May 2023

May 2023

by | Apr 20, 2023 | Magazine

May 2023

Cover: Swanson Group: Leader In Overlay

SPRINGFIELD, Oregon – Closely watched as one of two major plywood plant rebuild projects following disasters in 2014—a tornado at a plant in Mississippi in April and a fire at Swanson Group’s plant here in July—the Swanson plywood plant here really hit its stride several years ago after becoming fully operational in 2017, says Swanson Group President and CEO Steve Swanson. The facility is a top supplier of HDO and MDO plywood products and a top tier plywood producer overall.

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Inside This Issue

TAKING STOCK: Time To Stretch The Legs

In May, I depart for my 17th consecutive Ligna in Hannover, Germany. If the pandemic hadn’t canceled the event in 2021, I suppose this would have been 18. Regardless, I’m sure by now you’re thinking this guy must be getting up in years.

I know there must be many other Americans who have a longer consecutive Ligna attendance streak than me. But I know of only one—Fred Kurpiel, who is co-chairman with me of the PELICE event held in the off-Ligna year, and who had stints with Siempelkamp and Imeas in addition to his long-ongoing academic and consulting work.

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Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

UPDATE
Ligna

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted editorial profiles to complement their advertisements placed in Panel World May 2023 with regard to the Ligna event in Hannover, Germany, May 15-19.

  • Andritz
  • Anthon
  • Argos Solutions
  • Baumer
  • Biele Group
  • Büttner
  • CERATIZIT
  • CMC Texpan
  • Con-Vey
  • Cross Wrap
  • Dieffenbacher
  • Dunhua Bytter Technology
  • Dürr Systems
  • Electronic Wood Systems (EWS)
  • Fagus GreCon
  • Grenzebach
  • Hymmen
  • IMAL PAL Group
  • IMEAS INTEC
  • IPCO
  • John King Chains
  • Ledinek
  • LIMAB
  • Longoni Roberto
  • Meinan Machinery Works
  • MINDA
  • Modul Systeme
  • MoistTech
  • MUNZING
  • Omeco
  • Pallmann
  • PESSA
  • Plytec
  • Siempelkamp
  • stela Laxhuber
  • Taihei Machinery Works
  • USNR
  • Wemhöner
  • Willamette Valley Company
Assessment Of The Ever Evolving Engineered Wood Industry In 2023

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first part of a two-part series. The first part is intended to update current products and performance of the North American based Engineered Wood Products (EWP) industry, with a focus on the Mass Timber products of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Mass Ply Panels (MPP). The second part will analyze and forecast market trends, and discuss emerging products and new processes designed to better meet construction needs. Throughout, the two installments will outline the key role that the EWP industry plays in providing cost-effective, environmentally sustainable, and innovative wood products that meet market needs better than conventional solutions.

Article by Richard (Dick) Baldwin, Frederick T. Kurpiel, Richard (Rich) Baldwin

PROJECTS
  • Sonae Arauco Plans New Production Line
  • Arauco Announces MDF Plant In Mexico
  • India’s Greenpanel Grows With MDF
  • Jiangxi Luli Goes With Stela Drying
  • Metro Ply Brings In First Board
  • Con-Vey Names Product Manager
  • Raute Appoints Moilanen As CPO
  • Dieffenbacher Names Energy Unit Director
SUPPLY LINES
  • WMF Returns To Shanghai
  • Raute PRS R5 Proving Itself
CLIPPINGS
  • Hunt Forest Products Supports Innovation Center
  • Roseburg Adds Russ To Commercial Team
  • Sonae Arauco Beefs Up Sales/Marketing
  • Roseburg Builds Executive Team
  • Simsboro Mill Noted For Safety
  • SNA Adds Rupp As Senior Recruiter
  • GP Contributes To CLT Project

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Swanson Group: Leader In Overlay

Article by Dan Shell, Senior Editor, Panel World

SPRINGFIELD, Oregon – Closely watched as one of two major plywood plant rebuild projects following disasters in 2014—a tornado at a plant in Mississippi in April and a fire at Swanson Group’s plant here in July—the Swanson plywood plant here really hit its stride several years ago after becoming fully operational in 2017, says Swanson Group President and CEO Steve Swanson. The facility is a top supplier of HDO and MDO plywood products and a top tier plywood producer overall.

After announcing the rebuilding project in January 2015, the Swanson Group sought to get the facility back up ASAP. Considering the economic climate and overall market strength, Swanson says it was a bit of a “desperate time” for the company, and he couldn’t build the mill “by just throwing everything at it” like major capital projects in the past.

