by Web Editor | Feb 20, 2015 | News
From: Panel World Staff
Oregon State University has begun an initiative to build a $60 million complex to accelerate its forestry education programs and research on advanced wood products at Corvallis, Ore. The Oregon Forest Science Complex will encompass renovation of existing OSU campus facilities as well as new construction; showcase innovative uses of wood in building design; and allow the College of Forestry to help meet the world’s growing demand for energy efficient, tall buildings made from sustainable building products.
The project includes a $30 million fundraising goal. Once philanthropic commitments are secured, OSU will seek matching bonds from the state. Bonding for the project was included in the governor’s capital budget for consideration in the upcoming legislative session.
The initiative was announced in Portland at the Oregon Leadership Summit of the Oregon Business Plan by Thomas Maness, the Cheryl Ramberg Ford and Allyn C. Ford Dean of the College of Forestry.
“We are excited about leading a new national effort to advance the science and technology necessary to primarily use wood in the construction of 5- to 20-story buildings,” Maness says. “Developing these new, competitively priced, environmentally friendly products will not only increase the value of Oregon’s natural resources, but also grow jobs in our rural communities, with substantial benefits for our state.”
Seeking new methods to reduce the carbon footprint of high-rise construction, architects and engineers from Austria to Canada, Norway and New Zealand have begun constructing buildings with exceptionally strong wood products. This cross-laminated timber is made of strips of wood glued together across the grain, and panels can be more than 1 foot thick and 80 feet long.
Read more on this story in the March issue of Panel World…
by Web Editor | Feb 18, 2015 | News
From: Panel World Staff
Washington State University is establishing the Thomas M. Maloney Graduate Scholarship through the Voiland College of Engineering & Architecture.
Maloney, who died June 18 in Pullman, Wash. at age 83, was prominent in the development of many facets of the wood based panel industry, especially composite board, through his long association with WSU as professor of Mechanical & Materials Engineering and director of the Wood Materials & Engineering Lab.
“After consulting with Tom’s family, we all agreed that an endowed scholarship would be a fitting tribute to honor Tom’s commitment to education as we know he would be pleased to help deserving graduate students working in the field of wood composites and engineering,” the university stated.
The university has established a goal of $100,000 for this endowment. All donations will be acknowledged by the WSU Foundation and communicated to the Maloney family.
Any questions or for assistance in making a donation contact Bridget Pilcher at pilcher@wsu.edu or call 509-335-0144. Make checks payable to “WSU Foundation” and note “Maloney Scholarship.” Mail to WSU Foundation, Box 641925, Pullman, WA 99164-1925.
by Web Editor | Feb 13, 2015 | News
From: Panel World Staff
The Vienna International Wood Products/Markets Conference, Expo & Tours will be held June 16-21 in Vienna, Austria. The event is organized by International Wood Markets Group, Inc. and Georgia Research Institute.
On June 16 will be an invitation-only Schweighofer Prize reception and dinner. The Schweighofer Prize ceremony is held every two years and awards money for technologies, products and services that strengthen the competitiveness of the European forest-based industries. More than 600 international delegates from 40 countries are expected to attend.
The conference and expo will be held June 17 at the Hotel Savoyen Vienna. Speakers from Europe and worldwide will address trends, issues and outlooks in international sawn wood and panel markets, including Europe, Russia, China, Middle East and North America. The full day conference will assess global market opportunities and wood products trade. Concurrently on June 17 an all-day wood products equipment supplier exposition will be held adjacent the conference.
June 18-19 will feature an Eastern Austria Industry Tour of mills producing lumber, cross laminated timber and engineered wood products. The tour starts and ends at the conference hotel in Vienna, with one night spent outside of Vienna.
On June 20-21, Schweighofer will host a tour in the Radauti area of Romania of its large single line sawmill, a laminated post-and-beam plant, an edge-glued panel plant, particleboard plant and pellet mill. The tour will spend two nights in Radauti and ends at the Vienna Airport.
Read more on this story in the March 2015 issue of Panel World…
by Web Editor | Feb 13, 2015 | News, Update
Swanson Will Rebuild Springfield Plywood Mill
Officials with Swanson Group Mfg. LLC announced plans in January 2015 to rebuild the company’s Springfield, Ore. plywood plant that was destroyed by fire in mid-July 2014. According to Swanson Group President and CEO Steve Swanson, “We are excited about this opportunity. Springfield is well positioned in terms of log supply and workforce, which make our site an attractive place to recapitalize.”
Plans are to have the new mill finished and ready to start up by mid 2016. The new plant will employ 190 and operate similar to the old facility in terms of capacity and product lines, with a few twists.
