel for collaboration with suppliers, which is vital for maintaining a stable raw material supply of birch logs and specialised chemicals like glues and resins.

A distinguishing feature of Sveza’s strategy is its commitment to sharing its digital successes and proprietary tools with industry peers. By doing so, the company is actively supporting the development of domestic digital competencies and the advancement of Russian technologies, particularly in the sphere of high-precision industrial machine vision and AI solutions tailored for wood products.

This cooperative approach helps to lift the entire domestic forest industry complex, promoting standardisation and robustness across the sector’s digital infrastructure.

In conclusion, Nikolay Gorodetsky highlighted that Sveza’s focus remains on creating smart solutions that increase the organization’s adaptivity, transparency, and resilience. By implementing intelligent analytics, automating routine operations, and adopting agile development methodologies, the world’s leading birch plywood producer is strategically positioning itself to not only reduce costs but also to stay ahead in a rapidly changing global market where quality and speed are paramount.

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Tags: AI quality control, birch plywood industry, CNews Forum 2025, digital transformation, manufacturing digitalization, operational cost reduction, procurement automation, production efficiency