Roseburg Gets Chester Rolling

Roseburg Gets Chester Rolling

Roseburg Gets Chester Rolling

Roseburg Forest Products held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 28 to celebrate the grand opening of its newly constructed engineered wood products plant in Chester, SC. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster participated in the event along with Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulbery and Roseburg owner and Chairman Allyn Ford.

The Chester Engineered Wood plant features the highest-capacity LVL (laminated veneer lumber) press in the world. The project was first announced in summer 2017 and the construction team broke ground later that year. When fully operational, the plant will employ at least 145.

The Chester facility will produce LVL headers and beams used in residential and commercial construction. Roseburg first established its engineered wood business in 2001 and currently manufactures RFPI Joists, RigidLam LVL and RigidRim rimboard at its engineered wood products plant in Riddle, Ore.

Roseburg did extensive research prior to choosing a location for the new plant, with criteria including market demand, raw materials availability and cost, and business climate. Roseburg clients in the Eastern U.S. will now have access to a stable supply of high quality LVL products.

“South Carolina is a great state to do business in,” Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulbery says. “Our research showed that this region was an ideal place to locate this facility, with its steady demand, healthy market and bountiful wood supply. Chester County and the state of South Carolina stood out, offering outstanding support and assistance as we navigated through the process.”

Attendees at the ceremony included state and local politicians, regional officials, and more than 100 recently hired plant employees. After the ribbon cutting, project leaders guided guests on a tour of the expansive manufacturing plant, which produced its first board on September 19.

“What started out as an undeveloped plot of land is now home to a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility thanks to the efforts of a team of people with the vision and knowledge to make it happen,” comments Allyn Ford, Roseburg owner and chairman. “Because of those efforts, 145 people will have jobs that did not exist before, and 145 families will earn a stable income in a safe work environment that contributes to the overall health and prosperity of this community and this state.”

Upon full production, the line will produce up to 285,000 m³ of LVL per year, made possible by microwave preheating and continuous press technology. Dieffenbacher supplied the LVL press and the upstream 600 kW microwave.

To produce high quality LVL, the veneers are evenly heated in the microwave over the entire mat thickness. The special design of the Dieffenbacher CPS press infeed means the distance the mat has to travel “without pressure” upon leaving the microwave until reaching the maximum pressing pressure is less than 2,500 mm. This prevents pre-curing of the resin. Fast-hardening glue can be used to increase production speed and capacity.

In addition to boosting capacity, the ideal combination of microwave and CPS also enhances board quality. The continuously produced LVL boards have more consistent mechanical board properties and significantly lower thickness tolerances. Subsequent sanding is not necessary. For example, unsanded LVL boards can be used directly as scaffolding planks, and unsanded veneers can easily be pressed into high quality boards.

Dieffenbacher LVL technology reportedly enables board thicknesses of up to 120 mm and allows MUF adhesives to be used in the top veneer overlapping area. The Roseburg line in Chester is Dieffenbacher’s eighth LVL project with a continuous press.

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500 Has A Nice Ring To It

500 Has A Nice Ring To It

500 Has A Nice Ring To It

500 HAS A NICE RING TO ITArticle by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World January 2020

In baseball, 500 is a magical number, and if a player hits 500 home runs during his career he’s on track to make the Hall of Fame. This issue of Panel World is number 500 in its 60-year lifespan, having been founded in 1960; and while Panel World may not be destined for anybody’s Hall of Fame, there’s still something to be said for its longevity as we enter 2020.

The fact that this is the 500th issue had slipped by us editors. Nobody on the editorial staff had thought about it, and we were in the process of planning the editorial content for this issue, when Shelley Smith in our production department buzzed me and asked me if were going to do anything special, given that this is the 500th issue of Panel World.

Actually we had done something special back in our March 2010 issue, when we devoted much of the issue to the 50-year anniversary of Panel World. So after giving it some thought I felt there would have been too much redundancy in doing something similar with this issue. But certainly number 500 deserves a mention. So thank you, Shelley.

