Tenth PELICE Takes Shape

Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-In-Chief, Panel WorldThe Panel & Engineered Lumber

International Conference & Expo, better known as PELICE, celebrates its 10th event April 16-17 at the Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta. Given that PELICE is held every other year, this means we were all 20 years younger when the first one was held in 2008 at the same location. Does it also mean we are now 20 years the wiser?

You could say that one of the reasons behind the original formation of PELICE was to offer people in the industry an opportunity to become a little wiser, through a combination of project-oriented presentations provided by mill producers and technology suppliers, complemented by small exhibits in the Grand Ballroom North. Another course PELICE has never strayed from is its appeal to both the structural and non-structural wood products sectors. Some years have obviously leaned heavier one way or the other, depending on which way the wind was blowing, and the organizers have always let those winds guide them to the planning of the next one.

PELICE could not have persevered without the numerous presentations delivered by representatives in the vendor community, but the headline acts have always been the keynote talks from executives and managers of mill producer companies. Do you recognize any of these names?

Fito Salman, Mike Rehwinkel, Lynn Michaelis, Darrell Keeling, John Godfrey, Daniel Cromie, Brian Luoma, John Murphy Sr., Scott Weatherford, Curt Stevens, Grady Mulbery, Joe Andrews, Kelly Shotbolt, Jonathan Martin, Steve Swanson, Kurt Liebich, Brian Carlson, Luis Tejado, Roy O. Martin III, Jim Salchenberg, Erik Christensen, Norm Voss, Ashlee Cribb, Steve Carroll, Mark Lindquist, Luciano Tiburzi, Terry Secrest, Jerry Uhland, Scott Poole, Jake Elston, Wedig Graf Grote, Johannes Eder, Doug Pauze, Stuart Gray, Matthew O’Malia, Nick Milestone. Many of them are still going strong.

The first keynote talk delivered at PELICE in 2008 was by a representative of Georgia-Pacific, so there’s a certain symmetry that this, the 10th PELICE, will lead off with a presentation by David Neal, executive vice president of Building Products at Georgia-Pacific.

Hey, but there’s more in this issue of Panel World than the PELICE preview. The cover story is on Richply, the longtime plywood producer in British Columbia, and always a unique company in many ways, but especially in its ownership structure.

And there’s tons of news, which always seems to happen as soft markets turn into strong markets. So enjoy this issue, and we hope you come to Atlanta to enjoy the show. pelice-expo.com 

A Good Time To Have A Good Time

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

You have to give APA—The Engineered Wood Assn. a lot of credit. They know how to host a party in luxurious locations, such as the recent annual meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass. What a name!

It makes a lot of sense. Even when markets are soft—as everybody was talking about—how disheartened can you re- ally feel, when you’re about to play 18 holes at the beautiful Whirlwind Golf Club, play a little pickle ball, do some cripple coot shooting, or, as in my case, hike the 2.5 mile interpretive trail along the Gila River, which was sort of spooky with the ghosts of Native Americans who had lived and camped there running around everywhere. The coolest sign on the trail I read was the one that said at least 45,000 California Gold-Rushers had passed this way heading West.

And then of course there was the nearby Gila River Casino, which I didn’t frequent and out of which I did not hear any stories of any APA annual meeting participants striking it rich, or losing everything. But I could be wrong.

The receptions and food functions and exhibit sessions were all very good, and the 400 or so people in attendance didn’t skip any of them.

As usual, the event hosted a Monday morning general session, and—given those soft markets again—the mood was pretty much can we get through the discussions about the soft markets and head back outside?

Outgoing APA Chairman Doug Asano, who is senior VP, Sales & Marketing at Roseburg, moderated a panel session that included James Finucane, senior economist and VP at Swiss Re; Doug Duncan, retired chief economist at Fannie Mae; and Kevin Walsh, associate professor and director of the master of engineering program at Notre Dame.

Finucane, speaking on “Insurance and Resilience,” said a couple of things that stood out: In 2024 U.S. insurers paid $150 billion in property claims, accounting for 10% of private construction spending. And major insurers have increased rates while pulling back from higher-risk properties, resulting in areas where the government-backed plans are now the only option for many consumers.

Economist Duncan noted there were 27 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters that impacted the U.S. in 2024. He cited some fairly obvious points about building resilient homes, such as assessing materials properties and performance; understanding construction and supply side cost considerations; analyzing insurance and demand side risk factors; and evaluating house pricing relative to resilience features and affordability.

Walsh got into the weeds a little bit on the four elements of risk—hazard, exposure, vulnerability and consequence, and actuarial catastrophe modeling, and noted that in 2022 there was roughly $200 billion of global damage costs from natural disasters. Basically he said we should continue to invest in post-disaster structural and analytical evaluations and improve the “fragility curve.”

Also during the general session, APA awarded the Bronson J. Lewis Award to Jim Enright, he most recently the president and CEO of PWT (Pacific Woodtech), but with a career that spanned through several great wood products companies and included substantial work as an APA trustee and board member.

And back to the playgrounds we went.

PELICE On The Horizon

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

It’s beginning to come into focus—the next Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo that is. Better known as PELICE, the event, which caters to both the structural and non-structural wood products industries, will be held April 16-17, 2026 at the Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park, adjacent Olympic Park, the College Football Hall of Fame, Georgia World Congress Center, State Farm Arena, Mercedes Benz Stadium, and across from the ongoing redevelopment of the old CNN Center into “The Center,” a vibrant mixed-use hub for dining, shopping and entertainment.

Especially exciting is that this will be the Tenth PELICE as hosted by Panel World magazine, the first one having been held in 2008 and every other year since. Several activities during PELICE next spring will mark this accomplishment, including a special recognition of companies that have exhibited in all 10. Do you know who you are?

Once again PELICE is expected to feature 100 equipment and technology exhibitors and 50 speakers, who will address mill projects, markets, wood product development, new technologies and a range of other subjects.

We’re now piecing together the PELICE agenda, and can happily announce the first round of keynote speakers, including: