Technology Suppliers Brought Their A-Game To Ligna

Technology Suppliers Brought Their A-Game To Ligna

Technology Suppliers Brought Their A-Game To Ligna

More than 1,400 exhibitors from 49 countries participated in the 50th anniversary Ligna held May 26-30 at the Exhibition Grounds in Hannover, Germany. They showcased their technologies to 78,000 visitors from 156 countries.     

A significant portion of those exhibitors and attendees represented the wood-based panel and engineered wood products segments.

Numerous developments surfaced during the course of the show and one of the main ones was the re-emergence of Hexion Inc. as something more than an adhesives producer. Purchased by a private equity firm in late 2021, Hexion purchased AI-driven Smartech in late 2024 and this integration came on strong at Ligna.

Siempelkamp hosted a press conference to reveal a new modernized logo, along with an umbrella brand structure where “Siempelkamp” is incorporated into the names of all companies within the group.

Last November Weyerhaeuser announced its plan to invest $500 million to build a new TimberStrand laminated strand lumber facility near Monticello, Ark. The news at Ligna was that Dieffenbacher has received the order for a considerable amount of the technology, including the forming station and forming line, single daylight hydraulic press, and billet conveyors, along with the power plant—a bubbling fluidized bed boiler cogeneration system that will provide steam and thermal oil to heat the press.

Several exhibitors addressed a popular subject on the Hall floor—MDF recycling with post-consumer materials.

Read full Ligna coverage in the July issue of Panel World.

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November 2024

November 2024

November 2024

Cover: Martco Doubles Up With Corrigan OSB

This summer RoyOMartin (Martco) started up its new OSB plant in Corrigan, Texas, which is the company’s second OSB plant on site, and which is equally impressive, if not more so, than the first.

Inside This Issue

WORLD'S BIGGEST ONLY GETS BIGGER: MEET CORRIGAN II

If you feel like you’re seeing double at Martco’s OSB operation in Texas, well you are.

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UPDATE
  • Northwest Industry Comes Together
  • EUDR Ruffles U.S. Feathers
  • Ontario Invests In Element5
  • Timberlab Picks Millersburg
DRYING TECH
    • Büttner
    • Dieffenbacher
    • Fagus-GreCon
    • Grenzebach
    • IMAL
    • Raute
    • Stela
    • Sweed Machinery
    • Taihei Machinery Works
    • USNR
    • Westmill Industries
    EWP's: CURRENT STATUS & FUTURE POTENTIAL

    Major transformative changes infrequently occur within the conservative forest products industry. Plywood and oriented strandboard (OSB) became widely accepted decades ago as entrepreneurs responded to changes in raw material supply and construction techniques. OSB and plywood manufacturing has grown into billion dollar industries in North America, and now are made and used around the globe.

    PROJECTS
    • Norway’s Fibo has Moisture In Check
    • Supplier Named For CLT Facility
    • Sonae Arauco Goes Fore Recycled Board
    • S. Kijchai Orders MDF Plant
    • New Mekong Plant Produces First Board
    SUPPLY LINES
    • Unilin Partners With Dieffenbacher
    • Siempelkamp Taps Bender As Head Of Marketing
    CLIPPINGS
    • Jansen Retires From Search NA

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    Martco Rises To The Occasion

    Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-In-Chief, Panel World

     

    There’s never a dull moment with Martco, also known as RoyOMartin. In fact you might say that the company’s past 10 years have been highly electric—filled with major announcements, achievements and celebrations. Just when you’re thinking that the panel industry may have hit a lull in the action—as most of us have been thinking this year—here comes Martco, again, to keep it interesting.

    Let’s go back to February 2015. Already operating an OSB mill in Oakdale, La. and a plywood mill in Chopin, La., the company announces it will build an OSB mill in Corrigan, Texas, about a three hour drive due west of headquarters in Alexandria, La.

    Celebration I: In April 2018 the Corrigan mill produces its first OSB.

    Celebration II: Chairman and CEO, and legendary figure, Jonathan Martin, dies at age 70 on September 20, 2019.

    Wait, celebration? Sure it is. As Jonathan’s obituary stated, he had “finished his work for Christ on Earth and was called home by his Savior.” And given the spiritual culture that permeates the Martco operations, it was definitely a “celebration.”

    In August 2021, Martco announces it will build another OSB mill at the Corrigan site.