James Burrell was the founder and the first editor of Panel World’s predecessor. He had been an editor for two other wood industry publications based in Indianapolis that had just been sold. He tells the story of sitting down at his desk in March 1960 and trying to decide what kind of magazine he wanted to start, blessed with financial support from Review Publishing Co., which later merged with Curtis Publishing Co. Burrell settled on the veneer and plywood industries. He simply called the magazine, Plywood. In 1966 he changed the name to Plywood & Panel with the intent of adding coverage of the particleboard and hardboard sectors.

Hatton-Brown Publishers of Montgomery, Ala., which already published three magazines in the forest products field, purchased the magazine in 1982, formed a separate company to oversee it and changed the name to Plywood & Panel World. I joined Hatton-Brown late in 1983 and in addition to my editorial duties on the other publications, I was told to join the editorial effort to make the magazine something better.

Right away we went hard after mill project and startup stories, while still covering industry news and product technologies. We also wrote about the personalities behind some of the great companies involved in the panel industry. That’s a formula that hasn’t changed much since then. Industry led us to where we needed to go with our coverage, which soon went beyond veneer and plywood and into particleboard, MDF, OSB and engineered wood products. In 1990, we changed the name to Panel World.

It’s been a great ride, and many great editors have traveled many miles to get Panel World to where it is today. And there’s still plenty left in the tank.

 

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Certification Comes Under Fire

Certification Comes Under Fire

Nine U.S. domestic plywood producers, calling themselves the U.S. Structural Plywood Integrity Coalition, have filed a Lanham Act claim of false advertising against three U.S. certification bodies: PFS-TECO, Timber Products Inspection and International Accreditation Service. The essential point of the claim is that structural plywood panels produced in Southern Brazil are being fraudulently stamped as compliant with U.S. Product Standard PS1-09 for structural plywood, when the panels in fact do not meet minimum structural requirements for stiffness and deflection, according to the coalition’s claim.

The complaint, which was filed with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Fort Lauderdale Division), seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions requiring PFS-TEC and TPI to immediately revoke the certifications of certain Brazil plywood producers to manufacture PS 1-09 structural plywood, and $300 million in damages from PFS-TECO, TPI and IAS, plus any additional amounts proven at a trial by jury.

“The product standards for American plywood have serious real-world implications for all homes constructed using wood panel products,” explains Tyler Freres, VP of Sales with Freres Lumber. “Inferior products can endanger the health and safety of everyone who depends upon their homes to provide shelter and security for their families and loved ones. It is incumbent upon engineered wood products manufacturers to ensure that we meet all codes and that U.S. certification agencies have consumers’ health and safety as their primary concern when providing their certifications.”

The nine companies include: Freres Lumber, Coastal Plywood, Scotch Plywood, Veneer Products Acquisitions (Southern Veneer Products), Hunt Forest Products, Hardel Mutual Plywood, Murphy Co., SDS Lumber and Swanson Group.

They claim that 30 companies operating 35 plywood plants in two states in Southern Brazil (Paraná and Santa Catarina) are falsely stamping millions of square feet of structural plywood imported into the U.S. as meeting the U.S. Voluntary Product Standard PS 1-09 for structural plywood. They say that tests by the American Plywood Assn. in 2018 commissioned by the coalition show that the Brazilian plywood panels produced in Southern Brazil experience massive failure rates with respect to the stringent strength properties of the PS 1-09 standard, specifically bending stiffness and deflection.

They also claim that the testing demonstrates the PS 1-09 quality plywood cannot be consistently produced from the two fast-growing non-native plantation species, loblolly pine and slash pine, used by the Brazilian plywood producers.

“As the certifiers of all 35 Brazilian plywood plants exporting PS 1-09 stamped plywood panels to the U.S., defendants PFS-TECO and TPI provide the gateway into the United States for these falsely advertised panels,” the complaint states. “The only explanation for the pervasiveness of the false advertising and the number of years over which it has persisted, is the intentional or negligent failure of PFS-TECO and TPI to rigorously perform their certification obligations…” The complaint also says that International Accreditation Services, as the accreditor of PSF-TECO and TPI, “has been grossly negligent in failing to perform its accreditation function.”

The complaint says that consequently millions of square feet of “falsely advertised off-grade Brazilian plywood” has moved into the U.S. and is being incorporated into residential and commercial buildings. “U.S. residents who live or work in (these buildings) are exposed to significant risk of serious injury or death, particularly in the event of a hurricane or significant earthquake.”

