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TA K I N G

STOCK

WHEN GRANT LED THE WAY

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. Street Address: 225 Hanrick Street Montgomery, AL 36104-3317 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 Telephone: 334-834-1170 Fax 334-834-4525

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Publisher David H. Ramsey Chief Operating Officer Dianne C. Sullivan

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Editor-In-Chief Rich Donnell Managing Editor Dan Shell Senior Associate Editor David Abbott Associate Editor Jessica Johnson Associate Editor Patrick Dunning

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Publisher/Editor Emeritus David (DK) Knight

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Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1R 1W1 (905) 666-0258 Fax: (905) 666-0778 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com WESTERN USA, WESTERN CANADA Tim Shaddick 4056 West 10th Ave, Vancouver BC Canada V6L 1Z1 604-910-1826 Fax: (604) 264-1397 E-mail: tootall1@shaw.ca Kevin Cook (604) 619-1777 E-mail: lordkevincook@gmail.com INTERNATIONAL Murray Brett 58 Aldea de las Cuevas Buzon 60 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain Tel: +34 96 640 4165 +34 96 640 4048 E-mail: murray.brett@abasol.net

T

he story in this issue on Georgia-Pacific’s OSB plant in Clarendon County, South Carolina brings back memories.

Not memories of Georgia-Pacific, but rather of Grant Forest Products, the Ontario-based company that built an OSB plant in Allendale, SC, then immediately started construction of the one at Clarendon, before undergoing financial pains during the recession and ultimately selling both OSB plants to GP (owned by Koch Industries) in 2010.

My memories go back to September 1989 when I visited Grant Forest Products’ new OSB line in Englehart, Ontario.

The Grant connection to the GP story prompted me to look into my old files. I have thinned them out through the years, but some I’ve kept because the subject matter left an impression. Sure enough, the Grant file on the Englehart startup was there, fully intact, perhaps untouched in, could it really be, 30 years?

It’s a thick file. Much of the material is the literature that Grant produced for the grand opening of the OSB line, such as the layout of the plant, the history and current makeup of the company, and most impressively a colorful magazine that delves into the development of the project and its successful realization.

Another item in the file is a printout of an article, written by my predecessor Griff Griffin, that appeared in the February 1983 issue of Panel World on Grant’s new waferboard mill that had started up in 1982, one of several waferboard mills coming on line about that time. That article refers to 38-year-old Peter Grant as a “gutsy entrepreneurial.” He was the oldest of eight sons born to the late Morgan Grant, and most of them were involved in managing the various businesses founded by their father, including farming, trucking, construction and sawmilling.

Another reason the Grant file was so thick was that 30 years ago people still used typewriters, and so there are pages of my typed up interview with Peter Grant from when we sat in his office for

a good hour before I toured the new OSB line.

Grant, educated in civil engineering at Michigan Tech, had worked in construction in the U.S. before returning to the family business. He became general manager of Grant Lumber’s planing mill at Elk Lake, before venturing into waferboard.

Grant told me the new OSB line cost about $75 million. It was located adjacent the waferboard line, each with their own dryers, blenders, forming line, multipleopening press, and trim saw lines.

Peter Grant was known for his innovations and I recall the new OSB line using a combination of liquid and powdered resins, longer (6 in.) strands in the board, fines put back in the board. “We do things much much differently than anybody else does. I can assure you that,” Grant told me.

I had interviewed another waferboard/OSB pioneer, LP’s Harry Merlo, four years earlier. About the time I interviewed Grant, LP seemed to be building an OSB mill every year. I wondered then if Grant would follow such an accelerated path. He didn’t go that route, seemingly content on what he had built at Englehart, until his 2005 announcement to build two OSB plants in South Carolina.

Those didn’t pan out for Grant, but his legacy is all over them today. Meanwhile I hear that Grant has recovered nicely in the farming industry.

PW

RICH DONNELL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Ph: 334-834-1170 Fax: 334-834-4525 e-mail: rich@hattonbrown.com

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(Founded as P l y w o o d & P a n e l in 1960—Our 497th consecutive issue) VOLUME 60 NO. 4

28

JULY 2019

Visit our web site: www.panelworldmag.com

LIGNA DOES IT AGAIN Market Nerves Not Felt

40

RESINS TECHNOLOGY Some Suppliers Weigh In

TAKING STOCK Grant Forest Products

SUPPLY LINES PELICE 2020

PANELWORKS Classified Advertising

UPDATE Arauco Takes Stage

CLIPPINGS Roseburg Personnel

EVENTS Back Half Of 2019

3 8

TAIHEI Likes The Grind

24

44 50

GEO DIRECTORY Veneer Panel Suppliers

58

COVER: Georgia-Pacific runs six OSB operations in North America— none any better than its facility at Clarendon County, SC. Story begins on PAGE 14.

(Rich Donnell photo)

61 62

Panel World (ISSN 1048-826X) is published bimonthly by Plywood & Panel World, Inc., P.O. Box 2268, Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 (334) 834-1170, Fax (334) 834-4525. Subscription Information— PW is sent free to owners, operators, managers, purchasing agents, supervisors and foremen at veneer operations, plywood plants, composite products plants, structural and decorative panel mills, engineered wood products plants and allied export-import businesses throughout the world. All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $50 annually; $60 in Canada; $95 (Airmail) in all other countries (U.S. funds). Single copies, $5 each; special issues, $20 (U.S. funds). Subscription Inquiries—TOLL-FREE 800-6695613; Fax 888-611-4525. Go to www.panelworldmag.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe or renew via the web. All advertisements for Panel World magazine are accepted and published by Plywood & Panel World, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold Plywood & Panel World, Inc. harmless from and against any loss, expenses, or other liability resulting from any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Plywood & Panel World, Inc. neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee as to the quality of goods and services advertised in Panel World. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to reject any advertisement which it deems inappropriate. Copyright ® 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. and at additional mailing offices. Printed in USA.

Postmaster: Please send address changes to Panel World, P.O. Box 2419 Montgomery, AL 36102-2419.

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UPDATE

ARAUCO GETS GRAYLING PB MILL GOING

The mill can produce more than 450MMSF annually.

ness results. The Grayling mill achievement also is the culmination of unwavering commitment from our valued investors who shared our vision for capturing significant market opportunity in North America.”

Kelly Shotbolt, President of ARAUCO North America, acknowledged the significant contributions of the Grayling project managers, and praised state of Michigan officials and local Crawford County representatives for creating an environment conducive to undertaking such a large-scale business endeavor.

“We are grateful for the incredible support received both from Grayling community leaders and the state of Michigan. It has been vital to enabling ARAUCO to renew our industry in North America through what is arguably the most advanced, automated and large-scale facility of its kind anywhere in the world,” Shotbolt said.

“While known for automobile manufacturing, Michigan also is the of- ➤ 10

Ribbon cutting occurred as the mill begins to ramp up.

RAUCO held a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 16 at its new particleA board and lamination facility in

Grayling, Mich. Executives from ARAUCO, ARAUCO North America, as well as customers and public officials from Chile and the state of Michigan attended the ceremony, which also included a plant tour. The Grayling mill represents a $450 million investment toward supporting ARAUCO’s North American customer base and increasing the company’s ability to meet the furniture manufacturing industry in the U.S. Midwest market area and beyond.

The 820,000 sq. ft. operation is the company’s first greenfield facility in the U.S., its 11th North America manufacturing site and the largest of its kind globally. The operation is designed to

be one of the most productive in the world and houses North America’s highest-capacity, single-line particleboard press, two thermally infused laminating (TFL) lines and a large stocking warehouse for just-in-time service delivery. The plant currently staffs more than 200 full-time employees and has generated 700 additional jobs in related supplier and logistics industries since construction commenced in spring 2017.

“This is a historic day and milestone for our company,” said Matías Domeyko, CEO, ARAUCO. “The official start of production at Grayling exemplifies the outstanding innovation and sustained growth ARAUCO is known for globally, and what has been central to propelling our positive busi-

Short-cycle lamination line

Huge capacity continuous press

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UPDATE

8 ➤ fice furniture capital of the world. We are pleased to substantially expand our production capacity to assure a strong, sustainable supply of quality, raw and finished product for this growing region.”

With an annual production capacity of 452MMSF, the Grayling plant will soon produce the full breadth of the company’s high-quality raw particleboard in a variety of thicknesses, as well as ARAUCO’s PRISM TFL collection.

GP CLOSES OLD PB MILLS

Georgia-Pacific is closing three particleboard plants in the Southeast U.S. One of those plants, in Thomson, Ga., was destroyed by fire in late May. GP also announced it was closing particleboard mills in Hope, Ark. and Monroeville, Ala. Each mill employs approximately 100.

“Demand for particleboard remains flat, and new mills from other produc-

Particleboard mill in Hope, Ark. during startup in 1997

ers will increase capacity in the market as much as 25%,” Georgia-Pacific said in a statement. “These new mills are larger than our mills, use state-of-theart technology, and are more efficient than our mills, making it difficult for our assets to compete economically going forward.”

GP took over the mills when it purchased the Temple-Inland business from International Paper in 2013. IP had purchased Temple in 2012.

Temple had constructed the Thomson mill in 1974, and purchased the Monroeville mill from Olinkraft in 1974.

Temple built the Hope mill in 1997.

The closures leave GP with a particleboard mill in Diboll, Texas and a MDF mill in Mt. Jewett, Pa., in addition to its plywood and OSB facilities.

GP also announced it is shutting down the bleached board operations at Crossett, Ark., including the wood yard.

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UPDATE

LUMBERMEN AREN’T AS UPBEAT THIS YEAR

or the first time in 10 years, U.S. F softwood lumbermen aren’t as optimistic as they were the previous year.

Coming out of the recession at the beginning of the decade and continuing to last year, softwood lumbermen had gone from very guarded—if any—optimism to “record-setting” optimism in 2018 when 89% forecasted their lumber business situation as excellent or good.

But in this year’s Timber Processing Sawmill Operations and Capital Expenditure Survey, 69% forecast their lumber business situation for 2019 and moving in 2020 as excellent or good, which would be their lowest optimism since 2012. Of that 69%, 54% said their situation is good and 15% said excellent, while 30% said fair and 1% said poor.

Still, the 69% optimism of this year is a strong number, especially when compared to the 25% at post-recession. Some

of the current optimism may be lingering because of substantial gains made in recent years and still felt, when in reality lumber prices and skittish new housing starts could dampen the current optimism by year-end, unless new housing shows the signs of surging that everyone has been expecting for several years.

