Steve Swanson, CEO & Executive Chairman of the Swanson Group, and recently named the Timber Processing 2026 Person of the Year, has for the second time assumed the role of Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition.

Under Swanson’s prior leadership of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, the organization implemented structural changes that yielded today’s organization. These changes sharpened the focus of the organization to better address Canada’s unfair trade practices using all available tools under U.S. law. As a result, the Coalition has been able to produce unprecedented results for its membership and the U.S. forestry industry following the organization’s most successful set of trade cases under the U.S. trade laws. Swanson was previously Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition from 2005 through 2012.

“I would like to thank Andrew Miller for his great leadership of the U.S. Lumber Coalition over the last four years through some challenging times, all the while pressing the organization unyieldingly forward in its mission to address Canada’s unfair softwood lumber trade practices,” Swanson states. “Much has changed since I last served as Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition. Canada’s unfair trade practices that are driven by its excess lumber capacity and unfair government subsidies unfortunately have not.”

Swanson adds, “I applaud President Trump’s stated policies of strictly and strongly enforcing our U.S. antidumping and countervailing trade laws and for taking additional steps under Section 232 to further boost Made in U.S.A. softwood lumber production and U.S. workers. This is critically important because the simple fact is that if we allow Canada’s massive softwood lumber overcapacity and associated unfair trade practices to destroy our U.S. softwood lumber production capacity and supply, then good luck building homes in America.”

Swanson’s longstanding commitment to lumber fair trade and to Oregon’s rural economy, and his leadership at Roseburg-based Swanson Group were major reasons why he was chosen for the TP POY honor. Swanson Group operates a sawmill at Roseburg, plywood plants at Glendale and Springfield and a pellet mill in Oakland, Ore., while employing more than 1,200.

Swanson will accept the TP POY award during a ceremony at 3 p.m. on September 23 during the Timber Processing & Energy Expo held September 23-25 at the Portland Expo Center, Portland, Ore.

In a strategic move driven by customer focus and long-term market optimization, Fagus-GreCon has acquired the Dynamic Microchamber (DMC) from Bakelite. This transition reflects Bakelite’s decision to sharpen its concentration on its core expertise in wood adhesives, while entrusting Fagus-GreCon to advance and expand the DMC business with renewed innovation and technical excellence.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) has announced that President and CEO Kathy Abusow will retire in 2026, having led SFI through a period of significant expansion across North America, increasing reach, impact, relevance, and global recognition.

Throughout her tenure, she inspired the SFI team and community to advance practical sustainability solutions demonstrated by measurable results. Under Abusow’s leadership, SFI achieved a formidable scale to make a meaningful difference and contribution to positive change in our forests and for our communities. This includes increasing the SFI Canadian and U.S. footprint to more than 370 million acres (150 million hectares) certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard, including public, private, Indigenous, conservation, university, urban, and community forests, with millions more acres positively influenced by the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard.

“Kathy’s leadership has invaluably shaped who SFI is today. She has been a strategic growth leader who translated mission into impact and results,” says Dan Lambe, CEO of the Arbor Day Foundation and Chair of the SFI Board of Directors. “Her commitment to excellence, integrity, and people has left an indelible mark on our organization. We are deeply grateful for her many contributions and the strong foundation she leaves behind. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating Kathy’s exemplary career.”

Under Abusow’s leadership, SFI has expanded its scope beyond standards to include conservation collaboration, community engagement, Indigenous relations, environmental education, and career pathways in the forest sector. She led the integration of Project Learning Tree (PLT) into SFI in 2017, growing the award-winning environmental education program and celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In 2018, she founded PLT Canada, which has placed more than 8,700 Green Jobs since inception, achieving 50% participation by women and 15% by Indigenous youth, and reached hundreds more young adults through Green Mentor and Youth Delegate programs. She is a prominent voice for sustainability and a strong advocate for diversity in the sector, known for her commitment to ensuring the sector is representative of society.

A comprehensive search for the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer will be undertaken over the coming months. The Board will engage in a rigorous recruitment process to identify a leader who will build on the organization’s strengths, advance its mission, and guide the implementation of SFI’s 2025-2030 Strategic Direction.

Abusow’s role as President & CEO of SFI, and President & CEO of PLT Canada will be divided into a new SFI CEO, a President of SFI, and a President of PLT Canada. Abusow is thrilled that members of her Senior Leadership Team will immediately be elevated during this transition. Jason Metnick has been named President of SFI. Christine Leduc, RPF, has been named President of PLT Canada.

Abusow will continue to serve and work closely with the Board and senior leadership team in her current capacity as CEO to support continuity during the transition.

Estonian Plywood AS (ESTPLY), headquartered in Jõgeva, Estonia, is expanding its production capacity and, as part of the project, Grenzebach will deliver not only a second veneer dryer but, for the first time, integrate the AI-powered veneer scanner ROSI (Real-Time Optical Surface Inspection) into both the new and existing systems. The decision reflects the long-standing successful partnership and ESTPLY’s ongoing commitment to investing in modern manufacturing technologies.

With ROSI, Grenzebach brings artificial intelligence to veneer processing and quality control: The system enables highly precise, AI-driven surface inspection in real time. “The decision to implement ROSI is an important step toward digitalization and quality assurance. The combination of intelligent technology and user-friendly operation convinced us,” says Ando Jukk, Member of the Supervisory Board Estonian Plywood.

Through adaptive LED technology and state-of-the-art cameras, ROSI reliably detects surface defects, dimensional deviations, and structural irregularities. Results are automatically classified according to customer-specific quality criteria—known as recipes—without requiring programming skills. “With ROSI, we are taking quality assurance to a new level while providing a user-friendly solution that can be seamlessly integrated into existing processes,” explains Benedikt Allen-dorf, Product Manager Grenzebach Group. The scanner will be integrated into the new line and retrofitted into the existing system.

Commissioning of the new system is scheduled for Q4 2026.

Visit grenzebach.com.