As the mill started up in 2016 and first began peeling, Swanson leveraged production immediately, first selling green open market veneer, then dry veneer as the various production equipment came on line.

“Finally we started laying up some product (late 2016), but all the while we were trying to preserve our market share in overlay,” Swanson says. During construction the company had leased the old Pacific States Plywood plant nearby to make some basic, one-step overlays. Not the best idea, since the facility wasn’t designed for it, he says. “But we were able to make some product there.”

Swanson also moved a small amount of overlay production to its Glendale, Oregon commodity plant. Again, both situations were less than ideal, but the commitment to the overlay market remained.

The same commitment has come into play more recently: As sheathing prices skyrocketed several years ago, Swanson could have halted its overlay program, reduced costs and chased the market with almost all sheathing products.

Some of the sales staff wanted to do just that, but the company didn’t. “Instead, we stayed with our overlay program and actually increased our overlay market share during that time,” Swanson says, adding that many mills that had dabbled in overlay products made the switch to sheathing, which provided more of an opening to expand overlay output.

“We gradually increased prices as costs have gone up, and we have maintained a margin in that product,” Swanson says. “I think today we’re the largest overlay producer in North American, certainly from a single facility.”

Panel upgrade department readies product for higher end overlay application; Swanson’s Springfield plant operates extensive veneer and panel processing to improve quality and efficiency.

Since it peels almost twice as much as is pressed each month, the plant sells its surplus veneer on open market.

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March 2023

March 2023

by | Feb 20, 2023 | Magazine

March 2023

Cover: QC Special Section

Quality Control, need we say more? A dozen suppliers weigh in with their latest QC technologies and systems.

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Inside This Issue

COVER: Quality Control Special Section

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted editorial profiles to complement their advertisements placed in Panel World March 2023.

  • Argos Solutions
  • Baumer
  • Biele Group
  • CMC Texpan
  • Custom Engineering
  • Fagus GreCon
  • Imal-Pal Group
  • LIMAB
  • Raute
  • Siempelkamp
  • Taihei Machinery
  • USNR
UPDATE
LeBlanc Has Settled In As Leader Of Longtime Closely Held Hunt Forest Products

EDITOR’S NOTE: Since this is the March issue of Panel World, and March means baseball (to some people), what better person to interview than Richie LeBlanc, president and CEO of Louisiana-based Hunt Forest Products, LLC? No, we’re not interviewing him about baseball because his insights into the forest products industry take center stage here.

Emphasis On Customer Support Bodes Well For Dieffenbacher U.S. Operations Moving Forward

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dieffenbacher Customer Support, LLC has completed 10 years of operation in the U.S., and with that in mind Panel World tossed several questions at Bernd Deffland, President & CFO; Colin Folco, Director Modernization; and Rolf Krey, Director After Sales.

PROJECTS
  • Tolko Plans High Prairie Rebuild
  • RoyOMartin Plans More Work At Chopin
  • Southern Veneer Upgrades Pendulum
  • Wisewoods Orders Refining System
  • Steves & Sons Orders Door Skin Lines
SUPPLY LINES
  • Con-Vey Promotes Goebel To VP
  • Buttner Expands Product Range
  • Dieffenbacher Buys Energy Firm
  • Peak North America Acquires Endurance Equip
  • Daubert Names New Leadership
CLIPPINGS
  • Pacific Woodtech Rebrands As PWT
  • Egger-Lexington Enhances Recycling

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Taking Stock: Heck Of A Commercial Dispute

The temporary closure of Structurlam’s Conway, Ark. cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam plant and the apparent severing of the plant’s relationship as a major supplier for Walmart’s new low carbon footprint and energy efficient corporate campus in nearby Bentonville marks yet another growing pain for an industry that’s just getting started realizing its amazing potential.

In 2019 Structurlam announced that the new campus project was to be fed by Structurlam’s new CLT facility that included a $90 million investment to upgrade a former steel mill and convert it to a CLT plant. Structurlam would become the “exclusive supplier of mass timber products” to the new Walmart home office campus, covering 350 acres, two million square feet of floor space and multiple office buildings.

The project moved along, and many were surprised in January this year when Structurlam officials announced the plant would be closing due to a customer contract cancellation, and we can only assume it means Walmart, though Structurlam refers now only to the “customer,” and says there are no plans to enter into a new commercial agreement. Walmart has announced it is still committed to its new HQ project and would be looking at other suppliers.