One-hundred U.S. lumbermen representing more than 200 individual sawmills completed the survey. More than half of those mills produce mostly 2 in. lumber, with timbers coming in strong at 18%.

A crucial question in the survey asked how much new capital investment in machinery and systems their mill has committed to since the beginning of 2018. Three percent said more than $100 million, no doubt indicating these are new greenfied sawmills. Another 4% said $30-$50 million; 11% said $10-$30 million; 12% said $5-$10 mil-

lion; 23% said $1-$5 million; 11% said $500,000-$1 million; and 19% said $100,000-$500,000.

The survey gave respondents a list of 45 pieces of equipment or technologies and asked them to select any that are part of their capital investment. Lumber handling forklifts led the way with 36% of the respondents. Next was dry kilns at 27% and wheel loaders at 26%.

An open-ended question asked what they’re most concerned about with regard to their lumber markets. Many cited too much production capacity and labor issues.

Charles Thomas III, vice president of Shuqualak Lumber in Mississippi, emphasized his concern as: “the lack of a quota type system to control the amount of lumber coming into the U.S. from Canada. With all of the new mills being built in the U.S. South, a quota type agreement with Canada is paramount.”

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CLARENDON FACILITY IS A KEY PLAYER IN GP’S OSB LINEUP The mill, which started up six years ago, continues to enhance its technologies and product offerings.

BY RICH DONNELL

ALCOLU, SC he oriented strandboard plant here was the first of several re-started and even new OSB operations in North America to come on following the recession.

How it got there involved a winding road over market bumps and through changing ownerships, culminating with a perseverance to get it running right and at the right time. Today it is one of six Georgia-Pacific Wood Products OSB mills in North America and because it was the newest GP mill it was able to fully immerse itself into the guiding principles of legendary Koch Industries.

If your memory needs to be jogged, Ontario-based Grant Forest Products had started up a waferboard plant in Englehart, Ont. in 1982 and installed an OSB line in 1988. The company was known for its technology innovations and it always kept an eye on potential landing spots in the U.S. It found two actually, and in 2005 announced it would invest $400 million in building two OSB plants—one in Allendale, SC and the other near Alcolu, SC in Clarendon County, about 100 miles apart. The plan was to begin construction at Allendale in the fall of 2005 and start up in late 2006, with Clarendon’s timeline 12 months or so behind it.

When Grant made the announcement,

T

Above, infeed to 16-opening Dieffenbacher press

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It doesn’t take a lot of personnel to run the Clarendon plant.

U.S. housing starts were still on the rise and would reach a crescendo in early 2006. By the time the Allendale plant started up in late 2006, housing starts had begun to slide but were still formidable.

Who knew? The economy caved in and by early 2009 housing starts had hit their lowest ebb during what became known as The Great Recession (which interestingly enough officially ended in June 2009 according to the Federal Reserve, 10 years ago this summer).

Around the same time that Grant Forest Products was thinking about OSB expansion into the U.S., Koch Industries, the largest privately held company in the U.S. at the time, majority-owned by brothers Charles and David Koch, began showing interest in publicly held Georgia-Pacific. In 2004 Koch purchased GP pulp mills in Brunswick, Ga. and New Augusta, Miss and formed Koch Cellulose. GP meanwhile was wavering on whether to sell its building products business, had been approached

by Willamette Industries, but had decided that building products needed to remain in the portfolio.

GP also turned away from Koch Industries’ interest in buying the GP wood products business, so Koch Industries responded with an offer to purchase all of Georgia-Pacific. GP didn’t turn down this offer—of more than $13 billion— and the deal became official in late 2005.

THE KOCH FACTOR Parallel rotary dryers feed the blending/forming building.

The new GP under Koch Industries set about reinvigorating its in-house engineering and operations capabilities, PanelWorld • JULY 2019 • 15

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The forming line has versatility with six heads.

and one way it did it was by purchasing human resource and production assets.

In 2007 GP bought five wood products plants from International Paper, including plywood mills and sawmills in the Southern U.S. The building products industry slowly emerged out of the recession, but not without casualties, one of them being Grant Forest Products, which filed for bankruptcy protection in the summer of 2009.

Tobey Elgin, now operations director for OSB at GP, had come to Grant Forest Products in 2005 to help in leading the development of the new OSB facilities, which were designed to be mirror images of each other. Elgin had previously been a manufacturing manager

and assistant plant manager with Trus Joist MacMillan and Trus Joist Weyerhaeuser. Elgin recalls that Allendale pressed its first board in late 2006, and within a month Clarendon was digging its press pit. In 2007 Elgin and his team were pulled off the Clarendon project to go back to Allendale to help with ironing out some production issues there.

By 2008, the plant was running 24/7, but the economy wasn’t cooperating, and the Allendale plant went on a modified schedule.

As Grant Forest Products began looking for ways out of its financial problems, the economy revealed a slight heartbeat. Koch Industries and GP saw an opportunity, and in 2010 purchased Grant Forest Products’ building prod-

ucts assets, including the Allendale and Clarendon facilities, and Grant’s original OSB facility in Englehart for $400 million. GP planned to get the Allendale facility back up to full speed with several million dollars of investment, and put more money into Clarendon to complete the unfinished business there.

“We were all bleeding to death in the OSB business,” recalls GP Vice President and General Manager of OSB Clarence Young, addressing the timing of the acquisition. “But Koch had other businesses. We had the money to buy Grant. It was a good thing to be owned

by Koch.”

Elgin recalls that the Clarendon facility had sat for three years with very little asset preservation. Then GP got in the mix, invested $26 million and in 2011 a team of operators and SMEs from the Allendale plant and vendor representatives came to Clarendon and helped produce the first board in late 2011. They were able to learn from startup issues at Allendale and implement the fixes at Clarendon.

“We saw that the process works and we can make something happen here,” Elgin says. But after consideration of putting Clarendon into real production in 2012, the plant sat idle as GP tread softly.

A meeting in August 2012 pointed to a Clarendon startup in April 2013. Another meeting pronounced startup would be accelerated to February 2013.

Young recalls that housing starts had picked up and seemed destined to return to normalcy (which at the time should have been in the 1.5 million or more range). GP wanted to be the first out of the gate with new production capacity, and maybe even dissuade others from re-starting their plants.

THE REAL STARTUP “We were in panic mode,” Elgin recalls with a smile. “Interviewing like crazy, working with the state, pre-employment specialists, hiring people, training people, the whole works. 3,000 applications for 140 positions.”

Another invaluable member of the startup team was Wayne Brown (now retired), a 40-year GP veteran and project/construction superintendent who had built multiple other OSB mills for GP. His commissioning experience coupled with the experience that Clarendon employees gained while working in Allendale was a great formula for a successful startup and ramp up.

The core of the startup team, about 20

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The Clarendon facility has big-time production capability whenever the market calls for it.

people, had been on site at Allendale for a couple of months and that crew became the primary team at Clarendon, which pressed board on February 20, 2013.

To get there, equipment changes were needed, such as to the ducting and piping in the dryers for better air velocity, to the press for a more consistent

press cycle, to the computer and PLC technology to better track and monitor equipment, enabling more precise troubleshooting of a downtime condition, and prevention thereof.

GP also made a number of safety changes. “GP spent a lot of money protecting people, protecting the assets, a

lot more machine guarding, hand rails, physical barriers,” Elgin says.

Indeed the Koch culture was being implemented into GP and its facilities, and the Clarendon mill provided a great opportunity because in essence it was still a new mill startup.

Koch’s Market-Based Management

Across the front, left to right: JT Tipton, Shipping Manager; Tobey Elgin, Director of OSB Operations; Kenny Gowder, Electrical Manager; Keith Fletcher, Project Engineer; Dana Mitchell, Environmental Manager; Shari Lennox, Purchasing Manager; Sharon Purvis, Plant Controller; Ashley Wright, Plant Manager. Across the back, left to right: Clarence Young, Vice President and General Manager OSB; Joey Thames, Maintenance Manager; Brent Edwards, Technical Manager and Finishing Dept. Manager; Pam Gibbs, Human Resource Manager; Jim Carlson, Safety Manager; Dave Johnson, Plant Superintendent.

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(MBM) was and is built on principles that define the organization—Integrity, Stewardship & Compliance, Principled Entrepreneurship, Transformation, Knowledge, Humility, Respect, Self-Actualization. Among many things, these emphasize an individual and organization’s growth and fulfillment, realizing one’s potential and gaining the confidence to solve problems, transforming yourself and the company through vision and strategy that create the greatest value.

Young came to Koch and GP from International Paper as part of the 2007 transaction. “When I came over you could tell the Koch people from the (original) GP people,” Young says.

“The managers at GP were not used to driving that decision down to where it should be made. You would find people uncomfortable with it. Every company has principles and visions up on their walls, but the thing with Koch company is we do live by them. It becomes a way of life, a way of doing business. It’s not that difficult. A lot of it is basically how your parents tried to raise you.”

Clarendon Plant Manager Ashley Wright, who came to Clarendon this past January from a similar position at GP’s OSB mill in Brookneal, Va., says one of the big differences was that the mills

Stacks head to adjacent WVCO paint stations.

would be run as businesses and that people at the mills could now make decisions for the good of the mill. “It took a while,” Wright says. “That was not the culture for many years and it had been very much top down. But as this new culture grew there was a sense, almost refreshing, that ‘hey I can make decisions that are good for my facility.’”

Wright succeeded Elgin as plant manager at Clarendon when Elgin was promoted to oversee all of the OSB plants.

Elgin says the guiding principles steered the hiring process, that it took perhaps two months for employees to understand how Koch’s guiding principles related to the job they were doing, and that today the principles are part of daily conversations and meetings between employees.

“The challenge process, earning decision rights, the principle of entrepreneurship—I had never been given the leeway to think about the business that way,” Elgin says. “But they’re also going to hold you accountable. At the same time you can go out and do some unique things, take some risks. We did a lot of that when we started up this facility.”

Certainly the Clarendon County community must have had some doubts, given that six years passed, ownership changed hands, and planned startups

didn’t pan out. But the more they learned about Koch’s long-term approach and its commitment to reinvest nearly all of its profit into the business—that when the mill did start up in 2013 there was a genuine sense of belonging on everybody’s part.

