by Web Editor | Mar 21, 2018 | News
Egger Group, a wood-based materials supplier for the furniture, wood construction and flooring industries, broke ground on its North American corporate offices in North Carolina’s Davidson County. The Austrian panel producer says this is a critical step in expanding its U.S. presence to better serve North American customers.
The office building, which is scheduled for completion in early 2019, will house Egger’s North American future office staff. This building also lays the groundwork for future plant operations, which includes an ‘ultramodern’ particleboard manufacturing plant.
Construction of the plant is expected to start at the end of 2018 and production at the future facility is slated to begin in 2020. Sources report the 4.5 million-square-foot production facility will be spread across more than 200 acres in an industrial park. The first stage of the project will involve the construction of a composite panel plant with coating capacities. The company said the North Carolina plant will feature state-of-the-art facilities and will enable it to better serve customers in North America.The company also plans to establish a training center at this location to train and grow skilled workers in the region.
“Today, we celebrate a significant milestone for Egger’s presence in North America,” said Bernhard Vorreiter, technical project manager. “This groundbreaking is an important moment as we work to become a leading resource for wood-based solutions in North America.”
The office building will house approximately 80 workplaces and improve access for architects, designers, wholesalers and furniture industry customers to Egger’s wide range of wood-based products and cutting-edge designs.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/egger-group-breaks-ground-office-building-will-accompany-massive?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
by Web Editor | Sep 11, 2017 | News
Thanks to a partnership with the Oregon State University College of Forestry, D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations in Riddle, Oregon, recently became the first U.S. certified manufacturer of cross-laminated timber.
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a massive structural composite panel product usually consisting of three to nine layers of dimensional timber arranged perpendicular to each other, much like layers of veneer in plywood and can be used as prefabricated wall, floor and roofing elements in residential, public and commercial structures. It is extremely strong and flexible, making it resilient to seismic activity.
Lech Muszyński, assistant professor of wood science and engineering, first saw CLT in production during his 2009 sabbatical in Austria. He says those facilities were unlike anything he had ever seen.
“I decided to visit as many as I could because the diversity was astounding,” Muszyński says. “I learned that you don’t need to be a big operation to make a difference in the market.”
Once back at OSU, Muszyński began making the rounds to industry partners to gauge their interest in constructing CLT test panels. He had little success until a meeting of the college’s Board of Visitors. Valarie Johnson, president of D.R. Johnson Lumber was in the room.
From Oregon State University: https://www.forestry.oregonstate.edu/osu-dr-johnson-work-together-produce-cross-laminated-timber
by Web Editor | Jul 26, 2017 | News
Egger Group has announced plans to build its first U.S. particleboard plant in Lexington, North Carolina. The Austrian-based panel producer will invest approximately $304 million for the first phase of the project, with the entire project expected to run about $700 million.
Construction is set to begin by the end of 2018, with production scheduled for 2020. The panel plant will create 400 direct jobs over the next six years, with an additional 370 jobs planned for later phases of the 15-year project.
The news was announced July 24, during a meeting with the North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, representatives of local authorities, company co-owner Michael Egger and Walter Schiegl, Egger Group Management Technology/Production.
Sources report the 4.5 million-square-foot production facility will be spread across more than 200 acres in an industrial park. The first stage of the project will involve the construction of a composite panel plant with coating capacities. The company said the North Carolina plant will feature state-of-the-art facilities and will enable it to better serve customers in North America.
“The planned production location in Lexington, North Carolina will play a decisive role for Egger’s increasing presence on the North American market for wood-based materials, as well as ensure product availability and delivery speed for our customers,” Schiegl said. Egger’s panel products are used in the manufacture of a variety of items, including laminate flooring, cabinetry, residential and commercial furniture, and casework.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/egger-plans-700-million-particleboard-plant-north-carolina?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
by Web Editor | Feb 24, 2017 | News
Hall 26 will once again be home to the Wood Industry Summit during Ligna 2017 in Hannover, Germany and Hatton-Brown Publishers is once again an official partner of the event. Hatton-Brown Publishers is affiliated with Panel World, Timber Processing and Wood Bioenergy magazines.
The Summit made a very successful debut in 2015, with international customers achieving an investment volume of some €30 million. As an international meeting place for the primary industry cluster, the Wood Industry Summit features innovative solutions for harvesting and processing and for integrating the various stages of processing.
The Summit is divided into three areas: an exhibition, a forum and a matchmaking hub. Every day from Tuesday, May 23, to Friday, May 26, the forum of the Wood Industry Summit will highlight a topic of current international interest in the industry, with experts from Germany, Austria, Canada, Russia, Sweden and Spain giving presentations and fielding questions from the audience.
The main themes at the Wood Industry Summit 2017 include:
Tuesday, May 23: Forestry 4.0: Vision or Future?
Wednesday, May 24: Development and Infrastructure to Ensure Sustainable Forestry
Thursday, May 25: Forest Fires – Prevention, Detection and Firefighting
Friday, May 26: Fleet Management to Optimize the Logistics Chain from the Forest to the Factory
Exhibition stands located next to the forum will provide an ideal networking environment for exhibitors and visitors. Panel discussions, keynote speeches and the accompanying exhibition will ensure that the 2017 edition of the Wood Industry Summit is once again a major highlight in the primary processing industry’s annual calendar.
Forum participation is free of charge for visitors and delegations, and advance registration is not required.
Ligna will be held May 22-26 at the Hannover Exhibition Grounds. It’s organized by Deutsche Messe AG and German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association.
Contact Anja Brokjans, anja@brokjans.com.
by Web Editor | Oct 19, 2015 | News
CLT Creates New Opportunities For Hardwoods
The latest UNECE Forest Products Annual Market Review highlights the rapid growth in the market for cross laminated timber (CLT) and the new opportunities the product creates for wood, including hardwood, to compete in high-end structural applications. Although the first CLT production facilities were constructed in the DACH countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) in 1994, the full potential is only now being realized following a long period of technical and market development.
CLT first entered the building market during the 2005 to 2010 period, transforming from a small-scale niche product into large-scale industrial production. CLT panels consist of several layers of structural lumber boards stacked crosswise (typically at 90 degrees) and glued together on their wide faces and, sometimes, on the narrow faces as well. In special configurations, consecutive layers may be placed in the same direction to obtain specific structural characteristics. CLT products are usually fabricated with three to seven layers, but with additional layers in some cases.
Thickness of individual lumber pieces typically varies from 16 mm to 51 mm and width varies from 60 mm to 240 mm. Boards are finger-jointed using structural adhesive. Lumber is visually-graded or machine stress rated and is kiln dried. Panel sizes vary by manufacturer; typical widths are 0.6m, 1.2m, and3 m, while length can be up to 18m and thickness up to 508 mm.
The dimensions and lay-up of CLT production are now internationally standardized and recognized, and production techniques are optimized in modern manufacturing facilities. CLT is designed to maximize yield, utilize lower grades of lumber, and it can be made in a high volume of very large sections.
The result is a light but very strong panel product that can be made off-site and erected quickly to form structural walls, floors and ceilings. CLT is used in a wide range of applications in single-family houses, multi-story towers, public buildings and specialty construction.
From FORDAQ: fordaq.com.
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