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TA K I N G

STOCK

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PANDEMIC FELT BAD, PROFITS FELT GOOD

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iven that Panel World is published six times per year, the November issue before your eyes represents the final issue of 2021. I’ve read through the six issues and pulled a few highlights of what went on in the panel world in 2021 as reported by Panel World. Actually, given that as I write this it’s only October 5, let’s call it a fiscal year dating back to October 2020. —West Fraser purchased Norbord and its 15 OSB mills, one MDF plant and two particleboard facilities for $3.1 billion. —Alex Hunt, Jr., who formed Hunt Plywood and Hunt Forest Products in Ruston, La., and before that oversaw Willamette’s operations in the South, died November 17, 2020 at age 90. —After an impressive rise through most of pandemic-ridden 2020, structural panel prices shot through the roof. —Great Plains MDF announced it selected a site in Kneehill County, Alberta for building a wheat-straw based MDF plant. —Ben Crim retired as VP of Engineering & Environmental Management at Hood Industries. —Longtime Valon Kone representative and former part owner of Valon Kone U.S., Jerry Gordon, died at age 82. —RoyOMartin celebrated 25 years of operation at its softwood plywood mill in Chopin, La. —APA—The Engineered Wood Assn. named Mark Tibbetts as president, succeeding retiring Ed Elias. —Many forest products companies reported record sales and profit in the second quarter. —Go Lab, Inc. relocated a wood fiber insulation board plant from Germany to Madison, Maine. —Huber Engineered Woods announced plans to build an OSB facility in Cohasset, Minn. —Ligna cancelled its September show, which had been rescheduled from May, and said it would wait to do the next one in May 2023.

—Ashlee Cribb moved from her VP roles at Roseburg Forest Products and became Vice President, Wood Products, at PotlatchDeltic Corp. —Mercer International, based in Vancouver, BC, purchased the bankrupt Katerra CLT business for $50 million through a bidding process. —Charlie Hamilton, who helped to build and run Fulton, Ala.-based Scotch Plywood’s three veneer/plywood mills, died on July 18 at age 83. —RoyOMartin announced it would build an OSB plant adjacent its current one at Corrigan, Texas. —CalPlant I, which produced its first rice straw-based MDF at its new mill in Willows, Calif. late last year, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy with intentions to sell the company. —Godfrey Forest Products and its proposed OSB plant in Winslow, Ariz. was one of the bidders for a large national forest timberlands stewardship contract in Arizona, but the Forest Service cancelled the process before awarding the bid. —Panel World’s cover stories during 2021 were Coastal Plywood at Havana, Fla.; Katerra CLT in Spokane, Wash.; Egger’s new particleboard and lamination facility in Lexington, NC; Swiss Krono’s new particleboard and lamination facility in Barnwell, SC; Timber Products Co.’s veneer operation at Yreka, Calif.; and Hardel Mutual Plywood’s operation at Chehalis, Wash. PW

RICH DONNELL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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(Founded as P l y w o o d & P a n e l in 1960—Our 511th consecutive issue) VOLUME 62 NO. 6

NOVEMBER 2021

Visit our web site: www.panelworldmag.com

WHAT’S NEW Flying Panel Saw

CLIPPINGS Egger At Lexington SCOTCH PLYWOOD Waynesboro Is Rising Up

TAKING STOCK The Year Gone By

UPDATE OSB In Arizona?

GEO DIRECTORY Veneer/Panel Suppliers

PANELWORKS Classified Advertising

PROJECTS LVL In Finland

WVCO New Wax Facility

SUPPLY LINES Nestec’s President

COVER: A new veneer drying line is adding even more efficiencies and capabilities at Hardel Mutual Plywood’s massive facility in Chehalis, Wash. Story begins on PAGE 18. (Dan Shell photo)

DRYER ISLAND New Technologies Abound

EVENTS Meeting In-Person

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UPDATE

CAL PLANT I REGROUPS, SALE IS POSSIBLE alPlant I, LLC, which took 25 years to develop and build a rice strawC based medium density fiberboard plant

straw-based MDF, a product line which it eventually started calling “Eureka.” “We are confident that leveraging the benefits of the Chapter 11 process will allow us to emerge with a stronger financial structure that enables us to continue leading the manufacturing industry with innovative sustainable MDF,” Wagner adds. The company states it has secured commitments for up to $30.1 million in Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) financing from certain of the company’s senior bondholders to support the business during the Chapter 11 process. Subject to court approval, CalPlant estimates that substantially all trade vendors who will

and produce its first board late last year in Willows, Calif., has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and intends to conduct a court-supervised sale process. The company has entered into a Plan Support Agreement (PSA) with its senior bondholders, which provides for a comprehensive financial restructuring of the company’s debt and the investment resources to complete the commissioning of the manufacturing facility en route to the sale of the operation. The company states it will continue to operate without disruption to its vendors, customers or employees, and will have sufficient liquidity to meet its financial obligations throughout the restructuring process. Jeffrey Wagner, Cal Plant Executive Chairman, comments, “The road to fully commissioning our plant has not been smooth. We started commissioning our facility in early March 2020, then the pandemic hit. Suddenly, the usual challenges and delays as- The rice straw MDF plant continues to make improvements. sociated with a startup were compounded with navigating a have an ongoing business relationship startup using first-of-its-kind technology with the company will be paid for goods during a global pandemic. Still, our team and services in the normal course of busiremained dedicated, resilient and ready ness without interruption. to pivot to continue our momentum toCalPlant expects that the deadline to wards completion.” submit qualified binding bids will be esCalPlant is located in the Sacramento tablished at a later date pursuant to bidValley, an area estimated to have an anding and sale procedures to be approved nual quantity of more than 1.5 million by the court. tons in rice straw waste. Once operating CalPlant and its predecessor compaat full capacity, the company expects to ny, CalAg, LLC, spent many years and process around 280,000 tons of otherwise millions of dollars researching, developnon-recyclable rice straw from its suring and patenting a process to make rounding regions per year to produce high-quality MDF using annually renew150MMSF of MDF product. The pioable rice straw as the feedstock, the disneering operation was founded upon posal of which had posed environmental eliminating the need for post-harvest issues in California for decades. The flooding, thus reducing water usage and post-harvest rice straw was burned at a methane emissions, en route to becoming nominal cost to farmers until California the world’s first commercial-scale manubanned the burning due to air quality facturer of no-added-formaldehyde, rice concerns, leading to greater expense for

farmers to dispose of the straw. CalPlant secured it raw material needs by executing long-term fixed price rice straw supply contracts. The project went through a series of unsuccessful efforts to pull together funding, and then in June 2017 closed the deal with $92 million in equity from a small consortium of investors and $225 million in tax-exempt bonds issued via the California Pollution Control Financing Authority and subsequently sold to qualified institutional investors. Following a separation with the initial general contractor, CalPlant began coordinating with machinery manufacturer Siempelkamp to complete construction of the plant, including the installation of a ContiRoll continuous press 10 ft. x 117 ft. However, in addition to scheduling issues caused by the pandemic, the plant ran into issues in the refiner system, according to a bankruptcy declaration by the company. The mill reportedly continues to wrestle with some front end issues but the remainder of the plant is reportedly running well, while areas of operation continue to be optimized or modified. “Plant acceptance” may be achieved early next year, but full operating capacity is not anticipated for a while. A source close to the operation reports the mill produced 3MMSF (3⁄4 in. basis) in September but struggled with uptime, averaging 40-45%. As of early October it had 700 truckloads in the market and the board is said to be performing well in the applications in which it is being used. Reaching 8MMSF monthly at year end is a possibility and could entice an investor or industry company to come in and ramp it up to its full potential. The inventory of straw on the yard is said to be substantial. A May monthly bondholder report pointed to lack of available liquidity and increased expenses such as with MDI resin. The project had taken on additional funding beyond the original financing. Reports of non-payment of scheduled interest began surfacing late last year. PW

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UPDATE

OSB MILL STILL POSSIBLE IN ARIZONA

stounding. It was a surprise for sure,” comments John ”A Godfrey, principal of Godfrey Forest

administrative withdrawal? How does the FS replace those resources and how are Phase 2 investors to be placated or compensated? The FS statement added, “It is in the best interest of the Government to thoroughly reassess the requirement so that any new solicitation issued would better address all risks to offerors and the

Products, after the U.S. Forest Service (FS) abruptly cancelled the Phase 2 Request for Proposal (RFP) process in mid-September, just when it appeared the agency was about to award the winning bid on a 20-year, 520,000 acres stewardship contract. The Phase 2 contract was part of the 4 Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI) seeking to treat and improve forest health conditions on more than 2.5 million acres across four Arizona national forests while establishing serious wood products manufacturing and biomass processing infrastructure. Godfrey’s bid, apparently one of two in serious contention, included the construction of an 850MMSF oriented strandboard plant in Winslow, Ariz. Godfrey has developed several OSB facilities through the years, including Highland Forest Products in Arizona wants to build up its wood products industry. Scotland, Eagle Forest Products in New Brunswick, and even dating back to the late 1970s and a co-development arrangement with Louisiana-Pacific at an OSB mill in Maine, in addition to ventures in renewable wood energy. The Forest Service cited “performance risk” concerns as a reason for the cancellation. The Phase 2 contract award announcement had been delayed several times since 2019 due to 13 contract modifications including reductions in total stewardship acreage from as high as 800,000 acres during initial discussions. Biomass is a huge part of the 4FRI equation. An FS release on the cancellation says, “The requirements for meeting the Government, including financial and inrestoration objectives (as currently devestment risks.” fined in the RFP) are not reasonably “On the other hand,” Godfrey adds, aligned to industry needs. In addition, “dealing with the Forest Service or any significant financial and investment risks large bureaucracy you should be fully remain which ultimately represents a perprepared for a surprise.” formance risk to the Government.” Gofrey remains committed to the proIn so many words, over a 20-year peject and he believes the Forest Service riod what happens if FS timberlands remains committed to forest restoration. dedicated to the project are somehow “They are not going to rest. They’re made unavailable due to fire damage or also under tremendous pressure,” God-

