Dralle was founded in 2002 by Kim Dralle, building on the idea of digitalizing the forestry industry in much the same way that other industries had begun doing it. Since then, Dralle A/S has been on the pioneering forefront of photo optical camera technology, pairing it up with a focus on easy-to-use management IT and intuitive integration into logistics and supply chain departments in forestry and wood industries.
Interview with Aksel Filbert Baunsgaard-Pedersen, Sales & Marketing Specialist at Dralle A/S.
Easy Engineering: A brief description of the company and its activities.
Aksel Filbert Baunsgaard-Pedersen: sScale was the first and is still the foremost product of Dralle, providing fast and precise measurement of harvested timber to private forest owners, forestry service providers and state forests alike. Marrying this with our Dralle Webserver, enables the average forester to better plan and execute his yearly harvest and subsequent sale of wood.
mScale is our handheld solution for quickly digitalizing your handheld measurement. Coming equipped with voice recognition and automatic volume calculation, mScale connects to the same Dralle Webserver system that sScale does, all of which is integrable with the existing IT of our clients and potential customers.
The latest innovation from Dralle, tScale, is the further evolution of the technology sScale is based on. Utilizing clever AI-machine learning, tScale recognizes, measures, analyzes and logs bulk goods and roundwood in semi-truck containers and train carts, all while ignoring the container and transport themselves.
E.E: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
A.F.B.P: Dralle A/S marries cutting edge development, using the latest and greatest in hardware and software, with a focus on customer care. This is applied in the forestry industry, helping state and private forestry in Germany, Denmark, Ireland and more to get a more efficient, transparent, and fast stock overview, as well as a loadbearing logistics interface. Additionally, shipping, pulp and paper and wood industries are areas where Dralles technologies shine and help make the supply chain and logistics of the respective companies more streamlined and profitable.
E.E: What’s the news about new products/services?
A.F.B.P: tScale has been developed in collaboration with Mercer International for their pulp mills in Germany, with the specific wish for measuring wood chips and roundwood with utmost accuracy. While achieving this, tScale has also evolved to the point where its AI will be able to recognize and measure other wood materials as well. This could for example be sawdust, bark, wood shavings or wood pellets. tScales measuring capability is also extendable to bulk materials found and used in other industries, such as the agricultural crops of wheat, rice, corn etc., minerals such as copper or coal or even chemicals and granulates such as fertilizers or salts. Should the bulk material be transported by train or lorry, tScale has the flexibility to handle it.
E.E: What are the ranges of products/services?
A.F.B.P: With a foundation in forestry, Dralles sScale delivers timber stack measurement to a very precise degree, in a very fast manner, all without leaving the comfort of the car. This is heavily utilized in forestry on the forest roads, but also applicable for stacks ready for shipping or other sorts of stock taking.
tScale delivers a stable and efficient way to measure volume of material. This is especially relevant in the wood and pulp and paper industry, to better get the value of supplies. For example, whereas the weight of wood material can be fickle, due to the amount of moisture absorbed by the wood, the volume is a relative constant, providing a more reliable figure to work with in dealing with suppliers.
E.E: What is the state of the market where you are currently active?
A.F.B.P: As with other markets, forestry and the wood industry are facing numerous challenges in these years, stemming from diverse fronts such as supply issues, political turmoil, and climate change. What we see is that our customers find solace in or even double down on more of our products to secure themselves for the future. Getting a correct measurement from the stock available is even more important now, than just 5 years ago, and the insecurity of intransparency is to be avoided, in a high contest market with not that great margins.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
A.F.B.P: Since we first pioneered the photo optical technology 17 years ago, upon which basis we are still innovating today, we have seen a great rise of interest in optimizing the output of the limited workforce available. Rather than trying to replace working people, the industry is striving to get the most out of the resources at hand. This is where our technology can make 1 working forester or plant engineer maximize the efficiency of their time usage.
We are also already now seeing a trend which we expect to accelerate in the coming decades. Forestry and wood are hot topics in many countries. Trees are both revered for helping with the green transition by binding harmful gasses and being the lungs of the plant, while at the same time wanted to provide sustainable building materials for the projects of tomorrow. This is a dichotomy that’s very marriable, but it needs the correct tools to do so. We believe both sScale and tScale will be instrumental for many businesses to effectively manage their supply chain and widen their margins.
E.E: What are the most innovative products/services marketed?
A.F.B.P: The technology on which our products are based, has been using AI Machine Learning since 2019. This means that the longer it is used, the cleverer it gets, and we know that we can delivers our photo optical solution to other industries as well. Especially tScale has the potential to help other production and transport industries with achieving supply chain and transparency goals.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the beginning of 2024?
A.F.B.P: In 2024, tScale will be made available to customers all over Europe and we expect to grow our markets, with sScale and mScale as well.