As it turned out, several OSB mills kicked in production following GP at Clarendon. The additional capacity combined with the expiration of recession-induced homebuyer tax credits and housing starts that fell short of expectations didn’t allow the Clarendon mill to run wide open out of the gate at its 850MMSF capacity. And since then, the mill has mostly “run to customer demand” (as have all of GP’s Southern OSB mills and many others) through the pricing highs and lows of the past six years, while housing starts continue to tease everybody.

“Our customers are busy, so we’ll see if that carries through,” Young says.

“Hopefully there’s a good bit of pent-up demand.”

The finely-tuned Clarendon mill and its 140 person workforce is always ready for the bell, and that includes opening and closing bells, given that the mill is as of late on a 10-day on, 4-day off (maintenance) schedule. It can be a tricky format, and one that requires total control of procedures and no wasted motion. Now six years since startup, surprises are few and far between. The facility runs “lean” with 21 employees on a shift, including two millwrights and an electrician. Maintenance manager is Joey Thames, who notes that the mill has a lot of flexibility, is conducive to quick adjustments, and always ready to push production.

Young comments: “Within GP this facility as far as production per labor hour is probably the best, and the others are getting close.”

A considerable number of wood products operations in the area provides a competitive challenge in log procurement. SYP logs come in to the wood yard where two Andritz portal cranes unload trucks, stack logs and feed an Andritz drum debarker. The mill operates two Carmanah (Kadant) stranders and has room for a third. TSI supplied two rotary dryers and the furnaces.

Dried materials move up into the adjacent building and into three Coil blenders. Dieffenbacher supplied a six forming head, double caul return Flexoplan forming line and 16-opening press.

TSI supplied two finishing lines, and Schwabedissen supplied the book saw.

Two paint booth lines came from Willamette Valley and two strappers are

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Itipack. The air emissions control plant includes three wet ESPs and four RTOs from Lundberg (Geoenergy).

VALUE-ADDED The mill’s primary product is 7⁄16 in. sheathing, but two value-added products are coming on line now. One is the Thermostat radiant barrier roof sheathing and the other is the ForceField air and water barrier system, an integrated wall sheathing and weather barrier overlay that on the job is installed with seam tape. It’s promoted as a faster installation and a more effective air barrier compared to traditional sheathing and house wrap.

The new lamination line includes a GP unstacker and roll case infeed to the laminator, a Walco roll coat laminator, Raute outfeed conveyor, Con-Vey double stacker, Samuel stencil machine and Itipack strapper.

The lamination line is part of a recent $4.5 million investment at the facility, which also includes a newly constructed 30,000 sq. ft. warehouse, and an enhanced digital operating platform, which opens the door for everything from new age predictive maintenance data analytics to new technology investment to up-

The wood yard operates two cranes, which keeps log flow moving.

scaling the work force through virtual training, and much more.

“We’re working with all of those technologies right now, trying to raise the level of how OSB (and plywood) are manufactured in the future,” Elgin says.

A final note: On the day Panel World visited, the Clarendon facility was cele-

brating 365 days without a recordable injury and the staff enjoyed grilled steaks at lunch. The company’s total embracement of safety procedures emphasizes the message to workers that getting home safely to your family each day is what matters most. “We expect you to be your brother’s keeper,” Elgin says. PW

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Water baths during grinding and honing keep knives cooler and lead to a straighter edge, according to Taihei personnel.

PEELING ACCURACY RELIES ON PRECISION GRINDING SYSTEMS Taihei’s West Coast veneer knife grinding showroom develops green end peeling solutions for veneer producers.

BY DAN SHELL

EUGENE, Ore. perating a custom veneer knife grinding and honing operation from an office in west Eugene, Taihei Machinery Works is bringing its state-of-the-art lathe knife sharpening technology—the Artesa I grinding machine and Artesa II precision honing machine—to North American veneer producers.

Quick to note the office and showroom facility isn’t a traditional “knife shop,” Taihei officials say they are working with potential customers as more of a technical consultant, showing mill personnel how better knife configuration accuracy results in a better product and also lowers operating costs.

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The company opened the facility in fall 2016 to work with peeling operations along the West Coast and bring its precision grinding technology to North America. Already, more than 10 units have been sold.

Taihei’s Dennis Ishida says, “We’re not a knife sharpening shop, we’re more of an R&D type operation.” He adds that the facility operates by appointment only several weeks a month, working with mill personnel to develop more accurate, higher-performing veneer knives.

“We also perform multiple tests at each mill in order to better address customer issues,” Dennis says.

A big part of Taihei’s value proposal is that increased knife straightness and angle accuracy produces positive outcomes and cost benefits throughout the production process.

For example, Dennis says, better grinding accuracy allows for smaller peel thickness targets. A more accurate knife wears longer, resulting in lower knife costs. And better peeling efficiency means more full sheets and less downstream handling. All such improvements combine to create a positive impact on the bottom line, he adds.

ACCURACY COUNTS According to Dennis, a big issue is that conventional grinding machines don’t keep knives cool enough during operations, resulting in thermal expansion that in turn makes it more difficult to produce a truly straight knife edge.

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This inherent lack of precision straightness with conventional machines means that knife land widths are also less accurate and affect peel quality, he says.

“Even if the veneer lathe settings and nosebar are in perfect condition, lowprecision knife straightness will affect veneer quality,” Ishida adds.

Both the Artesa I and II machines are fully CNC and feature high-performance cooling systems during the grinding and honing process. Another key feature is the capability to apply multiple edges to both sides of the knife—in minute land widths accurate to .00078 in., Dennis says.

The accompanying chart portrays the knife edge straightness accuracy possible with an Artesa system compared to conventional knife grinders: Across a two-knife setup covering 9.1 ft. on an 8 ft. lathe, accuracy variance with conventional grinders was .0059 in., compared to only .00012 in. with the Artesa system.

“We confirmed a large difference in straightness,” Dennis says, adding that he believes heat expansion during grinding is a big factor in reduced straightness accuracy.

More accurate knife geometry leads to better peel quality, more yield and increase to bottom line.

From left, Taihei Director Tetsutaro Mutsuura and overseas sales reps Dennis Ishida and Hisashi Tsuji

BACKGROUND Based in Komaki and Osaka in Japan, Taihei Machinery Works Ltd. was founded in 1925 and is one of Japan’s oldest industrial plywood and woodworking machinery manufacturers. During its long history, the company has produced a wide variety of plywood manufacturing equipment, including presses, dryers, fingerjointers, rip saws, chippers, LVL plant equipment and some sawmill machinery.

Taihei has even built some complete production lines as well as proprietary machines for customers who need specialized machines and solutions.

The company operates three primary departments: a plywood machinery department, industrial machinery department and woodworking department that handles lumber machinery.

Taihei Machinery Works pursues a fully integrated production system that begins with its state-of the-art engineering and design capabilities, using proprietary technology and in-house research and development. The company’s pursuit of quality is bolstered by the use of high precision machine tools and systems to produce equipment that makes the best possible veneer and panel products.

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Taihei comparison with conventional systems

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WORLDWIDE PRESENCE, INCLUDING U.S., IS OBVIOUS AT LIGNA IN GERMANY The biennial event brought a lot of new technologies and international goodwill.

BY RICH DONNELL

orth America wood products producers made their presence felt during Ligna May 26-31 in Hannover, Germany. One representative of an OSB producer based in the U.S. commented shortly after the show, “I guess we were there looking for the future,” and when asked if they had found it, he responded, “We’re not sure yet.”

Drawing 1,500 exhibitors and more than 90,000 attendees from 100 nations, Ligna lived up to its expectations. The weather also cooperated, bringing comfortable temperatures and slightly overcast skies.

Many equipment exhibitors in both the structural and non-structural primary production sectors felt they were offering technologies for the future. Argos Solutions displayed its new D3000 scanning system used for particleboard, MDF/HDF, plywood, OSB and gypsum board grading. The open system frame allowed customers to see how Argos systems are engineered to facilitate fast installation on existing conveyors with minimal modification.

Argos also showed its new generation of automatic grading systems (AGS) for decorative surfaces (MFC, HPL, foil, furniture). Customers were invited to bring samples of defective panels to test the accuracy of detection using Argos technology. Results proved that Argos

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Spain’s Biele Group as usual hosted many travelers.

technology outperforms the human eye on accuracy and speed. The company also released the new Autosort 8 platform allowing faster information processing, new HMI design, adaptive pattern-matching, and proven EiR functionality for the decorative surfaces.

Argos has been a major success story over the past five years and is looking at a record year for 2019.

Press belt manufacturer IPCO (the former Sandvik) enjoyed its “best ever” Ligna thanks to unexpected market optimism. Making its Ligna debut under the new IPCO brand, the company achieved a record number of leads over the course of the fair, with interest coming from all key market regions.

“We were a little uncertain of what to expect ahead of the fair,” said Sascha Porst, Global Product Manager Press Belts, “but quickly realized that the market mood was extremely positive. Virtually all of our major market areas are operating at full capacity and this was reflected in a stream of concrete inquiries and productive meetings.”

As well as highlighting the ability to produce press belts 1.2 - 3.5 mm thick, and up to 4,620 mm wide, IPCO focused on its global service and repair offering. This includes the QuickDisc Plus 500 tool, a self-contained cutting and welding system that can remove

and replace damaged areas up to 480 mm in diameter on steel press belts.

IPCO also introduced a new application for its belts—digital printing. The flatness and stability of a steel belt enables faster, more accurate printing and ensures straight, vibration-free running. Belts can be supplied perforated to accommodate a vacuum system for even greater stability.

The star of the IPCO show, however, was undoubtedly the IPCO moose, a fair favorite that has been drawing crowds for many years and has become a must for selfies.

Jamie Nott, Fagus GreCon Regional Sales Manager for Eastern Canada, attended his first Ligna and was very impressed.

“At the Fagus GreCon stand we saw people from as far as South America, Australia and China,” he said. “The show was well attended from North America and really from around the world. Interest in our FORMATTOR and our new DLD 1/9 spark detector was huge. We have a big job ahead to follow up on these inquires.”

On the outside grounds Combilift introduced and demonstrated its new Container Slip-Sheet (Combi-CSS), which is designed for more mechanized loading of long products into containers. Companies in the timber sector that use contain-

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The Global Alliance had a large presence.

ers to transport products will benefit from this efficient and safe innovation.

