I am still looking forward to the day when I can talk about recovery in the world economic  situation and can confidently predict growth in panel output and sales. In the meantime, I have to be content with looking for breaks in the oppressive clouds of recession.

There are some shelves in my garden shed that provide a clear and rather extreme example of the phenomenon known as ‘creep’. I hasten to add that I did not make this particular shelf!
Wood is a visco-elastic material (last discussed in WBPI 22(3):48) which means that it exhibits both elastic behaviour and plastic behaviour, depending on the test conditions and the level of applied stress.
Elastic behaviour is observed if relatively low loads are applied for short periods of time and plastic behaviour is seen when the load is applied for a long time. Time is the most crucial factor as creep can be observed in wooden objects even when subject to low loads but over long periods of time. The ability to observe the deformation is dependent on the accuracy of the measurement system.
The rate of deformation changes with time; initially the object, a shelf for example, will deform rapidly and then at an ever-decreasing rate. Creep occurs whatever types of forces are applied, eg tension, compression, bending, torsion, etc.
Greater deformations are observed at a given load at high wood moisture contents, which is often explained by the ‘lubrication’ of movement between wood polymer chains by water. This is relatively easy to comprehend, but what is less easy to understand is that wood creeps even faster when its moisture content changes. So a shelf which is subjected to a series of high and low humidities (cold rainy days followed by hot dry days) will deform more than a shelf in a constant high humidity! This phenomenon is known as ‘mechanosorption’.
My poor shelf is therefore an excellent example of mechanosorptive creep which I will fondly keep until it breaks.

One of Oregon’s older plywood mills is emerging into another life under new owners, the Swanson Group of Glendale, Oregon. After buying the mill two year ago, they started converting it into a virtually new operation through refurbishments and some new equipment – and they haven’t shut down operations to accomplish the job.
Thorough detailed planning and job execution have been the secrets of Swanson’s success.
Mill manager Joe Andrews worked for the previous operators, McKenzie Forest Products, when Swanson took it over in July 2007 and improvement work started immediately.
The mill was on the century-old Booth-Kelly site which had gone through several ownerships when McKenzie picked it up. Their course of action was a common solution at the time – get away from commodity production and go with speciality niche products. McKenzie was 90% speciality, but that wasn’t 100% successful.
Swanson has taken a slightly different approach – roll with the market. The company is producing sheathing as something of a niche product when feasible, and also working with speciality products, including HDO and MDO in 8, 9, and 10ft lengths.
Ahead of the mill, Swanson replaced a Nicholson 22in debarker with a Nicholson 27in debarker and added controls, allowing one operator to control two log lines and sort for block diameters. In addition to a long-term agreement, they buy timber on the open market.
The mill had four dryers. Swanson pulled one out and Westmill Industries rebuilt two Coe dryers to make a 23-section, four-deck, jet tube unit and a 25-section, five-deck, longitudinal dryer. New insulated steel dryer floors were among the additions, including Sweed automatic feeders. The dryers offbear through a Ventek grade scanner, moisture meter, and Metriguard to a 12-bin Coe stacker rebuilt by ISN.
All this work has doubled the mill’s drying capacity with one less line.
Mr Andrews said the Sequoia moisture system from Ventek has been very good for the plant in optimising the dryers.
They started the lathe project even before the dryer work was completed. Swanson’s mill services group coordinated the project, which included log scanning and block laser pre-centring ahead of the Raute XY+ scanner. This is computer-controlled for the best recovery. A Raute pendulum charger feeds the lathe, which also has a new drive. Premier upgraded the lathe to ball screw drive. Central controls cue the system.
After the rebuild, the lathe can now peel six to 40in blocks so the mill can handle larger logs, which are less common these days, along with the more common small and medium sized blocks.
Veneer offbears through a Raute clipper and Ventek moisture meter to a Raute six-bin stacker.
Next, they tore out the lay-up line which Georgia-Pacific, owner at the time, installed in 1967. Swanson replaced it with a SparTek nine-station spray glue line. It includes hydraulic end-trim. The automatic line can handle double four-ply panels. An added station allows seven-ply panels. The control room is midway along the long line.
Mr Andrews commented, “Swanson laid out how they wanted the line to look and flow before they started. That is important when you’re putting brand new life in an old mill like this.”
Stackers and automatic feeders have minimised labour. The vision scanning increased accuracy.
The green-end work increased recovery, while employees in the dry end have been reduced from 40 to 13.
Meanwhile, the accident rate has been cut by more than 75%, mainly through less veneer handling.
Flow changes included product shipping. They took the rail spur out of the building and installed the lay-up line in its place. Two glue spreaders were retained for high-end products.
During all this, not a single production day was lost, nor did they mar their 290-day accident-free record.
Before stopping the lathe, Swanson had veneer stockpiled, augmented by veneer from Swanson’s original plywood plant in Glendale, Oregon, as well as veneer purchases. This supply kept them rolling while the lathe was revamped.
The mill has four vintage presses for the lay-up line and two for overlay, all of which have been rebuilt. These include three 24-opening Williams-White, Baldwin 30-opening, and Fjellman 12-opening presses. The latter pair handles the overlay side.
A roll-case line picks up panels from the lay-up line and glue spreaders and takes them to the pre-presses and on to the presses. With the existing 4x8ft and 5x10ft presses the plant can produce 4x8ft to 5x10ft panels after a 10-foot sander is installed.
Production is in panels from 1⁄4 to 1-1⁄2in thick, and up to 11 plies.
This is Douglas fir sanded, Douglas fir siding and speciality industrial plywood, as well as a full line of overlay plywood, MDO (medium density overlay) concrete form, HDO (high density overlay) concrete form and marine grade. Cut-to-size is available in 1⁄4in increments between 8 and 10ft.
The mill also produces some high-grade hardwood-faced panels for siding and industrial use.
Maximum production for the revamped mill could be 180 million ft2, 3⁄8in basis, annually. It is now 2.4 million ft2 per month, with 123 employees including production, maintenance and office staff.
“Even during tough times, it’s exciting for me to be part of the continuous improvement of this facility. I have to hand it to the company, how dedicated they are to the people and to this whole process,” Mr Andrews concluded,
Swanson is a family owned company with five Oregon mills—the original Glendale plywood plant, Eugene
plywood and three stud mills. It
produces plywood, dimension lumber and studs and also has a helicopter
company involved in logging and
forest firefighting.
The firm’s output is certified by SFI, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative,
which promotes and monitors sustainable management.
Steve Swanson is company president and ceo; Chuck Wert is chief operating officer; and John Stembridge is vice president for sales and distribution.

Nowhere has escaped the economic meltdown, but perhaps China has suffered less than most. While it has been savaged by losses in export markets, a still-solid domestic economy (supported by government stimulus) has moderated the negative impacts of global economic stress.
For China, the worst part of the recession probably came in the last quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009 but recovery will initially be slow, if only because exports will drag through 2009 and well into 2010.
This is expected despite the increase in tax rebates for exporters (which may simply help to cushion the thin profits of exporters rather than immediately be reflected in lower prices and higher volumes).
There is growing concern that the domestic economy could falter in 2010 without another bout of stimulus. Unlike North America and Europe, where the effects of stimulus programmes will be felt more in late 2009/first half of 2010, the Chinese government stimulus announced in November 2008 will largely impact in 2009.
It is not clear that China understands the need to fundamentally change its business model.
The increased VAT rebates to exporters will not enamour the Chinese to their trading partners! Neither does it reflect an understanding of the nature of current economic problems; any attempt to generate export-led growth is unlikely to bear much fruit in a global economy unwilling to increase its consumption of consumer goods.
However, it is understandable why the government reacted this way, given the acute pain throughout much of the export sector.
Clearly, more emphasis needs to be placed on stimulating the domestic economy in China (and in other developing countries such as Brazil). The significant commitment of new funds to help to improve China’s health delivery system is hopefully just the first downpayment in a series of policy changes that will improve the social security safety net in China. In turn, these improvements will underpin increased domestic consumption as savings rates fall in response to a greater feeling of personal security.

Gross domestic product (GDP)
This re-structuring of Chinese consumer behaviour will take time, but the thrust of these changes over the next several years will result in further increases in consumer spending on housing, furniture and other commodities utilising wood products. At CFPA we assume that 2009 will be the trough year for Chinese economic growth.
GDP growth is assumed to be close to 7% this year, down from 9% in 2008 and 11.9% in 2007. Growth is forecast to climb
moderately to 7.7% in 2010 and to continue to climb subsequently, albeit not to the heights scaled in 2006/7 (see Table 1).

Housing
Meanwhile, after slipping 3.5% in 2008, housing completion activity will likely also edge lower again in 2009, dropping another 3.4%. Recent reports of a rebound in housing activity in China tend to confuse an increase in home sales with the level of new residential construction and/or completions.
With a large inventory of unsold homes resulting from overbuilding in late 2007/early 2008, the housing market needs to work off that inventory in 2009 before construction activity picks up later in 2009 and in 2010.

Industrial Production
Industrial markets for wood products have sagged over the past 12 months, not only because of lost export business, but also the massive global inventory correction at all levels of production and distribution.
Growth in China’s industrial output dropped to 12.9% in 2008 from 18.4% the previous year. For 2009, CFPA estimates growth in total industrial output of around 7.5%, to be followed by 9.5% in 2010.

Furniture Production
Lastly, the all-important furniture sector experienced its first drop in output in over a decade in 2008. A 1.9% decline was not catastrophic, but following growth of over 20% in 2007, the 2008 outcome was a major setback for China’s panel producers.
Recent developments require a re-think of furniture industry investment strategies as future export growth will likely be slower than over the past decade and increased attention will need to be focused on developing domestic furniture markets.
For 2009, CFPA forecasts just 1% growth in furniture production (higher domestic demand more than offsetting further weakness in exports). But with strength in both the domestic and export sectors in 2010, CFPA projects a 6.4% increase in total
furniture production next year (Table 1).

