Our story
In 1962, Finland was a poor country lacking foreign currency. Buying production machinery from aboard was next to impossible. Antti Viljanmaa, a mechanical engineer and a son of the tannery owner Wiljo Viljanmaa, decided to build a vacuum dryer for the family tannery, and then sold machines to other Finnish tanneries as well.
In 1964 he invented a new vertical type of vacuum dryer. The innovative design raised interest also abroad. The first export dryer was shipped to the USA in 1965.
Finvac Dryers has now delivered over 600 machines all over the world. The current CEO and chief engineer Jussi Viljanmaa is proud to continue the family tradition.
Our machines keep working. So we are not a mass producer. But we take pride in building machines that deliver value every day in tough conditions.
PRODUCTS
In our design choices we have optimized operating reliability and easy maintenance by even non-specialists. Our machines may not be the cheapest ones on the market, but they are the best for keeping the tannery running without interruptions in production.
We build our vacuum dryers always to customer specification. All sizes are available also in TC versions, which can be operated directly from tannery floor, no platforms are needed. Besides easier operation, this is also safety feature, as there's no risk of falling from platform.
All models are available with traditional liquid ring vacuum pump or with high performance dry vacuum pump. Our dry vacuum pumps are equipped with self regulating vacuum level control. This optimizes the power used in vacuum pump, saving up 90% of electricity, compared to lquid ring pump.
We also are able to deliver chillers or chiller-heaters for low temperature vacuum drying. Combining chiller-heater with vacuum dryer, the need of steam and external cooling water is eliminated.The dryer utilizes an internal system to recycle water and energy. A traditional vacuum dryer needs approx. 25 000 litres of water over an 8-hour shift for cooling, but our new Finvac E series doesn’t need an external source of cooling water. The recycling system also reuses the heat produced in drying. This leads up to 70 % savings in energy.
For Tanners concerned of the enviromental effect of Your process, we are able to proudly claim that our vacuum dryer combined with dry vacuum pump and chiller-heater, are the most climate friendly solutions for vacuum drying, helping to minimize the enviromental impact of Your process.Perhaps even more importantly, the design allows for lower table temperatures, which means better quality for the leather.
Our most popular models are two- and three-table dryers with drying cycles ranging from 40 to 60 seconds depending on leather thickness. Four-table models are recommended for thicker leathers up to 2mm. For leathers over 2mm we recommend double vacuuming with a resting period of 1-2 hours for best quality.
If your tannery has one of our earlier models, modification packages for upgrading to the Finvac E recycling technology are available. Please ask for a quote! Kindly mention number of tables and table size, or ask for our assistance in determining the optimal dryer specifications for your production line.
Spare Parts
Finvac Dryers have been in service all over the world since 1965. Our sturdy machines work decades with little maintenance, but sometime parts wear out. Spare parts can be ordered for machines built since the beginning. Please refer to the part list provided with your machine or, if the part number is not known, send an enquiry with a picture of the part and the machine plate.
