Wolfgang Lashofer has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Dieffenbacher Energy GmbH, which was formed at the beginning of the year following the acquisition of BERTSCHenergy, based in Bludenz, Western Austria. As Managing Director of Dieffenbacher Energy, Lashofer takes over the management of the newly established Energy Business Unit.

“I very much look forward to the tasks ahead of me and, above all, to work with the highly motivated team at Dieffenbacher Energy,” Lashofer says. “The employees are absolute experts in their field and have a track record for creating products and technologies that enjoy an excellent reputation in the market.”

Lashofer previously worked for Andritz Group for more than 35 years. As senior vice president and global division manager, his most recent responsibilities there included recovered paper treatment, fiberboard and recycling.

Raute introduced its Panel Repair Station (PRS) R5 the plywood industry in 2020. Soon there will be 13 units operating in North America. Measuring 33 ft. by 26 ft., the R5 is no larger than most manual repair cells. It requires no foundations, meaning it can be up and running within two weeks of delivery.

By pairing accurate machine vision with intelligent analysis software to identify defects and apply the precise amount of filler needed, users of the R5 can expect to achieve repair material savings of up to 20%.

Making up to 300 panel face repairs per hour, the R5 automatically routes and fills the topmost panel—trimmed or untrimmed—in a stack of 100, then moves to the next stack. R5 can be run by a single operator or without any human intervention. Its linear motors have no moving parts, and their bearings are automatically lubricated.

As a globally operating supplier of burners as well as drying and energy plants, Büttner—a member of the Siempelkamp Group—is taking the next logical step by establishing a new environmental technology competence center in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and expanding its product range in the field of environmental technology.

Büttner will now be designing and manufacturing dry electrostatic filters to separate ash from hot flue gases in energy plants and wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP) to reduce particles and volatile emissions from the waste air emitted by drying and press systems.

This gives new customers the opportunity to already focus on energy efficiency and the reduction of emissions during the planning and design stages of their plants. But the new competence team will also be able to help current customers in regard to the modernization, conversion and extension of their existing plants.

“The environmental technology sector will continue to grow in importance. We’re proud that we’ve been able to expand our range of services in the field of integrated environmental technology on a contemporary and competent basis, which will also enable us to continue to deliver adapted solutions for all requirements in the future,” says Andreas Klug, Managing Director at Büttner Energie- und Trocknungstechnik GmbH in Krefeld.

Con-Vey LLC, a North American-based manufacturer of automated material handling equipment for engineered wood products, is pleased to announce the promotion of Jeremy Goebel to Vice President. With over 10 years of experience at Con-Vey, Goebel brings a wealth of industry knowledge and leadership to his new role.

Goebel joined Con-Vey as a sales representative in 2013 and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the sales manager in 2017. With his exceptional technical skills and personable nature, Goebel has been instrumental in driving Con-Vey’s success and growth.

“We are thrilled to have Jeremy take on this new role of Vice President at Con-Vey,” asys Dave Larecy, CEO and President, “His vision, commitment, and strengths make him the right guy for the job, and we are confident he will help us achieve our strategic initiatives and continue to grow Con-Vey into the future.”

As Vice President, Goebel will continue to lead the sales team, while also managing other departments’ operations. This promotion is part of Con-Vey’s growth plan and the next step in expanding its management team.

Roseburg Forest Products has ordered a veneer dryer for its plant in Coquille, Ore. from Westmill. At 204 ft. length, the dryer will be the longest veneer dryer in North America, according to the participants. The 6-deck, steam-heated jet dryer is designed to dry the heaviest moisture Douglas fir, hemlock and spruce green veneer.

Some key innovations that are on new Westmill dryers, including the new dryer going to Roseburg, include:

• WestVac End-Wall Emission Control System (patented): Provides an effective method of controlling end-wall dryer emissions, increase production, save energy, and improve veneer quality while reducing the risk of dryer fires.
• 2-Pex Exhaust and Dryer Humidity Migration and Control System (patented): Provides unparalleled control of humidity along the entire dryer’s length, resulting in increased production, energy savings and greatly improved veneer quality.
• Quick-Change Dryer Roll Baffle System (patented): Removing and replacing roll baffles now takes under one hour vs. 16-man-hours of very labor-intensive work to change a complete set of baffles (stop-off wall).

• Fan Shaft Seal System: This proprietary Westmill design permanently solves the common problem of emissions leaking through fan packing glands at the circ.-fan shaft. This solution has also greatly reduces the common problem of bottom bearing failures caused by high-heat and contamination at this location. Westmill has this installed and successfully operating now in more than 300 dryer fan applications in North America. It is also retrofittable to old style fan assemblies.
• “Safe Motion” Door Handle Load-Dampener (patent pending): Eliminates the potential risk of “strike-hazard” for dryer tenders when opening a dryer door.
• Bearing Vibration Monitoring: This real-time monitoring of all dryer fan bearings directs maintenance personnel to “out of tolerance” areas before they become failures.
• Water Misting System: Greatly reduces the risk of fires caused by debris build up on the dryer floor.
• Minimal Heat Transfer Dryer Housing: Designed to virtually eliminate metal-to-metal contact between the inner and outer walls of the dryer’s roof and siding. This greatly reduces energy consumption due to improved thermal efficiency, and also reduces pitch build-up and dryer fires inside the dryer. Unlike any other dryer housing, Westmill reports its housing is actually “cool to the touch.”

Chinese wood-based panel producer, A Beautiful Family Plate Making Co. Ltd. (BFP), has contracted with Dieffenbacher for a complete Fine OSB plant in Guangxi, China. Installation of BFP’s new plant is scheduled for the second quarter of 2023. The first board is expected to be produced in fall 2023.

Dieffenbacher will supply everything from chip flaking to raw board handling. The contract includes the dryer, screens, particle preparation and material recovery, glue preparation and dosing, gluing system, forming station and forming line, CPS+ continuous press system and electrics and plant automation. The plant will be able to produce 500,000 m³ of Fine OSB per year.

“Fine OSB is increasingly popular in China,” comments Matthias Rübsam, Area Sales Director at Dieffenbacher. “The lower cost of the raw material makes OSB an economical alternative to plywood for almost every application. Fine OSB, however, overcomes traditional OSB’s poor laminating capability, caused by its uneven board surface.”

In Fine OSB, the OSB core layer is covered top and bottom by layers of particleboard to give a better structure to the top surface. This enables further processing, including laminating or coating on both sides with melamine or phenolic paper in a short-cycle press.

“Fine OSB combines the excellent mechanical properties of OSB, including moisture resistance, robustness, stable size and strong screw-holding force, but with the surface quality of particleboard,” Rübsam adds. “That makes it the perfect product for applications in home furnishings and decor, flooring, custom furniture making and many other areas. The Chinese authorities believe in the product so much that they’ve established a national standard for Fine OSB.”

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