Latvijas Finieris continues to proactively evaluate development and investment opportunities that support the company’s sustainable growth and long-term competitiveness. Among the projects currently under consideration is the potential development of a new wood-based panel manufacturing plant in Latvia’s Latgale region.

The project is presently undergoing an in-depth feasibility assessment, while discussions are taking place with potential stakeholders. The evaluation includes a thorough analysis of the project’s economic viability, potential risks, financing opportunities, and its long-term impact on the company’s development, the regional economy, and Latvia’s economy as a whole.

“Latvijas Finieris is assessing the possibility of constructing a new wood-based panel manufacturing plant in Latgale, which would make a significant contribution to the regional economy, as well as to national security and sustainability. However, before a decision can be made, a number of factors still need to be thoroughly evaluated. The most important of these is the potential support from the Latvian government and the European Union to accelerate the implementation of such a capital-intensive project. What makes this project unique is that, in addition to generating economic benefits of up to 0.5% of Latvia’s GDP, it also has the potential to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 6%,” comments Jānis Ciems, Chairman of the Management Board of Latvijas Finieris.

Latvijas Finieris will provide further information on the project’s development once the feasibility assessment has been completed and the relevant decisions have been made.

Boise Cascade Co. and James Hardie Building Products Inc. recently announced an expansion of their partnership under which Boise Cascade’s Building Materials Distribution division will become the sole nationwide distributor of James Hardie’s and Hardie North American affiliates’ complete portfolio of exterior building products through its extensive network of strategically located distribution facilities across the U.S.

Under the expanded agreement, Boise Cascade will distribute James Hardie’s comprehensive portfolio of products through its nationwide network of distribution centers. As the two companies fully align their focus and resources, Boise Cascade will transition away from distributing competitive siding, trim, and exterior moulding products. James Hardie has designated Boise Cascade its sole nationwide distribution partner and will consolidate its distribution network across all regional markets.

Boise Cascade’s Building Materials Distribution division is one of the largest wholesale distributors of building products in North America. James Hardie is the North American leader in fiber cement siding and exterior design solutions.

A new U.S. Forest Service wood innovation grant will enable Dovetail Partners, MassTimber@MSU (Michigan State University), and Team Pennsylvania to accelerate the next phase of the Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative (GLMTC). The multi‑state effort advances mass timber markets, manufacturing capacity, and forest‑health‑aligned wood products across the region. The GLMTC, founded in 2024 by MassTimber@MSU, brings together leaders from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York to build a coordinated regional mass timber economy. More than 100 participants convened in April 2026 to mark the release of the GLMTC’s Regional Vision, outlining priorities for supply‑chain development, manufacturing expansion, workforce training, and project‑level technical assistance. 

“The Regional Vision reflects the knowledge, goals, and analysis of people across the mass timber chain—from forests to manufacture to research to buildings—in all eight Great Lakes states,” says Sandra Lupien, director, MassTimber@MSU. “This wood innovation grant enables us to start implementing that vision on the ground by identifying priorities in forests and matching them with opportunities in products and construction.” Lupien founded, and will continue to lead, the Collaborative into its next phase. 

As the Collaborative’s fiscal sponsor, Dovetail Partners provides administrative and financial oversight, as well as staff expertise, to support implementation of this regional strategy. 

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities is strengthening the Great Lakes region’s mass timber ecosystem through a $300,000 matching commitment that complements the $300,000 grant. Together, this $600,000 investment enables Dovetail, MassTimber@MSU, Team Pennsylvania, and GLMTC partners to advance coordinated supply-chain mapping, provide technical assistance for emerging mass timber projects, assess manufacturing expansion opportunities—including hardwood mass timber products—and develop shared tools and case studies that reduce barriers to adoption. These efforts position the Great Lakes region to lead a national transformation in sustainable construction and forest-aligned economic development.

To read the complete Regional Vision from GLMTC, visit canr.msu.edu.

Westmill supplied a new steam-heated, four-deck jet veneer dryer to replace Dryer #1 at the West Fraser Williams Lake plywood mill in BC. The original Coe M-72 dryer had been in service since the mid-1970s, and the West Fraser said dryer inefficiencies and safety emissions concerns had mounted.

The design constraint was to replace the dryer while maintaining the existing dryer footprint and steam-heating platform. Key objectives were to improve energy efficiency, production, and emissions control. To achieve this, Westmill eliminated one roller section to make room for the two new WestVac seal sections without modifying the existing dryer length. The existing PLC was upgraded rather than completely replaced to automate exhaust and pressure control.

