Competition Drives Oregon Mill Investments

by | Jan 9, 2017 | News

To be competitive in the wood products industry, companies must stay on the cutting edge. But to get to the forefront, wood products companies must invest in their production facilities to increase automation and efficiency, and to lower manufacturing costs, experts say.

“It’s a competitive market,” said Jon Anderson, president and publisher of Random Lengths, a wood products industry trade publication based in Eugene. “Unless people are investing in their plants, they’re going to fall behind and, ultimately, fall by the wayside probably in the tougher markets.”

In the past couple of years, Swanson Group in Springfield, Seneca Sawmill in Eugene, Weyerhaeuser in Eugene, and International Paper in Springfield have made major investments in their facilities totaling about $273 million. Such upgrades are part of a trend throughout the North American woods products industry, Anderson said. Wood products companies in the Pacific Northwest, Canada and the southern United States have improved their operations, he said.

The improvements can help firms capture market share during strong markets and allow them to stay afloat when the economy weakens. “It’s the more efficient, more productive producer that is going to survive the downturns,” Anderson said. “We’re not in a downturn now, but most of these operators have gone through ups and downs in their time, and they are going to get ready for the next one.”

Seneca Sawmill on Highway 99 in Eugene is nearing the end of a major facilities renovation, including the installation of new kilns, revamping its shipping and loading facility and expanding its log yard. Early this year, the company plans to upgrade its planer, the equipment that smooths lumber. By the time it’s finished, the firm will have spent $63 million on improving its operations.

From The Register-Guard: https://registerguard.com/rg/business/bluechip/35084194-62/competition-drives-mill-investments.html.csp

Canadian Veneer Mill Thrives Amid Market Uncertainty

by | Sep 7, 2016 | News

The log yard is filled with two months’ worth of inventory and activity is humming at Columbia Forest Products’ veneer plant, east of North Bay. After being mothballed for five years, operations at the hardwood veneer mill in Rutherglen resumed April 18 running one shift of 52 employees.

Without delving into production numbers, mill manager Peter Loy said since the reopening, things have gone well as the operation continues to its ramp-up toward full production.

Heading into 2016, Northern American veneer demand wasn’t exactly bursting at the seams, but it had improved sufficiently enough for Columbia to make the decision to restart the 100,000-square-foot mill it had shuttered in 2010.

Loy said it’s difficult to forecast if the veneer markets will show signs of improvement over a sustained stretch. “Nobody can look forward any more than a few months and say, ‘it’s going to be a banner time’ or ‘no, we’d better think about slowing down.’ Historically, there’s a cycle to appetites through the year and typically it slacks off toward the end of the year and picks up early in the new year. It has to do with inventories and costing over the year-end.”

The U.S. remains the No. 1 global importer of hardwood veneer. “One of our largest competitors for our end product, being plywood, is China,” said Loy. “And they’ve eaten up a whole lot of market share in North America with their imports. As far as veneer goes, they’ll always be imports for sliced and specialty woods – things like that – but it’s not a big bite of our lunch.”

From Northern Ontario Business: https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/Industry-News/forestry/2016/09/Veneer-mill-thrives-amid-market-uncertainty.aspx