Northwest Panel Industry Comes Together
The 2024 version of the Timber Processing & Energy Expo (TP&EE), held September 25-27 at the Portland Expo Center in Portland, Ore., while as usual heavier to lumber manufacturing, once again drew significant players from the veneer, plywood and engineered wood products industries.
Nearly 1,200 attendees (non-exhibitors) registered for the event, which featured 180 exhibitors on 45,000 sq. ft. of booth space. The biennial event was the sixth TP&EE produced by Hatton-Brown Expositions, an affiliate of Panel World magazine, which served as a media host along with Timber Processing and Wood Bioenergy magazines.
The event included a mini-conference on “Panel Manufacturing Today.”
“Making Wood Matter: Automation Advancements Driving the Mill of the Future” was presented by Connor Eaton, account manager at Raute. Eaton reviewed the company’s versatile R-Series technologies integrated into Raute’s compact layup line and panel repairing stations, with customized options.
How do EWP producers gain an edge? “The answer is clear: embrace automation, AI, and deep data analytics to increase speed, efficiency, output and unit cost,” Eaton said, adding that AI solves two key pressure points for mills—data and manpower.
Eaton said the mill of the future is happening today, and pointed to Raute’s $93 million (Euro) contract for the technology delivery to a new LVL mill for Metsä Wood in Aänekoski, Finland.
George Harmati, Technical Sales Manager, Westmill, spoke on “Advancements in Dryer Technology,” and noted that recent projects for Westmill included the installation last summer of the world’s longest jet dryer at Roseburg in Coquille, Ore., and two new jet dryers for Hood Industries in Beaumont, Miss. with “dual heat” technology; and a new 400 ft. long, 10-deck fiberboard dryer for Huebert Fiberboard in Missouri.
Harmati reviewed the evolution of dryer technology, and pointed to more recent Westmill innovations in dryer design and material handling, including Westmill’s WestVac capture technology, now standard on new Westmill dryers; humidity control enhancements; and Westmill’s electrically actuated tipple.
The next TP&EE is scheduled for September 23-25, 2026 at the Portland Expo Center.
Latest News
West Fraser Enhances Williams Lake Plywood With New Westmill Dryer
Westmill supplied a new steam-heated, four-deck jet veneer dryer to replace Dryer #1 at the West Fraser Williams Lake plywood mill in BC. The original Coe M-72 dryer had been in service since the mid-1970s,…
Medite Smartply Taps Dieffenbacher For 55 MW Biomass Energy Plant
Medite Smartply will replace natural gas with biomass for energy production using a Dieffenbacher 55 MW biomass firing system at its MDF plant in Clonmel, Ireland. Dieffenbacher Energy will be responsible for the engineering, equipment…
Trump Says Canada Should ‘Cough’ Up More Tariffs For The Bad Air
President Trump on July 17 condemned Canada, and specifically Ottawa, for improper forest management, leading to the recent increase in forest fires and to the encroachment of smoke and polluted air into the U.S. “We…
Rayonier Appoints Ryan Daniels Senior Vice President, Wood Products
Rayonier Inc. has announced the appointment of Ryan Daniels as Senior Vice President, Wood Products, effective immediately. Daniels has served as Interim Senior Vice President, Wood Products, since March 20, 2026. Following the conclusion of…
Nordic Veneer Announces Closure
Long-established veneer production facility Nordic Veneer is closing the veneer plant near Roseburg, Ore. it purchased from Forest Industries in 1960. Nordic Veneer was founded in 1954 by Dick Adams and Norm Jacobsen when they…
Hood Industries Announces Plywood Mill Closure In Mississippi
Hood Industries has said it is closing its plywood mill in Wiggins, Miss., which Hood has operated since 1984 and was started up in 1971 by International Paper. Hood Industries’ closure at Wiggins will affect…
Union Pacific Signs Contract For Domestic Rails
Union Pacific Railroad and Rocky Mountain Steel Mills have reached a new, seven-year contract for the domestic production of steel rails, underscoring Union Pacific’s clear commitment to buying the majority of its rail from a…
Find Us On Social
Newsletter
The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.
Subscribe/Renew
Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!