frey says. “They’ll come forward with a new mechanization or proposal, but just what remains to be seen. It can’t be that nothing happens. I think they will pick up quite promptly and try and get something done. I’m not giving up my site.” In addition to a site for the plant, Godfrey’s OSB project has completed an engineering design, preliminary air work, and he has a number of contractual relationships lined up. “It’s a great place to build a mill,” he says. “It’s in the middle of a big market. It’s also meaningful to be part of forest restoration, fire reduction and preserving the water supply. There’s no reason to throw this away. If it takes another year then that’s what it takes.” The Forest Service stated its reassessment may include further modifications in “Economic Price Adjustment requirements; acreage and volume of material to be offered; biomass treatment requirements; road maintenance requirements; and cancellation ceiling.” News of the cancellation brought outcries from several stakeholders, including politicians and others. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and other elected officials slammed the decision, citing the federal government’s inability to step up to address wildfire risks and protect Arizona communities. Subsequently, the Forest Service commented in late September that it would indeed go back to work on a new proposal including an RFP or other options and approaches to complete the stewardship work. “Our critical work will continue with the goal of increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration across the 4FRI landscape,” the agency said, adding that the cancellation of the 4FRI Phase 2 RFP does not affect any ongoing forest restoration or fuels reduction work, including stewardship agreements in place and plans to issue new timber sales in 2022. “Starting with the 4FRI Stakeholders Group (SHG) and continuing with the

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UPDATE

Natural Resource Working Group (NRWG) we have discussed what we’ve all learned and how we can integrate it for success,” the agency stated. “We have already received clear feedback from our partners and industry to move forward rapidly and we will,” noting forthcoming roundtables, meetings and discussions “leading to a new proposal.” The Phase 2 setback continues a tough run for the 4FRI effort: Phase 1, initially awarded in 2012 then transferred in 2013 to its current owner NewLife Forest Restoration (formerly Good Earth Power), and including 300,000 acres over 10 years, has been hampered due to lack of logging and conversion capacity and is just now appearing to turn the corner on infrastructure needs while the number of acres actually treated remains well below initial projections. NewLife, which is in the process of installing a sawmill at Bellemonte, Ariz., was apparently the other major bidder for the Phase 2 contract. There was some speculation that both Godfrey’s and NewLife’s bids would be

partially or fully awarded. A big sticking point in operating the Phase 1 contract (and the same for Phase 2) is a lack of biomass markets in the state, while the overall 4FRI will require producing mountains of the lowquality material. There’s only one dedicated biomass power producer in Arizona, Novo Power, which has been involved in utilizing material produced in ongoing forest health operations in the White Mountains area, but at 24 MW can only process so much. Novo Power, operating at Snowflake, Ariz., participated in both the sawmill and OSB bids to take the biomass resulting from the two mills. “I was stunned by the cancellation,” comments Novo Power President Brad Worsley. “I knew that there was always a possibility of cancellation but the stated reasons for cancellation were true a year ago; the USFS should have cancelled then if the gap could not be bridged.” Novo Power has less than two years remaining on its current PPAs. “At this point we need resolution on our PPAs so

that we can move forward, invest and maintain the critical employee base that we have today,” Worsley says. “We will support whatever comes in the future but our future needs certainty now.” For Novo Power the Phase 2 RFP represented a stranglehold on collaboration. “Meetings between state and federal agencies, industry and NGOs became nearly impossible without undermining the integrity of the RFP and so many of the collaborative efforts died on the vine,” Worsley says. “It has also been a reminder of the disrespect shown to current industry. We all want a new shiny industry member but we put at risk the current industry, and in the end we are still the ones here and doing the work at the end of this very painful RFP process.” Funding for forest health and forest fire prevention programs and contracts is included the Biden administration $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that has passed the U.S. Senate and is before the House of Representatives, and some of that funding would be bound for the naPW tional forests in Arizona.

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UPDATE

WKO ACQUIRES SDS LUMBER

SDS Lumber, including its sawmill and plywood mill at Bigen, Wash., is part of an acquisition involving three purchasing entities. Seattle-based Twin Creeks Timber, LLC, The Conservation Fund, and Carson, Wash.-based Wilkins, Kaiser & Olsen, Inc. (WKO) are acquiring SDS Lumber and Timber Companies. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. Included in the transaction are the lumber and plywood mills and associated assets in Bingen, and more than 96,000 acres of timberland with environmental and community importance near the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon.

SDS began manufacturing veneer and plywood in 1956.

SDS Lumber was established in 1946 by Wally and Bruce Stevenson and Frank Daubenspeck on the banks of the Columbia River in Bingen. They incrementally grew the business from one small green lumber mill by adding a plywood mill, a boiler with electricity generation, dry kilns, a whole log chipping mill and several versions of sawmill upgrades. Steady growth and reinvestment into the mill and the continual accumulation of timberlands made SDS Lumber Co. a driving force and major employer in the Columbia Gorge community. “We are pleased to reach an agreement with this group of organizations. Each of these entities brings deep expertise,” comments Jeff Webber, president of SDS Lumber Companies. “Under their ownership and leadership there will be ongoing positive economic and environmental impacts for Bingen, the Gorge and the entire Northwest.”

The SDS board went through a oneyear process to evaluate a transition and sale of the company. WKO will acquire and operate the Bingen mills and its related divisions under its newly formed subsidiary, Mt. Adams Forest Products. WKO operates a modern sawmill and planer mill with boiler and dry kilns, specializing in high quality kiln dried dimension lumber at Carson, while its affiliated company Mt. Hood Forest Products operates a Douglas fir dimensinon sawmill near Hood River, Ore. Between the two mills, production exceeds 300MMBF annually. “On behalf of our companies, I’d like to share how excited we are to acquire SDS Lumber,” says Bill Wilkins, CEO of WKO. “We have deep roots in Washington and Oregon and know well the positive legacy of SDS. We look forward to welcoming employees into our organizations, and shaping the future of these facilities.” Green Diamond Resource Co., manager and investor in Silver Creek Capital Management’s Twin Creeks Timber, LLC, will acquire and manage the majority of the timberland as working forests to support the local economy while upholding their long-standing practice of forest stewardship. “We want to ensure these timberlands will continue to provide economic and ecological benefits for generations to come,” says Douglas Reed, president of Green Diamond Resource Co. The Conservation Fund will acquire a portion of the SDS properties and manage the conservation easement process and community engagement to ensure that lands with the highest natural, climate and com munity values are conserved. Larry Selzer, CEO of The Conservation Fund comments, “We believe the SDS timberlands represent a once in a lifetime opportunity to demonstrate the balance of conservation and economic sustainability, and we will bring all of our accumulated forestry and real estate skills, our financial strength, and our operating success to this effort.”

ROSEBURG MOVES FORWARD IN WEST

Roseburg Forest Products announced the closure of its 56-year-old particleboard plant in Dillard, Ore. as part of a

larger strategic reorganization of the company’s Western operations. That plan includes a multi-million dollar investment in new technology at its other Western plants to update and automate processes and further improve safety. The Dillard plant employed 179. Roseburg leaders have met with crew members to inform them that each would be provided a position opportunity with Roseburg. “We know that our team members were anxious about their future, so wanted to ease that anxiety as best we can at this point,” says Kellye Wise, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Labor. “Our hope is that this messaging provides affected team members with some assurance as we work with the union to create smooth transitions.” The multi-million dollar investment plan in the West follows an an extensive analysis of strategic business opportunities in the West. “The analysis led to the decision to close Dillard Composites and look toward the investment, growth and continued modernization of our Western integrated business model,” Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulbery comments. “The coming investment in automated technology will create a more competitive business and allow us to maintain a robust, long-term presence in Douglas County, the state, and the industry as a whole.” The company continues to manufacture particleboard at its plants in Missoula, Mont.; Simsboro, La.; and Taylorsville, Miss.

NEW LIFE STARTS UP EWP OPERATION

NewLife Forest Restoration has ramped up production at its new engineered wood products plant in Bellemont, Ariz., while also increasing forest restoration work in service of its 4 Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) Phase 1 Forest Service stewardship contract that seeks to thin and treat more than 300,000 acres at risk of wildfire on the Kaibab, Coconino, Apache-Sitgreaves and Tonto national forests. At Bellemont, the operation is currently processing low grade cants into 1 in. lumber that’s chopped and fingerjointed and a portion is edge-glued and/or face-glued, while using structural

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UPDATE

and non-structural glues depending on the application, according to Ted Dergousoff, CEO of NewLife. They are presently using cants because the sawmill with log breakdown hasn’t been built yet. The EWP operation is part of a much larger 425,000 sq. ft. formerly vacated facility (10 acres under one roof) that New Life purchased in 2020. It will be divided into three sections—one for the currently operating EPW plant, and the other two for the sawmill and planer mill to be built. Dry kilns will also be located on the grounds. The operation has rail access and is situated on I-40. NewLife reports it has designed the scale of the plant to accommodate upgrading products, not just from its own mills, but also from other operators in the area. In this way, many parties can work together on forest restoration, enabling the industry to scale up in the state. Dergousoff expects NewLife’s multiple operations to be fully built by the end of 2022. The sawmill will have an annu-

al production capacity of 120MMBF, 100% ponderosa pine, with emphasis on boards (both solid and engineered) and low grade specialty solid items. The sawmill will handle a mix of large and small logs, and its plan to maximize value will help offset costs incurred processing and handling the large amounts of biomass the contract is generating. Awarded the Phase 1 contract in 2013, NewLife (formerly known as Good Earth Power) had struggled initially considering the state’s timber infrastructure had almost disappeared following federal timber sale cutbacks in the 1980s and ’90s, and the company was starting from scratch in setting up harvesting and processing capacity. NewLife had initially planned a greenfield sawmill at a site in Williams, Ariz., but switched to Bellemont after a large former paper products finishing industrial building became available. NewLife reports it has tripled the size of its forest restoration operations in light of these developments with three

forest thinning crews now active and a fourth crew mobilizing. Each crew is capable of restoring 2,000-2,500 acres per year. NewLife plans to gradually increase to 25,000-plus acres of restoration capacity over the next 18-24 months as it completes installations at Bellemonte. The 4FRI is a groundbreaking forest health effort seeking to reduce wildfire risk on 2.4 million acres across four Arizona national forests. NewLife was one of the bidders on a a larger Phase 2 contract covering the restoration of 520,000 acres over 20 years, but the Forest Service recently cancelled the Phase 2 proposal process citing various investment and financial concerns. However, the Forest Service has since stated it is moving forward toward another proposal process. “I do think that the only way that forest restoration can work is with a vertically integrated process,” Dergousoff says, emphasizing NewLife’s capabilities “to make it all work in unison with a goal to maximize value.”

