by Web Editor | Aug 1, 2018 | News
Gov. John Bel Edwards and RoyOMartin President and CEO Roy O. Martin III announced the company will invest $8 million at its Chopin plywood and solid wood plant to install a new dry kiln designed to increase production.
Additionally, the company will connect to natural gas pipelines, increase log in-feed and out-feed capacity, and expand the facility’s shipping and finishing area. With the new investment, the company will create 14 new direct jobs, with an average annual salary of more than $46,800, plus benefits. The company will retain 680 existing jobs at the site, and Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in 40 new indirect jobs, for a total of more than 50 new jobs in the region.
RoyOMartin, headquartered in Alexandria, Louisiana, is the trade name of Martco LLC, which operates the Chopin plant. The company’s modernization efforts in Chopin will include upgrades to scanning software and hardware, and upgrades to automated systems, including programmable linear controls and motor variable-frequency drives.
“The continued investment by RoyOMartin in Central Louisiana is a demonstration of the tremendous success that can be found in our state,” Gov. Edwards said. “With a highly skilled workforce and an abundance of natural resources, RoyOMartin has become a leader in the timber industry and a major economic driver for Louisiana. We are proud that this company continues to invest in our state, build on its leadership role, and create great new jobs for our people.”
RoyOMartin’s plywood and solid wood facility opened in 1996 with 330 employees. Today, the site employs 680 workers and uses 1.1 million tons of Louisiana pine timber annually. The facility also employs 25 foresters and technicians at its district office on-site.
From KALB 5 News: https://www.kalb.com/content/news/Gov-Edwards-announces-8-Million-upgrade-and-new-jobs-at-RoyOMartin-production-facility-in-Chopin-489560721.html
by Web Editor | Jun 22, 2017 | News
A $250,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service will help Freres Lumber Co. bring its veneer-based massive plywood panels to the market.
Announced late last year, Freres Lumber says its massive plywood panels (MPP) could be used for floors and walls in multi-story commercial buildings, and they could be made to order. Freres hopes its panels will revolutionize the construction industry.
“We were recently informed that our mass plywood plant was named the Forest Service’s top project in the U.S.,” Freres executive VP Rob Freres said. “This was a competitive process with 114 grant applications submitted for consideration.”
Designed to be an alternative to cross-laminated timber, Freres’ massive panels can be as much as 12 feet wide and 2 feet thick. Freres says there are many potential benefits.
Structures made of MPP could be made in days instead of months, says Freres, and use 20-30 percent less wood than cross-laminated timber. The lightweight nature of MPP could reduce truckload transport costs. Large format panels could be manufactured at a facility to include window, door, and all other required cut-outs – minimizing waste and labor on the job site.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/panel-supply/freres-lumbers-massive-plywood-panels-receive-big-grant
by Web Editor | Jan 27, 2016 | News
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
by Web Editor | Aug 17, 2015 | Editor's Blog
Written By: Rich Donnell
Organizers of the 2016 Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) have announced several keynoters from the structural panel segment of the industry. Keynoters from the non-structural composite side will be announced soon.
The fifth biennial PELICE will be held April 7-8, 2016 in the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Hosted by Panel World magazine, PELICE in 2014 attracted 420 industry professionals who enjoyed 10 keynote presentations as well as forecasts and technical presentations delivered by 45 industry experts, supported by 75 equipment and technology companies that exhibited in the Ballroom.
PELICE will be immediately preceded by the fourth biennial Wood Energy Conference & Expo on April 5-6.
“The 2014 PELICE was refreshing because it was the first one going back to 2008 where all the talk wasn’t about the recession,” comments Rich Donnell, co-chairman of PELICE and editor-in-chief of Panel World magazine. “There was a lot of enthusiasm about projects-in-the-making. I believe that enthusiasm will continue into PELICE 2016 as housing and remodeling markets continue to climb. There will also be a definite buzz in the air at PELICE because it will be held right in the middle of the primary season for the 2016 presidential election.”
