by Web Editor | Jul 2, 2015 | News
For the seventh time, the Schweighofer Prize, the Innovation Award for the European Forest-Based Sector, was awarded last month. Austrian forest-based industrial and initiator Gerald Schweighofer awarded the prizes in the presence of Austrian Federal Minister for Agriculture and Environment Andrä Rupprechter, Austrian Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Rudolf Hundstorfer, as well as Vienna’s Mayor Michael Häupl.
This year for the first time, the Schweighofer Prize established a cooperation with one of the largest integrated forest products companies in the world; the North American company Canfor which produces timber, cellulose and paper. Canfor sponsored ten students from Canada and the USA to take part in an “Innovation Workshop” on the day before the Schweighofer Prize. According to the motto “From Knowledge to Innovation”, 27 young researchers from a total of 16 countries exchanged ideas under the leadership of Schweighofer Prize jury chairman Prof. Dr. Alfred Teischinger (University of Agricultural Science) in the domed hall of the TU Vienna.
The main prize 2015 was awarded to Dr. Erich Wiesner from Altheim, Austria. He was honored with €100,000. “Dr. Wiesner has developed his company into a leading timber Construction Company in Europe. The completed projects present impressive and technically demanding constructions. In addition to his successful entrepreneurial activities, Dr. Wiesner has acted for many years as a leading representative of woodworking industries both in Austria and on a European level”, said jury chairman Univ. Prof. Dr. Alfred Teischinger.
From FORDAQ: https://www.fordaq.com/fordaq/news/Schweighofer_prize_Vienna_innovations_42620.html
by Web Editor | Jun 29, 2015 | News
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “North America Urea Formaldehyde Resin Market by Application (Particleboard, Medium Density Fiberboard, Plywood, Molding Powder, Adhesives & Coating, Roofing Mat), by Country (U.S., Canada, Rest of North America) – Analysis & Forecast to 2019” report to their offering.
The value of the North America UFR market was $714.6 million in 2014 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.6% from 2014 to 2019.
The study provides the value chain analysis with respect to UFR raw materials, manufacturers, and end-users. The value chain describes the key contributors to the materials market at different stages from product development to end use. It represents the key players who are contributing to the growth of the North America UFR market.
The impacts of different market factors, such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities are also illustrated in the report. This gives an idea about the key drivers, such as developing furniture industry, rising demand for wood-based panels, rising population, and growing infrastructure industry; and restraints, such as UFR’s toxic emission property, which has influenced major countries to put UFR under stringent regulations.
The UFR market is also classified on the basis of applications. The important applications include particleboard, MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard), plywood, molding powder, adhesives and coating, and roofing mat, among others. The particleboard segment held the largest share of the UFR market in North America, in terms of consumption.
From Business Wire: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150625006183/en/Research-Markets-North-America-Urea-Formaldehyde-Resin#.VZGCNKaDrwc
by Web Editor | May 20, 2015 | News
PFS Corp. and Timberco, Inc. (TECO), two third-party certification agencies that have been linked for almost 25 years, have merged as of May 1, the company said in the press release received by Lesprom Network.
On May 1, 2015, Jim Husom, President and CEO of PFS Corporation, and Steve Winistorfer, President and CEO of TECO, signed papers merging the two companies. In announcing the merger, Jim Husom commented, “This merger combines what have been two well-respected and successful companies into one; and as one, we’ll be able to provide even more effective and efficient service to our existing clients and grow our business more than we could individually.”
The two companies together provide certification and testing services for more than a dozen different building products, including engineered wood products like LVL, I-joists, and glued laminated timber; plus SIPs (structural insulated panels), OSB (oriented strand board), softwood and hardwood plywood, metal plate connected wood trusses, adhesives, pre-cast concrete panels, hearth products, and construction fasteners for approximately 500 manufacturing plants.
Their testing laboratories, located in Wisconsin and Oregon, perform a variety of structural tests, durability tests, formaldehyde emissions tests, and some fire tests. The PFS Manufactured Structures Division provides design approval and factory inspections to over 120 HUD Code and modular building factories in 39 states and Canada.
From Lesprom Network: https://www.lesprom.com/en/news/PFS_Corporation_and_TECO_merge_67829/
by Web Editor | Apr 17, 2015 | News
The American Wood Council has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct research on the fire performance of mass timber buildings. AWC will partner with the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Fire Protection Research Foundation and the Property Insurance Research Group.
The AWC proposal is intended to advance the construction of taller wood buildings in the United States by demonstrating the fire performance of newer mass timber products. Over the last several years, tall wood buildings have been completed around the world using this new technology – including a 9-story building in London, 10-story in Prince George, Canada, and 14-story building now under construction in Bergen, Norway. These buildings have consistently demonstrated the successful application of mass timber technologies.
“Findings from this project will inform the building community and the insurance industry, providing an increased level of confidence in both the adequacy of this new construction type and when setting fire insurance premiums. This is a new method of construction to insurers, and in order to provide reasonable insurance coverage, they need to understand the performance of the material,” said AWC Vice President of Codes & Regulations Kenneth Bland. Increased use of wood in building construction also holds great promise for improved environmental impacts.
“Innovative mass timber wood products encourage sustainable forestry and capture large amounts of carbon, thereby reducing greenhouse emissions through both sequestration and the substitution of wood for more carbon-intensive products. The construction of tall wood buildings would put America at the forefront of an emerging global opportunity,” said AWC President & CEO Robert Glowinski.
When announcing the USDA 2015 Wood Innovations grant recipients, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “Working with our partners, the Forest Service is promoting deployment of new technologies, designed to support new market opportunities for wood energy and innovative wood building materials.”
From the American Wood Council: https://www.awc.org/NewsReleases/2015/newsreleases2015.php#20150415
by Web Editor | Mar 11, 2015 | News
The Canadian OSB manufacturer Ainsworth Lumber Co. has reported another strong growth in its overseas operations, which focus on serving Asian markets, in the 2014 financial year.
Shipments to Japan were just shy of the previous year at 224.1m sqft (3/8″ basis). Exports to other overseas markets more than tripled to 120.5m sqft. This upswing was primarily driven by the addition of China as a selling market last year.
Deliveries to the U.S. improved 10 % to 1.257bn sqft. Ainsworth reaped the rewards of the weaker Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar here. However, Ainsworth sold just 152.3m sqft in Canada. Ainsworth’s total sales thus increased 9 % to 1.755bn sqft or about 1.550m m³ last year. Production rose by a similar amount to 1.751bn sqft.
This growth was primarily fueled by Ainsworth ramping up output at its mill in High Level, Alberta, which resumed operations in the third quarter of 2013. This factor offset longer market-related downtime than the previous year at its three other facilities.
From EUWID: https://www.euwid-wood-products.com/news/roundwoodsawnwood/single/archive/2015/march/Artikel/ainsworth-shipped-more-osb-to-asia-last-year.html