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UPDATE

PELICE ADDS KEYNOTERS, EXHIBITORS

rganizers of the eighth Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) have announced a parO tial list of keynote speakers for the event, which will be held

Thursday-Friday, March 31 to April 1, 2022 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Keynoters signing on early include Scott Poole, president and chief operating officer of Louisiana-based RoyOMartin. He’ll talk about confronting the less than predictable variables in today’s business environment, and will also address the construction progress of the company’s second OSB plant at the site in Corrigan, Texas. Jake Elston, senior vice president of Operations at Oregonbased Roseburg Forest Products, will discuss the company’s growth through geographic diversification, including project development and timberlands acquisition on the Eastern side of the U.S.

Wedig Graf Grote, chief operating officer of Swiss Krono USA, will speak about the successful evolvement through the pandemic of the new MDF facility in Barnwell, SC and address Swiss Krono’s enhanced position in North America and worldwide. Doug Pauze, president of Coastland Wood Industries, will address the company’s continuing expansion in British Columbia and trends in veneer-plywood markets. No building products conference is complete without an economics forecast, and Roger Tutterow, highly esteemed director of the Econometric Center and Professor of Economics and Kennesaw State University, will provide his insights and forecasts on the economic, business and political climate, including recent implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several additional keynoters will be announced in the coming weeks. “This promises to be a great event and one of the first in-perExhibitor Information: E-mail fredkurpiel@gmail.com

son conferences coming out of the pandemic,” comments Rich Donnell, co-chairman of PELICE and editor-in-chief of Panel World magazine. “You’ll recall the last PELICE started up right as the pandemic hit in spring 2020. A lot will have happened in the two years between the events, and PELICE will discuss all of it. There’s also been quite a bit of personnel movement in the meantime and it will be good to catch up with everyone.” In addition, PELICE will include numerous technical sessions encompassing subjects such as: Air Emissions Control; Resins & Wax; Veneer & Plywood Technologies (Green & Dry); Greenfield & Brownfield Project Planning & Implementation; Quality Control through Board Scanning & Analysis; Fire Prevention & Suppression; Press Technologies & Components; Digital Capabilities & Integration; New Normal Supply Chain. A special session will address Cross-Laminated Timber—Where It Stands Today. The number of exhibitor sponsors for PELICE had already reached 65 by early October and nearly 100 exhibitor companies are ultimately expected to fill up the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Hotel. The exhibitor floor is located immediately adjacent the speakermeeting rooms. All PELICE exhibitors are either Gold, Silver or Bronze sponsors, and this PELICE has already signed on more Gold sponsors than any PELICE in history, with more expected. Gold sponsors thus far include Dürr Systems (Megtec), IPCO, TSI-Sigma Thermal, Dieffenbacher, Siempelkamp, Meinan Machinery, Cogent Industrial Technologies, Timber Products Inspection, Hexion, Raute, Biomass Engineering & Equipment and Georgia-Pacific Chemicals. A complete list of Gold, Silver and Bronze exhibitor sponsors can be viewed at www.pelice-expo.com. PELICE is hosted by Panel World magazine and Georgia Research Institute. Immediately preceding PELICE will be the seventh Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo on March 29-30 also in the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Hotel. Many PELICE exhibitors participate in both events because their products and technologies apply to both the panelboard and wood energy industries. PW Presentation Information: E-mail rich@hattonbrown.com

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NEW DRYER REDUCES HARDEL’S RELIANCE ON OPEN MARKET DRY VENEER Adding veneer drying capacity gives major plywood producer more process control. BY DAN SHELL

CHEHALIS, Wash. orking through a new dryer installation in 2020 was “perfect timing,” says Hardel Mutual Plywood General Manager Emanouel Piliaris, after the company started up a new USNR unit at the tail end of the spring 2020 COVID pandemic slowdown, and had the new machine ready to roll as the slowdown turned into some of the hottest forest products markets in history. The new dryer creates additional inhouse capacity for Hardel, one of the biggest plywood producers on the West Coast, with 164 press openings. In addition, the facility has more control of its manufacturing processes and is less reliant on dry veneer purchased on the open market. According to Piliaris, plant officials

storage issues and also is more expensive and harder to source in the winter months. Installed in spring 2020, the dryer started up in May last year and was running up to speed when prices and demand took off, reaching unprecedented highs this past summer. Piliaris remembers low order files and production in April and May. “Things picked up in June, then went through the roof,” he remembers with a smile. “And the dryer? What timing! We were very pleased with it.” The USNR dryer is a 4deck, 16-plus-3 section hot oil-heated unit that includes USNR’s new electric vacuum feeder with preload conveyor, X-lift elevator, and electric feeder accumulator that allow the dryer to handle 8-, 9- and 10-ft. sheets either 27 or 54 in. wide. Additional features for the dryer project are USNR’s automatic dryer exComplete USNR dryer line includes new veneer feeding haust control (ADEC) systechnologies. tem, cooler pressure balance system and patented nozzles. were looking to enlarge and upgrade its The installation includes a USNR Sedryer capabilities to avoid having to buy quoia Sentry moisture management as much dry veneer—sometimes up to system at outfeed. 30% of incoming raw material—because The dryer feeder uses an electric loadin addition to overall quality and consislift to maintain proper load height ahead tency concerns, dry veneer brings with it of the indexing tipple and can raise three

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stacks of veneer 54 in. wide by 8-, 9- and 10-ft. lengths up to 36 in. in height. Powered chains mounted on the top of the load-lift convey stacks of veneer into operating position from the fixed pre-load conveyor. The X-lift elevator chains are powered with an electric gear motor drive for rapid movement. Providing a convenient single point dryer exhaust discharge location, the ADEC system maximizes dryer thermal efficiency while automatically minimizing dryer exhaust volume under normal operating conditions. The ADEC system includes a wet end seal (mixing chamber) for collecting and sampling gas flow from the first heated section. The wet end exhaust duct is fitted with hot oil heaters that provide a temperature boost to the wet end seal exhaust flow. This minimizes pitch buildup in the exhaust treatment duct. The USNR cooler pressure balance system automatically maintains equal pressure between the last heated dryer section and first cooling section, reducing the flow of heated air into the cooling section, and reducing the flow of cooler air into the heated dryer. Depending on veneer temperature exiting the cooler, the fan in the cooling sections is automatically adjusted faster or slower. This results in less pitch buildup in the dryer and maximum thermal efficiency. The new dryer’s patented nozzles feature a rectangular and tapered design, with larger area at the open end that connects to the air supply chamber and a smaller area at the closed end. The nozzles are flanged and allow all the re-circulating air to pass through them. Specially designed nozzle orifices allow high velocity air to uniformly impinge vertically on the veneer. The Sequoia Sentry moisture detection and dryer management control system has a moisture detection range of 2%-35% and uses both veneer temperature and thickness in calculating moisture levels in real time, sheet-by-sheet. Piliaris notes that since the dryer was added, grade consistency is better and the overall plant flow runs more efficiently by bringing more dry veneer production in-house. “We’re now able to dry 90% of our plant needs,” he adds. The new dryer complements the existing lineup of three USNR-Coe dryers—two 16 section units and a 20 section dryer, all 4-deck systems—for a current total of four. The dryer project follows the addition of a 24-opening 4x10 Raute overlay press in 2018 that allowed Hardel to ex-

Adding veneer drying capacity reduced several concerns.

Large employee ownership base helped to drive Hardel through the pandemic.

tend its large and diverse product line into sign panel and concrete form markets with MDO and HDO products. The plant now operates five presses total, with two 40-opening Spar-Tek and Coe presses (4x8 and 4x10) and two 5x10 30-opening Williams White and Spar-Tek presses in addition to the overlay press.

FUTURE Hardel Mutual Plywood is known for its employee ownership structure, with almost half its 280 employees owning shares in the company. Piliaris says the ownership dynamic has definitely made a difference as the plant worked its way through the pan-

demic in the past year-plus and into the future. “The employee ownership has definitely helped us because we’ve had very little absenteeism (during the pandemic),” he adds, noting that other producers—and employers of all kinds as well—have had trouble finding employees and filling out shifts. “We’ve been fortunate there,” Piliaris says. “Ownership is a big factor.” Looking ahead, Piliaris says there are plans to modernize some areas at the plant, with a new automated veneer patching line followed by an auto panel patching line scheduled to go on line in the next year. A new sander line is also in the works. “We’ve done that (upgraded) with the dryer, but we need to become more modern and efficient ➤ 22

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GM Emanouel Piliaris has guided Hardel for more than 30 years.