    Celebration III: The company marks its 100th anniversary in 2023, dating back to its first wood products operation, a sawmill in Alexandria, La., purchased in 1923 by family patriarch Roy O. Martin, Sr. A gala for employees, shareholders, retirees and other stakeholders is held in Alexandria.

    Celebration IV: The newest Corrigan mill, called Corrigan II, produces its first board in June 2024, followed by a ceremony in late October, which has just happened as you read this.

    Also in 2024, the company announces a $30 million investment in the Oakdale OSB mill, while making continued investments in the Chopin facility.

    These milestones don’t mention the leadership transition that has been occurring in the past 10 years, kicked into high gear upon Jonathan Martin’s death, with Roy O. Martin III fully taking the helm, but already transitioning quickly toward the day when a “Martin” is not the captain, and the likes of a Scott Poole and Terry Secrest and other members of the leadership team and their successors continue to steer the company into its second 100 years.

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    Rosboro Advances With Glulam

    Rosboro Advances With Glulam

    Major glulam producer Rosboro Co. named several primary suppliers for its upcoming $100 million-plus expansion project in Springfield, Ore. The investment includes a lamstock planer mill, expanded dry kiln capacity and a new glulam plant. The company currently produces glulam at Springfield and has been producing glulam for decades.

    USNR is performing the dry kiln expansion and will provide the primary components for the new planer mill, including a USNR Model 4200 planer and transverse high grader (THG) with Deep Neural Networks.

    The glulam factory will be delivered by Stiles Machinery, Kallesoe Machinery and SystemTM—all members of the Homag Group. The layout will include a high-efficiency lumber infeed and fingerjointing line that is seamlessly integrated with two high-capacity radio frequency press lines.

    Chambers Construction of Eugene, Ore. will oversee design and construction of approximately 225,000 square feet of new buildings and associated infrastructure developments.

    Contrary to recent reports, no new sawmill is planned, as the company already has two sawmills. One has been producing primarily lamstock, and the other, a small log stud mill, will be converted into a lamstock mill. Rosboro expects the sawmills will have adequate capacity to produce lamstock for glulam production, and doesn’t expect any increase in log consumption as the operation shifts from commodities to a value-added product.

    Construction has begun, and the company expects the projects to be fully operational in 2026.

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    Interfor to Exit Operations In Québec

    Interfor to Exit Operations In Québec

    Interfor has announced plans to exit its operations in Québec, Canada, including the sale of its three manufacturing facilities and the closure of its Montréal corporate office. This strategic initiative will support a focus on the areas of highest future potential across the remainder of the company.

    As part of the exit plan, Interfor announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its sawmills in Val-d’Or and Matagami as well as its Sullivan remanufacturing plant in Val-d’Or, along with all associated forestry and business operations, to Chantiers Chibougamau Ltée (“CCL”), a long-standing, privately-held, Québec-based forestry company.

    The purchase price is estimated to be approximately $30 million CAD in cash, based on the value of specific working capital items at June 30, 2024, which will be subject to normal course adjustments at closing, plus the assumption of certain liabilities by CCL. Additionally, Interfor and CCL will enter into a multi-year contract for the supply of machine stress rated (“MSR”) lumber to Interfor’s I-Joist EWP facility in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

    The sale does not include any countervailing or anti-dumping duty deposits related to the ongoing U.S./Canadian softwood lumber trade dispute. All historical CV & AD deposits up to the date of closing will be retained by Interfor. Total CV & AD deposits related to the facilities up to June 30, 2024 totalled approximately $56 million USD, excluding any interest.

    As part of the exit plan, Interfor also announced that it intends to permanently close its corporate office in Montréal in the coming months, allowing for the full realization of synergies associated with EACOM Timber Corp. acquisition announced in November 2021. Interfor will continue to own and operate its five sawmills and one I-Joist EWP facility in Ontario and its two sawmills and woodlands management business in New Brunswick.

    “After careful review of the potential future options for our Québec operations, we believe the sale to CCL is the best long-term outcome for Interfor,” says Ian Fillinger, President & Chief Executive Officer. “The decision to exit our Québec operations was influenced by recent developments that have restricted the availability of economic fiber, including record forest fires in 2023. This divestiture enables us to focus resources on our remaining Eastern Canadian sawmills situated in Ontario and New Brunswick, which are well-positioned with competitive log costs and an increasingly valuable spruce-pine-fir lumber product mix.”