As worldwide trade grows, containerization is increasingly seen as a preferred method of transporting goods, but there are challenges associated with the combination of forklifts and manual labor that is often used to load containers. Following the launch of the Combilift Straddle Carrier a few years ago, Combilift was exposed to feedback from customers in the containerization sector, prompting the company to look at how these procedures could be improved. The result is the Combilift Container Slip-Sheet, a low, free-standing platform with a dual-directional motordriven pulling mechanism, on which a steel sheet rests. This enables a full load of product to be prepared behind the container on the sheet.

Once loaded, the sheet is guided into the container by the pulling mechanism underneath, which consists of four hydraulic cylinders moving in sequence.

Hydraulic pins on the ends of the cylinders move up, fitting into holes cut into the sheet to secure it, while the cylinders pull the sheet forward, ensuring safe loading without any risk of damage.

When the goods are fully loaded within the container, a hydraulic rear barrier gate, fixed to the end of the platform, swings across the container opening and is locked in place across the entire width of the platform. This holds

Imeas talked about its ninth generation sanding machine.

USNR seemed to hold lots of meetings with international customers.

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Left to right, Siempelkamp’s Ulrich Kaiser and Christoph Michel

Wemhöner reported several new orders.

Fagus GreCon was always packed.

CombiLift’s container loading device ran smoothly.

Raute discussed new lathe and drying technologies.

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Baumer introduced raw board inspection technology.

Left to right, Dieffenbacher’s Christian Dieffenbacher and Stefan Zipf

Altec exhibited for the first time at Ligna.

Left to right: Chris Bartlett and Bill Long of Altec, Edwin Russel and Nathen Vissers of Camsensor, and Mark Osuna of Pre-Tec.

Kuper exhibited a range of veneer processing machinery.

Hexion continued to emphasize the big picture of sustainability.

Andritz made several good points about energy savings with its latest developments.

IPCO offered a new approach to digital printing.

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the material within the container while the metal sheet is slipped out from underneath it, hence the name. The Combilift Container Slip-Sheet can load containers in lengths between 6.1 m and 12.2 m and has a capacity of 30,000 kg.

Combilift Managing Director Martin McVicar comments, “I am confident that companies that deal with containers will embrace this new product, as they did with the Straddle Carrier, due to the improvements it offers in terms of safety around loading and unloading containers and greater efficiency.”

BIELE reported that the flow of visitors was constant during the whole week. At the sleek black and white BIELE stand, visitors were able to get information on the latest innovations in packaging lines, layup lines, press lines, finishing and panel processing lines.

Those technologies were explained in the Innovation Corner of the booth by means of models and latest solutions in robotic and vision solutions for packaging, new features and solutions in presses, EVO handling systems and BIELE’s latest developments on Industry 4.0.

Exhibiting since 1987, LIMAB said this was probably its best Ligna ever.

They received about 200 qualified leads

for all types of product from around the world, with a significant increase of visitors from the U.S. With the increasing demand of panel quality control, LIMAB’s PanelProfiler non-contact thickness and dimensional measurement system is gaining more popularity. This is due to its consistent high accuracy and reliability for all types of products, with installation places from presses to finishing lines.

Many project and budget quotes were about to be sent out following Ligna.

Hundreds of visitors came to Hexion’s booth from all over the world— North America, Latin America, Europe, Russia, Oceania and China.

Hexion customers reinforced that the world of engineered wood continues to evolve and the trend of using more wood to create stunning and enduring buildings out of wood is growing globally. New advancements in technology and chemical science have advanced the use of wood as a building material and helped enable that growth. Lifecycle assessments show wood buildings require less energy from resource extraction through manufacturing, distribution, use and end-of-life disposal and are responsible for far less greenhouse gas emis-

sions than other building materials such as concrete or steel.

Hexion prides itself in making today’s homes and buildings safer and more sustainable. Its resins and adhesives are the key to transforming wood veneer, fibers and strands into engineered wood like plywood, cross-laminated timber, OSB, flooring and I-joists.

INTEC Engineering said considerable requests were collected for biomass and waste fired energy plants all over the world, where standard products and technologies are just not good enough anymore. INTEC provides an individual custom-made solution to each client. Its step grate model attracted the interest of many visitors and has shown the benefit of the tough and multifunctional INTEC solid fuel firing systems.

INTEC noted successful installation of its step grate at the Unilin MDF plant in Mt. Gilead, NC. USNR exhibited in two booths, one in the solid wood processing hall and the other in the panel processing building.

From the beginning of the show USNR met with visitors from many countries including Australia, Austria, Belarus, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lux-

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embourg, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the U.S. USNR reported significant meetings with U.S. and international customers on possible large scale structural panel projects.

Based on the science acquired from its Research and Development facility dedicated to wood processing technology, Raute launched its next generation solution for peeling, drying and grading at Ligna.

The new lathe maximizes face veneer and full sheet recovery with precise electric peeling, down to only a 1 in. core with or without spindles. The latest VCO and HD laser technologies minimize end ribbon randoms, increase full sheet clipping for optimal material flow and continuous quality control.

Less energy use and better accuracy decreases costs and increases yields, while an integrated green veneer composer further optimizes recovery and drying efficiency. Automated knife changes maintain a continuous production flow, reducing equipment downtime.

Raute’s latest drying line increases drying capacity with up to 3% more dry

veneer recovery while decreasing energy consumption by up to 15% with greater heat transfer technology and optimized air flow. Pitch buildup and heat leakage is eliminated, and re-drying is minimized. Automated cleaning and sealant updates reduce maintenance and downtime requirements. VOC cleaning and water scrubbers provide an environmentally safe solution with zero emissions.

Combining Raute, Metriguard and Mecano technologies, the grading solution analyzes visual quality, moisture content, and veneer density simultaneously for more accurate grading results.

Grenzebach presented its new, integrated moisture and thickness detection system for wood veneers. The system can measure the moisture content and thickness of veneer separately or at the same time. “The new system is preferably used upstream and downstream from the dryer to allow optimum control of the energy input. It is possible to both show trends over a time period and create a mapping across different veneer species,” says Dr Christoph Habighorst, Vice President Sales Building Materials Technology at Grenzebach BSH. The non-contact measuring system

can also be used directly after veneer peeling because even very high moisture levels of more than 100% are handled with great accuracy. “Our system is ideal for the “green” peeling line end of the production line. In addition to the moisture content of a veneer sheet, its thickness can be continuously determined as well,” explains Habighorst. A special technique optimizes the stability of the readings, taking into account varying gaps between the sheets and the waviness of the veneers. The innovative system comes with all functions implemented for the major hardwood and softwood species.

Kadant Carmanah launched three advanced vision systems designed to help OSB producers increase production rates and improve strand quality in the wood room. The ARGUS-FMS fines measurement system, developed in collaboration with FPInnovations, continuously scans the strander outfeed conveyor to provide real-time fines percentages for every cutting pass. By constantly scanning all strands produced, the FMS greatly reduces the error rates inherent with manual strand sampling.

The steady flow of data allows OSB manufacturers to make better produc-

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tion decisions both in the ft. wide and 52.5 m long. wood room and in downMeanwhile Dieffenbacher’s stream processes.

65 m long continuous press The ARGUS-LDO log will start up with the new deck optimizer and AR Roseburg LVL plant in GUS-LPO load pocket optiChester, SC, in the third or mizer provide data on the fourth quarter. volume of logs staged on In January, Dieffenbachthe log deck and in the load er created the Recycling pocket of the batch. TogethBusiness Unit. Orders were er, these devices help operareceived during the past tors increase strander fill year in all four target marrates and wood room prokets: Wood Recycling, Alduction. Additionally, the ternative Fuels, Waste 2 data produced by the sysProduct (W2P) and Municitems provide new perforpal Solid Waste (MSW). In mance metrics. the Wood Recycling segBERNECK EMPHASIZES LUMBER TOO Christian Dieffenbacher, ment, five wood recycling head of the Dieffenbacher plants for the particleboard Brazil’s Berneck is known for its particleboard, MDF and HDF promanagement board, reportindustry have been sold. duction capabilities, but the sawmill business is also a significant ed that the company’s three The company discussed part of the business. In fact the family company started 67 years business units—Wood, the recycling project, Oscar ago with a sawmill. Today it operates a sawmill at headquarters Composites and its newest Bioenergy, which is a joint in Araucária and perhaps the most modern pine sawmill in Latin unit, Recycling,—are perventure between Suez, America at Curitibanos. The company, which has recently anforming well. “Three years ATAL and RosRoca in nounced major developments for its board facilities, now anago we started to make our Hong Kong. Oscar Bioenernounces it has selected Brunner Hildebrand as a supplier for new internal structure more effigy operates a fermentation dry kilns to be installed at Berneck’s new sawmill to be located in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The order comprises 32 dry kilns cient and at the same time plant for material and enerwith a holding capacity of 200 m3 (85MBF ) each for drying Pinus open up new markets. This gy utilization of organic elliottii and Pinus taeda and featuring advanced control systems gives us the decisive edge waste. The combination of including Hildebrand Weight Precision Technology (HWPT). This we have today,” he says. fermentation and compostgame-changing measurement system combines the weighing of The Wood Business Unit, ing produces both biogas entire lumber stacks with conventional lumber moisture measuring now led by General Managand high-quality compost methods. In addition to the high level of accuracy, this technology er Stefan Zipf, has received from the treated organic emphasizes practical implementation, since the measurement is numerous new plant and waste. Oscar Bioenergy recarried out by completely wireless “electronic bolsters.” Coming tomodernization orders in the lies on Dieffenbacher’s regether during Ligna to celebrate the deal were, left to right, Jos past 12 months. Since June cycling solutions to treat the aan de Stegge, sales manager at Brunner Hildebrand; Christopher Brunner, managing director of Brunner Hildebrand; and Fernando 2018, 16 orders for new input material for further Gnoatto, director of the Berneck Lumber Division. wood-based panel plants processing. The domestic were recorded, 10 at the and organic waste fed into headquarters in Eppingen, Germany and has great potential, building on the the plant is prepared for anaerobic diwhile subsidiary Shanghai Wood-based success of projects starting up this year. gestion by a size reduction and homogePanel Machinery in China received six One of them that has already started up nizing machines. Foreign materials such orders. The Wood Business Unit exis the Arauco particleboard plant in as paper, glass and plastics are removed pects strong business activity in the secGrayling, Mich. The Dieffenbacher and sorted according to type and recyond half of 2019. The company noted continuous press there is the largest parcled. In addition to the machine technolthat the U.S. business remains strong ticleboard press in North America at 10 ogy for two pre-treatment lines, the

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order included the entire control system.

Also at Ligna Dieffenbacher introduced its new logo with a new motto for the company: “Move Forward. Together.”

