by Web Editor | Aug 2, 2017 | News
Raute Corporation has received an order worth over EUR 11 million for an LVL layup line for Roseburg Forest Products, Inc. (RFP) of Roseburg, Oregon, USA.
The present order received by Raute consists of a very high capacity LVL layup line. The line will be delivered to RFP’s new LVL mill in Chester, South Carolina, USA late 2018. The capacity of RFP’s new LVL mill will be 285,000 m3 per year and will be one of the largest capacity single LVL lines in the world. The equipment will be engineered and produced in Raute’s North American unit in Delta, Vancouver area, Canada.
The cooperation between RFP and Raute has continued for many years. Raute has delivered projects of various sizes to RFP’s plywood and LVL mills. The largest project was RFP’s first LVL line in Roseburg, Oregon, USA delivered in the year 2000.
The demand for LVL in the USA has been growing steadily in recent years. By building this new LVL mill Roseburg will be responding to that demand and intends to maintain their strong market position. Raute was selected as the supplier for the LVL layup line because of its extensive experience from earlier deliveries as well as Raute’s leading LVL process technology.
The present new order has no impact on Raute’s outlook for 2017, but it will strengthen the order book for 2018. Raute’s net sales will grow clearly and operating profit will improve clearly over the levels of 2016.
From GlobeNewswire: https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/07/31/1064708/0/en/Raute-receives-an-order-worth-over-EUR-11-million-to-USA.html
by Web Editor | Jul 12, 2017 | News
Oregon-based Roseburg Forest Products will expand its operations in the southeastern United States with construction of a new engineered wood products plant in Chester, S.C. Roseburg publicly announced the project July 11 at a joint news conference with officials representing the state of South Carolina and Chester County.
“This is an exciting strategic growth opportunity in a business that has done well for us,” Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulbery said. “With the continued increase in housing starts in the southeastern U.S., we see ongoing demand growth for engineered wood products in the region and elsewhere. We are grateful to state and local officials in Chester for their hard work and collaborative efforts to facilitate this project.”
Groundbreaking on the planned state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is expected in early 2018, with anticipated operation start-up in mid-2019. Once completed, the plant will create 148 full-time jobs.
“This new plant will be the most technologically advanced manufacturing facility of its kind in the world with the highest capacity continuous LVL press in the world,” said Steve Killgore, Roseburg’s Senior Vice President of Solid Wood Business. “Expanding our manufacturing capacity in this way allows us to meet growing customer demand for a versatile product that combines the best of modern processing technology and structural capability.”
The new plant will make Roseburg the largest U.S. manufacturer of engineered wood products serving independent distributors without captive distribution. Roseburg first established its engineered wood products business in 2001 and currently manufactures RFPI Joists, RigidLam LVL and RigidRim Rimboard at its plant in Riddle, Ore.
Read more on this from Roseburg Forest Products at https://www.roseburg.com/News/Details/new-south-carolina-plant/.
by Web Editor | Sep 12, 2016 | News
Like much of the industry, engineered wood producers are still navigating a fickle recovery in which builders are challenged by supply constraints, tight lending, and hard-to-come-by lots. Though the market is emerging from the recession, it’s still on the slow side.
“The demand is there for 1.5 million housing units. We’re not meeting that,” says Joe Elling, director of market research for APA–The Engineered Wood Association. Production is up on a year-ago basis, “but starts could be stronger if some of these supply-side constraints were not as binding,” Elling says. “I anticipate a modest improvement in the second half of the year, but it’s still going to be agonizingly slow going forward.”
For engineered lumber manufacturers and the dealers who sell their products, the slow recovery presents both challenges and opportunities. Along with the obvious—a slower return to at-peak sales—the ongoing labor shortages have created an even stronger need for product education. At the same time, those labor constraints provide even more motivation toward using engineered products that boost efficiencies and cut back on waste.
Overall, the industry has seen a positive boost in public opinion toward wood products, be they engineered or otherwise, as high-profile projects showcase their capabilities, beauty, and warmth.
“One of the biggest things in the forest products industry today that affects EWP the most is the general feeling in the world that wood is good,” says Mike McCollum, director of engineered wood business at Roseburg. “Wood is now the first choice in everybody’s eyes. Its sustainability, its efficiencies, its workability, its natural warmth, along with the fact that it is easy to design with and easy to build with…everyone has been awakened to this idea that wood is good. Then, when you take it to the next step, everything that engineered wood brings to the construction market is highlighted even more.”
From LBM Journal: https://www.lbmjournal.com/in-depth-engineered-lumber-2/
by Web Editor | Aug 10, 2016 | News
Engineered panel manufacturer Roseburg Forest Products said its president, Grady Mulbery, will take on the added role of CEO on September 1, as Allyn Ford steps aside. Ford will remain a key part of the company in his role as chairman of Roseburg’s Board of Directors.
“This transition has been in the works for a long time, and Grady and the executive team are ready and able to take it from here,” Ford said. “It’s time for the next generation of leaders to step in.”
Ford recently celebrated his 50th anniversary with the company his father, Kenneth Ford, founded in 1936. During his 19 years as president and CEO, Allyn Ford has transformed Roseburg from a successful regional business into a dynamic and influential national enterprise that employs more than 3,000 people in six states.
Ford previously had indicated that he would retire at the end of 2016, at which point Mulbery would assume the dual role president and CEO. But the ease of transition and strength of the leadership team prompted him to advance the timeline.
“I’m very proud of the hand-off we’re making,” Ford said. “Roseburg is a strong organization, well-positioned in the industry, with a long-term strategic vision that will ensure growth and stability even as the markets inevitably cycle through good times and bad. The company is changing, the industry is changing, and the Ford family relationship to the business is changing, too.”
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/grady-mulbery-ass-presidentceo-role?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news
by Web Editor | May 2, 2016 | News
Fourteen composite panel facilities and one corporation as a whole were recognized for their safety achievements during the Composite Panel Association’s annual spring meeting held last week in Tucson, Arizona.
Louisiana-Pacific Corp. received the Safety Innovation Award for its Behavior-Based Safety Observation Program.
Awards were also given to participating manufacturing plants with exemplary safety records, including acknowledgments for long-term, annual, safety improvement, and safety achievement. Awards were given to plants with low/less than 277,000 worker-hours per year (Class I) and high/more than 277,000 worker-hours per year (Class II).
The awardees for the best long-term safety record over the past three years were Arauco North America, Malvern, Arkansas (Class I) and Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Roaring River, North Carolina (Class II).
The annual safety award for having zero incidents among Class I plants during 2015 was shared by Arauco North America (MDF), Bennettsville, South Carolina; Kronospan LLC, Eastaboga, Alabama; Plummer Forest Products, Post Falls, Idaho; Roseburg, Taylorsville, Mississippi; and West Fraser Mills Ltd. (WestPine), Quesnel, British Columbia.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/panel-supply/composite-panel-plants-awarded-safety-records?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news