Longtime executive and manager in the wood products industry, for years with LP, Brian Luoma announced he is retiring at the end of 2023 from his position as president and CEO of The Westervelt Co.

Luoma joined Alabama-based Westervelt as president and CEO in 2017, and has been instrumental in the company’s expansion of its lumber and timberlands divisions.

Prior to coming to Westervelt, Luoma worked in various capacities for Louisiana-Pacific for nearly three decades. He led LP’s EWP division for nearly 10 years and also headed its siding division.

Current Westervelt COO Cade Warner will succeed Luoma. Warner joined Westervelt in 2017 and has held roles in strategy and planning, sustainability and continuous improvement.

Luoma comments, “I am so blessed to have had a long and fulfilling career in the best industry in the world. Nancy and I will cherish all of the friendships we have made all over the industry. Friendships that will last a lifetime. We appreciate our time at LP and all of the great people there. Our time at Westervelt literally changed our lives. The people at Westervelt are in a league of their own. I am very proud of the next generation of leadership that will take the company to a new level. This is the right time for me and for Westervelt.”

Huber Engineered Woods LLC (HEW), a subsidiary of J.M. Huber Corp., plans to build a new oriented strandboard (OSB) facility in Shuqualak, Noxubee County, Miss. The plant will increase the company’s production of its ZIP System and AdvanTech structural panels, while providing more than 150 direct new jobs.

“After considering multiple locations for what will be our most efficient and sustainable facility, we have decided to invest in and partner with Shuqualak, Mississippi, and the broader Noxubee County region,” HEW President Brian Carlson comments. “We will build a world-class workforce by leveraging the diverse talent in the surrounding communities. In line with our commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, we have already started our permitting process in Mississippi.”

The Shuqualak location will be HEW’s sixth OSB mill in the U.S.

“Huber Engineered Woods is committed to meeting demand for customers, and we are excited to do so in a state with a rich history of sustainable forestry and wood products manufacturing,” Carlson adds. “Our mill will create a market for the abundant supply of smaller diameter timber, creating environmentally focused efficiencies.”

The new facility, reportedly a $418 million investment, will be located on 551 acres and will feature some of the most advanced processes and technologies available for manufacturing operations. Initiation of project construction is pending various federal, state and local permits as well as economic development incentive approvals and/or processes.

Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance for infrastructure needs. MDA also certified the company for the Advantage Jobs Rebate Program, which is designated for eligible businesses that create new jobs exceeding the average annual wage of the state or county in which the company locates or expands.

In March, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Dept. of Environmental Quality released a joint public notice for Huber’s application for a permit pursuant to the Clean Water Act, and in May MDEQ released a Large Construction Notice of Intent under the Large Construction General Permit applied for by Huber at Shuqualak.

Huber had planned to build its sixth OSB plant in Cohasset, Minn., but after experiencing constant entanglements in the process from governing authorities, including a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision that would have caused further delay in the construction of the $440 million plant, Huber opted to pull out of the project and begin looking elsewhere.

Huber proposes to purchase stream and wetland credits from an approved mitigation bank for the Mississippi project.

Huber had announced in June 2021 its plan to build an OSB plant on nearly 200 acres at Cohasset. But in a ruling on an appeal from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (its reservation was a mile from the proposed plant) and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, the court of appeals said the Cohasset city planners’ earlier decision to only require an Environmental Worksheet Assessment (EAW) of the project, and not require a more detailed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) needed to be re-addressed by the city because of issues involving several acres of two public waters wetlands. The court said such wetlands were accorded greater protection under state law.

Huber operates OSB facilities in Maine, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

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Established in 1975, Victor Crondahl started Westmill Industries supplying parts and equipment to the Canadian plywood manufacturing industry. Now, nearly five decades later Westmill continues to grow under its current owner, Mike Crondahl, son of the founder.

Westmill has become a world leader in the design and manufacture of veneer drying equipment and technologies. Twenty-five years after Westmill installed the plywood industry’s first insulated stainless dryer floor under an existing dryer, a practice that is now standard worldwide, Westmill continues to grow and achieve milestones such as currently building the largest veneer dryer in the world.

It was in the late 1800s when the small community of Camden, Tex., welcomed its first forest products mill. What began as the W.T. Carter Lumber Co. is today one of Georgia-Pacific’s largest plywood operations. To ensure its longevity for years to come, Georgia-Pacific is embarking on a $18 million upgrade that will modernize the plant and help increase efficiency.

The capital improvement plan will focus on three different projects beginning with the plant’s dryer. “We’re rebuilding our dryer, which is more than 40 years old,” says George Standley, Camden Plywood Plant Manager. “The dryer is the heart and soul of plywood operations and is one of the most important stages of production. Controlling veneer’s moisture content is critical to producing a quality product.” The dryer project, supplied by Grenzenbach, is scheduled to be completed in July.