    The Val-d’Or and Matagami sawmills have a combined two-shift rated lumber production capacity of 255 MMBF, representing approximately 5% of Interfor’s total company-wide capacity. However, the mills only produced 206 MMBF of lumber in the trailing 12 months ended June 30, 2024, representing a utilization rate of approximately 80%. Since early August 2024, the mills have been operating at a utilization rate of approximately 50%.

    The completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024.

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    September 2024

    September 2024

    September 2024

    Cover: LP Rides With Siding At Hayward

    The first Louisiana-Pacific site for the production of oriented strandboard at Hayward, Wis. has blossomed decades later into a leading manufacturer of the company’s highly successful SmartSide EWP-based siding product.

    Inside This Issue

    LP’S FLAGSHIP SIDING OPERATION IS NO STRANGER TO BREAKING NEW GROUND

    Just as the Hayward operation set milestones with original OSB production in the U.S., the facility is doing likewise with engineered wood SmartSide siding today.

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    UPDATE
    • APA Recognizes Safety Performers
    • LP Touts Sustainability
    • Besse Closes Three Locations
    PRESSES
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      • Dieffenbacher
      • Dunhua Bytter Technology
      • Hapco
      • IPCO
      • Ledinek
      • Krafft
      • Minda
      • Mingke
      • Sherdil Precision
      • Taihei
      • USNR
      • Wemhöner
      TP&EE PREVIEW
      • Advanced Material Handling
      • Altec
      • Arxada
      • Brunette
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      • Grenzebach
      • John King Chains
      • Metal Detectors
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      IWF

      International Woodworking Fair (IWF), held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta August 6-9, is mostly known for the massive amount of wood products machinery spread through three exhibition halls. But many wood products producers themselves set up attractive exhibits to tout some of their wood products while bringing together their sales representatives.

      SUPPLY LINES
      • Martin Named NA Sales Rep
      • Büttner Enhances Service Offerings

      • Dieffenbacher Hosts Tech Symposium
      • Georgia Tracks Pine Beetle
      CLIPPINGS
      • Seemac Appoints Goecke As CEO
      • PWT Expands Sales Team
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      • AWC Receives $6 Million Grant

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      Let’s Hear It For The Ladies

      Article by Jessica Johnson, Senior Editor, Panel World

      One of the things I noticed when I joined the Panel World staff at the ripe ole age of 23 was how often I was the only woman in the conference rooms of the mills I visited. There’d be a female secretary, maybe one or two ladies out on the manufacturing floor, but that was rare. Thankfully, the landscape has changed in the decade plus I’ve been stomping around wood-based panel plants. More and more women are on production floors and in salaried positions—aligning with the Manufacturing Institute’s 35×30 campaign, which aims to increase the percentage of women in manufacturing to 35% by 2030.

      Earlier this summer I made the trip to Louisiana-Pacific’s siding plant in Hayward, about two hours from my family’s cabin in northern Wisconsin. A welcomed break from family time—I mean how much fishing can my twin 10-year-olds do, you ask? 16 hours per day apparently. And imagine my pleasant surprise as I was talking “fun facts” with Plant Manager Brett Wienen that corporate-wide in LP, the most tenured female team member was on his staff.

      She’s Wanda Headley, currently Hayward’s Supply Chain Planning & Fulfillment Manager, though Wienen says over her career she’s “done pretty much everything.” Having started with Hayward in December 1984, she’s closing in on 40 years. Back then, LP’s organizational structure was split into regional offices, and Headley got her start as an administrative assistant for the Northern Regional office located in Hayward. After a year, she moved over to the LP Hayward mill and hasn’t looked back.

      According to Headley: “Back when I started my career with LP there were very few women in management or on the mill floor. That has changed dramatically within the last 10 years or so.” A sign of the changing times, of course, but most importantly a good reminder that hard work and dedication are not gender-specific.

      Thanks to Headley’s consistent presence she’s been able to travel to nearly all of the facilities in the LP portfolio (including the Nashville corporate offices) to help train others on the coordination of production with the facility’s team and the planners at LP’s corporate offices.

      Women still only make up less than a third of the manufacturing workforce. I’m so proud to come across careers like Headley’s that prove Rosie the Riveter all those decades ago was right: We Can Do It!

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      Newsletter

      The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

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      Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.

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      Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!