Washington State University held its 43rd annual International Wood Composites Symposium in Seattle, Washington State and Bill Keil was there to bring us this report

Süddekor GmbH plays a dominant role on the world stage of decor printing and surface finishing. It says its yearly trends always reflect a grasp of design flair which is appropriate to the time period it represents. 2009 is no exception, says the company

The Liren Wood Industry Group (LR Group) has an annual production capacity of 720,000m3 and was an early entrant to the Chinese MDF industry. Mike Botting visited its latest, rather unusual, line in Jiangshan City

German machinery supplier Wemhöner Surface Technologies first entered the Chinese market in 1983. It formed a local sales company in 2004 and in 2007 opened its own factory in Changzhou. Mike Botting visited that facility

ShaanXi Zhong Xing Timber Co Ltd is a privately-owned  business with four MDF lines, a 15-year history in the business and some interesting plans for the future. Mike Botting visited its latest line near the world-famous city of Xian

The Weihua group has built a lot of continuous production lines in the last few years and one of its most recent is in Liaoning Province, as Mike Botting reports

The Weihua group is just about to start up its ninth fibreboard line, further strengthening its position as one of the largest-capacity manufacturers in China. Mike Botting visited the construction site in April to bring the first of his reports

Following on from his analysis of the MDF industry, John Wadsworth shares his personal views with us about the financial and social prospects around the world after the economic crisis and discusses the great importance of, and opportunities for, wood in that recovery

In the first part of our annual world survey, Europe and North America as at the end of 2008, John Wadsworth finds that capacity has still grown in the midst of the economic gloom

I have recently returned from a visit to one of my favourite destinations, China, and was impressed yet again by the ‘can-do’, positive philosophy of the Chinese people.

The government of India is examining whether it should impose a safeguard duty on particleboard imports from China after domestic particleboard producers complained of a rise in imports, reports the Press Trust of India.

IKEA plans to transfer its particleboard production group, currently part of its furniture manufacturing group Swedwood, to the Swedspan Group from September 1.

Guangdong Jiayao Wood Products Development Co, Ltd, a subsidiary of Chinese forest plantation operator Sino-Forest Corporation, has signed an equipment assignment contract with an arm's length third-party purchaser to sell the particleboard manufacturing equipment at its plant in Gaoyao, Guangdong Province for about US$30m.

ATC Panels' Franklin, Virginia, particleboard plant is unlikely to resume particleboard production in the near future, reports Tidewater News.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved revised national voluntary standards for particleboard and MDF in interior applications, reports Furniture Today.

Medite Europe Ltd and Titan Wood Ltd are exploring ways in which they can combine their expertise and know-how to jointly develop an economically viable, non-toxic, and stable MDF panel made from acetylated wood fibres.

Hardwood plywood and veneer manufacturer Columbia Forest Products (CFP) of Greensboro, North Carolina, has been given an exemption from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) from routine formaldehyde emissions testing for its core hardwood plywood products, which are manufactured with soy-based PureBond formaldehyde-free resin.

The need for hardwood plywood in the institutional, educational and retail environment markets showed a promising level activity in 1Q/09, according to Oregon-based Timber Products.

Ainsworth Lumber Co Ltd is investigating alternative uses for a 223-acre industrial site in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, that had previously served as an OSB mill.

A group of investors hoping to buy idled Port Angeles, Washington plywood mill KPly, was still in negotiations with the Sterling Savings Bank of Tacoma in early April, even though the deadline for the purchase had passed, reports the Peninsula Daily News.

Two Chinese companies are to acquire French plywood producer Plysorol, which has been in receivership since November last year.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached an agreement with Wisconsin Veneer and Plywood on clean-air violations at the company's wood veneer, plywood and lumber manufacturing plant in Mattoon, Wisconsin.

Production of North American structural panels was just 5.378 billion ft2 in 1Q/09, a 33% drop from the same quarter last year (8.077 billion ft2), according to APA-The Engineered Wood Association.

The long-delayed construction of an OSB mill near Winslow, Ariz, by Arizona Forest Restoration Products Inc (AZFRP) has won some heavyweight support from the state's environmental community.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation is putting up C$60,000 to support efforts by the Municipality of Greenstone to explore potential uses for the idled Kruger Inc Longlac Wood Industries properties, facilities and fibre supply.