Dieffenbacher had several new technology developments on display at Ligna, including the new High-Capacity Oscillating Screen (HCOS) for dry flake screening in particleboard production. The HCOS is developed specifically for producing high volumes. With lightweight frames made of edged lasercut profiles and enclosure panels and doors made of light sandwich panels with high stiffness, the HCOS weighs just 60% of comparable screens. The lightweight construction ensures a long frame life and enables hanging installation of the screen, eliminating the need for dedicated foundation blocks.

Dieffenbacher also discussed its new Intelligent Air Management System, which helps improve the air climate in a production hall. The system can be retrofitted in existing plants to comply with new and stricter regulations. Dieffenbacher is undertaking its first industrial project of this type for Swiss Krono in Germany.

The company also revealed its new Maier knife ring flaker with FlowOptimizer for material distribution.

Christoph Michel, CEO and managing director of Siempelkamp; Jürgen Philipps, management spokesman; and Ulrich Kaiser, sales director-wood division, hosted a media event to discuss the theme of Siempelkamp’s exhibition: “Intelligence in integrated wood processing.” The exhibit included virtual and interactive presentations, focusing on six topics: —unique engineering capabilities —green technology —saving resources with modern forming concepts

—customized solutions for specific needs —panel handling —intelligent production The company emphasized its “one shop supplier” expertise, including financing capabilities.

It also focused on its research and development on the use of annual plants in the wood-based panel industry. Much of the conversation was about the CalAg rice straw MDF facility that will start up in California this fall. Siempelkamp provided a continuous press and other equipment to the facility and is a minority investor in the project.

Siempelkamp talked about its “Eco” concepts—Ecodrive, EcoFormer, Ecoresinator, EcoPulser, EcoSifter—to illustrate how resource efficiency is becoming a strategic factor in the engineered wood industry. The size reduction technology from Siempelkamp subsidiary Pallmann was on display.

Siempelkamp emphasized its panel handling technologies to keep pace with the high production speeds of its ContiRoll Generation 9 continuous press. The RoundTrack system from Siempelkamp subsidiary Strothmann was on exhibit for the first time.

Networked and intelligent systems for all aspects of the wood-based panel plant—from adaptive, self-learning production control and mechatronic system components to machine monitoring and predictive maintenance—were highlighted by Siempelkamp. The result is a complete system that consistently utilizes all options of digitization and intelligent process control technology.

Altec Integrated Solutions, which produces machinery and controls for veneer and plywood production, especially at the log peeling and veneer clipping stages, exhibited for the first time at Ligna. Also on hand was machine vision-scanning provider, Camsensor.

“We were very pleased to attend the 2019 Ligna event,” comments Altec VP Chris Bartlett. “The setup and hall spaces were very impressive and the layout of the show in general very different to what we have seen in North America.

“We had the opportunity to meet with many of our existing customers and to meet new potential customers and to get a feel of what is happening in other areas of the industry. All in all the experience was good and certainly beneficial to our endeavors.”

Sunds Fibertech emphasized the importance of raw material processing with its OptiLine front-end concept for MDF lines, with technologies addressing chip cleaning, refining, resin application, drying, sifting and dryer emission control.

Ligna was another good show for EWS North America, according to Keith Mays. EWS was encouraged yet again by the large number of U.S. and Canadian companies in attendance. “It was clear that wood panel manufacturers are concerned about the potential impact of trade disputes on the economy in the U.S. However, companies tend to recognize that measurement systems supplied by EWS are always a smart choice with a short ROI,” Mays said.

Ligna was good for Electronic Wood Systems GmbH around the world as well, with lots of visitors sharing their goals and plans for the next 12-36 months. EWS highlighted its blow detection, thickness measuring, and X-ray based measuring systems installed before and after the press.

In fact several equipment exhibitors expressed some concern over “political instabilities” throughout the world, but the optimism on the grounds at Ligna seemed to alleviate those worries at least for one week in May. The next Ligna will be held May 10-14, 2021.

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RESINS

TECHNOLOGY EDITOR’S NOTE: The following editorial profiles were submitted by these companies who are producers of resins and related technologies and who are also advertising in this issue of Panel World. All statements and claims are attributable to the companies. Their advertisements can be found throughout this issue.

ASTACHEM Founded in 1974, AstaChem is a Malaysian, privately owned chemical manufacturer of formaldehyde, adhesive resins, hardeners and fillers. The progressive growth of the company can be attributed to our dedication for quality and excellence, which has allowed us to expand our operations and launch ourselves into becoming one of the leading manufacturing companies in our field.

Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur with manufacturing facilities in the north and east peninsulas of Malaysia, our facilities not only allow us to be innovative in our technology, but to also custom manufacture for multinationals.

Our commitment to our customers drives us to push the boundaries of our business. We strive to provide the best for them in terms of trust, reliability, technical superiority and more. To meet the demands of our local and export AstaChem is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. markets, we have obtained multiple certifications and dedicated a research and development team to develop, improve and optimize the usage of our products as well as our customers’ products. When you partner with us you are not only partnering with a company that believes in sharing our wealth of experience and innovative thinking with our customers, you are partnering with a company that is focused on delivering value but doing it in a safe, ethical and environmentally responsible manner. ● AstaChem’s formaldehyde based powder resins Powder resin allows for maximum flexibility in glue formulation and preparation that can be customized for different applications. AstaChem offer three types of powder adhesives: urea formaldehyde, melamine formaldehyde and melamine urea formaldehyde. Powder resin solves logistic and storage problems that many may face when dealing with liquid resin. In powder form, challenges such as shipping and handling, as well as specific storage requirements are not an issue. Besides that, the long storage life of the resin (about nine months to one year) makes it ideal for small doses and irregular use. AstaChem powder resins are able to meet stringent international bonding requirements. ● Featured products ASTAMITE C606M is a MUF powder resin used in the production of water-resistant plywood. The resin performs well, achieving good bonding properties with the 72-hour boiling test. It also meets E1 emission standards, which allows the finished product to be exported to countries requiring lower emission boards.

ASTAMITE C605M is used in the production of wooden food grade pallets; meant for packaging purposes. As the resin meets low E1 emission standards, the finished product will meet the requirements to export to European countries.

CHEMISOL ITALIA Chemisol Italia is a 100% Italian company, located in the North of Italy, with 60 years of experience in the market, selling in more than 50 countries worldwide through our agents and distributors.

We produce a full range of melamine powder resins, Hiperesin MF for different applications and additives, Hiperadd for paper impregnation and board production. We supply tailor-made products, offering the best combination of value and performance, with consistent quality and unrivalled service—and wherever possible using renewable raw materials with low environmental impact and encouraging supply in reusable packaging.

Thanks to a long lasting experience and deep knowledge of resin chemistry, we offer a complete service for those clients who need professional Chemisol resins are the basis for decorative displays. and accurate analyses. New modern production plants assure the best quality of melamine resin in the world, short lead time and customized packaging.

Hiperesin MF grades for paper impregnation are ready-to-use products with different reactivity. They have high water solubility and for this reason they can be easily dissolved as binder in the solid state. Thanks to their low viscosity, even at high concentration, the solutions of Hiperesin optimize wettability and paper saturation with beneficial effects on production costs.

A special resin in powder form has been recently studied to be used in a new advanced dry paper impregnation technology.

A full range of Chemisol MF resin grades can be used as binder and impregnating agent in many applications, such as glazing, molding compound, foam, leather, ceiling tiles and friction automotive material (such as clutch facings and brake pads).

Italian creativity, expertise and know-how will support your daily challenges.

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RESINS

TECHNOLOGY

CMC TEXPAN

CMC TEXPAN, the Italian wholly-owned subsidiary of the Germany-based Siempelkamp group, chose glue dosing and preparation among its main focuses for the recent Ligna exhibition in Germany. The company, who specializes in the design, engineering, manufacture, erection, commissioning and assistance of machinery and equipment dedicated to the production of particleboard, MDF and OSB, recently added glue kitchens to its rich product portfolio, already comprising glue blenders.

Glue kitchens are meant for the storage of the different components of the glue mixture, as well as for their continuous and controlled metering, according to the preset throughput values. The glue mixture is made up of resin and additives, such as paraffin emulsion, hardener, urea, dyeing agents, water and PMDI. “Mixing glue and additives in a glue kitchen is a very delicate step,” exCMC TEXPAN now provides glue kitchens. plains Paolo Gattesco, Chairman of the Board of Directors at CMC TEXPAN. “This phase requires the utmost accuracy: a correct and precise dosing of each component is an absolute must. To us, acquiring full control of this process means meeting an essential prerequisite of an effective glue blending function.”

CMC TEXPAN’s glue kitchens ensure the correct dosing of each component and an accurate control of the entire glue preparation process. The capacity setpoint is continuously compared with the actual measured throughput and the speed of the dosing pumps is regulated accordingly.

The first autonomously designed and carried out glue dosing and preparation system was dispatched to an Asian customer in late summer 2018 as part of a larger supply package including machinery for different sections of the plant.

The resources invested in the development of glue preparation and dosing systems confirm the commitment of the Italian enterprise toward safety, reliability, sustainability, saving of raw materials and energy, as well as preserving the highest quality of the finished product.

FUSONI Fusoni is a chemical company located at the north coast of Spain (Asturias) and is the only producer of additives for wood in this country. The Spanish family owned company became one of the leading producers of additives for wood based panels and decorative papers in a worldwide scale, delivering its products to more than 30 countries and cooperating with the biggest companies in the wood based panels industry.

In the early ’80s, Fusoni (owned by the García Arias family) initiated its activity in Mexico City. In the beginning Fusoni in Mexico was just focused on the production of release agents for the automotive industry, shoe soles and rotomolding; today it not only continues to supply those industries but also the wood based panels industry in the Mid and North Americans markets.

As a next step of Fusoni’s expansion, in 1997 a second production site Fusoni is focused on additives for worldwide markets. was set up in Asturias and Fusoni became a specialized company in release agents for the wood industry and additives for decorative papers.

In 2002 after observing the big growth of the wood based panel industry in South American, Fusoni started its third production plant in Novo Hamburgo (Brazil) in order to supply local markets and neighboring countries such as Argentina, Chile, etc.

The Spanish plant, which is mainly focused on release agents used in production of PB, MDF and OSB bonded with UF, MUF and MDI (pMDI and eMDI) glue, supplies all European and Asian customers.