Donnell also notes that since the last PELICE there have been a number of production technology developments that will be addressed at PELICE 2016, as well as developments in engineered wood products, such as cross laminated timber, and in composite panels.
“We’ve rounded up a great lineup of keynote speakers from the structural segment of the industry,” Donnell adds. “We’ll now turn our attention to the non-structural side for additional keynoters.”
Donnell says two keynoters—Jonathan Martin, chairman & CEO of Louisiana-based Martin Companies, L.L.C.; and Steve Swanson, president and CEO of Oregon-based Swanson Group, will speak under the heading: “If I Could Build a New Plant In 2016, Here’s What I Would Do.”
Martin will address the development of Martco’s new oriented strandboard plant being built in Corrigan, Texas. The company currently operates an OSB plant in Oakdale, La., which it built and started up in 2006. Its history with OSB dates back to 1982 when it built and started up a plant in Le Moyen, La. It also operates a softwood plywood plant in Chopin, La., another greenfield project.
Swanson will address the new plywood and veneer facility Swanson Group is building in Springfield, Ore. to replace the plant that a fire destroyed in July 2014. Swanson Group operates veneer, plywood and lumber operations in Glendale and Roseburg, Ore. Swanson Group also purchased Olympic Panel Products in Shelton, Wash. in March and is relocating those assets to the new Springfield facility.
Also on tap is Kurt Liebich, CEO of RedBuilt and New Wood Resources, both companies part of Atlas Holdings. RedBuilt manufactures I-joists, open web trusses and LVL at several manufacturing plants primarily in the Western U.S.
Liebich joined RedBuilt’s predecessor, Trus Joist, in 1994 and served in numerous senior management roles. He remained with the company when Weyerhaeuser acquired it in 1999, and was appointed vice president of Trus Joist and later VP of marketing for Weyerhaeuser’s iLevel division. When Atlas Holdings acquired the former commercial division of Trus Joist from Weyerhaeuser in 2009, it appointed Liebich as president and CEO of the company, which they named RedBuilt.
Atlas Holdings also appointed Liebich as president and CEO of Wood Resources LLC, which later sold with two plywood mills to Boise Cascade. Atlas subsequently formed New Wood Resources with Liebich as CEO. New Wood Resources operates the long-running plywood plant in Omak, Wash., and is also building a new plywood plant in Louisville, Miss., known as Winston Plywood & Veneer.
Brian Carlson, president of OSB manufacturer Huber Engineered Woods LLC, will also join the keynoters lineup. Huber operates five OSB plants. Carlson has worked at Huber for 20 years and in various capacities prior to his promotion to president, including as product and field sales director, VP of sales & marketing and overseeing business development and strategy.
The remaining keynoters as well as the complete agenda of speakers and technical session topics will be released in September.
As of early August, numerous equipment and technology companies had already signed on as exhibitor sponsors of PELICE. Leading the way is Babcock & Wilcox MEGTEC, which is a Gold sponsor not only for PELICE, but for the preceding Wood Energy Conference & Expo.
Early Silver sponsor exhibitors for PELICE include Baumer Inspection, Biele Wood, Brunette, Cogent Industrial Technologies, Con-Vey, Dieffenbacher, Electronic Wood Systems, Evergreen Engineering, GP Chemicals, Globe Machine Manufacturing, Hexion, Imal-Pal, M-E-C, Merritt Machinery/Meinan Machinery, Mid-South Engineering, MoistTech, Raute, Sweed Machinery, TSI/ Sigma Thermal, USNR, Venango Machine, Veneer Services, Westmill Industries, Willamette Valley, as well as Bronze sponsors Ventek and GreCon. (Brunette, Cogent, Con-Vey, Dieffenbacher, Evergreen Engineering, GreCon, Imal-Pal, M-E-C, Mid-South Engineering, MoistTech, TSI-Sigma Thermal, Veneer Services/Biomass Engineering & Equipment will also join B&W MEGTEC as exhibitors in the Wood Energy Conference & Expo.)
For more information visit https://pelice-expo.com/.
