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For DIEFFENBACHER, diversifi cation is key
FOR DIEFFENBACHER, DIVERSIFICATION IS KEY
By Szeto Hiu Yan
In the past two years, DIEFFENBACHER has observed shifts in the Asian Pacifi c market, as manufacturers in the wood industry sought ways to avoid colliding head-on with challenges brought about by world events such as the U.S.- China trade war and an impending economic slowdown.
PFA speaks to Holger Ries, DIEFFENBACHER's Area Sales Director in Southeast Asia, to fi nd out more.
"Diversifi cation" was the word chosen by Ries when asked to describe the APAC market in 2018 and the fi rst half of 2019.
Diversifi cation, indeed, makes good sense, given the uncertainty and nervousness surrounding the APAC market following the trade war. Besides, product trends rise and fall as market demands and tastes evolve or reach a saturation point.
“China, for example, already has a large amount of MDF(Medium Density Fibreboard) capacity. Customers are now searching for new products with which to diversify their product range. Driven by competition, there is a simultaneous need to improve plant effi ciencies to reduce unit cost and boost Return On Investment (ROI) through better technologies,” Ries explained.
TOP PERFORMING MARKETS AND PRODUCTS IN ASIA For DIEFFENBACHER, China and Thailand were the top performing market in 2018, followed by Vietnam and Malaysia sharing third place. “In China, we sold seven new 8 feet and 9 feet wide wood-based panel plants in the past year,” said Ries. “In general, we saw an increase in new plant orders that include the traditional core package of a forming station and continuous press but also a lot of other equipment such as wood yard and size-reduction technology, sorting and cleaning solutions,
Holger Ries, DIEFFENBACHER‘s Area Sales Director in Southeast Asia
energy systems, dryers and gluing systems, environmental technology and handling and fi nishing equipment.”
“Beyond that, it strongly depends on the region. With the introduction of Super Particleboard and Fine OSB to the Chinese market, a range of key equipment in the preparation and forming areas were the top sellers. These include special MAIER Maxi Strand Flakers, new drum blenders and specialised forming systems, followed by innovative prepressing, mat preheating and compacting equipment,” he explained.
As for Southeast Asia, Ries said that the company has seen a CPS+ boom, adding eight orders since LIGNA 2015 for their newest generation continuous press for THDF(Thin High Density Fibreboard) and particleboard lines. Additionally, the latest version of the Z-Sifter for rubberwood fi bres with high-sifting effi ciency and low-power consumption is another bestseller in the region. Eight of these “rubberwood specialists” have been sold for new plant projects as well as replacements and modernisations during the same period.
TRENDS IN ASIA technology to meet the growing Ries shared his observations demand for diversifi cation, e.g., on the products that he diff erent panel types such as suggested to be trending THDF, Super Particleboard, in Asia: Fine OSB and alternative • THDF boards for money’ is demanded “The demand for everywhere, but it’s a strategy THDF boards seems that especially applies to to be constantly growing the Indian subcontinent,” throughout all of Asia, said Ries. and we are fortunate to be at the forefront of this trend. MAIER MRZ Knife Ring Flaker with “Looking further ahead—in Asia The combination of CPS+ and integrated FlowOptimizer and throughout the world—we want our powerful prepress works so to collaborate with our customers and reliably that no additional equipment is partners on what’s next, whether that’s required to produce ultrathin boards, even at the finding a substitute for fresh wood, complying highest production speeds. The result is a high surface with new environmental regulations, or digitalisation,” density, which makes it possible, for example, to achieve he remarked. ℗ signifi cant savings during direct painting.”
• Oriented Strand Board
“In Southeast Asia, Oriented Strand Board (OSB) is another trend. The fi rst continuous OSB line in the region was successfully started by DIEFFENBACHER in Malaysia in 2015. “Recently, Vanachai ordered a 32-metre long, 6-metre diameter drum dryer, a wet strand bin and automation of the front-end from the debarker to the strander for their new OSB plant in Thailand.”
• Super Particleboard with slender core layer fl akes
“There is also increasing demand in Southeast Asia and China for Super Particleboard with slender core layer flakes produced by special MAIER Kinfe Ring Flakers with FlowOptimizer technology”
• Fine OSB and Straw-based panels
“In China, Fine OSB and straw-based panels are other trends for which customers strongly rely on DIEFFENBACHER solutions. Wanhua, for example, has ordered six straw-based particleboard plants, and two additional projects are planned. In the coming years, we will help Wanhua use straw content to produce MDF and Fine OSB.”
FUTURE PLANS
As the coming year promises to be fraught with challenges, DIEFFENBACHER chooses diff erent strategies for diff erent regions of Asia. Diversifi cation is key.
“The APAC market is so big that there is no universal strategy for the entire region. In Southeast Asia, our goal is to provide our customers with solutions that help them gain a decisive edge in day-to-day competition. In China, our focus is on innovative raw materials. ‘Value (All images are credited to DIEFFENBACHER.)
