by Jacqlyn Kirkland | Dec 21, 2020 | News
Nile Wood Orders MDF Plant
Egypt Kuwait Holding (EKH) subsidiary Nile Wood has ordered from Dieffenbacher a complete MDF plant with CPS+ continuous press for its greenfield site in Sadat City, Egypt. The order placed in September 2020 follows a development and engineering phase that began in late 2018.
EKH was established in 1997 by a consortium of Kuwaiti and Egyptian business people and has since become one of the fastest growing companies in the Middle East and Africa with investments in 19 companies. Nile Wood is EKH’s first venture into the wood-based panels industry.
“We first contacted Dieffenbacher at Ligna 2017 in Hannover and started serious project discussions a few months later,” comments Nile Wood CEO Walid El Hennawy. “We chose Dieffenbacher because we believed their experience and dedication could help us successfully enter the wood-based panels market. We’re relying on Dieffenbacher to provide us with a high-end MDF line that will set the standard for wood-based panel production in Africa.”
Nile Wood will use Sesbania wood from its own plantations as the raw material. Sesbania is a fast-growing plant that matures for harvesting within two years and is environmentally friendly due to its ability to fix nitrogen. The water for the plantations is processed from urban waste water.
The complete MDF plant for Nile Wood includes the CPS+ continuous press, a chipping line, dryer, air grader and gluing system, forming station and forming line, raw board handling and storage, and a sanding and sawing line. MDF production is scheduled to start by the end of 2021. The line will reach an annual production capacity of 200,000 m³.
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by Web Editor | Jun 29, 2018 | News
Offsite design-build company Katerra and India-based manufacturing technology company KEF Infra have announced a merger that will see the newly formed KEF Katerra begin conducting operations in India and the Middle East. KEF Katerra, according to MEP Middle East, already has $3.7 billion in bookings.
Both companies use offsite manufacturing and technology as part of the “end-to-end” building services they provide. KEF Infra also uses robotics and automation in its manufacturing business and produces items like pre-cast concrete, prefabricated bathroom pods and aluminum and glazing facades. Katerra said it will also employ KEF Infra’s pre-cast technology in the U.S. market.
In addition to housing, the company will focus on building community infrastructure assets like hospitals and schools. Post-merger Katerra will have a total of 20 offices and 3,400 employees around the world.
Earlier this month, Katerra sealed the second of two acquisition deals in as many weeks. Those transactions, intended to increase the companies’ design capabilities in the U.S., saw the company enter into agreements with Portland, Oregon-based Michael Green Architecture and Lord Aeck Sargent in Atlanta. After those deals were complete, Katerra had 31 U.S. state architecture licenses plus credentials in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, and saw its staff size double. Green’s area of expertise is in the use of mass timber, and it designed the T3 mass timber office building in Minneapolis. One of Lord’s focuses is sustainable, urban projects.
In addition to its plans for growth through mergers and acquisitions, Katerra also said it would open six manufacturing plants by March 2019, including a Spokane, Washington, facility that will produce mass timber. The 250,000-square-foot plant is expected to generate 4.6 million cubic feet of cross-laminated timber annually. The five other Katerra plants will manufacture standard wood panels and trusses.
From Construction Dive: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/katerras-new-company-with-indian-manufacturer-kef-already-has-37-billion/526840/
by Web Editor | Apr 22, 2015 | News
Total exports of U.S. hardwood lumber and veneer to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region reached a record USD 108.93 million for the year 2014, according to the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), the leading international trade association for the American hardwood industry. The statistics, which have been compiled from the latest data released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), reveal an overall 20 percent increase over 2013 figures. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the Dubai WoodShow 2015 where AHEC is hosting the largest ever American Hardwood Pavilion, featuring twenty-one U.S. hardwood lumber and veneer exporters.
According to the data released, exports of American hardwood lumber reached a value of USD 79.07 million and a volume of 98,425 cubic meters during 2014. This equates to an increase in value of 23 percent over 2013 and an increase in volume of 8 percent. Direct exports of U.S. hardwood veneers to the MENA region reached a total value of USD 29.86 million last year, rising by 12 percent from 2013. However, it is important to note that American hardwood veneers are also shipped to the region from European countries and China, while veneers are also produced in the region – notably in Turkey – from imported American hardwood logs. U.S. hardwood log exports to the MENA region reached a total volume of 34,957 cubic meters and a value of USD 20.47 million in 2014.
Commenting on the record exports to the region, Roderick Wiles, AHEC Director for Africa, Middle East, South Asia and Oceania, said: “The most significant increases in shipments of U.S. hardwood lumber were seen in the United Arab Emirates (up by 48 percent to 15,723 cubic meters), Egypt (up by 22 percent to 11,614 cubic meters), Jordan (up by 18 percent to 5,949 cubic meters), Lebanon (up by 23 percent to 4,735 cubic meters), Qatar (up by 55 percent to 3,015 cubic meters) and Morocco (up by 31 per cent to 2,329 cubic meters). However, a marginal downturn in volume of only 2 percent was seen in shipments to Turkey, which reached 12,700 cubic meters and a slight downturn was seen in shipments to Saudi Arabia, which reached 10,513 cubic meters.”
From Zawya: https://www.zawya.com/story/Exports_of_US_hardwood_lumber_to_MENA_reaches_record_USD10893m_in_2014-ZAWYA20150415105310/
by Web Editor | Feb 13, 2015 | News
From: Panel World Staff
The Vienna International Wood Products/Markets Conference, Expo & Tours will be held June 16-21 in Vienna, Austria. The event is organized by International Wood Markets Group, Inc. and Georgia Research Institute.
On June 16 will be an invitation-only Schweighofer Prize reception and dinner. The Schweighofer Prize ceremony is held every two years and awards money for technologies, products and services that strengthen the competitiveness of the European forest-based industries. More than 600 international delegates from 40 countries are expected to attend.
The conference and expo will be held June 17 at the Hotel Savoyen Vienna. Speakers from Europe and worldwide will address trends, issues and outlooks in international sawn wood and panel markets, including Europe, Russia, China, Middle East and North America. The full day conference will assess global market opportunities and wood products trade. Concurrently on June 17 an all-day wood products equipment supplier exposition will be held adjacent the conference.
June 18-19 will feature an Eastern Austria Industry Tour of mills producing lumber, cross laminated timber and engineered wood products. The tour starts and ends at the conference hotel in Vienna, with one night spent outside of Vienna.
On June 20-21, Schweighofer will host a tour in the Radauti area of Romania of its large single line sawmill, a laminated post-and-beam plant, an edge-glued panel plant, particleboard plant and pellet mill. The tour will spend two nights in Radauti and ends at the Vienna Airport.
Read more on this story in the March 2015 issue of Panel World…