In recent years Fusoni has strongly worked in its R&D department to be able to provide a full range of additives for production of decorative papers (HPL, LPL and CPL) such as hardeners, wetting and release agents, antiblocking, surface improver and some other very specialized products for this process like flow improver or antibacterial agents.

Additives for plywood have also become one of its specialties including for instance fire retardants or antifungus.

Around 70% of additives produced in Spain are exported to European and Asian countries and just 30% of production goes to the local market. Customer service is made directly from the Spanish, Poland and Mid-East Europe and trough distributors in China and India. Customers in South and Mid-North Americas are supplied by Fusoni’s plants in Mexico and Brazil.

Fusoni is logistically well prepared to supply long distance customers, through continuous contact with worldwide logistic partners who are able to provide fast and trustful service.

Commitment with environment is one of Fusoni’s main themes, dedicating all its efforts to develop efficient and sustainable solutions.

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RESINS

TECHNOLOGY

HEXION

Making homes, commercial buildings and marine vessels inherently more fire resistant is the focus of the latest innovative adhesive resin from Hexion Inc. The core technology for an exciting new fire-resistant product from Acell Industries Ltd. is Hexion’s specialty resin.

“Hexion’s specialty resin is used by Acell to create a wood adhesive which improves the flame retardancy in plywood and laminated veneer lumber (LVL),” says JP Aucoin, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Global Phenolic Specialty Resins, Hexion. “We’re excited to partner with Acell to provide a channel to market for this innovative product.”

The adhesive has passed the non-combustibility test in accordance to ISO 1182 and Marine standard FTP 2010 Code 1, which is assigned to a U.S Coast Guard Module B number 164/ECO987/MED750. This means the adhesive resin greatly reduces flame spread and propagation when used as a Hexion builds on resins technology, applications. glue line between multiple layers of timber.

In building and construction applications, the adhesive will enhance the structure of a home with greater fire resistance, which would add precious seconds for occupants to evacuate or firefighters to rescue or extinguish the fire.

“This is another great example of true collaboration between Hexion and Acell culminating in the launch of an important industry changing solution,” says Aldino Albertelli, Chairman & CEO, Acell.

Acell Industries is championing a wide range of applications for its composite material solutions within architectural and advanced composite markets. ● Hexion versatile EcoBind adhesives for structural engineered wood products recently completed all independent laboratory testing required by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is certified for high volume manufacture of glue laminated beams (glulam) and cross-laminated timber (CLT).

Hexion received full qualification of its EcoBind 6500 resin with Wonderbond M650Y-M700Y hardener. This ultra-low emitting EcoBind resin successfully passed both the ANSI PRG 320-18 standard, which covers the manufacturing, qualification, and adhesive requirements for CLT, and the ANSI 405-18 standard, which provides adhesive evaluation requirements for use in structural glulam. The EcoBind 6500 system complies with the International Code Council’s (ICC) Tall Wood Code changes adopted for the 2021 version of the International Building Code.

The EcoBind adhesive system employs separate application technology to maximize adhesive utilization. The layup of all certification test samples was completed with the adhesive components separately applied to each wood substrate to duplicate the manufacturing process.

ROO GLUE Roo Glue is the clear leader when it comes to gluing melamine, vinyl, and other hard-to-bond substrates with Roo Clear acrylic glue. But did you know that Roo 6565 is the premium PVA for just about any wood-to-wood bonding project? In our lab and in the field, Roo 6565 proves time and time again to perform better than the big box store PVAs. In the millwork shop, reach for Roo 6565 for any cold gluing job. The fast setting speed will have your project ready to de-clamp sooner and excellent resistance to heat makes this glue easy to sand. For hot press or RF (radio frequency) operations, Roo 6565 cures in minutes or even seconds to create a bond that is stronger than the wood itself. It is ideal for high throughput applications and since it is pre-catalyzed there is no need to add any catalyst.

Roo 6565 complies with CARB regulations when tested in various wood construction applications. In the plywood and engineered flooring industries, Roo 6565 is a safe yet high-performing alternative to formaldehyde-based resins. Our advanced formula is highly water resistant and meets Type II standards, as set out by ANSI/HPVA requirements.

“Not Your Grandfather’s PVA” – Roo Water-based glue technology has come a long way since PVA adhesives were in6565 is the workhorse wood glue that troduced to the market, and Roo 6565 is truly “Not your grandfather’s PVA.” you can count on.

Roo Glue is a dynamic, family-owned manufacturer of water-based adhesives. As a division of Specialty Polymers, Inc., Roo Glue offers products formulated on the latest adhesive polymer technology developed in-house. With a fully equipped wood glue testing lab and manufacturing sites on the East and West coasts, Roo Glue is ready to provide off-the-shelf and custom solutions for any wood adhesive needs.

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LINES

PELICE 2020 BEGINS SPONSORSHIP PLAN

Exhibitors are signing up for the seventh Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo to be held March 12-13, 2020 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The event is hosted by Panel World magazine and Georgia Research Institute. The 2018 PELICE included 36 speaker presentations and 94 equipment and technology exhibitors in the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Hotel.

More than 400 industry personnel were on hand. Keynote talks from officials at RoyOMartin, Roseburg Forest Products and Swiss Krono addressed ongoing projects. One of the more popular technical sessions was on mass plywood

panel and cross-laminated timber developments.

“It will be tough to top the excellent speakers lineup we had in 2018, but we have every intention of doing so,” comments Co-Chairman Rich Donnell, who is also the editor-in-chief of Panel World. “We expect the 2020 version to address several ongoing startups as well as projects under development. In addition, and as usual, numerous technical presentations will provide the most upto-date look at a range of technologies impacting both the structural and nonstructural wood products industries.”

After a Friday-Saturday format in 2018, the event is returning to a Thursday-Friday schedule in 2020.

All exhibitors sign up in one of three sponsorship categories.

For exhibitor information, contact Fred Kurpiel: fredkurpiel@gmail.com.

For presentation submissions, contact Rich Donnell: rich@hattonbrown.com.

Visit www.pelice-expo.com to review coverage of the 2018 event.

USNR GOES BIG IN EUGENE

Larger USNR facility in Eugene, Ore.

USNR has expanded its footprint in Eugene, Ore., moving existing operations into a larger building that is outfitted to meet the growing needs of its customers and business.

USNR President Dale Brown comments, “With continued growth we saw the need to enlarge this key facility.

This new investment allows us to offer customers the best products, faster deliveries, expanded dedicated training infrastructure, and additional technical personnel working hard to solve today’s

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LINES processing challenges.”

The Eugene facility is the U.S. base for USNR’s optimization technology solutions for lumber and engineered wood products, and also supports USNR’s EWP equipment product line.

The new facility encompasses electrical manufacturing, engineering, R&D, training facilities, warehousing and sales offices. l USNR also reports that Boise Cascade is upgrading its #1 lathe at the Florien, La. plywood mill with USNR’s M1380 core drive. The existing core drive was installed in 1987 and this upgrade will improve reliability and productivity of the lathe line. Installation is scheduled for later this year.

LDX OVERSEES LUNDBERG, DUSTEX

TP&EE PORTLAND BEGINS RENEWAL The fifth Timber Processing & Energy Expo has entered its exhibitor renewal program for the event, which will be held September 30 to October 2, 2020 at the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Ore. The event is produced by HattonBrown Expositions LLC and hosted by Timber Processing and Panel World magazines.

More than 1,600 representatives of 110 wood products producer companies and hundreds of individual lumber, veneer, plywood and engineered wood products mills registered for the 2018 TP&EE. They came from 38 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces and 19 countries. They viewed 200 exhibitor companies who displayed their equipment and technologies on more than 60,000 SF of booth space in a sold-out Hall E. Show Director Rich Donnell says the exhibitor renewal process starts ➤ 50

panelworldmag.com

LDX Solutions is the new name of the company formed recently that will encompass the Dustex, Geoenergy and Lundberg air emissions control equip-

ment. Mergers of those companies in recent years allowed rapid investment in new product development, but also created some market confusion. LDX Solutions is now the corporate umbrella.

“As one name we can demonstrate the unity of our team’s commitment to better serve our customers,” the company states. “It’s our vision to be the preferred partner in achieving sustainability goals utilizing environmentally conscious solutions.”

LDX Solutions offers a complete portfolio of emissions control, chemical process improvement, and energy conservation solutions, Key points of contact remain in place as the business continues to market and support the Lundberg, Dustex and Geoenergy product brands under the company brand name LDX Solutions. The LDX Solutions name will be used on all correspondence and documents. In addition the website and domain names are changing to www.LDXsolutions.com and @LDXsolutions.com.

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LINES 46 ➤ with the large-space exhibitors who have participated in every TP&EE and works down through all of the previous exhibitors.

Exhibitors already signing on, in no particular order, include: Westmill, Altec, Andritz, Wellons, Samuel, Newman, Springer Microtec, Oleson Saw, ScanMeg, Optimil, Taylor, Simonds, BID Group, Timber Automation, German Pavilion, Gilbert, Raptor Integration, Rea Jet, Biomass Engineering (Veneer Services), Con-Vey, Signode, Piche, Can-Am Chains, Pape, Paw Taw John, Lucidyne, Autolog, Brunette, JoeScan, Rawlings, HewSaw, Connexus, Telco, Murray Latta, LG Isaacson, WoodMizer, AMS Solutions, Porter Engineering, Valon-Kone.

“We’re really only a couple of months into exhibitor renewal so we’re very pleased with the quick response,” Donnell comments, adding that adjustments to space size is an ongoing process even with some of the exhibitors who have already signed up. “We try to accommodate everybody’s request so it’s a fairly fluid process.”

CLIPPINGS ROSEBURG GOES WEST AND EAST Roseburg Forest Products announced a reorganization of its manufacturing operations oversight structure, moving away from product line divisions and toward a geographic and functional support system. Senior Vice President of Operations Jake Elston says that all Roseburg plants in North America are now grouped in Western and Eastern teams, each overseen by its own manufacturing director.

“This new organizational structure will help Roseburg’s operations achieve greater alignment in high-priority areas, such as safety, work environment, environmental compliance, reliability, continuous improvement and ongoing cultural change,” Elston says. “These are win-win issues for our communities, our team members and our business as a whole.”

The announcement comes a short time after the company unveiled a new structure for its sales, marketing and logistics functions, overseen by SVP – Chief Commercial Officer Ashlee Cribb. The combined restructuring eliminates the distinction between the company’s industrial and structural products divisions, and instead focuses on building cross-functional relationships between teams.