Production and exports
Recently-released data from China’s State Forestry Administration indicate that panel production in China in 2008 totalled 94.1 million m3, a 6.4% increase over 2007.
Table 2 summarizes the key components of this production (plywood, blockboard, particleboard and fibreboard; the remaining 5.2 million m3 was all other types of panels).
Through the first half of 2008, production across the board was up year-on-year. However, weakness in the second half resulted in small drops for the whole year for both plywood and blockboard (down 0.6% and 1.4% respectively). In contrast, the ongoing growth in capacity in particleboard and fibreboard led to year-on-year production increases of 37.8% and 6.5%, respectively.
Plywood production continues to lead the product pack. At 35.41 million m3, it represented 38% of total output in China in 2008, though this was down from 40% in 2007.
Blockboard’s share also slipped between 2007 and 2008, from 15 to 14%.
Fiberboard’s share held at 31%, while particleboard’s jumped from 9 to 12% as particleboard production leapt a surprising 3.1 million m3 to 11.42 million m3 (Table 2).
In part, production weakness in 2008 was induced by direct losses in export markets. Chinese exports of all panel types fell by close to 18%, from 11.3 million m3 in 2007 to 9.3 million in 2008. Plywood continues to dominate Chinese panel exports, but at 6.75 million m3, was at its lowest level since 2005 (Table 3). This decline was more than that for production as domestic demand held up better than offshore. Chinese fibreboard exports have soared in recent years, but also proved vulnerable to the global slowdown in 2008 and dropped 17.5% to 2.08 million m3.

Forecasts
Given the economic outlook discussed earlier, it is no surprise that further declines in consumption, exports and production are projected for 2009 (Figure 1). These declines largely reflect weakness early in the year; improvement is likely in the second half, continuing into 2010. But despite this reversal, total wood panel production for the whole year is forecast to drop nearly 9% in 2009, led by double-digit declines in plywood and particleboard (see Table 2). Again, weakness in exports will lead the way. Given the data reported in the first five months of the year, CFPA projects a 35% drop in total panel exports, led by over 40% declines in fibreboard and particleboard volumes (see Table 3).
However, the improvement in domestic and export markets in the second half of 2009 will be reflected in the 2010 data. With total panel exports rebounding 24%, CFPA forecasts Chinese panel production in 2010 will jump nearly 7%. Nevertheless, 2010 production will continue to remain below 2008 levels. China’s panel industry will need to wait until 2011 before setting any new production records. Further moderate erosion in plywood’s share is also anticipated.

Conclusion
After a decade of frenetic growth throughout China’s panel industry, the consumption pattern since 2007 either represents a momentary break in the previous hectic pace or a new paradigm.
We lean toward the latter belief. Pressures on log supplies (eg Russian log export taxes), higher manufacturing costs, and excess capacity, have all squeezed profitability.
At the same time, growth in key construction and furniture end-use markets will be slower over the next decade than the last, if only because these markets have passed their juvenile growth period and are entering ‘middle-age’. But given the large size of the Chinese panel industry, while growth rates over the next decade will be low compared with recent history, the volumes produced and consumed will nevertheless increase
substantially.

This article was written by Bernard Fuller, Cambridge Forest Products Associates www.CambridgeForestProducts.com. Questions and comments are welcomed and should be sent to: Bernard.Fuller@CambridgeForestProducts.com.

Suifenhe is a far-flung outpost of the People’s Republic, hanging onto its Chinese nationality by a thread as it sits on the very border with Russia in the northeast province of Heilongjiang.
Even in the very last days of April, the evening temperature is hovering around zero centigrade and the trees and shrubs are still bare sticks in a parched, wintry landscape.
The first shoots of spring are not expected for another month and yesterday’s now dirty snowfall still lies beside the roads.
The drive from the nearest airport, Mudanjiang, a small facility with only a few flights a day, on a Sunday night is long and uncomfortable on a cracked and broken twisting concrete single carriageway road that winds through the mountains. It is 160km but feels like a lot more.
Three lives are lost tonight – wasted in a head-on collision just ahead of us an hour out of Mudanjiang as the frustration of the relatively narrow road and slow-moving vehicles presumably became too much for somebody.
On the return journey the next day, a motorcyclist lies dead in the road in a pool of blood as the traffic drives around him. I am told it is much worse in the winter months.
The journey is completed in the dark, but even so, the approach to Suifenhe gives a very strong clue as to why Dare chose this rather inhospitable-looking area for its latest mill.
I have never seen so much wood in China, ever. And I have travelled
extensively in this country of so many different scenes.
It is stacked beside the road, it is loaded on lorries in log form, it is piled high at sawmills beside the road, it is stacked in small sizes outside the poor dark brick cottages of the local people. I later discover that there are 460 wood processing plants here, of all sizes.
Clearly wood is Suifenhe’s gold and it mostly comes from close neighbour Russia; the border between the People’s Republic of China and the state of Russia is about 100m from the Holiday Inn in Suifenhe.
One is used to seeing many bilingual signs in English and Chinese everywhere in China, but here they are in Russian and Chinese most of the way from Mudanjiang.
The drive to the factory from the hotel the next morning is mainly over compacted mud, past more sawmills and other wood processing operations, until we arrive at the Dare Group’s latest continuous MDF/HDF production line, rearing up out of the surrounding countryside with its high cyclone towers.
Dare Global group has a total of eight panel production lines – four of them Siempelkamp ContiRoll continuous lines each with annual capacities of 200,000m3.
These Siempelkamp lines are located at: Danyang, Jiangsu Province (the first such line to be built by the group); Fuzhou, Jiangxi; Maoming, Guangdong; and here at Suifenhe in Heilongjiang Province.
There is also a Dieffenbacher CPS continuous line for thin HDF at Deqing in Guangdong Province. That has a capacity of 150,000m3/year and started production in 2008.
Dare also has two older multi-opening lines producing MDF – one in Jiangsu Province, the other in Anhui Province. Each can produce around 100,000m3 a year and each was supplied by Shanghai Wood Based Panel Machinery Co Ltd.
Dare Global also made one foray into particleboard, building another Siempelkamp ContiRoll line at Sanming, Fujian Province. This line has an annual capacity of 450,000m3.
The company’s activities in the wood products industry are broadly divided into four product groups: Panels; flooring; solid wood products; and furniture.
The flooring division produces three different types of product: Solid wood; multi-layer wood; and laminate flooring. The main flooring production activity is centred on Danyang in Jiangsu Province.
The furniture factories make both solid wood and MDF furniture, with three factories – in Danyang and in Fujian Province.
Dare also has a door making factory and another small unit making architectural wood trim.
The group uses three brand names: Dare Wood Group; Power Dekor (for laminate flooring); and Kangsu (for solid wood flooring).
The wood group in total has a turnover of seven billion yuan (US$1.03bn). The group also has other diverse interests outside wood, giving it a total turnover of more than RMB10bn.
“That first ContiRoll line in Danyang started production in 2003 and now, six years later, we have built this plant in northeast China,” said Suifenhe’s general manager Shen Dan, whom I first met when Danyang was under construction. “Danyang was the first continuous line for Dare and this is the first time that such a large company has built a panel manufacturing plant in this part of China.
“Danyang took around 14 or 15 months from start of construction to the first board. Suifenhe took 14 months and 20 days,” said Mr Shen.
The company is particularly proud of this achievement because the conditions here bear no comparison with Danyang much farther south. To give some idea, I left Beijing in temperatures in the mid to high 20s centigrade on Sunday afternoon to disembark from the plane in zero degrees two hours later.
In the Suifenhe winter, temperatures regularly fall into large minus figures and when the first board was produced in December 2008, it was minus 28oC. Perhaps Dare was lucky – some years it falls to minus 40oC.
Although the heart of the two lines is similar – Siempelkamp ContiRolls – other elements are different, as Mr Shen pointed out.
For instance, firstly, Danyang purchased wood preparation and refining equipment from Andritz and the energy plant from Vyncke of Belgium.
Suifenhe has chip dry cleaning and refining and dryer from Metso, while the energy plant was supplied by Chinese company Changzhou Union.
However, machinery sourcing was not the only difference between the two plants – the technology employed was also different.
In Danyang, chips are washed before refining but for Suifenhe, it was decided that dry cleaning would be cheaper and better; it is the first such plant in China. Anyway, chip washing in the winter is out of the question here.
Also the dryer is two-stage as opposed to the single-stage dryer employed in Danyang.
The Suifenhe line is also designed to produce both thin board and low-density board from its ContiRoll.
“The target of our Suifenhe mill at the moment is environmentally-friendly production of medium and high density board for the furniture industry,” said Mr Shen. “Danyang and the other Dare fibreboard lines are mainly producing board for flooring.
“There is a fundamental difference between Chinese MDF and foreign-made board for furniture production and that is the density. In China, people prefer 750kg/m3 or more but, according to my experience, foreigners prefer 650kg/m3 or less,” explained the general manager.
“As far as I am concerned, China will also realise the need for lower density board for furniture in time and so Dare Group is trying to use this line to produce lower density board for the first time in China. I think this concept, which now belongs to Dare, will in the future influence the whole Chinese wood products industry.”
Mr Shen went on to point out that most furniture board in China is produced on multi-opening lines and he feels that the quality and cost is a big problem for these lines.
“We urgently need to upgrade the quality and technology of furniture board manufacture in China,” he said.
“We feel that our group is competitive because we use the ContiRoll and of course we have some other ideas, too. A Siempelkamp four-feet-wide ContiRoll with an annual capacity of 100,000m3 I think would be the most economical way to produce furniture board. That is just my idea, though.”
The Suifenhe ContiRoll does not however follow this principle. It is 8ft 6in wide and 37.1m long.
“This line is not only for furniture board and the Dare group tends to invest in big lines,” explained Mr Shen.
“This line is designed for an annual capacity of 200,000m3 but I am sure that in future, if we build another line, it will be more like 150,000m3 or less due to pressure on wood resources. Personally, I think this is the way China will go in the future.”
Mr Shen went on to explain that there is another fundamental difference between the Suifenhe line and Danyang and that concerns the resources.
“Most of the wood we purchase here comes from Russian wood processors. In terms of quality I think China has very good wood resources, but in the south it is mostly faster-grown wood and I think the main difference between Chinese and foreign boards for furniture production is in the wood raw material and we are able to change that situation.
“Every year, this city imports around seven million cubic metres of logs and it processes three to four million cubic metres of raw wood. This is the most important reason for Dare being here – both the quantity and the quality of the wood.”
I raised with Mr Shen the question of Russian export taxes on logs, delayed earlier this year (WBPI Feb/March, p5).
“We have considered this [threat to supplies] but we expect cost in the coming years to be stable – far east Russia relies heavily on log exports for its living. I cannot deny that in coming years there may be limitations on wood supply from Russia as its economy grows, but there is also a local supply of good wood around Suifenhe itself.”
Dare only has a relatively small back-up chipper in Suifenhe and relies mainly on prepared chips from the surrounding wood processing industries.
Mr Shen’s fifth and final point concerning the significant differences between the Danyang operation and here concerns the market.
“We can take advantage of the area of this city and can export to Russia, Japan and South Korea, although our largest market is northern China – Dalian, Harbin and Shenyang.
Actually there is a sixth difference – the climate!” continued Mr Shen, smiling. “From December to April it is normally below 15oC at least and this does cause us a lot of difficulties – especially as the management is from the south!”
Mr Shen admitted that the Chinese market is currently out of balance, with supply exceeding demand.
“Because of this, China has to reconsider the whole market,” he said. “Maybe there needs to be some integration and the closing of plants with capacities below 30,000m3/year.
“But the situation in China is very complicated. It is a huge country and different areas have different situations. We expected more integration in 2005/6 but it didn’t happen. We still believe the Chinese panel industry has a bright future because, in the end, the market decides everything.”

