Arauco Breaks Ground On Michigan Particleboard Plant

Arauco North America has broken ground on its $400 million particleboard plant. The new operation will employ more than 250 and will make both raw particleboard and TFM. The Grayling particleboard plant is reported to be one of the largest mills of its kind. When completed the new location will feature North America’s largest continuous particleboard press.

Kelly Shotbolt, president of Arauco North America, said the upper Midwest is the largest consuming region of particleboard in all of North America. Shotbolt and Rick Snyder, governor of Michigan, spoke at the groundbreaking event. The plant is expected to be completed in late 2018.

The Arauco Grayling plant will create approximately 700 construction jobs and about 250 permanent jobs. Once complete, the plant will measure 820,000 square feet with an annual capacity of 800,000 square meters or 452 million square feet of particleboard, along with full lamination capabilities.

The company hired Amec Foster Wheeler for construction management services. In addition to Amec, Arauco has engaged multiple local and Michigan-based companies in support of the plant’s design and site development.

From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/arauco-breaks-ground-michigan-particleboard-plant?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news

Sneak Peek At Woodworking Innovations: Ligna 2017 Preview

A sneak peek at some of the new woodworking technology and innovations on display at LIGNA 2017 was given to more than 70 journalists from 28 countries at a special event hosted by show organizer Deutsche Messe. The world’s largest woodworking event, LIGNA will be held May 22-26 in Hannover, Germany.

This year’s LIGNA fair will play host to more than 1,500 exhibitors from 45 nations, with displays spread across more than 1.313 million square feet of display space. The number of visitors to the show is projected to reach 93,000, said Dr. Andreas Gruchow, member of Deutsche Messe’s Management Board.

“LIGNA 2017 is where key solutions and applications will be showcased. It’s where business relationships and networks will be built that will benefit the entire wood industry for years to come,” Gruchow added.

The themes for this year’s event include: Integrated Manufacturing – on the Way to Industry 4.0; Processing of Plastics and Composites; and “Access to Resources and Technology” at the Wood Industry Summit.  “This year, the exhibitors are presenting a wide array of innovations for intelligent networked manufacturing systems, not to mention new ideas and strategies for the many value-creation networks at play in the wood processing and woodworking industries,” he said.

The LIGNA 2017 Preview, held Feb. 14 at the show fairgrounds, also included a presentation from Wolfgang Poschl, chairman of the VDMA Woodworking Machinery division and chairman of the management board of Michael Weinig AG. The VDMA is also an organizer of the LIGNA fair.

From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/events-contests/event-coverage/sneak-peek-woodworking-innovations-ligna-2017-preview?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_new

Composite Panel Association Reports Panel Shipments End Year Slightly Below 2015

Composite Panel Association Reports Panel Shipments End Year Slightly Below 2015

The Composite Panel Association’s December Industry Snapshot Report indicates that North American composite panel shipments of particleboard and MDF totaled 5.511 billion square feet for the year 2016, a slight decrease of 0.9 percent below 2015.

December shipments totaled 412 million square feet (MMSF) (3/4-inch basis), down 1.5 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

Particleboard shipments totaled 236 MMSF (3/4-inch basis) in December, and were 3.305 BSF for the year 2016, coming in 1.4 percent below 2015. MDF shipments totaled 176 MMSF (3/4-inch basis) for the month and 2.206 MMSF for 2016, essentially flat compared to 2015.

Capitalization rate for particleboard production was primarily in the 65 to 75 percent range for 2016. Particleboard shipments for both the United States and Canada have remained about the same for the past four years. Shipments are extrapolated based on data received from 95.2 percent of the U.S. industry and 100 percent of Canadian industry.

The Industry Snapshot Report is published by the 15th of each month and is available to members on CPA’s web site. The 2016 North American Shipments and Downstream Market Report will be published in May and provide a comprehensive analysis of industry shipments.

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Norbord’s Alberta OSB Mill Resumes Production After Fire

Norbord Inc. recently announced that its OSB mill in High Level, Alberta resumed production over the weekend following a fire that occurred on May 4th.

As previously reported, in the afternoon of May 4th, a fire broke out in the mill yard which, as a result of the hot, dry, windy weather conditions in northern Alberta , quickly spread to the log storage area outside the plant.  As a precaution, Norbord immediately suspended production at the mill.  Shipping from finished goods inventory resumed the weekend of May 6th.

The High Level, Alberta mill has a stated annual production capacity of 860 million square feet (3/8-inch basis) and has been ramping up towards full production since resuming operations in late 2013.  High Level is located approximately 720 kilometers northwest of Edmonton and 400 kilometers west of Fort McMurray.

From Yahoo! Finance: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/norbords-high-level-alberta-mill-100000267.html;_ylt=A86.J72EOkNXRkIAbiAnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw–

Oregon’s Swanson Group Plywood Mill Rises From Ashes, Will Employ 200

A plywood and veneer mill being built in Springfield will provide 200 full-time jobs once fully operational.

Glendale, Oregon-based Swanson Group is building the new mill on the site of its former facility, which burned in a 2014 fire. According to information from the company, total costs, including permitting, construction and equipment, could exceed $55 million.

While the plant is expected to be up and running in April, it likely won’t reach full capacity until August. The new mill will be roughly 345,000 square feet, located at 1651 S F St., according to company spokesperson Cameron Stewart.

Several factors pushed the company to rebuild rather than lease a different facility, including Springfield’s “proven and dedicated workforce” and its nearby timber sources, according to Stewart.

When at full capacity, the plant will produce about 20 million square feet of veneer each month, which will be turned into 10 to 12 million square feet of plywood products. Annually, it will produce some 120 million square feet of finished plywood products.

From the Portland Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/sbo/2016/01/springfield-plywood-mill-rises-from-ashes-will.html