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History

70 years of debarking excellence

The history of Valon Kone (“Valo’s machine”) began in the end of 1940s.
In those days, taking bark off the wood was very laborious work and debarking was done manually by hand. Bruno VALO, living in Lohja, Finland was a technically skilled village blacksmith who developed innovative technical solutions for all sorts of problems – like snowmobiles and wood-gas generators for automobiles. Bruno also had a very good business acumen and he started the industrial scale of manufacturing of log debarkers in 1949. The VK brand was born.
LUSTO

1950-1960s

  • The first VK debarker model was named as VALO and a systematic product development on rotor debarkers started.
  • There was a global interest in the Valon Kone machines, like the portable VK16, and exporting was started first to South Africa and Soviet Union. Debarking was carried out still mainly in the woods.

1970-1980s

  • Customers’ needs for higher feed speeds in the sawmill industry grew and a new generation of VK debarkers was launched. In addition to the model VK450, sliding ring debarkers for big logs were brought into the market.
  • “Valon Kone Brunette” was established in North America and other sales offices in Sweden and Germany.

1990-2000s

  • The sales network was broadened and the production plant in Lohja was expanded. The emphasis in the product development became even more important.
  • The robust KODIAK series was launched in North America and the COMBI concept with air seal debarkers in Europe.
  • New office was grounded in Russia.

2010-2020s

Valon Kone continues its story as a technical leader and a supplier of reliable and innovative solutions for the woodworking business worldwide. The new robust VK100 model and heavy-duty and modular machine series, VK5000 and VK8000, were launched. 

A new generation of VK debarkers, the VK9000 series, was launched in 2023. The VK9000 follows the VK5000 and VK8000 series.

Today, we are a part of Kadant Inc.

History Lusto