In the early days of Shanghai Wood Based Panel Machinery’s (SWPM) existence, when it was founded by the China Forestry Bureau, the company made production lines for the manufacture of wet-process fibreboard (hardboard).
In the 1970s, the company became part of the Shanghai Electrical Co (SEC) and continued to produce hardboard lines but also added plywood production lines with cold press, hot press and glue blending.
The company later added the technology for particleboard production to its range, but perhaps the most significant development for the company was when it developed its first MDF line, in 1992.
SWPM went on to become the major supplier of multi-opening presses and complete lines for MDF production in China and to begin exporting to other parts of the world.
Then, in a move which surprised many in the global panel industry, the world’s number one panel producer, Kronospan, purchased a 70% shareholding in SWPM in October 2004, while SEC retained 30%, as it does today.
Kronospan made the purchase through its subsidiary Kontex of Hong Kong, set up for the purpose of forming the joint venture with Shanghai Mechanical and Electrical Industry Co Ltd, a subsidiary of SEC.
However, subsequent to my visit to SWPM in late April, major machinery manufacturer Dieffenbacher of Eppingen, Germany, announced that it had bought Kronospan’s majority shareholding in SWPM. This was announced on May 15, 2009.
As soon as it bought the company in 2004, Kronospan immediately introduced some efficiency measures and reduced staffing levels quite dramatically, although that had been a trend for some years already; fifteen years ago the company employed 1,200 people, whereas today the figure is less than 500.
The offices were the subject of a major refurbishment project in 2007, while in 2008 a new research and development (R&D) centre was opened adjacent to the main offices.
“With the help of Kronospan after their takeover, we upgraded our management systems,” said Li Jie, manager
of the international sales department
of SWPM.
“Then, under the technical support and supervision of Kronospan,
we launched our first ContiPlus continuous press, using the knowledge and
experience of a long-term user of
continuous presses.”
This press was installed in Kronospan’s Bucina DDD particleboard factory in Zvolen, Slovakia in 2007 (WBPI April/May 2009, p35).
The continuous press had been under development by SWPM since its preliminary designs were drawn up in 1999 and the first one, a 4ftx18m unit, was test-run in SWPM’s own works in 2005.
The Bucina press is 45.1m long and eight feet wide. SWPM delivered its first 4ft wide ContiPlus at the end of 2008, to a Kronospan plant in Strzelce in Poland. That press is 38m long.
The Anting factory is now making an 8ftx52m ContiPlus for particleboard production at another Kronospan factory in eastern Europe; the name was not revealed.
It is also working on orders from two Chinese customers for 4ft-wide presses. Global Jiahe Panel Board Industry Co Ltd of Xian in Shaanxi Province has ordered a 32m long press as its first panel production line. It was delivered in May, to produce particleboard during 2010.
Jinyang Wood Industry Co Ltd in Xinjiang Province has ordered a 38m ContiPlus and is an existing customer of SWPM for multi-opening press lines. This press will go out in November this year to produce MDF some time in 2011.
“Since the arrival of Kronospan we have also invested a lot in advanced machine tools for making state-of-the-art products and we have many new machining centres in our factory now, including a new milling machine for hot platens installed this year,” said Mr Li in April, before the Dieffenbacher takeover had been announced. “The investment since Kronospan bought into the company has been greater than for many years.”
The products of SWPM fall into five main categories: First are press lines from forming station to finishing section with the technology for the production of MDF, HDF, particleboard and OSB using the company’s latest product, the ContiPlus continuous press, in four or eight foot width; then there are the more traditional multi-opening press lines including all the technology for MDF, HDF and particleboard production with various sizes of press being offered, both in terms of number of openings and platen size.
Short-cycle press lines for board sizes of 4x8ft, 6x8ft, 6x12ft, 7x9ft and 7x14ft are also made at the factory in Anting.
The fourth category of products is press lines for other industries such as high pressure laminate production, printed circuit boards, rubber belts, etc.
Lastly we come to refiner systems. Refiners for fibre production for
MDF are offered in 36, 38, 42 and
44 inch diameters.
In all cases, design and assembly is carried out in the Anting factory but for big projects, some components are outsourced, such as electric motors.
“In general, we develop new products in a customer-oriented process,” explained Mr Li. “At the present time we are mainly upgrading the ContiPlus for better performance and lower manufacturing costs for us. We are currently importing a lot of components from Europe and we are now looking at manufacturing those inhouse.
“We also provide existing customers with technical support for their production, troubleshooting, and spare parts at competitive prices.
“We want our customers to have stable production, lower costs and increased sales and we are helping them to do that.”
Clearly the market for new machinery is difficult in the current economic climate, but SWPM claims to have 100% of the Chinese-made complete line projects placed in China in 2009.
“At the end of last year, some projects and orders were suspended but since the national government injected a lot of money into the economy, most of them are now back on,” said Mr Li.
So what about SWPM’s plans for
the future?
“In the short term, we hope to increase sales of the ContiPlus in both the domestic and export market and gain more project experience,” said Mr Li. “In the longer term, we want to become a leading player in the panel machinery market worldwide.”

In his report from Weihua’s newest factory in FengKai, Guangdong province, Mike Botting listed the nine lines owned by this rapidly expanding panel manufacturing group (see WBPI issue 3, 2009, p24). Those nine lines – three multi-opening and six continuous – give the company a total output capacity in the region of 1.5 million cubic metres of MDF/HDF in China.
The line that is the subject of this story is located in Jiuji Town, Xiangfan City, Nanzhang County, in Hubei province and was the third continuous press for the Weihua Group.
Hubei Weilibang Wood Working Corporation, a member of the Guangdong Weihua Corporation, is located on a new industrial site on former agricultural land and is one of only two factories there. It is about three to four hours’ drive from Wuhan, the nearest large city in Hubei province.
This Weihua group factory covers an area of around 400mu (27ha). After passing through the group’s signature entrance gate to the site (designed to represent trees on the one side and panels on the other in an abstract way and common to all Weihua sites), one approaches the impressive office building.
Inside is a large atrium with balconies surrounding it on all sides leading to offices on the upper two floors. This atrium also features a stone wall with waterfall feature with the water falling into a large fish pond. All very tranquil.
Construction of these offices, the apartments for the workers and the canteen/social building began in March 2007. The site also contains a ‘hotel’ block
for visiting engineers and customers as the drive from Wuhan is long and
rather tedious.
Weihua, in common with most Chinese panel makers, builds its offices and accommodation before the factory buildings, rather than using temporary buildings until after the line is running as is the practice in some other countries.
The contract for the machinery for the MDF/HDF production line was also placed in March 2007, with the main part of the line being awarded to Dieffenbacher of Eppingen, Germany.
Capacity of the line is around 150,000m3 a year and the main thickness produced is 4.75mm for customers who produce laminate flooring and doors.
I asked the vice general manager at Xiangfan why the company chose this location. He gave a two-pronged answer:
“Firstly we have access to a good wood raw material supply as there is a good supply in Hubei province and not many industries utilising it – there is only PTP Hubei’s MDF line, Baoyuan MDF and us” said Li Bao Ming.
“Secondly, we are close to Wuhan, which is a city with a good market for the trading of all wood products. Fifty percent of our production goes to Wuhan and 50% of that goes to two laminate flooring manufacturers there. In fact, one customer has just placed a contract for 5,000m3 a month.”
That all-important wood supply is made up of 40% pine, 20% poplar and 40% mixed wood species – all of it plantation-grown and apparently within an unusually small, 40km, radius.
“Weihua has its own 50,000mu (3,350ha) plantation in the local area,” said Mr Li. “The company supplies the seed to the farmers and buys the trees from them at the market price.”
As a group, Weihua has 650,000mu of plantations of fast-growing, high-yield forest in Guangdong province, here in Nanzhang County in Hubei province and in Handan City in Hebei province.
Waste wood supplies the fuel for the GTS Energy system and is supplemented with bought-in sawdust which is available locally very cheaply, according to Mr Li.
Chipping of the incoming wood is carried out by Pallmann machinery and all chips are produced on site, not bought in.
Pallmann, of Germany, also supplied the refiner, which is a 52in diameter unit.
Dieffenbacher supplied the equipment from the drying area to the finishing line, including a CPS continuous press that is 24.2m long and eight feet wide, with a Sandvik stainless steel endless belt.
This line was ordered at a time when all European machinery makers had very healthy order books and Dieffenbacher had a policy of making use of some of its manufacturing facilities outside its Eppingen headquarters, where its quality standards could be guaranteed. Hence the hot platens for the Xiangfan CPS press were made at Dieffenbacher North America Inc’s factory in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Like most Weihua factories, Xiangfan is equipped with an Anthon of Germany cut-to-size system and a Steinemann sander.
The sander was originally purchased as a six-head machine but by September 2008 Weihua had decided that it needed to be an eight-head and ordered an extra two heads from Switzerland. The enlarged sander was due to go into operation in June.
In common with all other nine Weihua lines, Xiangfan has its own resin making plant.
Inevitably, I asked Mr Li how his factory was coping with the economic downturn.
“In the current economic situation we are paying more attention to board quality than to output,” he said. “We want to produce a very good quality product and because our production only started last September, it takes time to learn and to train the people to increase the quality of the board. If we were to go for full-capacity production, maybe the quality would not be so good.”
For the higher level staff, Mr Li said that they came from other Weihua Group operations, bringing their production experience with them. For new staff, over 90% were sent to the company’s first CPS line in Qingyuan, Guangdong province, for a year for training. Xiangfan employs a total of 280 staff. Total investment in the Xiangfan project was RMB370m (US$54.3m).
Whilst each Weihua factory has someone responsible for its sales, overall sales policy is centrally directed from the group headquarters in Guangzhou.
“The whole Weihua Group pays attention to board quality and different factories supply different types of board to make a big product range and expand our customer base,” explained Cheng Da, sales manager at Xiangfan.
“The average price of the board has reduced by roughly RMB400/m3 (US$59) between August 2008 and now – from RMB2200 to RMB1800 – maybe less today,” said Mr Cheng in late April.
Weihua has considered diversification from its MDF/HDF product range and had in fact drawn up plans for the group’s first blockboard line to be built on the Xiangfan site. However, the economic situation has caused the company to rethink those plans and to put the development on hold.

