Pigeons and robots: Schweighofer Scholarship beneficiaries visit HS Baco

At the end of March, the Schweighofer Scholarships beneficiaries from the Wood Engineering Faculty at the Transylvania University of Brasov visited the blockboard factory operated by the Schweighofer Group in Comanesti (Bacau county).

Launched in 2014, the scholarship programme for university students in Romania includes, this academic year, 20 students from forestry and wood engineering faculties in Brasov, Suceava, and Cluj-Napoca. The students receive grants worth 800 lei/month throughout the academic year and in 2019 the programme includes visits and practical field applications.

The students are delighted for the opportunity.

“I’m very glad to be a recipient of the Schweighofer Scholarship for the second year in a row,” said Dragos Munteanu. “The scholarship is a very important financial support for us. It means more time for us to learn and develop our knowledge, it is of real help. I thank Holzindustrie Schweighofer, both in my name, and also for supporting the Romanian wood industry through their involvement and partnerships with the universities.”

After a short presentation of the Holzindustrie Schweighofer Baco factory and products, the guests visited the production sectors. They followed the steps through which low quality timber is transformed into blockboard and shuttering panels, high-value-added products.

As befits future engineers, they were delighted by the machines and factory organisation.

"Personally I am amazed by the degree of automatization in the factory,” says Levente Nagy. "For me it is refreshing - I love robots. I always say, if there's a factory where pigeons fly above robot production lines and somewhere there's an operator sitting quietly in front of a computer, then everything is alright,” he explains.

This year’s recipients at the Wood Engineering Faculty in Brasov include Elena Tanasie, Ana-Maria Angelescu, Claudiu Moldovan, Levente Nagy, and Dragos Munteanu, supervised by assoc. prof. Octavia Zeleniuc, PhD, who also accompanied them on their tour.

“They are very good students, well taught by their professors, who manage to stimulate their curiosity,” said Gheorghe Baltatescu, Holzindustrie Schweighofer Baco mill manager. “You can see it in the smart questions they ask, and we are glad to support the progress of these exceptional young men and women. We welcome them in our factories at any time and we hope that someday they will join us as colleagues in the Schweighofer Group.”.