Countries in the European Union have, by and large, an excellent infrastructure of universities that are well-equipped and manned by highly trained staff. Consequently, the European Union generates a huge amount of knowledge each year and most of this is financed at the national level. The European Commission funds another layer of international research that is collaborative in nature.
Inevitably, each country has its own agenda for research because of differing climates, terrains, industries and histories. All COST Actions aim to collect information about, and to co-ordinate, existing nationally-funded research programmes. This is mainly achieved by providing researchers with opportunities to meet, which is effective because if you bring together any group of researchers then they will begin to discuss their work. This leads to the sharing of good practice, the identification of knowledge gaps and the development of collaborative and synergistic projects.

Hill Biomass Inc of Cook, Minnesota, which recently purchased the nearby Ainsworth OSB plant, plans to use the idled plant to produce biomass fuel products for a variety of markets

For the fifth time in succession, Holzma, based in Holzbronn, Germany has won the first prize for the best operational and strategic performance within the Homag Group.

North American manufacturer of engineered wood products, Uniboard, reports that its plant in Mont-Laurier, Quebec has been issued a Chain of Custody (COC) Certificate Multi-site by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) SW-COC 002726.

Globus has signed two contracts for the supply of two complete chipping, flaking, and milling lines with Star Panel Boards located near Mumbai and Almus. Both lines have scheduled start-up in second half of 2010.

The 44th International Wood Composites Symposium will be held March 29-31, 2010, at the Red Lion Hotel on Fifth Avenue in Seattle, Washington. For producers and suppliers to discuss latest market developments. www.woodsymposium.wsu.edu

A consortium comprising a First Nation group, private investors and the Municipality of Greenstone in Ontario has acquired Longlac Wood Industries’ idled plywood and waferboard mills from Kruger Inc, reports The Chronicle Journal.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA has applauded the US senate environment and public works committee’s  passage of legislation by Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Sen Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) to create a new nationawide standard for formaldehyde emissions from composite wood panels based on California’s existing standard.

Georgia-Pacific has decided to permanently close its Fordyce, Arkansas, plywood mill and has indefinitely idled its plywood mill in Louisville, Mississippi, according to media reports. Both facilities had been curtailed since October 2009.

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) is unlikely to reopen its Clarke County, Alabama, OSB mill until late 2010 at the earliest, reports Forestweb.

Interprint USA, North American market leader in decor design and printing, has obtained Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)) Chain of Custody certification (SCS-COC-002794) by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS).

The former Knight-Celotex plant in Danville, Virginia, is to reopen under new ownership, according to a report by the Danville Register and Bee.

French plywood specialist Joubert is establishing a branch in Ras Al Khamiah, United Arab Emirates –its first step in the Middle East ¬– reports Construction Week.

Stanley Works and Black & Decker, two of the biggest names in power and hand tools are to merge to create a US$8.4bn industry giant.

Weyerhaeuser has extended the use of Lumin plywood, part of its recently launched competitive, certified and sustainable wood products range by achieving CE certification for interior roofing and flooring applications.

I-joists from Boise Cascade have been used throughout the construction of a women’s refuge in the Republic of Ireland.

Norbord’s Sterling OSB has been specified for the wall sheathing and internal partitions for Devon’s first carbon neutral school building.

Murphy Co of Eugene, Oregon has signed an agreement to purchase Panel Products’ shuttered plywood plant in Rogue River for US$3.6, just hours before the facility was put up for auction, reports the Mail Tribune.

The supervisory board of Schattdecor AG has given the go-ahead for immediate commencement of construction work on a plant in St Louis, Missouri.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its finding under the Clean Air Act that greenhouse gas emissions endanger the environment and public health.

The Pacific Veneer plant in Aberdeen, Washington, formerly owned by Weyerhaeuser Co, has reopened under the ownership of Willis Enterprises, reports The Daily World.

After more than two years not operating, the boiler at Peninsula Plywood’s (PenPly) mill at Port Angeles, Washington, was fired up on December 30 in preparation of the facility resuming plywood production in January.