In a September statement PFS-TECO says it intends to vigorously defend its reputation, says the coalition’s testing approach is not permitted to be used under PS 1-09 as an alternative to conducting the uniform load test, and notes that PSF-TECO has more than 15 years of data showing that plywood from Southern Brazil and produced by those manufacturing facilities certified by PFS-TECO can meet PS 1 requirements.

Timber Products Inspection says the allegations in the lawsuit are absolutely false. “Despite the claims of the plaintiffs, our experience and testing indicate that Brazilian plywood meets all objective industry and regulatory standards outlined by the PS 1-09 standard. Clients in Brazil and elsewhere who do not consistently meet the applicable industry standard do not remain as TP clients. In 50 years of service, TP has never been accused of such negligence and we stand by our team, our clients and our processes. We intend to vigorously defend our reputation in court—and as necessary, in public—in the months ahead.”

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In a significant step toward modernizing their production line, Hunt Forest Products in Pollock, La. is receiving new lathe controls and BlockLogix optimization from USNR, as well as a Bosch valve upgrade to the lathe spindles and replacing the lower portion of the core drive.

Find Us On Social

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A Good Quote Is Easy To Find

A Good Quote Is Easy To Find

A Good Quote Is Easy To Find

Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World November 2019

As the year winds down, already, a quick glance back through the pages of Panel World reveals several articles on wood products plants that found new life, and some memorable comments from key players in the industry.

• “I was probably the last guy they called about acquiring the plant. I didn’t know anything about particleboard.”—Todd Brinkmeyer, owner, Plummer Forest Products, who grew up in sawmills and forestry, on when Potlatch called him about acquiring the particleboard plant in Post Falls, Idaho, which he subsequently did.

• “We’re constantly trying to make a better workplace for our employees and they’re involved in that process. We want people to slow down, think, and do it safely.”—Jedd Smith, environmental and safety manager, Plummer Forest Products, Post Falls, Idaho

• “That’s one of the joys of working for a private company—we can be reasonably agile. This is one of those cases where we were reasonably agile.”—Greg Johnston, general manager of Strand Board Business, Tolko Industries, on re-starting the OSB plant in High Prairie, Alberta

• “I’d say there’s no doubt Hardel is the largest specialty plywood mill in the U.S. We do 8, 9, 10 ft., sanded one or two sides, hardwood, marine, sheathing, you name it—and now customers can get units of MDO and HDO. Where else could a customer get that?”—Emmanouel Pilaris, general manager of Hardel Mutual Plywood, Chehalis, Wash.

• “Every company has principles and visions up on their walls, but the thing with Koch is we do live by them. It becomes a way of life, a way of doing business. It’s not all that difficult. A lot of it is basically how your parents tried to raise you.”—Clarence Young, vice president and general manager of OSB, Georgia-Pacific, on GP’s parent company Koch Industries

• “The challenge process, earning decision rights, the principle of entrepreneurship—I had never been given the leeway to think about business that way. But they’re also going to hold you accountable. At the same time you can go out and do some unique things, take some risks. We did a lot of that when we started up this facility.”—Tobey Elgin, director of OSB operations, GP, on re-starting the OSB mill in Clarendon County, South Carolina

• “It’s not just something we say. We live it. Our entire management team here lives it and I know upper management lives it as well.”—Robert Willett, technical manager, Martco Chopin plywood mill, on regularly receiving APA’s safety and health award

• “It was depressing to come by this plant every day for the local people. Once we announced it was coming back, there was lots of excitement, and lots and lots of applicants to go through. We’ve given them the confidence that we’re here to stay.”—Bryan Little, plant manager, Huber OSB, on re-starting the OSB plant in Spring City, Tenn. following more than six years of downtime

• “We will miss him, but I know that his legacy will live on in the hundreds of lives he has touched so deeply and will endure through the family business that is approaching its 100th anniversary. A tall tree has fallen in our forest products industry.”—Roy O. Martin III, president and CEO of RoyOMartin, on the death of his cousin Jonathan E. Martin, chairman of Martin Sustainable Resources

 

 

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In a significant step toward modernizing their production line, Hunt Forest Products in Pollock, La. is receiving new lathe controls and BlockLogix optimization from USNR, as well as a Bosch valve upgrade to the lathe spindles and replacing the lower portion of the core drive.