19 ➤ in several areas,” Piliaris says, noting the plant is looking to automate some of its entry level positions. “We’ve had some really good years, and we’re looking to put some money back into the plant,” he adds. One truly long-term project that Piliaris is soon to embark upon is developing a transition process to find his successor. With its employee ownership, Hardel is different than family-owned

or large corporate plants and operations where new executives may be more easily identified and cultivated. Piliaris has been GM at the plant since The operation added a Raute overlay press 1990 after starting there in 1981. He just in 2018. had his contract renewed for five years, but he’s begun making moves to find a put that in the article. Maybe someone successor, looking for a plant manager will call!” type, who might work alongside Piliaris Knowing Hardel’s success and posiseveral years while he reduces his role. tion in the market, it’s a good bet that PW Always upbeat, Piliaris says, “Hey, call will be made.

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SCOTCH PLYWOOD FOCUSES ON NEW MILL, LANDOWNER RELATIONS The company looks forward to business-as-usual following January fire at one of its veneer mills.

the logistical challenge of boosting production in another. The company needed to consider employee retention and maintaining relationships with landowners and customers, and what it would mean to not have a mill in eastern Mississippi to serve that part of the industry. Within 18 hours, company officials decided to rebuild at the same Waynesboro site and keep production moving by ramping up production of its veneer mill in Beatrice. Timber would be shipped an additional 120 miles from Mississippi east to Alabama. Employees would be bussed to and from work, daily. From the first days following the fire, the mission of the company was clear: to keep employees working, timber moving, land management intact, customers satisfied, landowners’ return on investment unaffected, and to ensure that every employee got home to their families. “Our greatest investment is in our people,” says Buddy Douglas, plant manager for Scotch Plywood. “They make it happen.” For the plant managers of Scotch, the well being of employees and their families, and the future of the surrounding community outweighed the logistical struggles. Running a mill roundthe-clock, they knew, would involve reducing some of the regularly scheduled maintenance that is vital to a mill running at its normal production hours. The challenge Not long after the January fire, Scotch is managing costs. Plywood chose to rebuild. Not pushing the Beatrice mill to its maximum output was not an option, not with Waynesboro employees needing to work to support their families. With two charter busses, 12-hour days, and 12,000 tons of logs processed weekly, the Beatrice mill has continued to thrive. Meanwhile as of midSeptember, working around major rains and storms, Scotch Plywood Co. was pouring concrete at Waynesboro in preparation for building erection with key pieces of machinery on site in anticipation of a spring 2022 startup. While production em-

WAYNESBORO, Miss, mill fire is a devastating event on multiple levels and the January 6 fire that destroyed the Scotch Plywood Company veneer facility in Waynesboro was no exception. The fire occurred while the mill was in operation, and every on site employee, many of whom helped fight the fire, was accounted for and found unharmed. Except for a few pieces of equipment saved by the firefighters, the blaze resulted in a total loss of the mill, one of three Scotch owns, including a veneer mill at Beatrice, Ala. and a softwood plywood mill near the corporate office in Fulton, Ala. But before the smoldering embers cooled, leadership was moving forward. Aside from the concern for employee safety in Waynesboro, the group had to come to terms with the disruption in production of one mill and

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Mid-September shows substantial progress despite bouts of severe weather.

ployees have been bussed back and forth to Beatrice since the fire, the maintenance employees have been rebuilding the mill. Production and recovery should seen an enhancement with new technology that will include an Altec lathe and XY charger, USNR-remanufactured clipper along with USNR clipper scanner and controls, and Raute stackers. A landscape timber machine is also in the mix.

TIMBERLANDS Scotch Plywood is more than just a place to sell timber, which is why there was a natural concern for landowners across the region following the Waynesboro fire. Beyond taking the trees and processing them into plywood, Scotch is an end-to-end solution for landowners. It’s a reputation and an expectation Scotch has built through a history that dates back to the late 19th century. Long known for timberlands and lumber manufacturing, Scotch started up the first plywood mill east of the Mississippi River in August 1965. As demand increased for plywood, Scotch expanded its timber procurement area by constructing the veneer mill with a log yard 60 miles west in Waynesboro in 1969. As demand continued to increase for plywood, Scotch looked east

to expand and started up the veneer mill in Beatrice in 1979, about 60 miles from the Fulton plywood mill. Meanwhile, in addition to operating the plywood and veneer business, Scotch continued to enhance its timberlands activities and services. Today the Scotch companies and their owners manage 460,000 acres in Alabama and Mississippi. In total, the group oversees 24 logging crews, employs 28 foresters and technicians, and manages multiple wood dealerships. Through its land management company, Scotch provides forestry expertise that many companies don’t offer. With the loss of Waynesboro, it was possible that Scotch would be too focused on its Beatrice mill to continue to service landowners from Waynesboro. For generations, Scotch has helped large landowners not only sell and market their timber but has provided expertise in site preparation, seedling genetics, burning, thinning, logging, road building, land acquisition, and applying management best practices to ensure the land is cared for. Therefore, a major priority for Scotch was to reassure these landowners, many who have been with Scotch from the original handshake, that they were committed as always. As a complete solution for its large landowner partners, Scotch has deep

expertise with boots on the ground when it comes to how well it knows the market, and how many vendor relationships it maintains around the region. For David Hall, President and CEO of Hall Timberlands, Scotch’s response to the fire at Waynesboro confirmed what he already knew about the type of people at the company. As the largest landowner for Scotch in Mississippi, his family has been trusting Scotch to manage his family’s land and timber since 1976, and for the longest time did so without a formal contract. “These are two family-owned businesses, and we have a seamless relationship with Scotch,” Hall says. “We see ourselves as an extension of their operations and vice versa. We buy land knowing that Scotch will handle the management aspect of it and get it to the Alabama mill until Waynesboro is back online.” Because 60-70% of Hall Timberlands’ cuts go to Scotch, it was important for Hall to stay in the loop on everything that was happening with both the Waynesboro and Beatrice operations. “Sure, many might have considered alternate outlets for their timber,” Hall says. “But with Scotch, we have the security of knowing that the ROI is coming.” Another large landowner in Mississippi, Harry Haney, also has enjoyed a

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Scotch Plywood is anticipating a spring startup at Waynesboro.

long-term partnership with Scotch Land Management that began in the mid1980s with a word-of-mouth contract. Together, the two companies have developed tremendous trust for each other and have worked on annual harvests of Haney’s 43-year-old plywood logs. In addition to forest management, Scotch has assisted Haney with the purchase of approximately one-third of his current land inventory. “A land owner needs a land management company they can trust,” Haney says. “They didn’t hesitate to reassure me

that they would rebuild.” Because of its economic impact, Scotch Plywood, like many mills across the Southeast, has a huge effect on the surrounding region. In the case of Waynesboro, Mississippi, it is estimated that Scotch’s influence stretches upwards of 100 miles in every direction from where it will emerge from the ashes. The decision to renew and retool the facility will have enduring implications beyond the employees who will ultimately resume their shifts in Waynesboro. The eastern Mississippi region also

is home to truckers, gas station owners, truck service companies, and retail outlet managers who depend upon the supply chain economy to help them raise their families in this area of the state. Indeed, in just 18 hours after a total loss, the resilient leaders of the Scotch Plywood Co. weren’t merely deciding to rebuild a single mill, but enhancing an entire way of life for many who call this PW area home. Photos and article supplied by Scotch Plywood, as written by Stamp Ideas for Forest Landowner magazine.

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PROJECTS PWL PLANS VENEER DRYING UPGRADES

Pacific Wood Laminates is investing in a comprehensive update to its veneer production facility in Brookings, Ore. Working around a fixed steam capacity, USNR’s solution involves a highly complex, complete dryer replacement

along with major system upgrades to existing equipment that will raise production levels across the board. Pacific Wood Laminates currently has three dryers in this facility; one dryer will be replaced, with modifications to one other to more efficiently utilize available steam. These modifications will allow the plant to gain

more valuable production capacity and realign the product mix to suit evolving markets. The new USNR Longitudinal Dryer system includes a veneer feeder and dryer infeed, right angle unloading system, grade line, and stacker system. The new grade line will utilize a Ventek GSc2000 grade scanner, Sequoia Sentry veneer moisture meter, complete controls system, and a 10-bin stacker to handle half and full sheets of veneer products. An existing dryer is receiving Automatic Dryer Efficiency Control (ADEC) in addition to Automatic Cooler Pressure Balance systems. These upgrades combined create a dramatically more efficient steam drying system to maintain balanced steam usage across the entire facility. Modifications to an existing Coe-brand dryer stacker will allow it to stack random width veneer as well as full sheets, offering the ability to run a more varied product mix through each dryer.

METSÄ ANTICIPATES NEW LVL FACILITY

Aanekoski bioproduct factory

Metsä Group is planning to construct a new Kerto LVL mill on its expanding mill area in Äänekoski, Finland. The final decision on the EUR 200 million investment is pending the completion of a local detailed plan for the area. The new Kerto LVL mill is expected to use around 375,000 m 3 of logs procured from Finland. According to plans, the production at the new mill will be mainly sold to customers in Europe and Asia. The market outlook is excellent for lightweight, environmentally friendly Kerto LVL products that speed up construction, especially in industrial prefabrication, modular construction and traditional project construction. The development of a hy32 • NOVEMBER 2021 • PanelWorld

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PROJECTS

brid element structure combining concrete and Kerto LVL products has also made good progress and will further boost demand. The annual Kerto LVL production capacity of the new mill, to be constructed in phases between 2022 and 2026, will be approximately 150,000 m 3. This means an increase of some

50% in Metsä Group’s current Kerto LVL production. The new mill would have a direct employment of 140. “As wood is the most environmentally friendly construction material, we believe that the demand for resource-efficient and high-quality Kerto LVL will continue to be strong,” says Ilkka Hämälä, President

and CEO of Metsä Group. Metsä Group has together with the city of Äänekoski initiated a local planning process with the target to expand the production of wood products at the Äänekoski integrated mill. A local detailed plan is under preparation for the approximately 150 hectare area that is located to the south of Metsä Group’s current mill site and is slated for industrial operations. There is a valid local master plan for the area, most of which is owned by Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group. The planning process is expected to run until early 2022.