Tony Ramm is now Director of Manufacturing—Western Region. He oversees Roseburg manufacturing facilities in the Western U.S., including plywood plants in Dillard, Ore.; Riddle, Ore.; and Coquille, Ore.; a sawmill and composites plant in Dillard; an engineered wood products plant in Riddle; an MDF plant in Medford, Ore.; and a veneer plant in Weed, Calif.

Mike Reardon is now Director of Manufacturing—Eastern Region. He oversees Roseburg manufacturing facilities in the Eastern portion of North America, including composites plants in Missoula, Mont.; Simsboro, La.; and Taylorsville, Miss.; MDF plants in El Dorado, Ark.; and Pembroke, Ont., Can.; and an engineered wood plant under construction in Chester, SC. Bob Jewell has been named Director of Continuous Improvement and Optimization. This newly created role focuses on continuous improvement, benchmarking, goal setting 50 • JULY 2019 • PanelWorld

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CLIPPINGS

and optimization.

Steve Courtney continues as Procurement Director for the operations group, with added responsibility for veneer purchasing for all plants.

Roseburg also recently announced that Rick Whitmore has been appointed Director of Supply Chain and Logistics. Over the past several years, Whitmore has partnered with Roseburg as the managing partner for 3Strand.Solutions, a supply chain, transportation and logistics consulting group.

LP IS THINKING BUILDING SOLUTIONS Louisiana-Pacific Corp. has acquired Prefinished Staining Product Inc. (PSPI), a prefinished siding company located in Green Bay, Wis. PSPI has been offering prefinished LP SmartSide trim and siding for a number of years.

“This acquisition will help us continue to grow our Siding business and increase market penetration in the segments we serve,” says Neil Sherman, LP Executive Vice President for Siding. “This is an important part of our strategy as we transform into a leading building solutions provider.”

The prefinished Siding market is expected to grow significantly over the next five years. Acquiring PSPI provides LP with the facilities, capability and expertise to enter this market and drive growth in the Siding business, the company states.

“LP Building Solutions is focused on developing building solutions for a market that continues to face the challenge of labor shortages,” Sherman adds.

PSPI will operate as part of LP’s Siding business. It was founded in 1999. It operates in a 40,000 sq. ft. facility about 10 miles northwest of Green Bay.

WESTON WOOD BUYS FIBERSTICK Weston Wood Solutions has purchased Fiberstick Manufacturing of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Fiberstick is a specialty manufacturer of primed MDF moldings, flat jambs, and MDF components.

“We are delighted to work with the team in Sault Ste. Marie to build upon their successes, and provide additional local employment opportunities,” says Alan Lechem, Weston president. “This acquisition enhances our portfolio of fingerjoint, LVL and composite millwork products, and complements the company’s extensive global sourcing with quick-turnaround domestic manufacturing capability.”

Weston Wood Solutions is a manufacturer and distributor of value-added wood and wood related products for the industrial and commercial market segments. The company specializes in finding cost effective solutions from around the world to solve specific customer problems by engaging a full spectrum of flexible supply chain solutions.

LOGGING BMPS STRONG IN TEXAS A 28-year program to monitor logging Best Management Practices (BMPs) implementation on east Texas timber harvest sites shows overall 93.8% BMP implementation in 2018 across all land ownerships.

That’s a solid improvement in the last 20 years—the implementation rate was 87% in 1998—and remains at a high rate 52 • JULY 2019 • PanelWorld

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CLIPPINGS

since the last survey in 2015 when overall BMP implementation was 94%.

Every three years, the Texas A&M Forest Service conducts BMP implementation monitoring on 150 randomly selected forested tracts across east Texas where silvicultural activities occurred. The program is funded by Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and seeks to measure the degree of BMP implementation by forest landowners, silvicultural contractors, forest industry and government agencies.

The recently completed round of monitoring covered sites in 33 counties between March 2017 and December 2018. Averaging all 150 scores, overall BMP implementation on the sites was 93.8%. In general, implementation was highest on sites under public ownership, with an overall implementation of 99%.

Corporate lands (commercial landowners without wood processing facilities)

scored 95.3% overall, and family forest owners scored 91.1%.

As the program has consistently shown since its inception, the sites with the highest rates of BMP implementation were those where a forester was involved; the contractor had attended BMP training; and the landowner was already familiar with BMPs. Other factors that boost BMP implementation are having BMPs in the sale contract, the timber purchased by an SFI mill, and a landowner forest management plan.

Overall BMP implementation has remained steady the last several years, the report says. The last time overall Texas BMP implementation fell below 90% was in 2000, at just under 89%. The highest recorded implementation rate so far in the program was 94.1% in 2011 According to the report, most impressive is the considerable progress demonstrated by family forest owners since monitoring began in the early 1990s.

This year, the 91.1% BMP implementation rate on family forest owner sites rep-

resents a 31% increase since 1992. This improvement demonstrates that ongoing education and training strategies geared toward loggers, landowners and foresters were the driving force behind the increases in BMP implementation.

U.S. PELLETS: ENTER GRAANUL INVEST Graanul Invest affiliate Woodville Pellets, LLC submitted the winning bid in an auction conducted on May 9 for the assets of Texas Pellets, Inc. and German Pellets Texas, LLC (Texas Pellets). The assets include Texas Pellets’ Woodville, Texas pellet manufacturing plant and its Port Arthur, Texas port terminal.

The transaction was approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas after a hearing held on May 15. In connection with the acquisition, Graanul Invest received financing from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC. The estimated manufacturing capaci-

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ty of the wood biomass pellet plant in Woodville is 450,000 MT of pellets per year. The Port Arthur terminal has a total storage capacity of 68,000 MT, and is capable of loading vessels up to approximately 60,000 MT. Acquisition of Texas Pellets’ assets enables Graanul Invest group to expand its business to the United States to ensure greater security of supply to its customers. It also provides better logistical solutions for entering the Asian market.

With 11 pellet plants located in the Baltics, the Estonia-based Graanul Invest group s annual production volume is 2.2 million tons of pellets, making it the biggest pellet producer in Europe.

Acquisition of the Texas Pellets pellet manufacturing plant offers a possibility to increase the group’s production capacity up to 25%.

“We have been looking for a suitable opportunity to start pellet production in the United States for over 10 years,” comments CEO Raul Kirjanen.

transformed the North American business to that of an industry leader.”

Pablo Franzini, international vice president of Arauco, succeeds Shotbolt as President and will be responsible for the operations in Canada, the United FRANZINI SUCCEEDS States and Mexico. Franzini has been KELLY SHOTBOLT leading the businesses in Argentina, Cristian Infante, President & COO of Brazil and Mexico.

Arauco, announced that Kelly Shotbolt Shotbolt began his career with Onhas accepted a new role as the Arauco tario-based Flakeboard, which had been North America Non-Executive Chairpartially owned by the Shotbolt family man of the Board. since the 1960s. He became “Kelly’s contributions to the president in 1993 and led the panel industry across North company’s tremendous growth, America over the past 40 years culminating in the acquisition of have been outstanding,” InWeyerhaeuser’s composite fante says. “His leadership panel business in 2006, making was instrumental in developFlakeboard the largest producer ing Flakeboard into a very of particleboard and MDF in successful enterprise, and conNorth America. He negotiated tinued this momentum follow- Kelly Shotbolt at the sale of Flakeboard to Chileing the Arauco acquisition in Arauco’s new based Arauco in 2012 for $243 2012. His industry knowledge, Grayling particle- million (U.S.) and became presboard mill opencustomer network and inter- ing ceremony ident of the combined panel face, and strong leadership business in North America.

Graanul Invest operates in the field of bioenergy and renewable energy production, forestry and biomaterials development. The group employs more than 500.

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VENEER/PANEL SUPPLIERS

DIRECTORY ■ Taiwan

ASIA

EUROPE

GREAT GIANT INC.

■ India

■ Austria

VENEER AND VENEERED PRODUCTS 260 Dachang Road Niao Song District Kaohsiung, Taiwan 833 Tel: 886 7 3790270 Fax: 886 7 3790275 E Mail: jc.giant@msa.hinet.net

■ Vietnam NEXT CLOSING: September 24, 2019

AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA

■ Malaysia

Manufacturer In Malaysia CARB P2 / EPA Certified Fancy plywood/MDF/ Particle Board/ Blockboard Layon Veneer, Veneer Parquet, etc.

Lot 488, Jalan Jati Kiri, Kg. Perepat 42200 Kapar, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel: +603 3259 1988 • Fax: +603 3259 1886 E-mail: bungaraya@bungarayapanel.com Website: www.bungarayapanel.com

SPECIALISTS IN AUSTRALIAN & PACIFIC VENEERS FSC & PEFC ECO-CERT Veneers from around the world Over 150 species in stock Reconstituted veneer/spliced faces/rotary veneers Website: Email: Tel: Fax:

www.briggs.com.au admin@briggs.com.au +61 2 9732-7888 +61 2 9732-7800

www.fsc.org FSC™ C004099 The mark of responsible forestry

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VENEER/PANEL SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY

NORTH AMERICA

■ Poland

■ Idaho

■ Canada ■ British Columbia Knotty Idaho White Pine Western Red Cedar Red Alder Clear White Pine & Ponderosa Pine Clear Vertical Grain Douglas Fir, Hemlock, & Cedar

6670 - 144th Street, Surrey, BC V3W 5R5 Plant: (604) 572-8968 Fax: (604) 572-6608

Producers of high quality fine face veneers.

Specializing in species indigenous to the West Coast. We manufacture Music grade solids and veneers. We also offer custom slicing, cut-to-size and log breakdown.

Fir • Hemlock • Spruce • Pacific Maple (Figured and Plain) • Alder Western Red Cedar

■ Romania

■ Ontario

P.O. Box 339 Post Falls, Id. 83877 208-773-4511 FAX 208-773-1107 email: info@idahoveneer.com

NEXT CLOSING: September 24, 2019 ■ Indiana Amos-Hill Associates, Inc.

A FULL SERVICE PLYWOOD & VENEER COMPANY WE OFFER: Short turnaround time, In-house veneer mill—ROTARY, FLAT CUT, RIFT and QUARTERS, Custom pressing capabilities, Architectural specified plywood jobs, Huge veneer and core inventory, Over 100 natural species and engineer veneers in stock, All sizes and thicknesses–6'x4' to 5'x12', Internal logistics for fast on-time deliveries Contact us: Birchland Plywood-Veneer Ltd. TeL: 705-842-2430 • Fax: 705-842-2496 Visit www.birchlandplywood.com to view our “Live Log Program”

■ Spain

PRODUCERS OF SLICED AND ROTARY CUT VENEERS

SUPPLIERS OF FSC SPECIES • All figured species (Eucalyptus, Anegre, Sycamore...)

