by Jacqlyn Kirkland | Feb 12, 2021 | News
Great Plains MDF Moves Forward
Great Plains MDF announced it has selected a site for its greenfield wheat-straw based MDF plant, has added two industry veterans to its team, and has formed an alliance with a construction firm.
The company says the plant will be built in Kneehill County in Alberta, Canada. The site, which is in Equity, between Three Hills and Trochu, will house the proposed production facility and storage of wheat straw. The site is approximately 90 km (56 miles) from Red Deer, AB and 140 km (87 miles) from Calgary, AB.
The Great Plains development plan will see Great Plains pursuing permitting with all the appropriate regulators (Government of Alberta, local municipality) in the coming months with construction expected to begin in the fall of 2021.
Great Plains Innovations is the parent company of Great Plains MDF – Three Hills, which will build, own and operate the mill. Great Plains Innovations intends to build a series of similar facilities across the Canadian prairies and elsewhere over the next 10 years. Great Plains MDF reports it has spent years researching and developing a process to make high quality medium density fiberboard out of agrifibers, using no-added formaldehyde.
Great Plains MDF also announced the appointment of two MDF veterans to its sales and operations teams. Lanny Hammock will serve as Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, while Wade Gregory will serve as Vice-President, Operations.
Earlier, Great Plains MDF announced it has signed a partnership agreement with PCL Construction toward the building of the wheat straw MDF plant.
Great Plains and PCL expect to complete their pre-construction work over the next few months.
PCL is a group of independent construction companies that carries out work across Canada, the U.S., the Caribbean, and in Australia. Together, these companies report an annual construction volume of $9 billion, making PCL the largest contracting organization in Canada.
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by Web Editor | Jul 27, 2015 | News
Uniboard is proud to announce an investment of over $7 million at its 91-employee Mont-Laurier MDF plant. Uniboard says the investment will increase the productivity of the plant through what it says is the use of a revolutionary new wood fiber mat-preheating technology.
This process innovation is a first for North America and will allow Uniboard to better service our customer base in Canada and the United States. The Mont-Laurier MDF/HDF plant produces Excel+, Excel, and NU Green/PMDI-NAF and HDF panel products. Uniboard’s overall network of particleboard, MDF and thermally fused laminate facilities are at locations in Sayabec, Val-d’Or, Laval and Mont-Laurier, Quebec.
Overall Uniboard has an installed capacity of over 640 million square feet of raw particleboard, high-density and medium-density fiberboard, of which over 50% is converted into value-added thermally fused laminate and laminate flooring products. Uniboard’s mills in Val-d’Or, Sayabec, Mont-Laurier and Laval employ over 800 people. Its products are sold to retailers, distributors and finished goods manufacturers, which cater to the kitchen cabinet, furniture, office, home renovation and construction industries, as well as to the floor covering industry.
Since its original start-up as Panfibre in 1987, Mont-Laurier’s capacity has been expanded in multiple steps. In 2012, Uniboard was acquired by the owners of Kaycan Ltd., a leading manufacturer of building products in North America, with its head office located in Montreal, Quebec. Kaycan Ltd. and its group of companies offers a full range of products for both the exterior and interior of the home, including vinyl, aluminum and engineered wood siding products, PVC windows & patio doors, particleboard, MDF, thermally fused laminate and laminate flooring.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/panel-supply/uniboard-invests-7-million-innovative-mdf-production?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news
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 | Apr 6, 2015 | News
A gradual increase in housing starts across the U.S. and better timber prices are two factors behind Plum Creek Timber Co.’s decision to invest $10 million in plant improvements at its Northwest Montana manufacturing plants.
“We’re optimistic overall for another good year,” said Tom Ray, Plum Creek’s vice president of northwest resources and manufacturing. “The largest single concern is the lack of raw materials, but we’re hoping Congress will address that.”
One of the largest landowners in the U.S., Plum Creek had a strong year in 2014, reporting earnings of $214 million on $1.48 billion in revenues. Harvest numbers were 13 percent over 2013. But timber resources in Northwest Montana can be a concern. Last year, Plum Creek cut back hours for workers at the Columbia Falls sawmill from 40 hours per week to 36 after a federal court ruling blocked several timber sales on state forest land. “We had a decline there, but once we get past breakup and into early summer, we’re hopeful to go back to a regular schedule,” Ray said.
Plum Creek plans to invest $6 million at its medium-density fiberboard plant in Columbia Falls. The No. 1 line, which was built in 1974 and manufactures panels up to 1 1/4 inches thick, will see $1.6 million for improvements to reliability and efficiency. Another $300,000 will be spent on computer equipment and monitoring cameras.
The company also plans to spend $2 million on the MDF plant’s No. 2 line, which was built in 2001 at a cost of $80 million and produces thin panels one-tenth of an inch thick. The furniture industry is a major customer, but other businesses now use MDF products.
From Hungry Horse News: https://www.flatheadnewsgroup.com/hungryhorsenews/plum-creek-to-invest-mil-in-local-plants/article_e8e443a2-d883-11e4-ad41-cfbdb6471aba.html
by Web Editor | Feb 9, 2015 | News
Uniboard announced it will invest more than $53 million at its Val-d’Or particleboard and thermally fused laminate (TFL) facility as part of the panel producer’s plan to increase productivity and upgrade key production areas.
The company produces particleboard, MDF and TFL from mills in Val-d’Or, Sayabec, Mont-Laurier and Laval. Uniboard’s composite panel products are used in cabinetry, furniture, casegoods and flooring.
In making the February 5 announcement, Uniboard President and CEO James N. Hogg said the project will enable the company to enhance its engineered wood and value-added product offerings. “Over recent years, Uniboard has invested heavily into product development, launching new color collections including North America’s first registered embossed thermofused laminate panels as well as expanding our successful NU Green range of low and no-formaldehyde products,” he added.
The company received assistance from provincial and federal agencies including Investissement Québec and Economic Development Agency of Canada for the regions of Québec.
Founded in 1976, Uniboard employs more than 800 people, including 186 at the Val-d’Or facility. The company says it has an installed capacity of more than 640 million square feet of raw particleboard, high-density and medium-density fiberboard, of which more than 50 percent is converted into value-added thermally fused laminate and laminate flooring products. Uniboard was acquired by Kaycan in 2012.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/panel-supply/Uniboard-Invests-53-Million-in-Particleboard-TFL-Plant-290986351.html#sthash.DrmfgcDP.d3FU2JWJ.dpbs