While Grenzenbach is reconditioning the dryer, the facility will also modernize its stenciling and strapping operation. Currently the mill manually stencils and straps. “This area of operation can sometimes slow down the process since an operator has to manually place a stencil on a bundle of plywood, paint it and remove the stencil. This process must be performed several times to ensure that all the required markings are captured clearly,” says Standley. The new automated strapper and stenciling system is currently being installed.

Later this summer, Camden Plywood will wrap up its capital improvement projects with the introduction of its robotic patch system. Currently patching veneer is handled by multiple workers who are stationed on the line. According to Standley, the technology will be operated by four robotic technicians who are now being trained on the system.

“Camden Plywood is an example of how plants are being modernized to not only improve production, but to attract, retain and challenge industry employees,” says Standley. “Modern technology can challenge employees and give them the opportunity to grow their careers. By adding robots to our lines, it is our goal to provide more meaningful work which leads to greater job satisfaction.”

Georgia-Pacific’s Camden Plywood employs approximately 500 people and over the next few months more than 100 contractors will be onsite performing the upgrades.

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Roseburg Forest Products, which announced in April a $700 million investment over the next four years to expand operations in southern Oregon, including a $450 million MDF plant in Dillard, Ore., has selected Siempelkamp as the primary supplier of the MDF plant, including a 10 ft. x 42.1 m ContiRoll continuous press.

The companies noted that in 1969 Siempelkamp supplied Roseburg Lumber with its very first composite panel press line.

Roseburg’s Oregon investment, which also includes a component manufacturing center at Dillard, and upgrades to existing plants in Douglas and Coos counties, is considered to be the largest known manufacturing investment in rural Oregon and one of the largest private capital investments in the state’s history.

According to Senior Vice President of Operations, Jake Elston, “Effective manufacturing in today’s globally competitive environment requires efficient and automated equipment as well as new skills, analytical tools and work methodologies to optimize production capacity and the work environment. We are excited to be working side by side with Siempelkamp on making these things come together for a long and successful future at the new plant.”

Siempelkamp is supplying the heart of the new MDF plant. The scope of supply includes a Büttner dryer line, sifter, the forming and press line, cooling and stacking line as well as the intermediate storage and the associated automation of the machine technology. The planning of the plant by Sicoplan is also included. Also integrated is a glue saving system for MDF, which through atomization technology is said to reduce glue consumption by up to 15% while enhancing panel quality.

A EcoScan NEO measuring system will also be used, which features high resolution analysis of basis weight distribution and foreign tramp material detection directly after the prepress. Via the adaptive forming system developed by Siempelkamp, it provides a closed control loop for best and permanent forming accuracy without human intervention.

The production process is expected to use up to 100% sawdust as raw material. “Here we score with our flexible press infeed, a very precise hydraulic system for thin boards, the EcoScan NEO concept, and the adaptive MDF forming system—all decisive reasons for Roseburg Forest Products to cooperate with us again,” comments Ulrich Kaiser, Head of Sales Wood Div. at Siempelkamp.

Fifty-four years ago it was Dr. Dieter Siempelkamp, Managing Director in the third Siempelkamp generation, who sold Roseburg the first operating system for composite panels. The companies noted they are united not only by the drive to push innovations but also by the commitment to long-standing loyalty and “handshake integrity,” core values of Roseburg Forest Products and Siempelkamp alike.

Speaking of the massive investment, Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulberry adds, “Roseburg is embracing advanced manufacturing and leveraging new technology and methods to make our current products and develop new ones, with the goal of ensuring we remain competitive in the global market. I want to thank our partners at the Governor’s office and Douglas and Coos counties for helping make this historic investment possible.”

Dillard MDF will use wood residuals from Roseburg’s local mills as well as other regional mill suppliers to manufacture standard MDF panels as well as thin high density fiberboard (HDF), often used in cabinetry, doors, and other applications. The plant will produce panels with a thickness range from 2 mm to 28 mm.

“HDF is a new product for Roseburg that meets growing customer demand for domestically manufactured panels of increasing thinness and strength,” Mulbery says.

Dillard Components will convert specialty MDF panels manufactured at Roseburg’s MDF plant in Medford, Ore., into Armorite Trim, a finished exterior trim product for residential and shed use. This is an innovative, new product currently unavailable within the industry or market, according to Roseburg, which will invest roughly $50 million in this plant.

Roseburg currently owns and operates three MDF plants in North America. The company anticipates that both new plants will begin operations in 2025, and will employ approximately 120 once completed.

The remaining $200 million of the investment will go toward improvements and significant upgrades at the plywood plant in Riddle, Ore., including two new lathe lines and a new hardwood plywood line; and a new dryer at the plywood plant in Coquille, Ore.

In June 2022, Roseburg revealed that it was exploring the feasibility of locating an additional MDF plant or other residual-based operation within its Western operating footprint. That study, combined with a years-long strategic assessment of company operations across the state, resulted in the decision to make this investment in southern Oregon, where the company was founded in 1936.

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