As to what happened, Structurlam CEO Matthew Karmel refers to it as a “commercial dispute, but we cannot discuss the specifics.” More specifically, according to sources in the CLT industry, the plant may have “overcommitted” to Walmart while dealing with startup issues, and there may have been dispute over product quality or composition. Then again, Structurlam started up and began delivering product in the teeth of the pandemic, experiencing supply chain issues and lumber price increases that weren’t planned for.

Following the 2021 bankruptcy of Katerra and its CLT plant in Spokane, Wash.—which set out to revolutionize the construction industry using pre-fab building and mass timber construction principles but couldn’t get out of its own way—the mass timber industry had re-gained the momentum, and is definitely expanding as designers, engineers and architects learn more about it. A couple of recent developments:

  • Officials with Freres Lumber in Lyons, Ore. report their mass plywood plant is booked out several months of production and is supplying a large 18- story mass timber office building project in California, working with a major commercial builder that recently started a new mass timber building division.
  • CLT producer Smartlam in Dothan, Ala. recently announced an expansion to add a new glulam beam line.

Back to Structurlam, CEO Karmel says the state-of-the-art Conway plant has met the vigorous startup challenges “with flying colors—its cross-laminated timber and glulam production capabilities already exceed its plan objectives and its processes have been validated repeatedly by the APA to exceed U.S. regulatory standards.” And, Karmel adds, Structurlam is in a strong position to resume Conway operations as the rapid growth of mass timber across North America continues to drive demand for manufacturing capacity.

That is, with Walmart out of the way, the Conway facility now has the ability to support new customers with more than 1 million cubic feet annually of mass timber products.

Article by Dan Shell, Senior Editor, Panel World

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January 2023

January 2023

by | Dec 19, 2022 | Magazine

January 2023

Cover: Annual Directory & Buyers’ Guide

Looking for product information and equipment manufacturer locations? Look no further than the best worldwide source—the Panel World Annual Directory & Buyers’ Guide.

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Inside This Issue

COVER: Annual Directory & Buyers’ Guide

Looking for product information and equipment manufacturer locations? Look no further than the best worldwide source—the Panel World Annual Directory & Buyers’ Guide.

UPDATE
Water Handling Is Key To Maximizing Wet ESP Performance

Your new wet electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is up and running smoothly. You have a clean gas stream. You have passed your emissions test out of stack and your RTO is running smoothly with a satisfactory bake-out rate. The battle is over, right?

Article by Mike Puersten, Director of TurboSonic Products at MEGTEC TurboSonic, Inc., a division of Dürr.

PROJECTS
  • Corrigan II Marches On
  • Roseburg Orders Super-Long Dryer
  • First Board For Küpeliler
SUPPLY LINES
  • Siempelkamp Hosts Customer Symposium
  • John King Chains Wins MHEA Award
  • Borg’s Latest MDF Line Is Rolling
  • New Lubricant Sees Acceptance
  • Siempelkamp, SMARTECH Offer New Solution

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Taking Stock: The Business At Hand

Some forecasts coming out of APA—The Engineered Wood Association annual meeting in October painted a rather bleak economics picture for 2023. It was no surprise, given the already downward trending in housing starts, the steady upticking in interest rates and the gradual decline in many panel prices toward pre-pandemic levels. Though a couple of attendees mentioned to me that they thought the outlooks came across a little too negatively. “We aren’t there yet,” a producer executive said to me. “We’re doing okay at the moment.”

But barring the unforeseen, 2023 stands to be a challenging year, with some producers weighing production reductions while mill expansions still wrestle with supply chain issues and for that matter decide they aren’t in a hurry anyway.

No doubt many operations are already catching their breath following the tremendous post-pandemic surge. Now it becomes a matter of tweaking and timing.

A soft market is a good time to assess how the operation and mill fared through the hard run during the up market. Certainly through good times or bad most operations have systems and programming, and human beings, in place to provide immediate data feedback, but there’s nothing like a deliberate analysis, the results of which can range from everything to the need for a piece of equipment, to updating systems, to adding QC personnel, to simply a new paint job.

