Holding an exhibition at a time when most of Europe, and some other parts of the world, are still enjoying their summer vacation period and Atlanta's climate is not at its most congenial and calling it 'international' is stretching credibility a bit.   The show is certainly the biggest and most comprehensive in North America, is considered by some to be the 'North American Ligna' and attracts a good attendance from the 50 states.   Its international attendance is very much confined to the US's neighbours in the south and exhibitors did report good meetings with visitors from Brazil, Chile and other South American countries. Although the exhibitors this year, as usual, included many of the major players in the global panel industry, it is still seen as principally a woodworking and furniture show and this is reflected in the relatively small size of the booths taken by most of the panel industry's machinery suppliers. It seems only logical to start our review with the North American-based exhibitors. Clarke's International Inc focused on its PyroGuard Spark Detection and Extinguishment Systems and PyroComm Software, which was on display. "In addition to the basic function of detecting and extinguishing sparks, the PyroGuard Console and optional PyroComm software provide for a detailed analysis of the total system operation. It is very easy to use and understand and is an essential tool for troubleshooting and maintenance," said Andy Clarke. Other products generating interest were Clarke's HiSpeed Abort Gates, ER and CFV Machined Rotary Feeders and the Pneu-Aire Primary and Secondary Filters. Dryer manufacturer Sweed Panel Systems of Oregon reported a "really good show", with 200 leads by Thursday, the second day. The company also makes all the veneer handling equipment around the dryer. The Sweed scrap recycling system for wood and all types of strapping also saw a lot of interest, said sales manager Cory Graper. West Salem Machinery Co, Oregon was concentrating on its low-speed, high-torque grinders with a six ton per hour capacity, mainly for the furniture industry. It also offers machines up to 100tph for hog fuel, chippers for particleboard plants, and wood pellet production, with sales worldwide. Veneer Systems Inc of Buffalo, NY offers all veneer processing equipment such as splicers, guillotines, saws and presses, as well as glues and tapes: "everything except the wood," said John Van Brussel. Ole Sorensen of Flamex, North Carolina, manufacturer of spark detection and extinguishing systems, said his company had seen a lot of activity in recent years in the kitchen cabinet industry, flooring plants and the panel industry - particularly OSB plants - linked to the active US housing market. GTS Energy Inc's Eric Dessecker reported that its Chinese office has been actively selling complete energy generation systems for panel plants into Thailand as well as China, supporting the company's strong growth in markets outside North America. Western Pneumatics of Oregon supplies dust extraction systems to the panel industry and manager Bruce Livesay said the upcoming MACT emissions regulations should benefit them at least in terms of ducting, as well as possible exhaust treatment systems. Acrowood Corporation, Washington state, supplies chippers and its Diamond Roll and other screens to the pulp and paper and panel industries and also offers a green strand screening system for OSB mills. Stephen Wagenknight of Kings Mountain International, North Carolina, said it has its new 'Surface Center' fully operational and offering stainless steel press plates in all varieties of finish from mirror to mechanically or chemically etched textures for the panel and laminate industries. Coe Newnes/McGehee Inc, better known in this industry under its former names of Coe Machinery and Washington Iron Works, continues to offer a range of machinery and spare parts to the panel industry, mainly in North America. Up from Brazil was Omeco, which specialises in veneer processing machinery including roller dryers, presses, clippers, composers and lathes. The show was quiet for this company, because IWF does not attract the big plywood producers. As the TAPPI Decorative & Industrial Laminates symposium took place immediately prior to the IWF, there was no shortage of visitors from that sector at the show and Vits of Germany, manufacturer of decor paper impregnation lines, was on hand to meet those 'bonus' visitors. Daniel James of Vits also reported a number of contacts with prospects from South America at the show. He said Vits has a number of existing and potential projects in North America, mainly triggered by the increase in laminate flooring demand. "There is a growing market for European investments here as well as North American companies carrying out vertical integration. We have 100% of the North American market," claimed Mr James. Sesa Press