The International Woodworking Fair (IWF) at the Georgia World Congress Center completed four days of tremendous activity on Friday, dominated by 925 exhibits. Machinery on tap was mostly downstream, remanufacturing and secondary processing, with some primary manufacturing technologies and laminate printing mixed in. But perhaps what stood out the most were the impressive exhibits of some of the major wood products producers and their display of multiple product lines.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has announced it is permanently curtailing approximately 170MMBF of combined production at its Fraser Lake and Williams Lake sawmills and approximately 85MMSF of plywood production at its Quesnel Plywood mill.

The curtailments will be realized through the elimination of one shift at each facility. The reduction in capacity is expected to impact 77 positions at Fraser Lake Sawmill, 15 positions at Williams Lake Lumber, and 55 positions at Quesnel Plywood and will occur over the course of the fourth quarter of 2022.

West Fraser expects to mitigate the impact on effected employees by providing work opportunities at other West Fraser operations. West Fraser cites access to available timber is an increasing challenge in British Columbia and ongoing transportation constraints impairing ability to reliably access markets as the reason for curtailing production.

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LP Building Solutions (LP) celebrated a landmark day in company history on Aug. 19, 2022 with the grand opening of its new global headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee.

The new headquarters, which spans the top two floors—all 60,000 sq. ft.—of the Creative Office Building in Midtown’s Broadwest development, allows LP to further expand its corporate hybrid workplace model while upgrading its office environment.

Founded 50 years ago in Portland, Oregon, LP relocated its headquarters to Nashville in 2004. Prior to its move to Broadwest, the company was in downtown’s central business district. In 2021, LP announced the move to the Broadwest complex to seek a more innovative, collaborative and flexible office space. With more than 60 collaboration areas (conference rooms, huddle rooms and more), the new state-of-the-art headquarters is designed to support a hybrid work environment that allows employees to determine where they work—whether remotely or in the office—based on their roles and responsibilities.

Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World September 2022

PART THREE: This is the third of a four-part series summarizing the presentations delivered during the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) held this spring and hosted by Panel World in Atlanta March 31 to April 1. The first two parts appeared in the May and July issues of Panel World, and the fourth and final selection will be in the upcoming November issue.

ATLANTA, Ga. – Terry Liles, director of raw materials, Huber Engineered Woods, dug into the application of EVOP (Evolutionary Operation) and Taguchi Design. He defined EVOP as an ongoing mode of using an operating full-scale process so that information on how to improve the process is generated from a simple experimental design while production is underway.

He noted two methodologies for conducting EVOPs: Factorial Designs, a scientific experiment that determines the influence of multiple factors on the subject, while assuming the process is consistent or under control; and Robust Product Design (or Taguchi Design), a methodology to improve the quality of a product by minimizing the effect of variation without eliminating the causes, and with minimal sensitivity to variation in uncontrollable factors or noise.

With either design approach, it’s most important to understand and state the objective for the experiment. “If you can’t define the purpose, why are you doing it?” Have a general model of the process and understand the variation; that is, the total variation is the sum of the real product variation and the measurement system variation; and the measurement system variation is the sum of the variation due to repeatability and due to reproducibility.

The sampling strategy is of utmost importance, including the number of samples and tests; and data integrity is crucial. “Am I collecting the right data to answer the questions I’m asking?”

One of the advantages of EVOP is the inclusion of many team members, Liles said, and an effective means of communication is essential such as an information board with results, statistics, deviations, graphs, etc.

He noted that Taguchi design as an EVOP is most suitable with a larger number of factors and levels, and when fewer experiments are needed; when you’re able to measure the impact of uncontrolled variables; and when there’s a targeted response objective. Whereas Factorial Design is better when the number of factors and levels is small, experiments are not time-consuming and the costs for the experiments are low, and when a combination of factors could be significant contributors to the response.

Left to right, Tim Young, Justin Price, Terry Liles and Jeff Vaughn get into experimental methodology.

Jeff Vaughn, eastern regional technical and CI manager for Roseburg, also addressed Design of Experiment Methodology as compared to traditional model of experimentation. The current state of experiments and trials is mostly the “best guess” approach and “one factor at a time” approach, Vaughn said.

The best guess approach has advantages through the technical and theoretical knowledge and practical experiences of team members, but this approach is generally not very efficient and can exclude better solutions. The one factor at a time approach is a simple, baseline approach with simple analysis, but fails to consider possible interaction between the factors and doesn’t gain enough data to deliver statistical significance.

An alternative approach is statistical design of experiments, including Taguchi, which refers to the process of planning and executing an experiment so that the proper data will be collected an analyzed through statistical methods, resulting in effective and unbiased conclusions.

QUALITY CONTROL

A series of presentations addressed Quality Control, including one by Richard Lepine, general manager with Argos Solutions. He touched on automatic grading and surface defect inspection technology, initially showing its obvious benefits (speed, defect size and location, no labor issues, verification, etc.) compared to visual inspection.

He defined new standards for TFL surface defects (such as dirt, spots, fibers, scratches, and area size) and revealed Argo’s automated detection system for printed pattern TFL, including detection of hidden defects in complicated patterns, automatic adjustment for inaccuracies in paper, stretch/shrink, rotation; special illumination; and no learning mode required; and noted the Argos use of different light angles; and finally addressed Argos’ real time monitoring and database system and reporting for categorization and statistical analysis.