It was not all ‘doom and gloom’ at the Hannover fair grounds in May as many had expected it to be. The quality of visitors was generally reported to be high – the time-wasters stayed away – and some new projects were discussed and contracts confirmed.
Takeovers also took centre stage at Ligna. On the Friday before the show opened, Dieffenbacher announced its purchase of Shanghai Wood Based Panel Machinery Co Ltd.
On May 20, the third day of the show, Siempelkamp announced it had purchased German ‘front-end’ machinery maker Hombak.
On the same day, Vits Systems became Vits Technology as former owner Werner Deuring bought the company out of receivership.
All these stories are covered in more detail in our news pages.
“But”, I hear you say, “Ligna is supposed to be about new technology.” And so it was.
Siempelkamp’s latest development towered above its stand in the ‘panel industry zone’ of Hall 27.
Called Direct Drive, it is a completely new drive system for the main rollers of the ContiRoll continuous press. It is described as a linear motor in the round and is thus a magnetic motor. It can be retro-fitted, has less moving parts than conventional electric motors and a press only requires four Direct Drive motors instead of eight of the old type.
Siempelkamp also announced several retro-fit packages to save cost: ecoline consists of five modification packages which save up to 20% in raw material costs while maintaining a consistent quality; ecochanger makes sequential product changeovers possible without interrupting the production; ecoscalper can level out forming differences in older lines; ecopilot, software which increases the performance of existing plants by improving the thickness tolerances; ecocalibrator gives even pressure distribution in the press, with improved thickness tolerance and material savings of up to 20% in glue usage or reduced wood consumption; finally ProdIQ-quality lowers the
operating costs of plants with online quality forecasting with 95% accuracy, claims the company.
CMC Texpan shared the Siempelkamp stand and is still doing good business in its forming systems as well as its newer competence in laminating presses.
Another Siempelkamp associate, Büttner, exhibited its dryer systems on this large stand.
Staying with Germany as the host country of Ligna, GreCon’s managing director Uwe Kahmann said the company was offering updates to improve efficiency across most of its systems designated GreCon 5000.
From this range, new on the stand was the HPS 5000 high resolution board scale. The DML 5000 thickness gauge offers improved accuracy, while the upgraded moisture analyser IR 5000 offers quicker calibration. The BS7 spark detection/extinguishing in ducting, and press protection systems, were also promoted, among many new/improved offerings and its three-level service package.
Dieffenbacher displayed its direct
digital printing system for the first time and had an example on its stand of its EVOjet Resinator for dry resination, claimed to save up to 50% in resin
consumption. Also, the PROjet
resination system is claimed to offer
optimised blowline resination, also with resin savings.
Since its takeover of part of Metso Panelboard, Dieffenbacher also promoted the new ClassiCleaner and ClassiFormer from Dieffenbacher Panelboard OY of Finland and doorskin plants from Sunds MDF Technologies.
A major display was the new visualisation concept for control rooms in continuous plants, Proguide Commander, with eight flat screens mounted on the wall, offering monitoring of the entire plant without switching screens.
The company also announced the first OSB line in Asia, for Hubei Baoyuan Group in China. It will have a CPS continuous press (see news pages).
Schenkmann-Piel-Engineering’s drying systems were very much in evidence, with its Omega interior structure for drum dryers particularly prominent.
Saw maker Holzma promoted ecoLine technologies said to save up to 20% energy by increased saw efficiency and to save raw material. It also offered a brand new moveable angular fence and a sliding, fully automatic, turning air table for large books.
Binos of Germany featured its oriented particleboard (OPB) line, offering a panel to meet OSB3 standards on converted particleboard lines. The strands however, are not in fact oriented and are wider, shorter and thinner than in OSB.
Binos also promoted its Active Density Control, using its lifting units to raise the forming belt towards the scalper, with resultant material savings.
Pallmann had its usual large display of size-reduction machinery and announced its contract with Hubei Baoyuan Group to supply engineering, electrical control systems and service for the green end of the OSB line mentioned earlier.
Pallmann also exhibited its new line for processing wet chips up to 170% moisture content at up to 15 tons per hour, which would normally block
most mills.
In the open area of the show, Sennebogen exhibited its range of cranes for wood and log handling. The company’s Bernhard Kirst said it currently has more orders for its larger machines.
Modul Systeme’s chief executive Hajo Binder reported recent orders for single-opening particleboard lines from Peru and Ethiopia for this supplier of new and refurbished machinery. Modul has also supplied two Siempelkamp ContiRoll continuous press lines – one to Uruguay and one to South Korea. These were both secondhand, relocated and refurbished lines for MDF.
Wemhöner Surface Technologies in Hall 26 was promoting its digital printing line at Ligna for the first time and Heiner Wemhöner reported that the company had made improvements to the Variopress 3D press to save energy and improve performance – this was in line with Ligna’s declared theme.
Saw maker Anthon presented its latest developments in angular panel saws for the panel industry, with the emphasis on increased efficiency.
Electronic Wood Systems of Hameln was visited by the Pied Piper of the childrens’ story, with his rats (actually small children dressed as rats). On the serious side, EWS highlighted its continuous non-contact panel weight scale Conti-Scale and its new delamination/blow detection system Ultra-Scan LD, now attuned to low-density panel products.
The company’s SicoScan system, marketed jointly with Siempelkamp, has been very successful, said director Hauke Kleinschmidt, adding that EWS had secured some orders at the show.
The very newly-named but long-established Vits Technology received two orders for impregnation lines at Ligna, one of which was anticipated but the other was not.
Vits launched Microflex Impregnation at the show, for short runs with “virtually no wastage”.
It also launched its powder coating system POWTEC for MDF – a new product area for the company.
Tooling company Leitz took stands in Halls 12 and 26 to promote “improvement in efficiency, increased profitability and resource efficiency” as applied to its cutters and saw blades.
Size reduction machinery maker Maier offered hydrothermal treatment of OSB chips to process bamboo and frozen wood, producing more large surface strands with a more smooth surface structure and less energy consumption.
Austrian Stainless steel belt supplier Berndorf Band offered new service tools. Brand new was the Bernfixx name to cover all service and training aspects. The Magnetic Clamping Device for belt joins is now modular in length for different width belts. The Bernfixx Patching Tool is the fourth generation and is lightweight for one-man operation. The Berndorf factory now has a new production hall for long belts.
Andritz offered its complete front-end packages including debarking, chipping, raw material handling, screening and chip washing systems as well as its famous pressurised fibre refiners, where it is offering reduced energy consumption.
Schelling went for a red balloon motif to promote its improvements to its
established saws, mainly in terms of resource efficiency and unique dust removal systems.
Scheuch took the Ligna theme to heart with its own motto: ‘Focus on efficiency’ for its clean air systems. It reported that it has continued to invest in people and R&D, even during the financial crisis. For example, its SEPAS extraction system is said to offer 23% lower energy costs for the single-pipe system compared to multi-pipe ones and 90% reduction in energy costs through the IMPULS Cleaning System. A further claim of 88% saving in energy costs for transporting materials from filter bunker to silo was also made.
Sander maker Steinemann launched its Satos Plus development, which director Hanzjörg Fritsch said had undergone 35,000 hours of development. Eight major innovations are: easy belt change; hydrostatic bearing housing; Smart Drive; integrated thickness gauge; improved dust extraction; touch screen control; automated belt tracking; and Servo Move for the rise and fall sanding platen system.
Sia Abrasives was concentrating on its TopTec generation of abrasive belts,
optimised for their particular applications in terms of coating, jointing and anti-static properties.
Sandvik is now known as Sandvik Surface Solutions, a division of Sandvik Materials Technology Deutschland GmbH. At its smooth and textured press plate division in Ennepetal, it has a new 300m2 design centre. It won a design award at Interzum 2009, preceding Ligna, for its Sparkling Stone surface texture. In Ligna, the company and its very tame elk invited visitors to “Ride the steel wave”.
Fire protection system specialist Firefly AB of Sweden reported a very busy show with many good contacts. The company has been hiring staff for 18 months to cope with demand – even in a financial crisis a fire would of course be a disaster, pointed out Firefly.
Norwegian firm Argos Control AS received a lot of interest in its surface inspection systems, perhaps because board quality is even more important in tough trading times.
Newly slimmed-down Metso was at Ligna to emphasise that it is still very active in supplying systems for wood
handling, chip washing and fibre
preparation with pressurised refiners.
From Spain came Biele, promoting its handling solutions for all kinds of fully-automated production lines, with turnkey management available, and its new EVO Generation of feeders and stackers, which can handle pieces at up to 120m per minute.
Carrier Europe is well-known for its vibrating conveyors and is finding increasing business in recycling and the pellet industry where it supplies a fluid-bed processor for drying.
Italy was well-represented at Ligna by suppliers to the panel industry. Instalmec, now 30% owned by Dieffenbacher, presented its new drum blender lined with octagonal ceramic tiles which do not wear out like stainless steel. One example was actually sold at the show.
Sharing the stand was Mist-Air Systems of the UK, which presented its dust reduction system for buildings, employing a fine water mist.
Impregnation line maker Tocchio showcased its new laser cross-cut, situated at the end of the impregnation line to cut the cooled impregnated paper. No mechanical contact equals no blade to replace, pointed out Emiliano Tocchio.
Pal presented its de-sander, Metal Killer and Air Chip Cleaner on the stand and Alessandro Marcolin said the
company had received some good orders this year in the panel and biomass
industries.
New on the Imal stand was the FiberCam – an optic sifter for MDF fibre, working with dry fibre. This measures the dimensions of the fibre even if it is curved. ScreenCam for particleboard was also on display, as was the laboratory formaldehyde tester which gives a value in five hours.
Fabio Paron, ceo of Globus presented his “four aces”: The company’s most updated and innovative knife ring flaker (Ace of Hearts); the drum chipper (Diamonds); mill refiner (Clubs); and hammermill (Spades). “Poker is very fashionable and these are four winning cards for our customers to have in their hands,” said Mr Paron.
Globus shared an Italian piazza-themed exhibition area with Trasmec and EMG, representing a new cooperation between the three companies. Trasmec
is a well-established specialist in
complete conveying systems, including
the famous Cobra.
EMG was particularly proud to have recently supplied a high-speed feeding line to MDF maker Nelson Pine of New Zealand for its Steinemann 14-head sander, running at 150m/minute.
Wide belt sander manufacturer Imeas displayed its latest Full Control System. This offers full remote control of the sander as for a continuous press, so that the sander can be integrated into the control system using dedicated software. It can also be integrated with thickness measuring systems to give direct control.
Saw maker Giben’s projects director Lorenzo Galletti said the show had
been much better than expected, with orders finalised with Chinese and Australian clients.
Longoni, supplier of paper
impregnation lines from China, reported two unexpected orders from Pakistan and a lot of interest at the show.
Italian size-reduction machinery maker Pessa has found new markets for its chippers and flakers in animal bedding production as well as in the panel industry.
Vyncke of Belgium makes energy generation plants and announced five new orders in Brazil recently and several in Europe since the last Ligna.
Resin manufacturer Dynea concentrated on its AsWood range (with formaldehyde levels similar to natural wood) of low-emission resins and adhesives and its Anypress phenolic surface films for use in single- or multi-daylight presses.
Stora Enso’s subsidiary Laminating Papers exhibited an impressive digitally printed plywood panel, with Novox printed film on the surface, as a wall of its stand. It also promoted Absorbex saturating base Kraft paper and Imprex core stock for laminates.
Fezer of Brazil promoted its veneer and plywood manufacturing machinery and reported some serious interest at
the show.
Several exhibitors came from North America, among them Merritt Machinery, which promoted its veneer slicers, rotary clippers and rebuilt stay-log lathes. The latter may be lathes originally made by other manufacturers and retro-fitted with Merritt controls.
Hexion Specialty Chemicals’ head of Global Marketing Communications Bill Klosterman announced during the show a joint venture, in Russia with OAO Shchekinoazot, a large industrial chemicals producer, which has begun manufacturing resins for the forest products and construction markets. Hexion-Shchekinoazot, is producing a wide range of resin systems used in mineral wool insulation, plywood, OSB and laminate products in the Tula region of Russia.
Hexion also announced that its new plant in Montenegro, Brazil will start up in late August. It will be capable of producing 150,000 tons/year of formaldehyde and 300,000 tons/year of resins for the Latin American market.
It also announced its next-generation, ultra-low-emitting resins to help
hardwood plywood manufacturers
comply with CARB Phase II, LEED requirements.
Globe Machine Manufacturing of Tacoma Washington emphasised its doorskin lines and I-beams with OSB or hardboard webs and Globe’s Mike Tart reported some interesting meetings
during Ligna.
Next door, M-E-C promoted its
drying systems, especially its TherMec Dry Wood fuel suspension systems. It makes single- and triple-pass and flash-tube dryers.
Brazilian firm Omeco offers machinery for veneer and plywood production as well as automated short-cycle press lines.
Back to Europe and Finnish-based firm Raute announced a contract worth about e8m with Chinese investors to deliver machinery for a new veneer mill in the Tomsk region of Russia, though this contract has subsequently been delayed.
Fusoni had its own stand to promote its release agents and additives for paper impregnation.
Dutch company Eltomation, which produces systems for the production of wood wool and wood particle cement boards, showed a new concept for housebuilding. These are prefabricated one-piece wall units with rendered surfaces made of wood wool cement board.
From Japan came Meinan with its Aristo rotary veneer peeling lathe. The company had a lathe on its stand which can peel cold (unsteamed/boiled) logs; it drives the circumference of the log rather than having a central spindle in each end.
Meinan’s latest concept is a machine to split MDF in its thickness to produce
thin board.
Taihei is another Japanese company and traditional plywood machinery maker, offering lathes, dryers, reeling systems and presses.
Most exhibitors said they had come to Ligna 2009 expecting very little, given the global economic crisis.
However, it seems most left Ligna 2009 very glad they came and pleasantly surprised at the contacts they had made and the serious discussions they had had with potential customers worldwide.
The universal happiness of 2007 was missing, but at least the new reality was not as bad as many had feared before they set off for Hannover.