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Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

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November 2022

November 2022

by | Oct 31, 2022 | Magazine

November 2022

Cover: ‘Six-Way Staffing’ Could Be The Answer For Your Mill

During a post-pandemic series of site visits and phone interviews, plywood and veneer manufacturing operators articulated the common concern of “We don’t have enough people to run the mill on a full schedule.” Several expressed surprise and disappointment because experienced employees failed to return, and few job seekers applied. Owners often increased wages and added monetary and non-monetary incentives, but still did not attract enough workers. One concluded, “You know, this younger generation is just different.”

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Inside This Issue

TAKING STOCK: The Panel Industry Moves Ahead

As I glanced through the pages of the six issues of Panel World in 2022, various news developments refreshed my memory, but underlying it all was just the fact that business for the most part was conducted as usual. That we were back to at least fairly normal hit home at the biennial PELICE in March in Atlanta, where the crowd was obviously enthusiastic to be back in the mainstream. Other events throughout the year proved it as well—from annual meetings to trade shows, and also because our editors were being welcomed back into the mills to work up articles.

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Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

UPDATE
PRESSES

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted these editorial profiles and images to complement their advertisements placed in the Panel World November 2022 issue.

  • DIFFENBACHER
  • HYMMEN
  • IPCO
  • LEDINEK
  • PAGNONI IMPIANTI
  • SHERDIL PRECISION
  • TAIHEI MACHINERY WORKS
  • USNR
  • WEMHÖNER
  • CUSTOM ENGINEERING
PotlatchDeltic Creates Value Through Automation Of Panel Repair

Owner and operator of nearly 2.2 million acres of timberland in seven states, six sawmills, and a plywood mill in St. Maries, Idaho, PotlatchDeltic leadership—in response to the increasing cost of repair chemicals and shortage of skilled labor—began researching ways to optimize their plywood panel repair lines.

Article supplied by Raute and PotlatchDeltic.

All Said And Done: Fifty Speakers Brought Their Expertise To PELICE

PART FOUR: This is the fourth of a four-part series summarizing the presentations delivered during the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) held this spring and hosted by Panel World in Atlanta March 31 to April 1. The first three parts appeared in the May, July and September issues. PELICE 2024 will be held March 14-15, 2024 again at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta.

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Panel Industry Percolates At TP&EE In Portland

While traditionally known as a sawmill show, the recent Timber Processing & Energy Expo experienced a healthy turnout from producer companies that also participate in the structural panel and engineered wood products sectors, including the likes of ATCO Wood Products, Boise Cascade, Coastland Wood Industries, Columbia Forest Products, Freres Engineered Wood, Georgia-Pacific, Hood Industries, Hunt Forest Products, Murphy Company, Pacific Veneer, Pacific Wood Laminates, PotlatchDeltic, Rainier Veneer, Rosboro, Roseburg, SmartLam North America, and Weyerhaeuser, to name some of them.

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Jeld-Wen Automates With Custom Technologies Provided By Biele Group

Founded in 1960 in the U.S., Jeld-Wen designs, produces and distributes interior and exterior doors, wood, vinyl and aluminum windows, wall systems and other housing components. Currently, the company employs 21,000 worldwide, and has manufacturing, distribution, and showroom locations across the U.S. and in 24 countries mainly in North America, Europe and Australia.

Article provided by Biele Group and Jeld-Wen.

PROJECTS
  • Ziegler Starts Up WFIB Operations
  • Grenzebach Receives Flex Board Line Order
  • Uniboard Commits To CEBPRO Particleboard
  • Plywood Operations Order Layup Lines
  • Tafisa Enhances Digital Inspection
  • Greenlam South Orders Particleboard Plant
  • Louisiana-Pacific, Biele Collaborate On New Shake Line
  • Starwood Expands Production Capacity
IWF Wow ‘Em In Atlanta

More than 900 exhibitors presented machinery, services and supplies at the International Woodworking Fair (IWF) held August 23-26 in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

SUPPLY LINES
  • Siempelkamp Names New Leadership
  • WMF 2022 Convers Entire Supply Chain

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‘Six-Way Staffing’ Could Be The Answer For Your Mill

During a post-pandemic series of site visits and phone interviews, plywood and veneer manufacturing operators articulated the common concern of “We don’t have enough people to run the mill on a full schedule.” Several expressed surprise and disappointment because experienced employees failed to return, and few job seekers applied. Owners often increased wages and added monetary and non-monetary incentives, but still did not attract enough workers. One concluded, “You know, this younger generation is just different.”

This article, drawing upon practical mill examples as well as academic research, suggests six action steps to mitigate and even resolve the current mill staffing challenges. Each individual step will improve personnel recruiting and retention and, if implemented together, the positive impact will be magnified. While these time-tested techniques are not exhaustive or “one size fits all,” hopefully these ideas stimulate creative thinking that directly applies to the local conditions of your operation.