Greek particleboard manufacturer and processor Shelman SA (Shelman Swiss Hellenic Wood Product Manufacturers SA) has been taken over by Greece’s Alfa Wood SA, whose main shareholder is Mr Antonis Adamopoulos.

PAL reports a successful start-up of a chips dry cleaning system in Huayi, China. The system supplied includes a roller screen type Dynascreen to separate the chips in three fractions (fine, regular and oversize) and a chips dry cleaner type DCC to clean the regular chips.

Ainsworth Lumber Co Ltd completed the divestiture of its non-core assets before the year’s end, with the sale of its specialty plywood business unit comprising the Savona specialty plywood mill and the Lillooet veneer mill, both located in southwestern British Columbia.

In the second half of 2009, Holzma successively launched five new angular systems. The new HKL 410 and HKL 430 now complement the 4 series range. The HKL 530 and HKL 570 have been added to the 5 series range.

A new piece of technology to further enhance the quality of its wood based panels has been introduced at Kronospan’s UK-based factory.

Brussels-based European Confederation of Woodworking Industries, CEI-Bois has appointed a new board, chairman and vice-chairman for the next two years in line with statutory provisions.

Georgia-Pacific announced on January 11 that it has signed an agreement to acquire Grant Forest Products’ OSB facility at Englehart, Ontario and the associated facility at Earlton, Ontario, as well as its OSB facilities at Allendale and Clarendon, South Carolina for approximately US$400m, by mid-2010.

Raute Corporation has received an order worth approximately €12m from the Russian company Brjanskij Fanernyi Kombinat. The order comprises all production lines for a plywood mill.

Engineered wood manufacturer Pfleiderer AG has secured €800m long-term financing with 30 banks and hinted that it is looking at a rights issue to reduce debt.

The 4th Global Wood Fiber Conference: Trade in Woodchips and Biomass; and International Timberlands Investment Trends Conference: Focus on Latin America takes place March 15-17, 2010, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. www.pulpwoodconference.com

Panels manufacturer Pfleiderer AG has reported a revival business in both western and eastern Europe during the third quarter in 2009.

Pergo, a subsidiary of Pfleiderer AG and Unilin have completed a license agreement granting Unilin access to Pergo’s patents covering fold-down joints for flooring.

Dr Hans-Kurt von Warder has taken charge of the new headquarters department of Group Technology as Pfleiderer’s CTO (Chief Technical Officer). He is responsible for operations control, technical inhouse consulting and environmental/safety management.

The organising members of the American Wood Council (AWC) have approved the launch of its new coalition to provide an organisational structure for wood products companies and associations to work together to advance industry interests on building codes and standards, green building policy issues, and federal and state environmental regulations affecting manufacturers. The coalition officially began January 1, 2010

Munksjö Decor in Aalen-Unterkochen set an historic record on December 3, 2009 by producing its two millionth ton of decor paper said to be the first such record to be established at a single production site.

Berndorf Band, Austria and its partner Vienna Far East, Thailand have recently opened the new Berndorf Board Training Centre South East Asia.

Star Panel Boards Ltd, India, has placed its first order for a continuous press line to manufacture particleboard in India with Dieffenbacher GmbH & Co KG.

The government of Ontario, Canada, is searching for innovative ways to use logs, branches and other wood in Crown forests for manufacturing or other commercial purposes. This will help create green jobs and new investment in the forest industry, says Ontario.

Hardwood fibre costs for the global pulp industry have surpassed the cost for softwood fibre in 2009 as demand for hardwood pulp rose, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly.

Wood pellets are underpinning the emergence of a new commodities business in biomass is the highlight of the study ‘Wood Pellets – the Bioenergy Feedstock Solution? Global Market, Players and Trade to 2015’ published by Pöyry Forest Industry Consulting, a leading global expert in bioenergy and biomass procurement strategies.

The Spanish Biele Group which specialises in the design and manufacture of automation solutions for industrial processes has taken over Marzola which has been supplying Biele hydraulic presses aimed at automation projects for almost all wood applications for the last 20 years.

Sonae Industria Q3 results reflect the tense situation on the wood based panel market worldwide and especially in Europe.

Siempelkamp is to supply two complete lines for the production of wood based products to South-East Asia.