Antonio Pozzoli founded his company in 1976 in Monza as an engineering business, designing and supplying turnkey plants to various sectors and by the late 1970s was well-known as a manufacturer of combustion plants for textiles, ceramics and printing.
In 1978, ITAS supplied its first thermal oxidiser (which is still in operation and meeting today’s European standards) for cleaning of gaseous emissions.
Another prominent product of the company, literally, is the construction of very tall flares to burn off excess gas in the oil and gas extraction industry.

When Roberto Longoni started his private company in 1997, he acted as an export agent for timber. However, Mr Longoni soon moved into the fields of exporting
secondhand particleboard plants and supplying laminate raw materials.
Prior to that he had worked as an engineer in the HPL industry since 1972, subsequently gaining experience in production, plant erection and management.
It is the laminating side of the Longoni business which has become its mainstay and this has moved on from simply supplying laminate raw materials of all kinds to also being the sole international agent for NTST of China, which makes impregnation lines.
Based in Nantong, 250km south of Shanghai, NTST manufactures smaller-capacity impregnation lines for decorative and surfacing papers and since the cooperation began in 2003, Longoni has supplied more than 15 NTST lines worldwide.
Destinations include Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Peru and India. In Argentina, Italian resin producer Sadepan, sister company to panel maker Saviola, has a particleboard plant called Sadepan Latinoamericana producing decorative-surfaced boards and that factory has an impregnation line supplied by Longoni.
In Ethiopia, the Maichew particleboard line, supplied secondhand and refurbished by Modul Systeme of Germany, also purchased an impregnation line through Longoni, which also supplies the technologists to set up and help run-in these lines.
The company has also upgraded and refurbished some lines supplied by others, to increase their efficiency.
“These lines are suited to customers who do not require the highest throughput speed, but a reliable and economically-priced line to do what they require it to do – ‘horses for courses’, so to speak,” said Roberto Longoni’s son Ludovico, who joined the company in 1999 after graduating from university in physics. “Our lines are guaranteed to run at speeds of at least 30m per minute.
“Over the years, NTST’s technology has developed and it received CE certification for its lines in 2007. We are getting serious enquiries from some big panel making concerns; these days, smaller capacities are required and smaller investment cost is important.”
Impregnation and lacquering lines for finish foil are also offered by NTST, as are single- and two-stage impregnation with urea and melamine; lines for producing phenol Kraft paper for shuttering; and one-step Kraft impregnation for continuous pressure laminate (CPL) production.
“We offer a lot of experience in the impregnation business,” said Mr Longoni.
Longoni also sources resin plants through NTST, and other suppliers, to complement the impregnation lines.
The company’s expertise in high pressure laminates (HPL) has enabled it also to offer the technology for its customers to make high-gloss HPL, as well as HPL which does not use phenolic resin in its construction but a special urea recipe.
“Essentially, we operate in three main areas,” said Mr Longoni. “The supply of machinery; know-how and technology; and raw material supply.”
The Longoni company is also a major shareholder in two other companies in China: Shanghai Top Style Furniture Materials Co Ltd makes semi-finished products for furniture; Beijing Ludo Food Tech Co Ltd, together with Shanghai Ludo Cold Food Co Ltd, makes and markets ice cream.
For the decor paper business, Longoni has its own representative office in Shanghai and the company markets Chinese-made paper products in its
own name.
Sandvik Surface Solutions is represented by Longoni in all of South America for its press plates for the HPL, CPL and short-cycle press market – a relationship which began with Hindrichs-Auffermann.
In India, Longoni also represents the Aluminium Feron Company, a manufacturer of metal foil.
Machinery supplied worldwide encompasses not just impregnation, but everything from chippers to short-cycle press lines to complete particleboard plants.
“We represent a variety of suppliers in a variety of markets by selecting suppliers of the right quality for our clients, in order to reach the required performance at the best price,” concluded Mr Longoni.