Article by Richard (Dick) Baldwin is managing partner of Oak Creek Investments and a lifelong participant in the veneer and plywood production industry. Rich Baldwin is CFO-Treasurer of Oak Creek Investments with substantial consulting and proposal experience in wood products operations.

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September 2022

September 2022

by | Aug 9, 2022 | Magazine

September 2022

Cover: States Industries Presses Ahead For Its Customers

EUGENE, Oregon – Investments and upgrades at States Industries’ manufacturing operations have made the company more competitive and increased customer focus on value creation by responding to market needs. The company promotes its close customer relationships and working with customers to custom build panels and panel components that perfectly fit customer needs.

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Inside This Issue

TAKING STOCK: The Show(s) Must Go On!

If you think the pandemic caused the death of live trade shows, think again. Just take one quick browse through this issue. In fact, trade shows almost snowballed us over this month. One of the advertisement selling points of any issue is when that issue will be distributed at an upcoming show. Well, how about three shows, and it could have been more.

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Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

UPDATE
PELICE 2022 Brought Everything From Taguchi To Board Quality Control

PART THREE: This is the third of a four-part series summarizing the presentations delivered during the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) held this spring and hosted by Panel World magazine in Atlanta March 31 to April 1. The first two parts appeared in the May and July issues of Panel World, and the fourth and final selection will be in the upcoming November issue.

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Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

Second Look

EDITOR’S NOTE: The March issue of Panel World featured an article and photos on Roseburg’s new engineered wood plant in Chester, SC, operating as Chester Engineered Wood. The story, written and photographed by Senior Editor Jessica Johnson, received such wide interest that we feel compelled to revisit the plant by publishing additional photos in the September issue.

IWF Atlanta

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following IWF (International Woodworking Fair) exhibitor companies submitted editorial profiles to complement their advertisements in Panel World September 2022.

  • Argos Solutions
  • Baumer Inspection
  • Biele Group
  • Diffenbacher
  • Hymmen
  • IMAL-PAL Group
  • Siempelkamp
  • USNR
  • Woodmac
TP&EE Hosts Mass Timber Developments

The biennial Timber Processing & Energy Expo, following a pandemic-induced cancellation in 2020, returns this September 28-30 to the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon. Hatton-Brown Expositions, an affiliate of Panel World magazine, has hosted the event since 2010.

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TP&EE

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies, which are exhibiting in the Timber Processing & Energy Expo to be held in Portland, Oregon September 28-30, submitted editorial profiles to complement their advertisements in Panel World September 2022.

  • Altec
  • Arxada
  • Evergreen Engineering
  • Metal Detectors Inc.
  • Samuel Coding & Labeling
  • Samuel Packaging Systems
  • Signode
  • Taihei Machinery
  • USNR
  • Westmill
PROJECTS
  • Berneck Orders Giant Dryer
  • Kastamonu Goes With Siempelkamp Again
  • HMTX Purchases Jupiter Line
  • PESSA Is All In At Xylexpo

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States Industries Presses Ahead For Its Customers

Article by Dan Shell, Senior Editor, Panel World

EUGENE, Oregon – Investments and upgrades at States Industries’ manufacturing operations have made the company more competitive and increased customer focus on value creation by responding to market needs. The company promotes its close customer relationships and working with customers to custom build panels and panel components that perfectly fit customer needs.

At Eugene, the company’s manufacturing facilities produce a wide variety of panels including hardwood plywood, wall paneling, commercial panels and also pre-cut and machined components available from the value-added facility adjacent the panel mill.

New Con-Vey robotics line boosts quality, safety.

A new four-opening short cycle Biele Group press started up in early 2021 has the plant streamlining its 3-ply production, allowing it to focus closely on customers with high-end demands while increasing overall quality and reducing downfall.

The customer-focused hardwood producer has also invested in robotics as part of a key quality control process that allows employs to work safer and concentrate on quality and not on handling panels.

Ted Downs, VP of Manufacturing, notes that States Industries approaches the market differently than many producers: Instead of relying on log conversion for a significant part of its operating margin, States Industries relies on close customer relationships that involve engineering the best products to meet customer needs in their own operations and markets. “We all care about the customer, yet we come at it in different ways,” he says. “But the anchor point of what makes us go is truly customer first.”