Plates was emphasising its ability to offer plates for embossed-in-register (EIR) as well as normal laminate pressing. Chief executive Marco Santori said that Brian Jones has represented this Italian company in North America since February this year and, from his base in Maine, covers the US, Canada and Mexico. In South America, the company also has a new agent, Dimape, based in Brazil and covering all of South America. Mr Santori said Sesa has completed updating its Italian factory to full digital technology. The company's EIR products are selling strongly in the laminate flooring market in North America and Mr Santori believes the transition to furniture is close. Another Italian company exhibiting at the show, although in the very different field of wood preparation, was Pal srl of Italy. Sales manager Fabio Chiara reported a strong order book, with particular success for the company's Quadradyn screening system in the OSB industry and screening and sifting plants in the particleboard sector in North America. "We are also focusing on recycling in this market with our first line installed at Greentech, Louisiana and a new contract in early August for another major player," said Mr Chiara. Sister company Imal, which now owns a majority of Pal, also exhibited and Mike McNeeley of Imal North America Inc said it had supplied a number of gluing systems for OSB recently but that he saw business also coming from particleboard now. "Our new OSB blending system will revolutionise the industry - it moves away from the inefficiency of the drum blenders with a smaller blender with increased mixing capability," he said. Imal also concentrated on its new bin discharge system for OSB and particleboard, claimed to minimise the creation of fines. Another Italian company, saw maker Giben, showed its new Icon 2 angular saw for the first time, and a new Super Thin Loading Device (STLD) for panels. Italian sander manufacturer Imeas showcased its wide belt sanders for the panel industry. International resin supplier Dynea opted for a suite above hall A to entertain its customers in comfort, as it did in 2004. Dynea started construction of its resin plant in Sexsmith, Alberta, British Columbia, Canada in May 2005 and has also been upgrading its other plants in Canada. The Sexsmith plant will initially produce over 200,000 tonnes of phenol formaldehyde (PF) and urea formaldehyde (UF) resins in early 2007, with 50,000 tonnes (100% basis) of formaldehyde due in mid-year. President of Siempelkamp LP, Marietta Georgia, Stefan Wissing, said the principal business of IWF for his company was short-cycle pressing rather than raw board production, due to the show's furniture focus. However, Siempelkamp's new light weight honeycomb panel line was generating a lot of interest, especially as it relates to light weight furniture production. Mr Wissing also sees a market in North America for the company's new wood fibre insulation board line. Upgrades of older OSB lines in North America was also a promising market identified by Mr Wissing, utilising its Canadian workshops in Cambridge, Ontario. Another German company, Maier, reported a lot of interest in its two-stage OSB strand production system, which is soon to receive its American patents. Press plate and belt maker/engraver Hueck Engraving featured a hand-scraped wood design with deep embossing as an idea for laminate flooring and reported registered embossing as an increasingly popular area. GreCon Inc, subsidiary of GreCon of Germany exhibited, among other products, its new generation of spark detection consoles - the rapid-reaction 7000 Series - which has Factory Mutual insurance approval in North America. Dieffenbacher sees a good opportunity for its vented press platens, particularly in North American OSB mills which wish to upgrade older multi-opening presses. These platens shorten cycle times by venting steam out of the board, reducing de-gassing times. The company has already supplied around seven continuous LVL lines to the US and Pacific Wood Tech's second line is due to start up soon. Chief executive Wolf-Gert Dieffenbacher said he also sees a good future for OSL (oriented strand lumber) and the company has two existing orders, one for a continuous press and the other for a single-opening line. "We think this market has great potential to grow," said Mr Dieffenbacher. German short-cycle and membrane press maker Wemhöner has had considerable success in the North American market, supplying through Stiles Machinery, which handles both sales and service. Wemhöner sold its display model Variopin Universal 200 with total automation to a US customer at the show. Hindrichs-Auffermann and its owner Sandvik shared a booth to promote their range of press plates and belts, both smooth and engraved. Manager Robbin Wood reported a good show with more leads than he had expected and a lot of interest in