Efficient transport of panels through the various processes in a factory is of course key to the efficiency of the whole operation.
Founded in 1986, EMG (the name stands for Engineering Manufacturing Group) set about specialising in that field and the end of April 2009 saw the completion of its biggest and highest-speed project to date, at Nelson Pine Industries MDF line in New Zealand.
Murray Sturgeon, managing directory of Nelson Pine in Richmond, Nelson, takes up the story.
“The background to this project was developed when we visited the Ligna exhibition in Hanover, Germany, in 2007,” said Mr Sturgeon when interviewed at Ligna this year.
“Nelson Pine Industries’ objective was to install a new sander line from Steinemann and a new cut-to-size saw line to complement the existing MDF finishing line, consisting of three Steinemann sanders, two saws and packing lines. This would enable us to sand, cut and pack the total output from our three Küsters continuous press lines, producing 1200m3/day over seven days, in a finishing line operating on day-shift only over five days, Monday to Friday.”
Mr Sturgeon went on to explain that to feed the new sander line required a high-speed panel feeding and stacking system.
“I had witnessed EMG sander infeed equipment, introduced to me by Mr José Lobo of Tafisa Brazil in operation in their plant at Piên in Brazil and was satisfied that EMG could handle our requirements,” he said.
The Steinemann Satos sanding line was itself a major project, having 14 heads and a designed maximum running speed of 150m/min.
“To this end, at the time of placing our order with Steinemann, and for the saws, Nelson Pine Industries Ltd favoured EMG to supply and supervise the installation of our panel handling equipment, which incorporated EMG’s patented Sequential Panel Feed System to reach sander throughput speeds of 150m/min for thin panels,” said Mr Sturgeon.
“I am happy to report that our programme was completed in March 2009 and all plant and equipment is operating to our satisfaction and at Nelson Pine Industries Ltd we have reached our objective and now process all MDF on a five-day-per-week basis.”
The line that EMG supplied for the sanding operation included loading and unloading stations, transport to and from the sander, and a system to guarantee that only one thin board feeds into the line at a time, explained Marco Conzadori, sales manager and son of one the founders of EMG.
“The sanded master panel is 2.75x7.3m. The complete line took only three months to assemble on site, including all the mechanical and electrical work,” he explained.
Other recent contracts for EMG include all panel handling after the Dieffenbacher continuous press for line 3 at Eucatex’s mill in Brazil, with delivery completed in July this year, and handling for an Imeas sanding line for a Russian client, which was due for delivery in August.
While the panel industry provides the vast majority of EMG’s work, the company has also employed its handling expertise in the steel sheet industry, where the synergies are obvious.
Four years ago, the company branched out into a completely different field with the design and manufacture of a gun cartridge filling line, bringing automation to what had previously been a largely artisan-based operation.
Returning to the panel industry, EMG has other projects in the pipeline, including one of similar size to the Eucatex order, and was expecting a down-payment from the client imminently at the time of WBPI’s visit to Cremona in June.
“South America is traditionally our main market, though Russia has been growing for us recently,” said Mr Conzadori. “We have also had a lot of interest from India.”
That South America is important is illustrated by the fact that EMG has its only manufacturing operation outside Italy located in Curitiba. EMG do Brasil was set up in 2007 and today employs 32 people, while the Cremona operation employs 35. One of the main products made in Curitiba is a conveying system for chips in the green end of panel mills.
Globus of Italy, a manufacturer of wood size-reduction machinery, is moving the manufacture of its smaller machines to EMG do Brazil, which also produces lines for pellet production.
Mr Guido Conzadori, Marco’s father, is leading the business and reflected on the current market.
“We are a young company in years but not in experience,” he said. “At the moment, in spite of the global crisis, we have used our flexibility and skill to cover our manufacturing needs until the end of 2009 and possibly half-way through 2010. This is largely due to our special relationships with our customers/friends, like Nelson Pine, Duratex, Eucatex, Outokumpu and so on, who have helped us to promote our success.”
Close cooperation with other companies, such as Arco International of Pontevico, Brescia in sawing systems, and the creation of Novopellet as part of the group to produce pellet systems, has helped EMG to weather the economic storm and to fill the extra 33% of extended factory space which the company opened in June 2008.

Imal srl was founded in 1970 and sister company Pal srl in 1978. For years the two companies operated entirely independently and in fact competed in some areas where their product ranges overlapped.
Both were highly profitable companies in their own right.
In 1998, the two companies’ owners saw an opportunity in combining their strengths and eliminating those product overlaps, so shares were exchanged in each company.
In 2006, Romeo Paladin, founder and president of Pal, decided to sell his shares in his company, Imal became the majority shareholder in Pal, and holding company Imal-Pal was born.
However, the two companies continued to trade as separate entities, complementing each others’ products and expertise.
Major complete plant supplier Siempelkamp of Germany had held shares in both independent companies for over 20 years but in 2008 Imal-Pal bought back those shares, becoming completely
independent on September 3 last year.
Pal and Imal are now owned by the three families who founded the businesses – Benedetti, Dal Ben and Zanasi, each currently represented by two generations in the business.
Loris Zanasi, managing director of Imal is, quite naturally, troubled by the current economic crisis.
“2008 was a record year for both Pal and Imal, with a combined turnover of approximately €86m,” he said. “But orders have dropped off dramatically this year.
“Up to now, glue blending systems were the mainstay of Imal, with 38 being sold in 2008 and 1,407 blenders being sold in total – the largest number in the world for particleboard.”
The company has also supplied 768 glue preparation/dosing systems, 638 thickness gauges for use on the production line and 566 laboratory moisture meters, to name but a few products.
Orders included the gluing line for Homatherm’s thick insulation board line, which is a dry-gluing system using MDI resin in a blender; a new fibre resination system for Eucatex in Brazil; and one for Kastamonu in Turkey.
“Thick insulation board is in a growth mode due to building regulations,” said Mr Zanasi. “Since the earthquake in Italy all new houses must be built with an external linked-box construction that will not fall down in earthquakes and the cavities between the walls must be filled with insulation at least 10cm thick. This offers good insulation in winter and summer.”
These rules came into effect on July 1 this year. Wall insulation was of course already compulsory, but thinner.
However, when markets take a dive, it is sensible to have another option to offer to the market and Imal has just that: The company’s pallet block manufacturing line, using a particleboard-like material extruded through a mould, has been very successful and can utilise urban waste wood easily.
A factory supplied recently was built on a greenfield site near Cork in southern Ireland (Eire) to utilise waste wood from the city. The complete wood cleaning system was supplied by Pal as part of a turnkey project for Imal which included the boiler, dryer and three press lines.
“Although we are aware that we are in difficult economic times, we are extremely optimistic for the future,” said
Mr Zanasi.
For instance, the Ligna exhibition in May was a great success for the company, with 17 contracts being signed at the show. “These orders totalled over €3.4m, ranging from values of €5,000 to €1.2m,” said the managing director.
A major new product shown on the Imal stand was the GA717-2 laboratory formaldehyde tester. The number refers to the appropriate EN standard number.
“Formaldehyde levels are becoming more and more important to furniture makers – particularly IKEA – and our system takes four hours to produce a result, compared with two weeks for the conventional chamber method. Ours is based on gas analysis,” explained Mr Zanasi. “The California Air Resources Board [CARB] accepted this EN standard in March this year.”
Also new at the Ligna show was the TM200 thickness gauge for use on the panel production line at speeds of up to 210m/min. It is normally installed just after the press and is claimed to offer a resolution of 1/100mm.
The top and bottom heads are moved simultaneously by a pneumatic panel and the electro-valves are designed to close the heads as soon as the gauge detects the presence of a board, and to open them at the end of the board.
The visualisation software monitors thickness in real time at each position along the length and width of the board and provides averages and trend graphs.
Measurement of the fibre geometry in MDF production and the particle geometry in particleboard is also an important part of quality control.
FiberCam 100 is an optical fibre screen which operates with dry fibre and optical measurement, avoiding the problems of clogging screens. The measuring range is 0.05 to 25mm and as many as one million measurements a minute can be taken, measuring the width and length of the fibre.
ScreenCam 100 is an optical particle screen which operates on the same optical principle as the FiberCam and can be adapted for on-the-line operation as well as laboratory use. The measuring range is 0.15 to 50mm and the measuring time is said to be one minute, in real time.
So, Imal has plenty of established and new products to offer to the global panel producing market now and when things improve.
“This year will be quiet but we do still have big projects under discussion,” concluded Mr Zanasi.

The ability to diversify can be the key to survival in difficult economic times and the company founded by Fabio Paron in 1981 is well placed to do just that.
Globus’ product range includes vibrating and chain conveyors, drum chippers, knife ring flakers, hammermills, refiner mills and the Cam Classifier. This latter machine is designed to screen particles using elliptical cams with a ‘V’ profile which make the particles jump to different heights according to their size, while adjustable gaps between the cams, of varying size along the length of the classifier, allow appropriate-size particles to fall through and be collected.
Another example of Mr Paron’s
engineering flair being used to adapt more common principles is the use of the patented ‘wobble spreader’ in Globus’ knife ring flaker SRC 1400-AR. This device is designed to distribute the chips more uniformly across the length of the knives than in a conventional knife ring flaker.
That range of products is one key to the ability of Globus to diversify its markets; the rapidly increasing interest in biomass energy generation is the other.
“Today, 30% of our business is related to the biomass energy sector and we are currently quoting on projects to a total value of around €6m,” said Mr Paron.
“We are not yet involved in the household recycling sector but that is another possibility for us. We go step-by-step in these developments.”
In July, Globus delivered its first mobile chipper for biomass chipping in the forest. This is to chip the ‘waste’ in the forest, such as small logs and
branches, which in the past would have been burned in situ. This chipping unit has a 640HP motor for an average production of 150m3 of chips per hour. The unit weighs around 25 tonnes.
Another mobile unit under preparation will have a 1200HP motor, capacity of about 300m3 per hour, and will weigh in at around 35-40 tonnes.
“We already have two enquiries from eastern Europe for this larger machine,” said Mr Paron.
Of course the panel industry is still a vital component of the company’s business, as it has always been, and this year’s Ligna exhibition produced two orders for equipment for particleboard lines – one in Uzbekistan (a 400m3 per day line) and one in India (800m3 per day).
Unlike many in the industry, Mr Paron believes that Africa offers potential for his products and he recently installed a small flaker at a panel line in Zambia and another chipping and flaking line at the William Tell particleboard line in South Africa, close to Johannesburg. Another project in South Africa is also under discussion.
South America is another important market for Globus and the company is moving the production of some of its smaller machines to its new subsidiary, Globus do Brasil, in Curitiba. Here, Globus will collaborate with EMG Brasil, a subsidiary of EMG of Italy, which
produces conveyor and panel handling systems.
The machines are being sold with the brand name “EMG with Globus Technology” and in September, engineers from Curitiba will come to Galliate to spend three months learning about the machines. Then, all assistance for the market in North and South America will be based in Curitiba.
“Our strategy there is to establish a marketing, service and commercial network for the continent,” said Mr Paron.
A keen poker player, Mr Paron has decided to offer his “Four Aces” to the market in 2009: the knife ring flaker (‘Hearts’); the drum chipper (‘Diamonds’); the refiner mill (‘Clubs’); and the hammermill (‘Spades’).