Many Canadian pulp mills ran at operating rates of less than 70% in the 1Q/09. As a result, wood chip prices fell in most provinces with the biggest declines occurring in British Columbia and Alberta. The western provinces had the lowest wood chip prices in North America in the IQ, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review.

Norbord Inc’s president and ceo Barrie Shineton expects a challenging 12-18 months, but is seeing signs that the economics of the wood based panels business are starting to stabilise and planning for a business recovery in 2011.

Vietnam is now one of the most important suppliers of plantation eucalyptus and acacia wood chips to the pulp industry in both Japan and China, reports Wood Resource Quarterly.

Sawlog prices in China declined for the first time in three years in the 4Q/08 because of reduced demand for lumber, panels and paper products both domestically and from export markets, reports Wood Resource Quarterly.

Future prices for Malaysian timber products look bleak except for an expected pick-up in plywood demand from Japan, according to industry experts.

Brazilian panelmaker Satipel Industrial SA has made a dramatic change to its current MDP expansion plan. This will now see the new line it is installing in southern Brazil reach its full 700,000m3/year capacity two years earlier than first intended.

Despite world recession, Brazil’s panel makers are completing major capacity expansion schemes, among them Fibraplac Chapas de MDF Ltda which is building its first MDP (medium density particleboard) line in Glorinha, Rio Grande do Sul state.

On a recent visit to China, the editor of WBPI, Mike Botting was advised by two established MDF/HDF making companies that they intend to go into OSB production in the near future.

Top Brazilian panel maker Duratex SA has begun the long anticipated phase out of its old established wet process hardboard production.

Three subsidiaries of Pfleiderer AG are supplying engineered wood products, high pressure laminates and flooring to Volkswagen showrooms which are undergoing a refit in accordance with new design guidelines.

Garnica Plywood Group based in La Rioja, Spain, manufacturers of poplar plywood and poplar based panels, will complete its fourth factory based in Banos de Rio Tobia this month (June).
This will complete an investment plan which commenced two years ago.

The Spanish Group Garnica Plywood based in La Rioja, manufacturer of poplar and poplar based plywood has achieved KOMO certification for its Okouply 100% Okoume product.

Surgeons have discovered a fir tree growing in the lungs of a Russian man, according to Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Organisers of PELICE, the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo to be held February 4-6, 2010 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta, Georgia is requesting a call for papers. www.pelice-expo.com

About 70 employees at Northern Ireland panel manufacturer Spanboard Products Ltd have lost their jobs following the end of production of raw particleboard at the Coleraine plant. The redundancies follow a 90-day consultation period.

A new report by the world’s top forestry scientists (the International Union of Forest Research Organisations) says climate change could actually expand boreal forests and lead to a drop in worldwide timber prices.

At the recent 43rd International Wood Composites Symposium held in Seattle, Washington, Mr Wolf-Gerd Deiffenbacher, president and ceo of the Dieffenbacher Group was honoured with the ‘Distinguished Service Award’ of the Engineering faculty of Washington State University and at the same time has been introduced into the ‘Hall of Fame’ of the faculty.

French veneer specialist Jura Placage is temporarily halting production due to falling demand.

Management of the Engineered Wood Journal, the official publication of APA -The Engineered Wood Association, for the past 10 years, has been transferred to the Engineered Wood Technology Association (EWTA) under an agreement between the two related non-profit associations.

UPM has confirmed its plans to move plywood processing from its Lahti mill to its other plywood mills, with the loss of 110 jobs.

Pfleiderer subsidiaries wodego and Duropal combined to furnish 1,425 cabins for the newly launched cruise ship AIDAluna.

The ZOW supplier fair for the furniture industry and interior design which was held in Shenzhen, Southern China for the first time, attracted some 8000 visitors from 40 exhibitors. Organiser Survey GmbH said the show got off to a good start.

The Fantoni Group of Osoppo, Italy – leading manufacturer of office furniture, partition and storage wall systems, MDF and particleboard panels, melamine flooring and sound-deadening panels – has completed an investment for a total of €15m to equip its Osoppo plant with a new cogeneration plant which will produce electricity and heat at the same time.

The Groupe Ecole Supérieure du Bois (ESB) and its partner Institut Supérieur de Plasturgie d’Alençon (ISPA) are to open in September 2009 a one year post master degree course entitled ‘Bioresource Composites: Innovation & Ecodesign’.