STARWOOD PLANS FIBER PREP LINE Andritz has received a repeat order from Starwood Orman Urunleri Sanayi A.S. to supply the third complete fiber preparation system for its MDF production lines in negöl, Turkey. Startup is scheduled for the end of 2022. The scope of supply comprises a complete fiber preparation line, including the chip washing system and a pressurized refining system with a 64 in. refiner, type S2064, for superior fiber production at minimum energy consumption. The new system will process a mixture of pine and beech wood chips. Hüseyin Yildiz, Vice President at Starwood, says, “Close collaboration is the key. That is how we were so successful in our earlier projects with Andritz and why we are working with them again on our new project. We believe in teamwork, and Andritz is a reliable team member.” Andritz has provided extensive service work and continuous upgrades for all lines at the negöl site since 2014. Starwood is one of the largest industrial companies in Turkey and produces 2,000 m3 of MDF and 3,000 m³ of chipboard per day. The company is specialized in the production of thin MDF ranging from 1.5 to 8 mm. Starwood plays a major role as a furniture supplier in Turkey and in other countries in the Middle East.

DONGWHA ROLLS WITH ACACIA SPECIES Korean wood-based panel producer Dongwha is “very satisfied” with its new Siempelkamp plant after a record34 • NOVEMBER 2021 • PanelWorld

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breaking ramp-up curve. Only six weeks after the first board was produced, the plant was accepted by the customer—and it is already producing more than 20% above the output guaranteed in the contract. The plant is the first in Vietnam to process acacia, a challenging raw material in the production process. Dongwha operates a total of three wood-based panel plants made by Siempelkamp in Vietnam, all designed for the production of MDF. While two of them were built in the south of Vietnam in the greater Saigon area together with the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG), the new plant in Hanoi is the first direct investment of the Korean company in Vietnam. It is also the first plant in Vietnam ever to be targeted at the special raw material resources in the north of Vietnam. In the greater Hanoi area, the acacia tree species is widespread. It improves soil quality, filters pollutants and enriches the soil with nitrogen. The characteristics of acacia—durable, resistant, robust and yet flexible—make it attractive for the furniture industry. However, due to its demanding fiber geometry, this tree species presents challenges to panel producers. High press speeds and capacities have not been possible until now due to the high dust content of the fibers. Specialized in press concepts for the processing of challenging raw materials, Siempelkamp also mastered this project. After initial press operations with pine wood, the following ramp up phases with the raw material acacia led to results that exceeded all expectations. The special infeed geometry of the ContiRoll continuous press makes the decisive difference when processing acacia: The NEO press infeed with extended, highly flexible heating plate facilitates the deaeration of the mat in the press infeed and effectively prevents blowouts and steel belt damage even at high production speeds. This results in higher operational reliability of the line, higher line availability and significantly increased capacity of the overall line. The new MDF plant sets benchmarks not only as the first press for a special raw material but also with its length. The continuous press in the 8 ft. x 47.1 m format secures Dongwha the title “longest MDF press in Asia” for the second time—both supplied by Siempelkamp.

PROJECTS

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ISLAND EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted these editorial profiles and images to complement their advertisements placed elsewhere in this issue. Please refer to those advertisements for web site and contact information. All statements and claims are attributable to the companies.

BÜTTNER In 2007, Büttner expanded its product portfolio from dryer solutions for the panelboard industry, to complete dryer and energy plant systems for all biomass and wood-based material industries. This was realized with the acquisition of the Metso energy system division and results in several benefits for the customers. It’s not only the fact that since that time Büttner supplies dryer and energy systems from a single source with a combined engineering effort, which significantly reduces the design work. What is even more important is the reality that a completely integrated energy-dryer system concept was developed and implemented, to overcome the traditional concept of separate systems with the well-known battery limit disadvantages. A fully integrated energy-dryer system concept supplied by Büttner allows for significantly faster drying temperature adjustments needed for varying infeed moistures, better drying quality of the dried material, with regard to moisture variation BÜTTNER dryer island: complete dryer and energy plant from a and tolerance, and last, but not least, improved system emis- single source sions. The process of delivery, together with assembly and startup, has also become more efficient. From the process point of view, heat source and dryer system clearly belong together. As heat source Büttner offers two solutions—a multi-fuel suspension burner system, for fuels such as wood dust, gas and oil, as well as a step-grate furnace, for solid fuels like hog fuel, bark and wood trimmings. Both concepts can also be combined and allow for the utilization of the fuels in any combination and relation. For the step-grate furnace concept, course material injection or dust/gas suspension burners can be added. With such wet fuel for the grate and dry fuel are separated and individually combusted in a controlled manner. Both, course material injection, as well as dust/gas suspension burners can also be retrofitted to all existing furnaces respectively foreseen for a later installation. For engineered panelboard plants, Büttner also designs and supplies thermal oil and steam generation with the energy systems. Since 2007 in total 39 complete dryer and energy plants from a single source were supplied and commissioned worldwide. In order to intensify the presence and customer support in North America, Büttner started in 2021 the Buettner Energy and Drying Systems North America LLC in Charlotte, NC. From this new base customers receive direct and prompt support on all questions relating to the subject of dryers, burners and energy systems.

NESTEC NESTEC is a leading supplier of air emission control systems at wood products facilities, with systems installed on dryers, press vents, hammermills and pellet coolers. NESTEC technologies include regenerative thermal and catalytic oxidizers (RTOs, RCOs), wet electrostatic precipitators (WESPs), wet scrubbers and irrigated quench duct systems. NESTEC’s project capabilities include engineering, equipment supply, installation and startup services. NESTEC has turnkey project capabilities that provide customers with a single point of contact and streamlined project execution utilizing 3D design software and other modern applications and management systems. NESTEC is staffed with an experienced team of engineers and professionals that are focused on process expertise, demonstrated solutions and customer support. Its unique technologies combined with in-depth experience and valuable knowledge of the upstream processes make NESTEC a leader in wood products emission control systems. NESTEC has had tremendous recent growth and success in NESTEC is coming on strong with air emission control system the wood products industry. In just the past two years, NESTEC startups. 36 • NOVEMBER 2021 • PanelWorld

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has installed 11 complete RTO, RCO or WESP air emission control systems at wood panelboard and wood pellet plants. During that time, NESTEC has also completed 10 RTO and WESP system rebuilds, and upgrades of competitor supplied systems. Product development and technology advancements are taking place in the newly renovated NESTEC Research and Development Lab. Capabilities of this new lab include physical modeling and new product testing. This capability also allows analysis of existing installations for improvements in airflow, reduced energy consumption and solve difficult maintenance problems. The NESTEC field service team is staffed with experienced technicians located throughout the United States who understand wood products applications and the upstream processes. Our technicians are knowledgeable with all aspects of oxidation and WESP systems, including the following sub-components: PLC controls, fans, fuel trains and burners, RTO valves, transformer rectifiers, centrifuges, pumps, electrodes, etc. Services provided include routine inspections, startup and commissioning, operator training, energy audits, emergency support and spare parts sourcing. NESTEC, Inc. is a privately owned company located in Pen Argyl, Pa. with several remote offices throughout the United States.

RAUTE If achieving consistent veneer sheet quality is essential to the success of your plywood or LVL manufacturing operation, then the veneer drying process is critical to those quality assurance efforts. Overdrying veneer results in defects (such as cracking, splits and waviness) that can compromise the wood’s ability to hold glue. Underdrying veneer requires redrying or standing off the dried sheets to allow the moisture to equalize within each load. By contrast, optimally dried veneer is more easily manipulable and useful across a wide range of decorative and industrial applications. With the Veneer Drying Line R7, we’ve built upon our extensive legacy of veneer production innovation to create the Significant return on long-term investment with Raute R7 most efficient and robust solution of its kind on the market. For as long as our engineers have been designing drying line equipment, they’ve adhered to the philosophy that the best way to dry veneer is in a high-moisture environment. Doing so results in a more efficient drying process and significant improvements in veneer quality. We’ve collaborated closely with our customers in developing the Veneer Drying Line R7. That feedback has led to significant improvements to essential components such as floors, doors, jet boxes, heating solutions, and sealant cells. We’ve also increased capacity beyond what standard jet dryers offer and added deeper integration with our MillSIGHTS data collection and management information system. Operators who choose the Veneer Drying Line R7 can expect a significant return on their long-term investment, including a 10% boost in drying capacity and 15% in energy savings per m3 of produced veneer. The Veneer Drying Line R7 achieves this by directing between 25% and 30% more hot air to the surface of each veneer sheet. And, via meticulous rebalancing of air pressure within the dryer, we’ve also significantly reduced the amount of air exchange contributing to pitch buildup. Speak to one of our experts today to learn how Raute’s robust drying solutions can help you maximize the lifetime value of your entire veneer manufacturing line. If you’re interested in learning more about the Veneer Drying Line R7 solution—including the significant labor and maintenance cost savings it can deliver—scan this code with your mobile device’s camera to download an article on the topic from the Raute website.