New press enables focus on three-ply products and two-step production, greatly reducing fall-down and increasing overall quality.

Vertical putty line at press outfeed is another innovation.

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July 2022

July 2022

by | Jun 23, 2022 | Magazine

July 2022

WAYNESBORO, Mississippi – Executives and key individuals with Scotch Plywood made a commitment to rebuild before the ashes had cooled following a January 6, 2021 fire here at a key veneer production facility. Thanks to a monumental effort by all involved, from Scotch Plywood owners and management and employees, vendors and log suppliers, the veneer plant was peeling logs again in March 2022.

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Inside This Issue

TAKING STOCK: Peanuts And Crackerjacks

Sometimes the mention of a wood products plant rings as true as an old ballpark. Houlton, as in Houlton, Maine, is one example.

You might say Louisiana-Pacific has been playing at the same Houlton site near New Limerick in Aroostook County, for 40 years. And you might add that LP has played three distinct styles of ball during that period.

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Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

UPDATE
  • Boise Acquires Coastal Plywood
  • Brazil Plywood Case Is Settled
  • Ruling Stalls Oregon Counties
  • Wawa OSB Has New Life
  • Weyerhaeuser Partners In Carbon Project
  • Agency Sparks 4FRI Once Again
PELICE 2022 Subject Matter Ranged From Legal To Global

PART TWO: This article provides quick recaps of some of the presentations from the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) held March 31 to April 1 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, hosted by Panel World magazine. The May issue of Panel World included summaries from the presentations of eight keynote speakers. The September issue will include Part Three and wrap up PELICE coverage.

Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

FIRE PREVENTION

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted editorial profiles to complement their advertisements in Panel World July 2022.

  • Clarke’s
  • Electronic Wood Systems
  • Fagus GreCon
  • Minimax (Flamex)
WHAT'S NEW
  • Multi-Point Diverter
  • Wood Protection
  • Forestry Dozer
PROJECTS
  • Two Are Better Than One: Martco (RoyOMartin) hopes to have its new OSB plant in Corrigan, Texas running in the second quarter of 2023. Corrigan II is under construction adjacent Martco’s Corrigan I OSB facility that started up in 2018.
  • Arauco NA Expands TFL Operations
  • SOPREMA Orders Second Plant
  • Kim Tin Purchases Andritz Refiner
  • Mekong Wood Orders MDF Plant
  • Orma, Pavatex Go With Prod-IQ
SUPPLY LINES
  • ‘Strongest Link To Success’
  • Raute Appoints President/CEO
  • Berndorf Names New Leadership
  • Bakelite Synthetics Completes Purchase
CLIPPINGS
  • Composite Panel Association Recognizes Excellent Work
  • PotlatchDeltic Builds On REIT
  • Egger Research Highlights TFL
  • Timber Growth Holding Steady
  • LP Converts Houlton Mill

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Scotch Plywood Starts Up Veneer Mill

Article by Dan Shell, Senior Editor, Panel World

WAYNESBORO, Mississippi – Executives and key individuals with Scotch Plywood made a commitment to rebuild before the ashes had cooled following a January 6, 2021 fire here at a key veneer production facility. Thanks to a monumental effort by all involved, from Scotch Plywood owners and management and employees, vendors and log suppliers, the veneer plant was peeling logs again in March 2022.

That the project was pulled off so successfully and smoothly under tough operating conditions is a testament to the Scotch plywood organization: The icing on the cake is the new facility here has hit the ground running and recently set plant production records for shift and day, along with improved veneer quality.

Scotch Plywood does most of its peeling at Waynesboro. The facility produces anywhere from two-thirds to three-quarters of Scotch Plywood’s overall green veneer requirements. Scotch’s Beatrice, Alabama veneer plant has a lathe and one dryer, and the Fulton plywood plant has two dryers plus layup, pressing and finishing. Keeping all the moving parts in place for such an organization and process were critical.

“It was real important to keep all the landowners, suppliers and employees working with us,” says Charles Bradford, Scotch Plywood VP of Procurement. “We tried to keep everyone busy and working, including the loggers.”

Letting the Beatrice plant pick up the slack in veneer production was key to maintaining the Waynesboro plant’s operational infrastructure. Employees were bussed from Waynesboro to the Beatrice plant and back every day as the facility ran almost around the clock to keep veneer moving.

Altec lathe system has put up impressive numbers since startup.

Clipper is a rebuilt Raute unit with USNR scanning and controls.

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