Roseburg Names Tony Ramm Senior VP

Roseburg announced that Tony Ramm has been named Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Labor, overseeing the company’s human resources, benefits and compensation, recruitment, and environmental health and safety teams.

Forest Products Industry Says Goodbye To Walter

Walter Jarck, whose career in the forest products industry spanned 65 years and ranged from logging machinery to engineered wood products, died January 3, surrounded by his children, in North Wilkesboro, NC. He was 92.

Oregon Truckers File Suit Against State

Rob Freres, president of Oregon-based Freres Engineered Wood, a manufacturer of lumber, veneer, plywood and mass timber, has thrown in his support for a lawsuit filed by the Oregon Trucking Assn. and three Oregon-based trucking companies against the state of Oregon for overcharging truckers under the weight-mile tax.

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U.S. Court Says China At Fault

U.S. Court Says China At Fault

U.S. Court Says China At Fault

 

U.S. Court of International Trade in June upheld a U.S. International Trade Commission determination that the People’s Republic of China is injuring the U.S. hardwood plywood industry by exporting hardwood plywood supported by unfair subsidies and selling it at below market value (otherwise known as dumping) in the U.S.

The decision stems from a petition filed by the Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and ITC in November 2016. In its preliminary determination, Commerce found that hardwood plywood from the PRC was being sold at less than fair value and that the PRC industry was receiving countervailable subsidies.

Concurrent with Commerce’s proceedings, the ITC investigated whether the domestic industry was materially injured or threatened with material injury by the imports. ITC issued a preliminary determination find that there was reasonable indication of injury to the U.S. industry, and subsequently in a final determination concluded that the U.S. hardwood plywood industry is materially injured by the PRC imports because they’re subsidized and sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.

The Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood includes Columbia Forest Products, Commonwealth Plywood, Murphy Company, Roseburg Forest Products, States Industries and Timber Products Co., all domestic producers of hardwood plywood.

American Alliance for Hardwood Plywood and related companies subsequently challenged aspects of the ITC final determination of injury. These companies include Far East American, Inc., Northwest Hardwoods, American Pacific Plywood, Canusa Wood Products, Concannon Lumber and Plywood, Fabuwood Cabinetry Corp., Hardwoods Specialty Products, Holland Southwest International, Liberty Wood International, McCorry & Co., MJB Wood Group, Patrioit Tmber Products, Richmond International Forest Products, Taraca Pacific, USPly Trade Co. and Wood Brokerage International. A separate complaint against the ITC ruling was filed by Zhejiang Dehua TB Import & Export Co. and affiliated plaintiffs.

The complaints against the ITC injury determination challenged the ITC’s findings that imports from PRC are substitutable with domestic hardwood plywood; that the volume of imports from PRC are significant; that imports from PRC undersold domestic hardwood plywood and resulted in price suppression; that imports from PRC significantly impacted the domestic industry.

U.S. Court of International Trade denounced these challenges and upheld the ITC determination of injury. On the specific challenge as to the degree of volume of imports from PRC, the Court pointed to the ITC finding that between 2014 and 2016 the market share of imports from PRC increased from 37.9% to 40.1%, while the domestic industry decreased from 21% to 17.3%. And specifically in the cabenetry end use segment, hardwood plywood imports from China increased from 224MMSF to 301MMSF, increasing its market share by 6.9%, while the domestic market share decreased by 5.1%.

The Court emphasized that ITC overall noted that the domestic industry’s production, capacity utilization, end-of-period inventories, shipments and market share all declined during the investigation period, as did net sales revenues, cost of goods sold, ratio of operating incomes to net sales, gross profit, operating income and net income.

 

Latest News

Boise Announces New Investments

Boise Cascade has announced new investments in Alabama and Louisiana in support of its engineered wood products (EWP) growth strategy.

Hunt Modernizes Lathe Operations

In a significant step toward modernizing their production line, Hunt Forest Products in Pollock, La. is receiving new lathe controls and BlockLogix optimization from USNR, as well as a Bosch valve upgrade to the lathe spindles and replacing the lower portion of the core drive.

Find Us On Social

Newsletter

The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

Subscribe/Renew

Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.

Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!