USNR USNR’s Automatic Dryer Exhaust Control (ADEC) system significantly reduces the two most critical costs in drying veneer by decreasing dryer energy consumption and lowering exhaust treatment expenses. This, and the resulting productivity gains, coupled with improved veneer quality makes ADEC a powerful tool in optimizing veneer drying operations. l Single Point Exhaust Exhausting dryers at the lowest temperature point during the process dramatically improves the thermal efficiency of the dryer. Because the lowest temperature point (wet end of the process) also equates to a high level of moisture evaporation, a wet end seal section located at the infeed to the main dryer is one of the key design elements. This single point exhaust (SPE) feature allows the system to pull all the process air from the dryer into one region to be exhausted. Dryers equipped with the ADEC system have been shown to increase productivity, reduce thermal energy requirements, and reduce exhaust flow. Other manufacturers have attempted to emulate the benefits of ADEC but have failed to meet the functional PanelWorld • NOVEMBER 2021 • 37

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D RY E R

ISLAND simplicity and energy savings of this patented control. Results of adding an ADEC system to your dryer: —10-15% exhaust flow reduction —5-10% thermal energy reduction —8-10% productivity increase —ADEC reduces the amount of waste energy for a typical installation by 25% l Balanced Cooling Another key element to optimizing dryer operation is control of the cooler exhaust volume. The Automatic Cooler Pressure Balance system controls the pressure balance between the drying sections and the cooling sections of a dryer. This greatly reduces any flow of heated process air between drying and cooling sections, further improving the dryer’s thermal efficiency. It also reduces pitch buildup in the dryer and reduces VOCs in the exhaust stacks. Achieve greater benefit with Cooler Pressure Balance: —Improves control of dried veneer temperature USNR ADEC technology is currently operating in 22 plants on a mix —Reduces VOCs in the cooler vent of new and existing jet and longitudinal dryers. —Reduces pitch buildup in dryer and cooler sections —Further improves thermal efficiency The ADEC system is designed to automatically control total dryer exhaust volume, maximize thermal efficiency and maintain the absolute highest internal dryer humidity condition to produce very high-quality veneer.

WESTMILL Westmill recently installed a new 6-deck, gas-heated jet dryer line for West Fraser’s Edmonton, Alberta, Can. plywood plant. The new dryer is located immediately beside the plant’s other 6-deck Westmill jet dryer, installed back in 2005. The new 20-hot, plus 3-cooling section dryer incorporates many of Westmill’s dryer innovations. The dryer comes with the patented 2-PEX System, which provides unparalleled control of the humidity ratio along the entire dryer’s length improving drying efficiency and providing the best veneer quality possible. By incorporating separate extraction points at both ends of the dryer we can accurately control the humidity-migration and the humidity-ratio throughout the dryer, creating the perfect environment for drying veneer. The dryer infeed section includes Westmill’s new Infeed Westmill installs new 6-deck veneer dryer. Tipple that has eliminated hydraulic cylinders in favor of an electric linear actuator. The benefits of this system are an increase in sheet feed rate capacity (we can consistently maintain 22 feeds per minute) and increased feed accuracy, which results in reduced wood breakage and reduced downtime. The Infeed Vacuum Feeder features split plenums to feed up to 6 sets of half sheets (27s). The gas burner system was designed to reduce NOx emissions to meet stringent environmental emission standards. Many other dryer features help streamline maintenance. The Quick-Change Dryer Roll Baffles reduce the entire end-wall replacement from 16 hours to under 1 hour. The Bearing Vibration Monitoring System provides real-time monitoring of critical bearings to direct maintenance personnel to out of tolerance areas before they become failures that can cause significant downtime. Focus was given to safety considerations around the operation of the equipment to meet West Fraser’s stringent safety standards. Westmill’s design engineers worked with West Fraser’s safety team to anticipate, identify and control hazards during the equipment design phase. Additional guarding was added to infeed equipment to eliminate pinch points; safety beacons were put in place to warn operators from entering the dryer; the dryer doors were outfitted with a Door-handle Dampener system . We can report that a year into its operation, this dryer is meeting and exceeding production targets. Westmill Industries has been serving the plywood and veneer industry since 1975. Recognized as a world leader in veneer drying technologies, Westmill supplies new veneer drying systems, material handling equipment, as well as remodeling of existing dryers.

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D RY E R

DÜRR SYSTEMS (DÜRR MEGTEC)

ISLAND

Dürr Megtec is a global supplier of turnkey clean air solutions that meet stringent emissions regulations, improve process performance and protect thermal downstream equipment. The engineered wood products industry relies on Dürr Megtec for effective emissions control of particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from dryers and press vents. With thousands of systems installed worldwide in many process industries, we have the knowledge to provide an optimized solution engineered to meet specific needs. Our designs are modular, operator-friendly, and cleanable, including alkali-resistant ceramics and corrosion-resistant materials of construction to suit the application. Dürr Megtec is a single-source suppler offering optimized sys- Dürr Megtec air emissions control system at an OSB facility tems, including the Oxi.X RC regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) to control VOCs, combined with our Part.X PW wet electrostatic precipitator to remove sub-micron particulate and fumes from dryer and energy-system gas streams with unparalleled uptime and reliability. Wet scrubbers provide high-efficiency particulate removal for dryers, press vents, and energy systems, thereby preventing buildup on the connecting ductwork and downstream equipment. Our selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) DeNOx systems chemically reduce NOx to clean nitrogen gas and water. We also cost-effectively control particulate emissions and opacity with dry electrostatic precipitator (ESP) technology. We further confirm our commitment to the wood products industry with the availability of a pilot unit scrubber/wet ESP/RTO for testing process slipstreams to determine the optimal pre-filtration and RTO ceramic bed configuration. The Dürr Megtec aftermarket services team delivers right-from-the-source expertise. Our people are skilled in helping you maintain your equipment by recommending upgrades and rebuilds of your existing equipment, with the goal being to optimize its efficiency and performance, which reduces energy costs.

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WVCO CONTINUES TO PROVIDE INNOVATIVE WAX PRODUCTS, OPENS WAX PLANT IN LOUISIANA PINEVILLE, La. illamette Valley Company (WVCO) proudly points to its business model as standing on the pillars of dedicated service, high-quality products and state-of-the-art innovations to bring value to its customers. As an innovation driven company, WVCO has global expertise in 20-plus different technology platforms to bring value-added products to the forest-products, infrastructure, road repair, railroad, and even DIY consumer industries. Additionally, the WVCO PRE-TEC division provides engineering support, robotic integration, and metering and dispensing technology into these business sectors. OSB and LVL sealers, primers, inks, resin fillers and extenders, water-based putty, and synthetic patch products represent just a few of the offerings. And within the last six years, WVCO has added molten slack wax and water-based wax emulsions to that list. Wax emulsions are a primary and vital component in WVCO OSB and LVL sealer formulations—important enough for WVCO to enter into the wax emulsion manufacturing business, opening its first wax emulsion facility eight years ago in Lithonia, Ga. It gave WVCO the ability to ensure consistent quality and to custom formulate wax raw materials for optimal value and performance to continue to meet its customers’ needs. As the WVCO wax program grew, so did its product offerings. WVCO now supplies quality slack wax and wax emulsion products to several OSB, MDF and particleboard manufacturing facili-

WVCO’s Pineville wax plant is fully automated, bringing with it efficiency and consistency.

mitted to see its wax business as value-add. “Our vision in the wax world is the same vision we have for all our products: Innovation,” Livings emphasizes. “And with that we have a lot of projects we’re working on. We truly aim to bring the WVCO brand of innovation, service and technical support to a product and market that, for 70 years, has been about who can sell it the cheapest.” WVCO’s next big move in the wax manufacturing business is the opening of its new wax emulsion facility at Pineville. Livings continues, “The Pineville wax plant is an important step in the growth of our wax emulsion business, putting us in a better position to support our customer base, while providing redundancy to our entire operation.”

INNOVATIONS A key component of WVCO’s wax business is its commitment to its Research and Development (R&D) team. According to Dr. Sudip Chowdhury, Director of R&D, Pineville represents the company’s continued desire to bring novel products, technical know-how and customer support to the wood products industry. “WVCO’s R&D team members have strong backgrounds in polymer science, organic and analytical chemistry, wood and material sciences, and coatings formulations across a broad range of chemical platforms,” Dr. Running quality control checks on a wax emulsion Chowdhury says. “This batch—WVCO’s commitment to quality follows broad experience, paired every batch. with first-hand knowledge of industry needs from our technical ties outside of its own internal needs. sales teams, gives us the tools to dig Scooter Livings, technical sales lead for deeper into the wax chemistry. By unthe WVCO wax program, says they derstanding how waxes work on a went from a need to control the raw mamolecular level, we can then apply that terial, to branching out and hitting the knowledge to engineer wax products to open market with the goal of changing meet customer needs.” the market mindset—from one of lowest R&D Biomaterials Group Leader Dr. price to best value. Livings says WVCO Jesse Paris says there is a huge opportudoes not want to simply create another nity to innovate in the slack wax and commodity product, but instead is com-

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emulsion business, especially as it relates to the panel manufacturing market. Waxes are widely known to provide water resistance in panel products, according to Dr. Paris; however, there is an exciting opportunity to further refine that basic concept to optimize and incorporate new technologies to revitalize the wax emulsion business. This understanding begins with the science, Dr. Paris states, and relies on robust analytical capabilities. “No wax is the same as another; each has a unique composition of hydrocarbons, specifically as it relates to petroleumbased waxes that crystallize and volatilize differently based on their molecular components,” he says. “The water resistance, chemical functionality, melt and flow behavior, hardness and toughness, and volatility of a wax are all dictated by its chemical thumbprint. With our strong analytical capabilities, we are able characterize these structureproperty relationships, and formulate value into our products that goes beyond commodity wax.” R&D Wax Chemist Matt Peterson explains that they use GC-FID (Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector) to quantify hydrocarbon molecule weight distributions and morphology, and FT-IR (Fourier-Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy) to identify any other unique chemical functionality. From there, Peterson explains they conduct thermal analyses with DSC (differential scanning calorimetry), DMA (Dynamic Mechanical Analysis), and TGA (Thermal Gravimetric Analysis) to connect and relate those chemical fingerprints to a wax’s other physical properties. These fundamental molecular signatures are then correlated with performance in either WVCO sealer formulations or in particleboard or OSB panels made in the WVCO Wood Composites Lab. “What is interesting is that waxes that work well in sealers may not always be the highest performing waxes for use in panels,” Peterson explains. “By fully characterizing these systems, we can blend and optimize formulations for consistency and performance to our internal and external customers.” For WVCO, innovating in this field goes beyond understanding the components of wax raw materials. They continue to research novel wax systems and applications for those waxes—and point to their recent development of an engineered wax emulsion for the panel market that is uniquely capable of being coapplied with pMDI resin. Using a patent

Loading wax emulsion into a tanker—WVCO’s Pineville wax plant is open for business.