According to Swanson, approval for the new building was in mid February. Most of the equipment purchases will take place between now and May, and the new building is expected to be complete and ready by fall 2015.
While Swanson personnel are still looking at equipment types and suppliers and combinations of new and used equipment, Swanson says the mill will utilize a state-of-the-art triple-spindle peeling system with sheet and random stacking; two dryers, one handling wides and the other randoms, feeding to respective stacking systems; and a layup line and related systems that enable more overlay production.
“We’re going to concentrate on overlays,” Swanson says of the new plant, which will add hardwood plywood production to the former plant’s paper overlay product offerings. The mill will still produce some softwood plywood, but primarily in premium 9-10 ft. sizes, he adds.
When in full operation, the new plant should produce roughly 20MMSF of veneer per month while laying up about 10-12MMSF. Of the remaining output, lower grade material will go to Swanson’s Glendale, Ore. plywood plant for use in sheathing products, and higher grades will be sold to LVL producers in the region.
The hiring process is expected to start late in the first quarter, or early in the second quarter of 2016. “Of our 250 employees displaced by the fire, approximately 43 chose to take positions at our more southern locations, which hasn’t always been easy,” states Chuck Wert, Chief Operating Officer of Swanson Group. “These folks have gone through a lot, and made many personal sacrifices. We greatly appreciate this and are delighted to be able to offer them, as well as many of our other displaced employees, an opportunity to return home.”
The Swanson Group acquired the Springfield plant in 2007 and also operates a plywood plant and sawmill in Glendale and a stud mill in Roseburg, Ore. Including a helicopter division and forest products sales and distribution company, Swanson Group employs more than 630 in western Oregon.
Swanson Group purchased the Springfield site from McKenzie Forest Products in 2007 and proceeded to perform major capital projects on log merchandising, dryer rebuilds, lathe modernization and a new layup line. The mill ran four multi-opening presses and two MDO/HDO presses. It had more than doubled production capacity since Swanson took over. Georgia-Pacific built the mill in 1960.
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by Web Editor | Feb 11, 2015 | News
From: Panel World Staff
Norbord Inc. and Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd. announced that the Supreme Court of British Columbia has granted a final order approving the previously announced merger of Norbord and Ainsworth. Meanwhile Norbord and Ainsworth are providing the U.S. Dept. of Justice with the information it has requested about the transaction. Subject to the satisfaction of all closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter.
The merger would create the largest OSB producer in the world with an OSB production capacity of 7.7 billion SF, according to the companies.
Norbord, based in Toronto, operates seven OSB North American mills, (six of them in the U.S. South) with one mill in Quebec, along with four mills in Europe. Ainsworth, based in Vancouver, BC, operates four Canadian OSB mills—three in Western Canada and one in Ontario. Prior to this transaction, Norbord reported it was third in OSB production capacity behind Louisiana-Pacific and Georgia-Pacific.
The new company will have opportunities to increase capacity through the expansion of Norbord’s OSB production in Western Europe, the restart of Norbord’s two idled mills in North America, and the completion of Ainsworth’s second line in Grand Prairie, Alberta.
The combined company will operate under the Norbord name. Upon completion of the transaction, Norbord shareholders will own 63% and Ainsworth shareholders will own 37% of the combined company.
Read more on this story in the March issue of Panel World…
by Web Editor | Feb 9, 2015 | News
Uniboard announced it will invest more than $53 million at its Val-d’Or particleboard and thermally fused laminate (TFL) facility as part of the panel producer’s plan to increase productivity and upgrade key production areas.
The company produces particleboard, MDF and TFL from mills in Val-d’Or, Sayabec, Mont-Laurier and Laval. Uniboard’s composite panel products are used in cabinetry, furniture, casegoods and flooring.
In making the February 5 announcement, Uniboard President and CEO James N. Hogg said the project will enable the company to enhance its engineered wood and value-added product offerings. “Over recent years, Uniboard has invested heavily into product development, launching new color collections including North America’s first registered embossed thermofused laminate panels as well as expanding our successful NU Green range of low and no-formaldehyde products,” he added.
The company received assistance from provincial and federal agencies including Investissement Québec and Economic Development Agency of Canada for the regions of Québec.
Founded in 1976, Uniboard employs more than 800 people, including 186 at the Val-d’Or facility. The company says it has an installed capacity of more than 640 million square feet of raw particleboard, high-density and medium-density fiberboard, of which more than 50 percent is converted into value-added thermally fused laminate and laminate flooring products. Uniboard was acquired by Kaycan in 2012.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/panel-supply/Uniboard-Invests-53-Million-in-Particleboard-TFL-Plant-290986351.html#sthash.DrmfgcDP.d3FU2JWJ.dpbs