• All pommeles and African species.

• All burls (Ash, Elm, Olive, Walnut, Oak...)

• Smoked and dyed veneers. Veneer layons.

We supply furniture, panel and architectural grades.

Quality Veneers Manufacturers of Decorative Hardwood Veneer Domestic and International Markets Species include: Walnut, White Oak, Red Oak, Hard Maple, Cherry and Birch “Quality is the Lifeblood of our Business” 112 Shelby Ave. ◆ P.O. Box 7 Edinburgh, IN 46124 Phone: 812-526-2671 ◆ Fax: 812-526-5865 E-mail: info@amoshill.com Website: www.amoshill.com The mark of responsible forestry FSC Supplier: SCS-COC-002445 * SCS-CW-002445

Reserve your space today.

Call Melissa McKenzie 800-669-5613

VALENCIA – SPAIN Tel: +34-96126 5400 Fax: +34-96126 5144 timbercom@timbercom.com

www.timbercom.com

■ Switzerland

■ United States ■ Georgia

A new “Dimension” in Veneer & Plywood

Dimension Plywood Inc.

Custom Architectural Plywood & Doors 415 Industrial Blvd. • New Albany, IN 47150 Tel: 812-944-6491 • Fax: 812-944-7421

Dimension Hardwood Veneers, Inc.

Rotary & Sliced Veneers 509 Woodville Street • Edon, Ohio 43518 Main Office - Tel: 419-272-2245 • Fax: 419-272-2406 www.dimensionhardwoods.com FSC-C041275

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VENEER/PANEL SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY NORSTAM VENEERS, INC.

■ Michigan

Proud to announce we have the “Newest Veneer Mill in the World”

A new “Dimension” in Veneer & Plywood

Dimension Hardwood Veneers, Inc. Rotary & Sliced Veneers 509 Woodville Street • Edon, Ohio 43518 Main Office - Tel: 419-272-2245 • Fax: 419-272-2406

MANUFACTURER OF QUALITY HARDWOOD AND SOFTWOOD VENEERS

Green & Kiln Dried Hardwood Lumber

Dimension Plywood Inc.

P.O. BOX 32 HWY. 135 BUS: 812.732.4391 MAUCKPORT, IN 47142 FAX: 812.732.4803 EMAIL: info@norstam.com

RSVP is proud to offer a full line of imported and domestic veneer that includes burls, crotches and highly figured woods. If you would like more information pertaining to these products or others we offer please contact us directly or visit our website.

4920 N. Warren Dr. • Columbus, IN 47203 Ph: 812-375-1178 • Fax: 812-375-1179 www.RSVPveneer.com

■ Ohio

Custom Architectural Plywood & Doors 415 Industrial Blvd. • New Albany, IN 47150 Tel: 812-944-6491 • Fax: 812-944-7421 www.dimensionhardwoods.com FSC-C041275

■ Minnesota BUFFALO VENEER & PLYWOOD CO. Quality Plywood, Six decades strong!

Stock Panels Counter Front Panels All Thicknesses and Cores NAF, FR and MR Availability Domestic and Imported Veneers CARB P2 Certified 501 6th Ave. NE - Buffalo, MN 55313 Tel: (763)682-1822 Fax: (763)682-9769 Email: sales@buffaloveneerandplywood.com Website: www.buffaloveneerandplywood.com

■ Mississippi

Reserve your space today.

Call Melissa McKenzie 800-669-5613

Reserve your space today.

Call Melissa McKenzie 800-669-5613 ■ Kentucky

MAGNOLIA FOREST PRODUCTS, INC.

Universal Veneer Mill Corp.

DISTRIBUTORS OF SYP Plywood & Lumber OSB Cut to size

Manufacturing and Sales Sliced Harwood Veneers Custom Cutting Available

1-800-366-6374

1776 Tamarack Road Newark, OH 43055 Ph: (740) 522-2000 Email:

www.magnoliaforest.com Terry, MS J.I.T. & P.I.T. Nationwide

info@universalveneer.com

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VENEER/PANEL SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY ■ Oregon

ESTABLISHED 1972

Architectural Paneling, Door Skins, Custom Cabinet Package and Furniture Plywood ● Panel sizes up to 5' x 12' ● 4', 5' and cross-grain sanding capability ● Veneer manufacturing to 14' lengths ® ● FSC Certified ● NAUF products available ●

2323 Cross Street ● Eugene, Oregon 97402 Sales: (541) 461-0767 ● Fax: (541) 461-0738 Email: sales@westernpanel.com web site: westernpanel.com

Proudly serving our clients in the hardwood plywood sheetstock, plywood component, solid wood component, face and core veneer markets for over 40 years. Looking forward to applying our worldwide knowledge and resources to help create the solution you need. inquiry@pittsburghforest.com Office: 724.969.5000 375 Valleybrook Rd, McMurray, PA 15367

Reserve your space today.

■ Vermont

■ Pennsylvania

LOCATE VENEER & PLYWOOD PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WORLDWIDE.

North America’s largest manufacturer of fancy face rotary veneer.

Offering FSC certified veneer products in Red Oak, Hard Maple, Birch, Ash, Tulip Poplar, Basswood in Stock Panel & Cut-to-Size Lay-ons as well as unspliced veneer .4mm thru 1.5mm thickness

Plain sliced Alder and Aromatic Cedar faces and flitch stock are regularly available.

Also offering domestically produced FSC Mixed Credit/CARB Phase II Compliant Aspen platforms - both long grain & cross grain dimensions in a variety of thicknesses.

Contact Sales at 802-334-3600 • Fax: 802-334-5149 www.cfpwood.com • 324 Bluff Rd. • Newport, VT 05855

NEXT CLOSING: SEPTEMBER 24

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

5394

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES DIRECTORY

Call Melissa McKenzie 800-669-5613

THE Forest Products Group

5515 S.E. Milwaukie Ave, Portland, Oregon 97202 503-230-9348 Fax: 503-233-2051 www.kh2aengineering.com Email: kh2a@kh2aengineering.com

Jon Olson

CONSULTANTS & ENGINEERS FOR THE FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY Feasibility Studies, Cost Estimates, Complete Project Design, Structural, Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Design

Tel: (800) 985-5191

2151 Wembley Place • Oviedo, Florida 32765 407-366-9333 Office • 407-366-4900 Fax www.thefeltham-mcclurecompany.com

Veneer Lathe Service - All makes, models and peripherals for all end products.

Installation, Laser Alignments, Retrofits, Rebuilds and Troubleshooting Peel Problem Troubleshooting and Rectification Lathe Training Seminars - Operational and Maintenance Representing: DEMCO Manufacturing, Inc. 9926

SEARCH NORTH AMERICA, INC. IT'S YOUR MOVE...

FOREST PRODUCTS RECRUITING SINCE 1978

The Jobs You Want — The People You Need

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The Feltham-McClure Co., Inc.

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Custom search & recruitment services for the complete range of composite panel and related careers in the U.S., Canada and Europe. www.olsonsearch.com

4231

jon@olsonsearch.com

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CONTACT CARL JANSEN AT 541-593-2777 OR Carlj@SearchNA.com

Top Wood Jobs Recruiting and Staffing George Meek geo@TopWoodJobs.com www.TopWoodJobs.com (360) 263-3371

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EVENTS JULY

APRIL 2020

17-20 • AWFS Fair 2019, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV. Call 800-946-2937; visit awfsfair.org.

10-11 • Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo, Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; e-mail dianne@hattonbrown.com; visit bioenergyshow.com.

SEPTEMBER 4-6 • Wood & Bioenergy Exhibition, Conference and Fair Centre Paviljonki, Jyväskylä, Finland. Visit puumessut.fi/en.

15-19 • American Wood Protection Assn. Technical Committee meeting, Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage, Alaska.

Call 205-733-4077; visit awpa.com.

OCTOBER 6-8 • Composite Panel Assn. Fall meeting, Grand Hyatt Regency, Denver, Colo. Call 703-724-1128; visit composite panel.org.

12-16 • Intermob, Tüyap Fair Convention and Congress Center, Istanbul, Turkey. Call +90 212 867 11 00; visit intermobistanbul.com/en.

NOVEMBER 2-5 • APA-Engineered Wood Assn. annual meeting and Engineered Wood Technology Assn. Info Fair, JW Marriott Star Pass, Tucson, Ariz. Call 253-565-6600; visit apa wood.org.

DECEMBER 3-6 • Woodex, Crocus Expo, Moscow, Russia. Visit woodexpo.ru/en-GB.

FEBRUARY 2020 4-5 • Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Assn. 2020 Convention & Expo, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, Indianapolis, Ind. Call 317-288-0008; visit ihla.org.

27-March 2 • IndiaWood 2020, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bangalore, India. Call +91-80-4250 5000; visit indiawood.com.

MARCH 2020 10-13 • Fimma-Maderalia 2020, Feria Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Visit fimma-maderalia.feriavalencia.com/en.

panelworldmag.com

12-13 • Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 800-669-5613; visit pelice-expo.com.

MAY 2020 1-2 • Expo Richmond 2018, Richmond Raceway Complex, Richmond, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit exporichmond.com.

Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.

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This issue of Panel World is brought to you in part by the following companies, which will gladly supply additional information about their products.

ADVERTISER

Altec Integrated Solutions Argos Solutions Asta Chemicals Biele Automation Process Brunner Hildebrand Chemisol Italia SRL CMC-Texpan Combilift Corvallis Tool Custom Engineering Dieffenbacher GmbH Fezer Fusoni Grecon Hashimoto Denki Hexion Imal S.R.L IMEAS S.P.A. INTEC Engineering GmbH Intermob Istanbul 2019 Johnson & Pace Limab Lonza Wood Protection Meinan Machinery Works Metal Detectors Mid-South Engineering Nondestructive Inspection Service Pal S.R.L Peninsular Cylinder Progressive Systems Raute Wood Roo Glue Siempelkamp Gmbh Signode Packaging Systems Southern Environmental Stela Laxhuber GmbH Sweed Machinery Taihei Machinery Works U S Metal Works USNR Westmill Industries Willamette Valley Woodtech Measurement Solutions

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