2023 ANNUAL SUPPLIER AWARDS PROGRAM WINNERS

Four EWTA companies were selected by APA members to receive the 2023 Supplier of the Year and Innovation of the Year Awards. The EWTA Supplier Awards Program is designed to recognize EWTA member companies that excel in serving their APA member manufacturer customers and companies that develop innovative solutions to processing problems and challenges. All EWTA member companies in good standing are eligible to participate in the program and win awards. Congratulations to all the winners!

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Supplier of the Year Award Winners

The Supplier of the Year Awards are based on the quality, service and delivery of EWTA member products and services to APA member companies. Awards are presented for each of EWTA’s membership categories: Equipment and Tooling, Materials and Supplies, and Consulting and Services. Following are the 2023 winners for each of the categories.

SOY WINNERS 

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EQUIPMENT AND TOOLING CATEGORY

IMAL PAL Group

Established in the 1970s, the IMAL PAL Group is a world leader in the manufacture and supply of equipment and systems . Its extensive production program can supply complete turnkey plants for the treatment and processing of fresh and recycled wood, in both the wet and dry areas, for the production and processing of particleboard, MDF, Oriented Strand Board (OSB), plywood, pellets, pallet blocks, and pressed wood-based products in general . IMAL PAL is a leading manufacturer of glue dosing and blending systems and supplies the most innovative online and laboratory quality-control devices that are found in virtually all production plants around the world.

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MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES CATEGORY

The Willamette Valley Company

The Willamette Valley Company manufactures epoxies, putties and urethanes for upgrading all wood substrates, and also makes a wide range of water-based coatings, primers and sealers . WVCO also makes many adhesive fillers and extenders for the wood products industry . PRE-TEC, the company’s equipment solutions division, specializes in the design and manufacture of advanced fluid systems and the integration of robotic application systems .

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CONSULTING AND SERVICES CATEGORY

Panel World Magazine / Hatton-Brown Publishers

Panel World publishes six issues per year for domestic and international readership with emphasis on mill project startup articles . Product coverage includes structural and nonstructural wood products . Panel World also hosts the biennial Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) .

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Innovation of the Year Award

The Innovation of the Year Award recognizes a company with a new, original and unique product or service that is used in the field and producing positive results. The award is given for a new technology, product or service that has been shown to reduce production costs, increase productivity, improve product quality or in some other way provide a bottom-line benefit to APA members.

IOY WINNER 

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INNOVATION OF THE YEAR

Engineered Wax Emulsion for Wood Composites

The Willamette Valley Company

BENEFIT 1: pMDI reduction while maintaining panel properties; pMDI volatility suppression .

BENEFIT 2: Wax volatility suppression; thereby reducing condensible wax deposits around hot press and in ventilation – reduced fire hazards .

RESULTS: ≥10% reduction in pMDI while maintaining panel performance; about 50°F reduction in wax volatility .

DESCRIPTION: The WVCO Engineered Wax Emulsion enhances two key industry interests: safety and cost . The Engineered Wax combines bio-polymer and wax chemistries in a patented process to achieve novel wax properties . This emulsion is designed to be inline mixed, and co-applied with, pMDI during wood composite production, allowing significant pMDI reduction (>10%) . Furthermore, wax volatility is suppressed (i .e ., flash point increased ~50°F), thereby reducing wax deposition outside press, reducing fire hazards .

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CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR THE 2024 INNOVATION OF THE YEAR AWARD!

EWTA’s Innovation of the Year Award recognizes a company providing a new technology, product or service that has been shown to demonstrably reduce production costs, increase productivity, improve product quality or in some other way provide a bottom-line benefit to APA members .

All current EWTA members are eligible to submit one or more entries for this annual award . Entries should be new, original and unique items or services that are in field use and producing positive results . Each listing must include up to two key benefits and any measurable results achieved during use . Innovation of the Year details, entry forms and a list of past winners are provided on the EWTA website .

AWARD DETAILS 

Deadline: July 1, 2024

An electronic ballot listing the entries will be sent to APA member executives and mill managers in mid-September . The winner will be announced at the APA Annual Meeting, September 30, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas, and featured in the Connections newsletter, on the EWTA website and social media sites .

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