The Outlook for Plywood and Particleboard Usage

by Frank V. Langfitt, Jr. Vice President Georgia-Pacific Corp.

The outlook was originally presented during, the Forest Products Seminar held at Seattle. Wa., June I2- 13, I 978.

I ET'S DISCUSS plywood and L particleboard first and then speculate a little on what could be the wave of the future. and that is structural wood fiber panels and combinations of fiber panels and veneer, hardboard and lumber, which are being described in general terms as composite panels, "Com-ply," etc.

Plywood production has increased nearly 30 times in 40 years. As the quality of logs declined and as production grew and new and larger markets were needed, plyscord, or the product that we now know as rough sheathing, was developed.

In the last 30 years, plywood roof sheathing has grown from an idea to a material that today is used on 8606 of all the residential roofs in this country.

Today, over 6006 of all houses built in the United States use

Story at a Glance

Wood fiber panels, used separately or in conjunc- tion with more traditional materials, h6y be the wave of the future.

Association. Don is a most able executive and tremendously popular in the industry. He certainly will be missed by all who had the pleasure of working with him. We all wish him nothing but the best in his North Carolina retirement. The headquarters move from Chicago is expected to take place early in 1979. Also to be brought under the same roof will be the office of the association's director of forestry programs, which has been in Columbia City, In., since its inception several years ago. The new location was chosen for its improved convenience to members. It is only two minutes from the Indianapolis International Airport.

Completion of the updated Fine Hardwoods Selectorama, a project begun in 1977 . is a major accomplishment. Generally acknowledged in the trade as a leading authoritative reference, the book contains information on more than 300 species of wood produced around the world, with full color illustrations of nearly 70 of the most common woods. Also presented in the volume are data on where various species of trees are grown, a handy three-page (Please turn to page 68) plywood for floors and subfloors. With the development of modern timber frame construction systems, plywood is now used as a fundamental material throughout American homes as wall sheathing, decorative and structural siding, flooring and roof sheathing.

But these are construction applications. What has happened to sanded plywood, the product that launched the industry?

The basic sanded markets are: furniture, fixtures, cabinet work, home repair/remodeling, truck linings and concrete forming. Sanded grades represented 57oh of softwood plywood production in 1960. In 1976 they accounted for only 2lo/0.

The plain fact is that sanded quality has declined because of the lack of suitable veneers. Yet prices have generally gone up. There has been some experimenting with, and a gentle trend toward, utilizing imported hardwood veneers as faces for softwood plywood sanded panels. It would be rash to predict that imported veneers can helP to reverse the downward plunge of

(Please turn to page 54)