Hindrichs-Auffermann's textured press plates. He said the 'latest thing' was hand-scraped wood finishes for laminate flooring. Metso Panelboard presented its complete lines and refiner systems for particleboard and MDF production. The company is building a doorskin plant for Jeldwen in Louisiana. Bruks Klöckner, headquartered in Sweden but with a base in Alpharetta, Georgia, has found its 'Tubulator' enclosed conveyor system with its elimination of conveyor dust to be very popular with the major North American panel manufacturers - its biggest market for this product. Austrian company Scheuch was exhibiting at IWF for the first time. The company is focusing on cleaning press and dryer emissions and in 2004 opened a sales office in Montreal. In October or November this year, Scheuch will open another facility, in London, Ontario, where it will carry out engineering and work in partnership with a sheet metal fabricator. Although Austrian saw maker Schelling was expecting to talk mainly to furniture industry customers at IWF, panel makers were also firmly within its sights. It started up a new saw line at Flakeboard's Arkansas MDF factory in January this year and has supplied several large systems to Weyerhaeuser's panel factories over the years. Sia Abrasives Inc, subsidiary of the Switzerland-based company, has had a warehouse and conversion facility for its abrasive belts in Charlotte, North Carolina for 12 years and claims it has a large share of the North American panel market. Electronic Wood Systems (EWS), whilst headquartered in Germany, has had a company in the US for many years: EWS Int, run by Steven Mays, who has now been joined by his son Keith. "We have had really good interest from particleboard and MDF mills for moisture content measuring systems, the Conti-Scale weighing/electronic density profiler and other quality control products. We have had visits from companies in Canada, Brazil and Chile as well as the US," said Mr Mays senior. Biele of Spain was promoting press lines for panel surfacing, together with all required handling equipment. "Our major market is laminate flooring and melamine facing, as well as engineered wood solid flooring," said managing director Jésus Telleria. As this is undoubtedly a furniture maker-oriented show, it is not surprising to find that all the major panel manufacturers had their own booths - an advantage to the machinery suppliers to have their customers exhibiting in the same fair. Decor paper suppliers were also well represented as you would expect. The general impression of the show from the wood based panel machinery/services sector was that visitor numbers were low, but the quality of the visitors from the limited geographical area which IWF serves was good. Most exhibitors felt their attendance had been worthwhile and several took away serious enquiries to follow up.

Thin MDF is the star of Plum Creek's Columbia Falls, Montana, mill occupying 71'2 acres of buildings in the company's complex of a plywood mill and sawmill. When they say "thin", they mean thin; thicknesses down to 1'16in are possible. That's 1.6mm. Obviously, it couldn't be done economically without a continuous press, which was part of the plan when the new thin board line was installed in 2002. There has been some equipment updating on the mill's original MDF number 1 line, which was one of the first in the United States. Processes have been thoroughly streamlined and production has increased, but most of that line is the same. It was originally designed for 70 million ft², 3'4in basis per year, but management expects 150 million ft² this year. Refining capacity has been the principal change, adding 20 million ft² just in the past two years. The two lines have a common feed source but once the wood enters the building, the lines are entirely separate. As product line manager, Bob Hickey also serves as plant manager in a system which ensures complete accountability. Mike Brumwell is line 1 superintendent and Elvin Carmen has the same responsibility for line 2, the newer thin board line. Finish end superintendent Chris Hader is responsible for sanding through shipping. Mr Hickey said this results in strict accountability. "There's one person you go to see if there is an opportunity. These three individuals have taken this plant to a whole new level. They get the most out of their equipment and the most out of their people. "In Plum Creek, one of the best assets we have, besides timberland and manufacturing facilities, is our people. With more than eight million acres, it is the US' largest private timberland owner - in fact it is the largest private land owner," said Mr Hickey. "We run four shifts, 24/7. The only time this plant shuts down is Christmas Eve and Christmas Day," he said. Millwrights and electricians on every shift handle any problems. A day shift support maintenance group helps. Ralph