The heart of the Pineville wax plant is its homogenizers.

pending technology, WVCO explains that this novel emulsion doesn’t prematurely react with pMDI and allows flawless delivery of a pMDI-wax blend on furnish. This product suppresses wax volatility (elevates the flash point), and allows a panel manufacturer to reduce its pMDI usage, while maintaining performance. The chemistry of this engineered wax emulsion improves the compatibility between pMDI and wax droplets on wood furnish, but co-application also dramatically improves spray distribution, according to the company. Dr. Paris explains, “If you want to improve distribution, complex engineering strategies only go so far; you’re still limited by the total volume of adhesive that is being applied. With this product

the wax and resin are mixed together, and thus the volume through the spray system is the sum of both components.” PRE-TEC, which has long been providing engineered metering and dispensing solutions for two-component isocyanate systems, has been a strong collaborator in bringing this novel coapplication process to market. Dr. Chowdhury concludes, “WVCO prides itself on its ability to provide quality products and innovations as well as its unparalleled customer service and support. The opening of our Pineville wax plant represents WVCO’s commitment to the forest products industry.” PW Revised article was submitted by Willamette Valley Co. The three personnel photos are courtesy of WVCO.

PanelWorld • NOVEMBER 2021 • 41

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S U P P LY

LINES

NESTEC NAMES DEEMER PRESIDENT

NESTEC, Inc. has hired Jaymie Deemer as President. Deemer brings nearly 20 years of experience in emission control technologies and nearly 25 years in the industry. He has worked with several OEMs during his career in multiple roles including team management, business strategy, product development, applications and field service. Jaymie Deemer Jim Nester, CEO of NESTEC, Inc., comments, “We’re very excited and privileged to have Jaymie join NESTEC, further broadening our capabilities and enhancing our corporate vision moving forward. His depth of knowledge and experience, dedication and management capabilities, and focus on long-term customer partnerships will ensure NESTEC remains a valuable resource for industry.” NESTEC, Inc. provides service and emission controls technologies including regenerative thermal/catalytic oxidizers (RTO/RCO) and wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP). Email jdeemer@nestecinc.com.

HYMMEN REVEALS NA COOPERATION Germany-based Hymmen announces a cooperation between its daughter company Hymmen North America and its partner European Machinery Services (EMS), located in Gastonia, NC near Charlotte. The new address will be: Hymmen North America Corp. (HMN) Partner of EMS European Machinery Services, LLC, 3302 South New Hope Road, Gastonia NC 28056; e-mail: HMN@hymmen.com. In case of inquiries for new complete lines and machinery equipment, contact area sales manager for North America, Sebastian Bazyk: s.bazyk@hymmen.com.

SPURGIN HEADS SALES FOR LIMAB NA Michael Spurgin is the new Sales Manager for LIMAB North America Inc. He is responsible for the sales in the metals, gypsum, and wood-based panel industries as well as sawmills. Spurgin has 15 years of experience within these industries, combined with a deep knowledge regarding non-contact measurement technologies. E-mail michael.spurgin@limab.com. l This summer Dacke Industri acquired LIMAB AB with the intention to build a more profitable and sustainable LIMAB. The acquisition is in line with Dacke Industri’s ambition to grow with companies that focus on their own products as well as customized components and systems. LIMAB develops, manufactures and markets laser-based sensors and systems for measurements of dimensions and defects. Headquarters is in Göteborg, Sweden.

HALTBAKK LEADS ARGOS SOLUTIONS Argos Solutions named Terje Haltbakk as Managing Director. Haltbakk comes from Agility Subsea Fabrication, where he was vice president for Sales & Tendering. Prior to this, he spent 20 years in Kongsberg Automotive, where he held posi-

tions as managing director and vice president for the global aftermarket department. Argos Solutions is one of the world leading suppliers of digital grading and panel repair systems for the wood panel and building industry and has delivered more than 400 systems worldwide.

CMC TEXPAN GEARS UP FOR WOODEX 21 The 17th edition of Woodex, the international exhibition of woodworking equipment and technologies, which will be held in Moscow from November 30 to December 3, has CMC TEXPAN pumped up. “To us, Russia has been a reference market for many years,” says Marco Granzotto, Sales Siempelkamp’s stand at Woodex Manager at CMC TEX- 2019 PAN, the Italian subsidiary of the Siempelkamp group specializing in designing, engineering and manufacturing machinery and equipment for the wood-based panel industry. “Woodex is always a very important event: This year’s edition will be one of the first exhibitions being held in physical format, so there will be a lot of eyes on it, and we are eagerly waiting for it as well. “We are a worldwide operating company and it goes without saying that we have kept a keen eye on remote communication, and this attitude has made it possible to stay in touch with our customers and partners constantly and effectively, even in tough times,” says Granzotto adds. “Nonetheless, traditional exhibitions offer the possibility of a direct approach with industry experts and major stakeholders of the entire supply chain, leading to an extremely constructive exchange of views and ideas.” Along with its long-term proven equipment (such as machinery and equipment for the particle preparation area), CMC TEXPAN will showcase recently developed, innovative solutions dedicated to the removal of contaminants from recycled wood, making sustainability economically viable and profitable. “The quality and effectiveness of CMC TEXPAN’s machinery is well known and appreciated by Russian customers,” Granzotto says. CMC TEXPAN will be based at the Siempelkamp stand in Pavilion 1 - Hall 1.

S-W PURCHASES RESINS OPERATION Sherwin-Williams is acquiring Specialty Polymers, Inc., a leading manufacturer and developer primarily of water-based polymers used in architectural and industrial coatings and other applications. The business operates production facilities in Woodburn, Ore. and Chester, SC and employs 150. In addition to Specialty Polymers’ significant current resin capacity, the opportunity arises to add millions of pounds of additional capacity to its footprint in the near term with relatively minimal investment. Specialty Polymers is the parent company of Roo Glue and TorZo Surfaces.

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S U P P LY

LINES

DIGITAL LIGNA MAKES PROGRESS

LIGNA.Innovation Network made a convincing debut from September 27-29. The digital event for the international woodworking and processing industry demonstrated the importance of such a format in these challenging times. 120 exhibiting companies and more than 80 speakers from industry, politics and research shared perspectives for the industry. More than 5,000 registered participants learned about innovations and trends in the industry. The event was organized by Deutsche Messe Hannover together with the VDMA Woodworking Machinery Assn. The event highlighted opportunities for the industry and encouraged dialogue around the three focus topics of Green Material Processing, Woodworking Transformation and Prefab Building Processes. Exhibiting companies showed comprehensive product overviews, best-case applications and provided information via livestream and video chats. The Wood Industry Summit was also launched as a digital event for the first time. The conference brought together more than 30 international experts from industry and politics who examined the wood-based bioeconomy from a variety of perspectives. The next in-person Ligna will be held May 15-19, 2023.

HEINER WEMHÖNER REACHES FINALS This year, for the 25th time, the auditing and consulting firm EY will select the best ownermanaged companies in Germany as part of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program. The pandemic, the digital transformation as well as the convergence of entire industries pose challenges to the economy. Entrepreneurs who success- Heiner Wemhöner is a finalist in the fully navigate through Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 comthese stormy times are petition. doing a very special job. In addition, honorary prizes for exceptional scientific and social commitment as well as for exceptional entrepreneurial and social commitment will be awarded. Thirty-six companies have made it to the finals of the competition this year, including Heiner Wemhöner. “It gives us all an additional incentive,” says Heiner Wemhöner, Managing Partner of Wemhöner Surface Technologies. The awards are presented in the categories “Family Business,” “Innovation,” “Sustainability” and “Young Companies.” One of the winners will represent Germany at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2022 in Monaco. The winners will be announced at a hybrid event in Berlin, i.e. both on-site at the Verti Music Hall and digitally, on November 4. An independent jury of renowned experts selects the winners. PanelWorld • NOVEMBER 2021 • 45

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W H AT ’ S

NEW

BELT MONITORING

Siempelkamp’s digital concepts use the options of artificial intelligence.

During its “Factory of the Future” digital exhibit as part of the recent LIGNA.Innovation Network, Siempelkamp demonstrated its “intelligent 24/7 steel belt monitoring,” which detects steel belt damage in the early stages and reduces downtime. Optimally running steel belts are a central prerequisite for the maximum performance, plant efficiency and productivity of a wood-based panel plant. Until now, time-consuming manual inspections were necessary when signs of wear or malfunctions occurred—or changes in the steel belt sometimes remained unnoticed for too long. In order to tap into a reliable solution for this, Siempelkamp developed a digital monitoring process that tracks the functionality of the steel belt around the clock—essential in order to be able to react immediately if necessary. Damage and material buildup are

detected at full production speed. In real time, the steel belt monitoring system provides information on damage and material buildup and shows the exact position, size and time of occurrence. Downtimes are reduced, planning reliability and product quality are increased. Detected early, minor damage to the belt can be repaired quickly and easily, even before more extensive damage develops. The spread of buildup and the associated maintenance effort are also significantly reduced with earlier detection.