In 2007, World MDF capacity grew by 6.37 million m3, or 13.5%. This produced last year’s title “Panel crisis – what crisis?” (WBPI issue 4, 2008, p15).
During 2008, MDF capacity grew by 3.7 million m3, or 6.9%. This was an obvious slowdown but again hardly a crisis, in spite of the monetary and economic crises swirling around the globe.
The survey stressed the difference between capacity building and actual production. Operating mills could well be feeling hard-pressed by reduced demand and rising costs, while new investments are being brought on stream; such investments were based on decisions made two, three or four years previously. The ‘rest of the world’ region  – the principal subject of this Part II  – added over 3.1 million m3 for 10.2% growth over 2007. This compares with ‘old world’ growth of just 2.6% over 2007.
What has become clear is the very differing MDF market developments between the principal geographical regions – and between countries within those regions. This relates, in part, to the variations in impact of the global economic crisis as well as the inherent differences between countries and markets.
As reported previously, North America and western Europe had reached, or were about to reach, the tipping point from boom to bust at the end of 2006.
By early 2007 the US housing bubble had burst but the inertia in the system continued to generate positive numbers for public consumption, leading to much speculation through the year of recovery by the third or fourth quarter. Even as late as that, there were still many predictions of a quick rebound in US housing and a denial in western Europe that its market was heading for problems.
However, in North America and western Europe the WBPI surveys over several years had shown strong indications of a lack of desire for significant new investment in MDF capacity, despite historical success. The world market leaders in western Europe were shifting their capacity building towards eastern Europe and Russia, while the North American groups were selling off or closing their European MDF (and particleboard) facilities.
The combination of superior economic growth, led by infrastructure development, domestic consumer spending and a shift in the geographical location of MDF-consuming industries – furniture and laminate flooring – had, for some time, caused a flurry of MDF capacity-building in Russia, Turkey, China, South East Asia and South America.
The WBPI surveys have duly reported the shifting balance of production capacity from ‘old world’ to ‘new’. As recently as 2007 the ‘rest of the world’ accounted for 57% of world capacity – even more if eastern Europe, Turkey and Russia are included. While not wishing to appear to forecast with hindsight, these trends are set to accelerate. But how do they relate to the global economic crisis?
The crisis for the MDF industry in the ‘rest of the world’ began in January 2007 when US buyers of furniture and flooring reduced or cancelled orders with overseas production centres, principally in China.
Western European countries followed suit (note the poor attendance at Asian furniture shows in 2007/8, by both visitors and exhibitors).
It is hoped that this macro-review of events will offer some reasoning not only into recent trends but also those in the immediate future.
From mid-2007 to mid-2008, capacity building in the MDF industry continued apace because, on balance, investors’ views remained positive. Then the financial crisis, whose rumblings were heard in early 2008, started in July of that year.
With restrictions on working capital, falling house prices and restricted mortgage availability, construction sectors in North America and Europe took another huge body blow. Simultaneously, consumer confidence collapsed, either through fear or, more tangibly, through loss of value of housing equity, share portfolios and savings interest.
Many businesses also faced funding restrictions for development or, just as importantly, working capital, by way of reduced or capped overdraft limits. Firms had to de-stock through the chain from end-user back to distributor and producer or importer. For MDF, de-stocking creates an additional impact on demand.
Readers will recall the doom and gloom in the media from Christmas 2008 into 2009. A few months into 2009, MDF producers reported an upturn in orders – but this was caused by the end of de-stocking.
Many countries in the ‘rest of the world’ weren’t directly affected by the 2008 banking crisis, most notably China and the Middle East. They were affected indirectly, like China, by a lack of orders from overseas; or, like Egypt, by a reduction in tourism. South East Asia, South America and China could fall back on domestic demand.

China
Chinese listings continue to grow. During 2008, 15 new mills and lines came on stream, representing 1,390,000m3 of new capacity. This is a little lower than predicted in last year’s survey and the actual volume increase is correspondingly smaller. Once again all lines, existing and new, are listed, but those to come on stream after 2008 are asterisked (*); the capacity total shown in the listing does not include those lines.
The number of lines recorded totals 400, compared with 387 at end-2007. Their aggregate capacity at the end of 2008 amounted to 18,811,000m3, which is a growth of 7.9%.
During this year’s survey it became apparent that several lines in China were operating above their original installed capacity and where known these have been incorporated into the 2008 totals. Commensurate adjustments were also made to the 2007 data and that total is now greater than that shown last year.
The 2008 total is only 300,000m3 above that predicted last year and overall the result represents a slow-down by recent Chinese standards. However, as will be shown later, this is only temporary.    © p29
ß p16   When written in June 2008, the survey identified 42 lines on order for delivery from January 2009. In June 2009, this figure has increased to 61.
Corporate development and consolidation remains a trend in China but to a much lesser extent than elsewhere. The listing shows 237 of the 400 lines in multiple ownership – an increase of just 10 over the 2008 survey. In actual volume, the groups dominate, but the Chinese market still shows numerous new, single-line, first-time entrants.
With new lines and modifications to existing ones, Weihua Group is the largest, with existing and prospective capacity of 1.74 million m3. Dare Group has dropped back to second place with no new MDF lines reported. However, between them they will add 1.14 million m3 during 2009/10.
The Luyuan Group (previously known as Suichang Wood Industry) occupies fourth place, but with the largest number of lines, and Shandong Heyou has risen to fifth. Liren Group (Lishui) has moved up to third, based on new lines and expansions to existing lines. Yingang Wood is now known as China National Salt and told the editor of WBPI it was interested in adding three new lines of 300,000m3 each to its current total of five lines and 746,000m3 capacity.
Admittedly, many new lines remain small – typically 50-80,000m3 per annum. This is driven by the regionality of local markets and the sometimes limited access to raw material. These groups, currently possessing or building larger lines, are very conscious of the raw material supply and presumably these days would not be allowed to make an application without being able to prove access to raw material – virgin or recycled.
Most of the major groups have some interest in other panel products          © p30 ß p29   such as particleboard, but one or two plan fairly large-scale OSB plants. The groups are also vertically integrated, with various types of furniture production units and, of course, laminate flooring. It has proved quite hard to transfer lost exports from these plants to the domestic market. Exporting raw MDF has also been very problematic. Exports in 2008 were 17% lower than in 2007 and in the first five months of 2009 are 51% lower than the same period last year.

Developments in Other Regions
South America was perhaps the most active region outside China during 2008 and seems to be entering a period of general panel expansion. Domestic demand is growing as well as export potential, though the export furniture industry is a significant driver.
It must also be said that existing plywood producers are repositioning themselves. Nearly 1.1 million m3 of capacity was added in 2008 (although 140,000m3 was a WBPI adjustment to the Duratex Agudos plant capacity – from 100,000m3 shown in last year’s list to 240,000m3 per annum).
In Brazil, both Satipel and Berneck brought on-stream new plants of 350,000m3 and 340,000m3 per annum, respectively.
In Chile, the Polincay company started-up 150,000m3 per annum.
Uruguay became a new country producer, with Uropanel opening a small 77,000m3 per annum mill.
Some sub-regions saw no change in operating capacity, which has been unchanged for a few years. These were Australia/New Zealand, Africa and North East Asia. The closures announced last year in Tasmania and Taupo, New Zealand, have been deleted this year. Daiken is now shown as the owner of the originally famous Canterbury Timber, most recently owned by CHH.
South East Asia was relatively quiet but Evergreen has taken over Hume Fibreboard in Nilai, Malaysia. Siam Fibreboard, another Evergreen operation, started its expansion in 2008. Last year’s survey showed 640,000m3 per annum, which was a little premature. Evergreen confirms that 260,000m3 was added to Siam lines one and two for a total of 580,000m3.
Elsewhere in the region, two lines were opened in India by Bajaj Eco-Tec, and Al Noor in Pakistan alerted us to the fact that its plant had a capacity of 61,500m3 per annum. Other Mende lines planned have been shelved.
Interestingly, Iran added its eighth MDF mill, Neka Choub, at 75,000m3 per annum.
Once again this information confirms the lack of real dynamism in those countries/ regions which first developed MDF production, namely New Zealand/Australia, US, western Europe and Japan.

Future Trends
Our last survey stated that there were 80 mills under construction from end-2007 to 2010, accounting for 13.1 million m3 of capacity. One year later, 80 mills can still be accounted for with a combined capacity of 12.5 million m3. Europe and North America will account for only about 2.5 million m3 of this growth – the remainder will derive from the rest of the world.
China will account for the lion’s share at around 5.7 million m3, as 32 lines are expected in 2009 (some being slippage from 2008) and a further 14 lines in 2010. Most importantly in 2010, Shanghai Wood Based Panel Machinery Company Ltd (SWPM) expects to start up its first continuous press for a Chinese customer. Major news is that SWPM has been acquired by Dieffenbacher and could now be said to be well and truly the largest equipment supplier in the world.
Strangely, only China Salt has suggested any lines after 2010. It would seem that China became the largest single country/region for MDF capacity in the world during 2008. It will extend this lead over the coming years.
Australia/New Zealand, Africa and Japan are expected to remain unchanged over the period. They will join the US and western Europe.
Korea, on the other hand, has the Kwangwon line of 100,000m3 some time in 2009. Furthermore, Dongwha expands ‘Korean’ capacity by becoming a partner in a new Vietnamese line slated for 2010.
The most intriguing region, capacity-wise, is South America. Around 2.4 million m3 is planned by 2011. SWPM will open four lines (perhaps three if Maseal does not proceed) in Brazil. These are only 120,000m3 per annum, but Duratex will open the world’s largest MDF line, at 760,000m3 per annum, in Agudos in 2009. Eucatex will also open a line in São Paulo.
Eucatex has another possible mill of 500,000m3 rumoured for 2011/12.
Berneck has another line planned in Curitibanos, coming on stream in 2010. In the meantime both the Masisa (Brazil) and Arauco (Chile) planned lines have been shelved.
Total South American capacity will exceed seven million m3 by 2010 and it will become the third most important region after China and Europe.
Changes in South East Asia will be steadier, with only four mills expected in the region. These are Vanachai, Thailand (2009); Advance Fiber, Thailand (2010); PT Sumatera Prima Fibreboard, Indonesia (2010) and Binh Phuoc in Vietnam (2010).
There are also stirrings in India/Pakistan. Teekays and Greenply in India have mills on stream in 2009 and SWPM will have one of its small (50,000m3) discontinuous lines opened by Peshawar Particleboard Ltd in Pakistan. Also announced for India is a new company – Star Panel Boards – planning to build perhaps two MDF mills after 2010.
It would not be surprising if more plants were announced in Iran.
The MDF industry has, to date, weathered the somewhat frigid economic climate very well. It is worth remembering that mid-2009 is two years on from the beginning of the downturn. It is evident that few companies/mills up until now have failed. The industry may yet have to endure a further 18 months of poor conditions. MDF has, by its versatile nature, proved a natural product for many end-use sectors and a resilient one for its producers.
The editor, and the author, are very grateful to all those who have contributed to this survey. We realise it is not a priority in these difficult times but your information is invaluable, enabling us to make the listings as useful as possible for all.