Keith Mays, president of EWS North America, addressed a range of quality control products from Electronic Wood Systems GmbH, Baumer Inspection Gmbh and Monitor Plus GmbH. He hit on spark detection/extinguishment and board scanning and measurement from EWS, and the SicoScan system in collaboration with Siempelkamp, and within SicoScan the EcoScan NEO – FBD (foreign body detector) and FLY area weight measurement.

He provided detail on Baumer’s ColourBrain 4.0 optical top and bottom inspection of raw board, including a new illumination module, running through a Q-Live server environment that provides database, networking and is user-friendly. He addressed Q-Brain, which classifies the defects while QLive provides full transparency to leverage process optimization.

He also spoke in detail on Monitor Plus, a system that monitors product quality and actives alarm signals or a production stop if quality specifications are not met. It features SMART camera technology and is designed for any kind of conveying system and entails the latest data processing for its numerous product scanning and detection tasks and functions ranging from bowing to cupping, twisting, curvature, to number of drill holes in wood components, particleboard edge porosity, laminate color and glossiness, profile and contour measurement, through multiple line laser thickness measurement.

Continuing with the theme of board scanning and quality control, Michael Spurgin, sales manager North America for Limab, spoke about the different building materials that Limab’s scanning and measurement system caters to. He said Limab’s thickness measurement eliminates the effects from vibrations and bumps.

He noted several benefits with in-line measurement, from consistency to reduced downtime and increased yield; and the benefits of non-contact versus contact roller systems, including measurement on soft material like insulation to thin board to high speed and rough surfaces, while measurement starts immediately at the front edge of panels.

He pointed to multiple locations for Limab installation in a typical board processing line, including after the press, either before or after the sander (verifying that the final product is within tolerances), and with double effectiveness if measurement scanners are located both before and after the sander while using one PC; as well as a three point sander configuration including between the heads.

Jason Kovacik, sales manager with Finna Sensors, spoke on production enhancements and profitability by using IoT data-driven moisture control measurement sensors. He reviewed why IoT sensors are trending, including real-time process data, visibility of process trends and conditions, and more focused analysis. Compared to non-enabled sensors, IoT sensors enable cloud-based updates, remote diagnostics, and monitoring of sensor health and performance.

Kovacik spoke on the criteria for integrating IoT-enabled sensors into your process, including partnering with the right organization and having a strategy for adoption. More technology-specific, he focused on Finna’s OMNIR noncontact, non-destructive, real-time moisture control measurement, which features white light, near-infrared energy filtering and resonance frequency of water molecules, and with advantages built into the associated and minimized system hardware.

Kovacik talked about the company’s RF technology including an in-line meter that delivers a full moisture map of boards/pieces; and he addressed their in-line acoustic technology for strength grading.

Finna’s products can be implemented and provide value throughout the process, from incoming raw material to drying, energy production and final product quality.

The biennial Timber Processing & Energy Expo, following a pandemic-induced cancellation in 2020, returns this September 28-30 to the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Ore. Hatton-Brown Expositions, an affiliate of Panel World magazine, has hosed the event since 2010.

“It’s hard to believe it has been four years since TP&EE was held, and what a strange trip it has been,” comments Rich Donnell, TP&EE Show Director and Editor-in-Chief of Panel World. “The important thing is that we’re back face-to-face. ‘Virtual’ is okay, but it’s not like being there.”

About 150 equipment and technology exhibitors will be located in Hall E at the Expo Center. “There’s no question the event has always been heavier to the sawmill sector, but there are a significant number of exhibitors who cater to the panel industry as well,” Donnell says. “And especially when you cross over into engineered wood products, as this event does, you get the best of the primary wood products manufacturing world.”

See pages 46-60 in Panel World September 2022 for a list of exhibitors, the exhibitors floor plan and a preview section of exhibitors for the panel industry and write-ups on their technologies.

TP&EE will include a conference entitled “From Forest to Frame: Mass Timber Developments.” It will be held during the first day of the show, Wednesday, September 28. A second conference, “Sawmill Productivity & Efficiency,” will be held on Thursday, September 29.

“The mass timber movement is truly taking shape on the ground with innovative building construction and environmental appeal,” Donnell comments. Representatives from the leading manufacturers of mass timber (producers and equipment suppliers) and from mass timber supporting organizations will address this remarkable growth and its unlimited potential that could entice panel mills and sawmills to turn up the production volume.

Presenters thus far for the Mass Timber Developments conference include:

● Allan Czinger, Senior Account Manager, USNR: “Optimizing Sawmills for Mass Timber Production”

● Kyle Freres, Vice President of Operations, Freres Engineered Wood: “Evolution of Wood Products: Past and Future of Freres Engineered Wood”

● Justin Harries, Senior Director, Business Development Manager USA, Binderholz Mass Timber: “Bringing Binderholz Expertise To North America”

● Janelle Leafblad, Senior Director, Western Division, WoodWorks: “Growing Market Demand for Wood Products”

● Derek Ratchford, CEO, SmartLam: “U.S. South Mass Timber Growth”

● Russ Vaagen, Founder & CEO, Vaagen Timbers: “Mass Timber: From Early Adopter To Mainstream Buildings”

More presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

Cost to attend the conference is $115 and you can register at timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com. Admission to the expo floor is free if you register now.

MASS TIMBER TOUR

An optional Mass Timber Tour will be conducted on Thursday, September 29. The full-day tour schedule includes:

—Bus leaves Portland Expo Center 8:30 a.m.

—Travel to and tour Freres Engineered Wood, Lyons, Ore.

—Travel to mass timber structure sites

—Travel to TallWood Institute, Corvallis, Ore. (lunch included)

—Return to Portland Expo Center

Cost for the tour is $95, and you can register at timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com.