Other key components of the new dryer included Armstrong-Hunt steam coils with steel-finned leading rows for improved durability, Class 3 NYB hot air circulation fans, Westmill’s patented “Quick-Install” dryer door cartridges, stainless steel insulated floor, pneumatic chain tensioner, and four-deck independent drive system with VFD drives.

The new dryer housing and WestVac seal systems addressed the issue of blue haze emissions by maintaining proper sealing within the dryer and preventing emissions from escaping into the plant. Automated exhaust controls replaced manual adjustments, optimizing humidity migration within the dryer and reducing heat loss.

The performance of the new dryer has exceeded expectations. Since startup, the mill has achieved a 25% reduction in steam consumption and a 5% increase in production.

Medite Smartply will replace natural gas with biomass for energy production using a Dieffenbacher 55 MW biomass firing system at its MDF plant in Clonmel, Ireland. Dieffenbacher Energy will be responsible for the engineering, equipment supply, and installation and integration of the new energy plant during ongoing operations. In addition, Medite Smartply will digitalize the existing MDF plant with Dieffenbacher’s EVORIS digitalization platform.

“By renewing critical infrastructure across the site, we are strengthening process control, supporting consistent product quality and investing in the long-term reliability of one of Europe’s leading MDF manufacturing operations,” says Medite Smartply CEO Neil Foot. Adding, “As we mark 50 years of Medite, this project demonstrates our long-term confidence in the business, our people and the markets we serve.” 

Alongside operational improvements, the new system will eliminate natural gas usage by transitioning fully to renewable biomass as the primary heat source. This is expected to materially reduce fossil fuel-related CO₂ emissions and support Medite Smartply’s work to reduce Scope 1 carbon emissions as part of its broader climate action commitments. 

The grate and dust combustion firing system from Dieffenbacher Energy will supply 20 MW of process steam, 25 MW of flue gas for the dryer and 6 MW in thermal oil for the continuous press system of the MDF manufacturing line, which was delivered by Dieffenbacher in 2002. The scope of supply also includes a comprehensive wet-fuel handling system for flexible fuel sourcing.

“This project is another strong example of how our integrated energy solutions create real value for the wood-based panels industry,” says Sebastian Völker, Chief Sales Officer, Dieffenbacher Energy. 

Construction of the Dieffenbacher Energy biomass firing system is scheduled to begin in February 2027. Commissioning of the new energy plant is expected to take place about a year later. Medite Smartply’s MDF plant in Clonmel has an annual production capacity of 400,000 m³.

President Trump on July 17 condemned Canada, and specifically Ottawa, for improper forest management, leading to the recent increase in forest fires and to the encroachment of smoke and polluted air into the U.S.

“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests, and brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable” Trump said. “I will call the Prime Minister to find out what they are going to do about it. The cost is incalculable!”

Canada has refused to engage in basic forest management and debris removal, Trump accused. “This is willful negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States billions of dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the tariffs Canada is currently paying.”

Canada’s wildfire policies have failed to prioritize forest management; they will not cut firebreaks and will not thin their forests, according to one observer, who added,“This is the result of the undue influence of environmental groups who are firmly politically motivated and have divorced themselves from science and good stewardship. Canada and the rest of North America is suffering as a result.”

Days before Trump’s statement, four Republican members of Michigan’s congressional delegation—Reps. Jack Bergman, John James, Lisa McClain and John Moolenaar—sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, saying residents in their state were once again experiencing unhealthy air because of smoke drifting south from Canadian wildfires.

They wrote: “Our constituents in Michigan are once again under air quality alerts. Our hospitals are once again treating children, dialysis patients, and older residents for the effects of smoke that did not originate anywhere near them. This is the third consecutive year we have had to write to Canadian officials about a crisis that Canada has the tools to prevent and has chosen not to. We were told last year that this would be treated with urgency. It was not. We were told the causes—chronic under-investment in forest thinning, fuel reduction, and prescribed burns, along with inadequate enforcement against arson—were being addressed. They were not, or not adequately enough to matter to the people we represent. Provincial leaders have offered excuses instead of results, and in some cases have openly dismissed the health of American citizens as an inconvenience to their own summer.  We are done accepting apologies in place of action. If Canada will not manage its forests to prevent these fires, the United States will look elsewhere, and act on our own, to protect our people. That means our own agencies exploring direct involvement in cross-border fuel reduction and firefighting capacity. It means reconsidering how much benefit of the doubt this relationship continues to earn on an issue where American lungs are paying the price for Canadian inaction, year after year.”