The annual gathering of the European Panel Federation (EPF) and the European Federation of the Plywood Industry (FEIC), hosted by a different national association each year, was held this June close to the magnificent cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
José Craballo, president of the Spanish panel federation ANFTA welcomed delegates and expressed the hope that the EPF and FEIC would soon become fully integrated as one association.
Timoteo de la Fuenta García, Spanish Ministry of Industry, expressed his government’s support, saying: “These are difficult economic times and we must resist, hold the fort and get ready to become stronger”.
Mr Angelo Bernardo Tahoces, director general of industry, energy and mines for Galicia, said the first European MDF
factory was built in Galicia and that the region strongly supports its wood industry.
Ladislaus Döry presented the 10th annual report of the EPF.
Mr Döry said that some sectors, such as the car industry in certain European countries, receive government support in the form of a subsidy to consumers for replacing older cars with new ones. He suggested a similar incentive scheme be introduced to encourage consumers to replace old kitchen cabinets, for example.
He also suggested there should be general EU communications on the positive role of wood based products as carbon stores; a reduction in VAT for residential construction/renovation and for ‘Kyoto-friendly’ products such as wood based products; and encouragement of wood recycling and cascaded use of wood.
Mr Döry then reported the figures from the 2008 EPF Annual Report.
In the year, 65.8 million m3 of panels were produced in Europe, excluding Russia and Turkey, with MDF accounting for 22%, particleboard 61%, OSB 6%, hard/softboard 5% and plywood 6%.
For particleboard, there was a 25.5% fall in imports, to 455,000m3, and a 5.7% increase in exports, to 2.1 million m3. Production fell 8.7% in 2008.
Particleboard plant closures in 2008/9 amounted to 100,000m3 in the UK in 2009 and 470,000m3 in Germany, so far. Additional capacity of 250,000m3 was added in the Czech Republic.
For MDF, there was 12.2 million m3 of production and 11.1 million m3 of consumption. Capacity between 2008 and 2010 was set to lose an as-yet unspecified quantity in France in 2009/10 and 100,000m3 in Germany so far, while Poland gained 250,000m3 in 2008 and expects another 500,000m3 in 2010.
Exports in 2008 (EU27) amounted to 1.6 million m3 (+13%), while imports were 245,000m3 (-20%).
For OSB, there was 3.3 million m3 of production (-9%) and only 2.7 million m3 of consumption (also -9%), with 985,000m3 of exports. An additional 500,000m3 each was added in Latvia in 2007 and Romania in 2009.
Turning to cost evolution in 2008, Mr Döry said the increases were: wood +4%; resins +20%; energy +30%; and transport +6% – all European average figures.
On wood availability, he said EU policies were based on wrong assumptions and that under the current RES policy targets, wood cannot fulfil the requirements without jeopardising the needs of the woodworking industries on the basis of its current share in biomass energy.
“We need reliable data on current wood use and future availability....for both policy making and future competitiveness,” concluded the EPF president.
Uldis Bikis, president of the FEIC, then presented his federation’s report.
He said it had 75 member companies in 21 countries, producing 0.3 million m3 of blockboard and four million m3 of plywood in 2008.
“Although FEIC on its own is a rather small entity, it has real lobbying power and offers a great variety of membership services by sharing offices and being a member of the European Confederation of the Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois), as well as by creating further synergies with the structure and staff of EPF,” said the president.
Plywood production in Europe overall shrank 2.3% in 2008, he reported, due to significantly lower production in the last quarter. For the EU countries, it fell 7.2% compared with 2007. The Russian FEIC members faired better. A further overall fall of at least 15% is expected for 2009, said Mr Bikis.
EU-27 imports dropped 8.3% in 2008 and exports by 6.8%. European consumption dropped 10%.
The EPF and FEIC continue to lobby for their industries at an EU and global level and to sponsor relevant research.
As we went to press, it appeared the 2010 meetings will probably be held in Dresden, Germany, in June.
For further information, contact the joint secretariat at: www.europanels.org

Most panel products that do not comply with Australia's formaldehyde emission regulations are imported, according to Simon Dorries, general manager, Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia (now incorporating the Australian Wood Panels Association), Selector.com reports.

The Business Center Western Europe belonging to Pfleiderer AG has become one of the first companies in the engineered wood sector to have all of its German locations certified under the international Environmental Management Standard ISO 14001. There are eight production sites.

Privately held OSB producer Grant Forest Products Inc has begun a process of reorganizing the financial affairs of its Canadian operations under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) made significant gains in market share in 2008, and now command slightly more than 1% of the US single-family housing market, according to an annual survey conducted by the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA).

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) made significant gains in market share in 2008, and now command slightly more than 1% of the US single-family housing market, according to an annual survey conducted by the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA).

Researchers at the University of Maine’s AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center recently have been issued a patent for technology that improves OSB.

Robert B Pamplin Jr, 97, the former chairman of Georgia-Pacific Corporation, has died after a long illness.

Louisiana-Pacific (LP) has met four potential UK wholesale distributors to represent its SolidStart engineered wood products.

Norbord has launched a new website showing how its engineered wood based panels are said to be ‘Better by Far’ for the environment.

Two leading Brazilian forest products companies are set to
merge creating what is claimed will be the biggest panel
manufacturer in the Southern Hemisphere.

New home starts in the US increased in May, giving economists hope that the worst of the construction recession is in the past.

Wood based panels manufacturer Pfleiderer will start financing discussions with its banks after warning of a significant fall in earnings.

Forest and woodland owners in the Galloway area are being urged to be on the look out for the great spruce bark beetle following the first discovery of the insect pest in Scotland at Forestry Commission Scotland’s (FCS) Merton Hall woodland near Newton Stewart.

European parquet production fell 15.5% in 2008 to 84.7 million m2, according to new figures.

American lumber panels and engineered wood producer Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) saw its losses narrow in the first quarter and expects activity to increase in the remainder of the year.

Flakeboard’s Bennettsville, South Carolina particleboard plant has been certified by the SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance to FSC Chain-of-Custody and Controlled Wood Standards SW-COC-000444.

South America's leading wood panel maker Masisa SA has successfully launched its first medium density particleboard line in Brazil.

Trade fair organisers Survey marketing GmbH and Deutsche Messe AG are no longer to be partners in staging the planned machinery trade fair to run parallel to ZOW Istanbul.

Sales of decorative laminates in the US are forecast to reverse their downward trend and increase 2.1% per year to over 12 billion ft2 in 2013, valued at US$7.4bn.

With only 47,000 visitors, Interzum 2009 in Cologne failed to reach the goal of 50,000 visitors for this 50th anniversary event. The share of international visitors was 65% compared to 70% expected. There were 1,300 exhibitors from 63 countries.

With only 47,000 visitors, Interzum 2009 in Cologne failed to reach the goal pf 50,000 visitors for this 50th anniversary event. The share of international visitors was 65% compared to 70% expected. There were 1,300 exhibitors from 63 countries.

Raute Corporation has completed negotiations about additional temporary layoffs affecting some 140 hourly workers at its Nastola location.

Decor printer Interprint GmbH, Arnsberg, Germany and MDC Max Daetwyler AG, Bleienbach, Switzerland have founded a joint venture company with the objective of developing and marketing a new, cost-saving digital printing method. The name of the joint venture company, as registered in Switzerland, is DI Projekt AG.

Decor printer Interprint GmbH, Arnsberg, Germany and MDC Max Daetwyler AG, Bleienbach, Switzerland have founded a joint venture company with the objective of developing and marketing a new, cost-saving digital printing method. The name of the joint venture company, as registered in Switzerland, is DI Projekt AG.

Flakeboard is to install its third new melamine press at its Duraflake particleboard plant located in Albany, Oregon.

It is with regret that we report that George Whelan, at the young age of 45, died on May 27. Mr Whelan was technical director of SmartPLY Europe Ltd.

UPM opened a new production line at its Kalso veneer mill in Kouvola, Finland and immediately began negotiations to go on to short working.

China has decentralised the permit approval process for wood based panel production plants, according to the latest International Tropical Timber Organisation market report.

The sixth China International Wood & Wood Products Expo will be held at the China International Exhibition Center (CIEC), Beijing, from October 22-24, 2009. www.woodchina.org

Titan Wood (part of Accsys Technologies plc) and MDF manufacturer Medite Europe Ltd have signed a joint development agreement to create an economically viable, non-toxic and stable MDF panel made from Titan Wood’s Tricoya wood elements (‘Licensed Products’).

Pfleiderer subsidiary Pergo – a leading producer of laminate flooring – has just opened a competence centre (providing a creative studio area, and customer training, etc) in Berlin. This is the fourth centre Pergo has opened in Europe.

ZOW supplier fair which was to be held in Zaragoza, Spain has been postponed until May 2010. Organiser Survey SL decided to cancel [just 10 days before it was due to open] as it said it had a responsibility as regards both the exhibitors’ costs and the visitors’ expenditure in the current economic climate.

A wood based biofuels project in the Baltic Sea region is being explored by the Metsäliitto Group and Vapo.

Metso and UPM have developed a new concept for the production of biomass-based bio-oil to replace fossil fuels in heating and power generation. Test production began at Metso’s test plant in Tampere, Finland, in June.

In order to improve its service performance to its customers Raute Corporation has started cooperation with the Slovenian knife manufacturer Ravne Knives.

Hubei Baoyuan Wood Industry is to install what is described as the first large scale OSB line in China. Pallmann will supply engineering equipment electrical control systems and service for the green end of the OSB line.

A massive fire has ripped through a truss and beam manufacturer in Chehalis Washington causing damage at about US$15m. There were no injuries to any of the 15 employees.

Greenply Industries Ltd, manufacturers of plywood, high pressure laminates and decorative veneers, accounts for 25% of plywood and 15% of the laminates market in India.

Malaysia’s wood based industry is expected to achieve an export value of over RM20bn (US$525bn) this year despite the global economic slowdown.