FLYING PANEL SAW

Spark-Tek’s Electric Flying Panel Saw

Spar-Tek Industries continues to set the standard for industry-leading innovation with the release of the Electric Flying Panel Saw. While hydraulic actuators have long served as the stan-

dard choice, electromechanical solutions are increasingly taking their place throughout our industry. Electromechanical actuators offer a much higher degree of control than hydraulic solutions, enabling them to be used in more complex applications that require complete control over movement and motion. This NextGen Series version of SparTek’s successful hydraulic panel saw offers a low maintenance solution that meets all customers’ specialized sawing equipment needs. The Electric Flying Panel Saw completely eliminates the use of hydraulics while increasing uptime and improving control over all axes of the saw. Intelligent design helps to increase the reliability, performance, and speed of the saw carriage. SparTek’s new servo design also works to decrease routine wear and tear, thereby increasing durability and extending the life of the equipment. All-electric design increases the reliability, durability and adjustability of the saw carriage; central vacuum improves dust collection which allows for a better, more precise cut; Electric VFD allows users to monitor and adjust saw speed directly from the PLC. It also utilizes pneumatic cylinder that can be adjusted while running and on the fly as belts stretch, as well as servo driven linear actuators, which enable adjustment of the saw’s cutting depth. All of these advancements result in a smaller footprint, fewer maintenance requirements, a higher MTBF, zero risk of fluid leaks while providing an overall quieter operation.

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EGGER-LEXINGTON CELEBRATES ONE YEAR

CLIPPINGS

mitment to the region’s economic growth and investment in the local workforce by exceeding the number of projected jobs Egger, one of the world’s leading created during Phase 1. The second phase wood-based materials suppliers, has of development, which will focus on finmarked one year since officially starting ishing lines for added value production, is production at its Lexington, NC partiset to begin in 2025 cleboard and lamination plant, the com“It is hard to believe how far we’ve pany’s 20th worldwide facility and the come since first selecting Lexington as first in North America. the future home of Egger’s 20th plant, The Lexington facility, which now emto now being fully operational for 365 ploys more than 400, has upheld its comdays and counting,” says Carsten Ritterbach, Plant Manager, Commercial Services. “We are immensely grateful to everyone who has played a role in Egger Lexington’s brief history and we look forward to continuing to build the company’s presence in North America.” Construction on the 1 million sq. ft. facility Forming and press line startup in September 2020 began in April 2018

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CLIPPINGS

Overview of Egger-Lexington

with production starting last September and on time despite the challenges of back-to-back hurricanes and the onset of a global pandemic. Founded in 1961 in St. Johann in Tyrol, Austria, Egger Group is a more than $3.6 billion privately held, family-owned company that employs more than 10,400.

ROSEBURG FP JOINS WU+D INSTITUTE Roseburg Forest Products and VaproShield recently joined 14 companies from the building industry representing the membership of Clemson University’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute (WU+D). “Roseburg is very pleased to be a new member of Clemson University’s Wood Utilization and Design Institute,” says Jake Elston, senior vice president of operations. “We are specifically excited about opportunities to partner in creative and innovative ways to drive increased utilization of carbon-friendly products within the building industry and building process. Our new partnership with the Institute is well-timed given recent growth in the eastern region of the country by Roseburg.” Roseburg is WU+D’s newest Founding Partner, committing five years to the Institute. They will have the opportunity to contribute to the future vision and direction of WU+D with a permanent place on the board, which helps set organizational goals and guidance for budget spending. Other Founding Partners include Collum’s Lumber Products, Huber Engineered Woods, Weyerhaeuser, McLeod Rhodes, Lendlease, Simpson Strong-Tie, Forestry Assn. of South Carolina and MiTek. VaproShield is WU+D’s ➤ 53

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VENEER/PANEL SUPPLIERS

DIRECTORY ASIA

AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA

■ Switzerland

■ India

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:

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

EUROPE ■ Italy

NORTH AMERICA ■ Canada ■ British Columbia

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

■ Malaysia

■ Poland

■ Ontario

Manufacturer In Malaysia A FULL SERVICE PLYWOOD & VENEER COMPANY

CARB P2 / EPA Certified

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

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

Contact us: Birchland Plywood-Veneer Ltd. TeL: 705-842-2430 • Fax: 705-842-2496 Visit www.birchlandplywood.com to view our “Live Log Program”

11/21

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VENEER/PANEL SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY ■ United States

■ Ohio

■ Georgia

■ Michigan ■ Pennsylvania

■ Indiana Amos-Hill Associates, Inc.

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

■ Mississippi

The mark of responsible forestry FSC Supplier: SCS-COC-002445 * SCS-CW-002445

ESTABLISHED 1972

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

LOCATE VENEER & PLYWOOD PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WORLDWIDE. Call Melissa McKenzie 800-669-5613

■ Vermont

NORSTAM VENEERS, INC. Proud to announce we have the “Newest Veneer Mill in the World” MANUFACTURER OF QUALITY HARDWOOD AND SOFTWOOD VENEERS

Kiln Dried Thick Backing Boards

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

11/21

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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Recruiting Services

1615

Executive – Managerial – Technical - Sales

JOHN GANDEE

& ASSOCIATES, INC Contingency or Retained Search

9237

Depending on Circumstances / Needs

“Your Success Is Our Business” Serving the Wood Products and Building Materials Industries For more than 26 years.

512-795-4244

Call or Email me anytime! john@johngandee.com www.johngandee.com 3220

Top Wood Jobs 1009

Recruiting and Staffing George Meek

50 ➤ newest Corporate Partner, committing three years to the Institute. They join a growing list of partners that include Swinerton Mass Timber, Stora Enso and Britt, Peters and Associates, Inc. VaproShield has become a leader in the building envelope for mass timber structures with moisture and air management utilizing innovative products and new solutions. Members support talent development and impact students’ knowledge of wood products and the viability of construction applications. They are also invited to attend the Institute’s annual meeting each December at the University where industry partners, faculty and students gather with the shared goal of educating about wood products and driving economic growth in the wood products industry. “We’re delighted to expand our membership into more traditional engineered wood products and products that protect our buildings from the environment,” says Pat Layton, WU+D director. “This really makes our board and the members of our Institute span even more broadly across the wood products industry.”

geo@TopWoodJobs.com www.TopWoodJobs.com (360) 263-3371

3779

SLB, USDA ENHANCE COLLABORATION Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that builds upon the existing collaborative relationship between the SLB and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA). SLB and USDA expand a public-private partnership that seeks to grow demand for wood products as natural climate solutions. The organizations will jointly explore and coordinate additional market development, research, technological advances, and other activities to expand the use of wood in the built environment. “Since signing the original MOU in 2015, SLB and USDA have proudly worked together on many notable initiatives to promote and grow markets for softwood lumber in residential, commercial and multifamily construction. We look forward to continued collaboration and cooperation for the benefit of the entire softwood lumber industry,” explains Caroline Dauzat, Owner of Rex Lumber and SLB Board

Jon Olson

Tel: (800) 985-5191

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

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THE Forest Products Group

CLIPPINGS Chair. “Together, we’re working to accelerate the adoption of innovative wood building system solutions through strategic investments and partnerships in training and support of educational opportunities for construction professionals, sawmills in regions that have lost infrastructure, carbon and climate change resources, and the continued joint funding of WoodWorks.” Key initiatives to accelerate adoption of innovative wood building solutions include: —Continuing joint funding of WoodWorks, a free provider of education and technical support related to the design, engineering and construction of commercial and multifamily wood buildings in the U.S. —Promoting carbon-sequestering wood as a means to mitigate climate change through responsible material selection. —Developing initiatives to expand understanding of embodied carbon, life cycle assessments, and the connection to forest management and wood construction. PanelWorld • NOVEMBER 2021 • 53

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EVENTS NOVEMBER 30-December 3 • Woodex, 17th International Exhibition of Equipment and Technologies for Woodworking and Furniture Production, Crocus Expo, Moscow, Russia. Visit woodexpo.ru.

AUGUST 2022 23-26 • International Woodworking Fair 2022, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 404-693-8333; visit iwfatlanta.com.

DECEMBER 11-14 • WMF: Shanghai International Furniture Machinery & Woodworking Machinery Fair, National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai, China. Call (852) 2516 3518; visit woodworkfair.com.

FEBRUARY 2022 Feb 24-28 • IndiaWood 2022, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bangalore, India. Call +91-80-4250 5000; visit indiawood.com.

MARCH 2022 2-5 • BIFA WOOD Vietnam, Binh Duong Convention, Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. Call +84 274 222 1735; visit bifawoodvietnam.com. 15-17 • Dubai Woodshow, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Call +971 4 39 23232; visit dubaiwoodshow.com. 29-30 • Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo, Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; e-mail dianne@hattonbrown.com; visit bioenergyshow.com. 29-April 1 • Fimma-Maderalia 2022, Feria Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Visit fimma-maderalia.feria valencia.com/en. 31-April 1 • Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 800-669-5613; visit pelice-expo.com.

MAY 2022 1-4 • Composite Panel Assn. Spring meeting, Laguna Cliffs Marriott, Dana Point, Calif. Call 703-724-1128; visit compositepanel.org. 15-17 • American Wood Protection Assn. annual meeting, Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, SC. Call 205-733-4077; visit awpa.com. 20-21 • 38th East Coast Sawmilling and Logging Exposition, Richmond Raceway Complex, Richmond, Va. Call 804737-5625; visit exporichmond.com.

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SEPTEMBER 2022 11-13 • Composite Panel Assn. Fall meeting, Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, Montreal, QC, Canada. Call 703-724-1128; visit compositepanel.org. 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 Andritz Buttner GmbH Carl KRAFFT & Sohne Gmgh CMC-Texpan Corvallis Tool Custom Engineering Dieffenbacher GmbH Durr Systems Engineered Wood Technology Assn. Evergreen Engineering Fagus GreCon Firefly George Koch Sons Hashimoto Denki Hexion Imal S.R.L John King Chains Johnson & Pace Lonza Wood Protection Meinan Machinery Works Mid-South Engineering Nestec Pal S.R.L Radian Robotics Raute Roo Glue Samuel Packaging Systems Group Sherdil Precision Signode SparTek Industries Stela Laxhuber GmbH Sunds Fibertech Sweed Machinery Taihei Machinery Works USNR Wemhoner Surface Technologies Westmill Industries Yalian Machine

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