Albert is maintenance superintendent. Mr Hickey reiterated the chain of responsibility, saying, "These guys are responsible for everything. From the time the wood drops in here from the truck to the time the product goes out the back door, all the way to our customers. They're very involved with the whole process, and our customers and our marketing group. Customers come into the mill quite often - it's very important. And we visit them. It's not just sales people calling on them, it's superintendents, mill managers, product line managers, sander operators, quality control people and coordinators." As might be expected, two thirds of the mill's raw material comes from Plum Creek sources. Plywood and lumber residues are contract-trucked, 100 trucks per day, from within a 200-mile radius of the mill. It's all softwood species with no urban waste. An inside truck dump handles shavings, which are stored inside, and an outside dump takes the balance. A separate long, inclined covered belt serves each line. Andritz refiners process the furnish before drying in Westec dryers with Coen burners. Fuel is Sander dust and trims. The number 1 line used mechanical blending originally, but quality went up with blow-line blending. Washington Iron Works supplied the entire original line. The mats have two face and two core layers. The 5x18ft 20-opening unit presses 3'8in to 11'4in thicknesses at 3400F and 2,400psi pressure. Only side-trimming is done. The master panels pass through the Kimwood four-opposed-head sander and are then cut to desired sizes. The mill runs strictly to order, rail-shipping 80%, with the balance trucked. Line 1 has 121 employees working four shifts. The entire operation employs 208. Line 2's flow is similar to that of line 1 with an Andritz system through refining (one refiner is powered by a 14,000hp motor), Coen burner, and Westec dryer. From there, Siempelkamp takes over with metering and forming bins and forming line. The mill uses Hexion resins. The Siempelkamp continuous press is a 29m unit working to 400ºF as the panel speeds through at 220fpm. An Imeas four-head machine sands the master panels, after which a Schelling book saw line sizes them. Signode automatic strappers use plastic strapping. The line was designed for annual production of 90 million ft², 3'4in basis, but Mr Hickey said this number will push 120 million ft² this year. He continued, "Some other mills have the capabilities, but the risk of running the thin stuff we do is pretty great because of possible belt damage." The mill's production growth prompted a recent 42,000ft² warehouse addition. The plant has the most advanced fire protection. Emissions control has been an important consideration in the planning, particularly with the new MACT federal regulations. The largest installation is the 1'2 acre PPC Biofilter, which uses much less power than some air-cleansing methods. The emissions are treated at ambient temperatures, not heated as in some other systems, resulting in reduced energy requirements. However there is a strong air flow with 600,000ft³ of air per minute pulled and pushed through with four Reliance-powered 800hp fans. The air is pulled from the dryer through the three beds of bacteria which feed on hydrocarbons and break them down into carbon dioxide and water. The system removes formaldehyde and methanol. Mr Hickey said further investment will be needed to get line 1 up to the anticipated 2008 EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) level, but line 2 is "good to go". He added, "A lot of other people will have to make decisions whether they're going to run their businesses or not. Not everyone can put a biofilter in. Some will have to install RTOs (regenerative thermal oxidisers). There will be some tough decisions. The cost of maintenance and natural gas, alone…" He said the complex doesn't generate electricity, "at this time".

Around 200 delegates attended the 2006 Decorative & Industrial Laminates Symposium (DIL) in the Omni Hotel in downtown Atlanta in late August. This symposium, held under the auspices of TAPPI every two years, is timed to coincide with the week in which the IWF exhibition takes place in the Georgia World Congress Centre adjacent to the Omni. The symposium covered Monday to midday Wednesday, while the exhibition this year ran from Wednesday to Saturday. Monday morning was devoted to six, thirty minute, tutorial sessions repeated throughout the morning, mostly on fairly basic subjects. High pressure, thermally-fused melamine and foil laminates was the subject of Richard Crow of Wilsonart Adhesives and Michel Fortin of CDM Decor Papers Inc. Mr Fortin defined foil as a decorative paper produced on a special base paper already containing special resins, which is available as solid colour or printed and designed to be laminated on a wide range of substrates. It has a base weight of 28 to 80gsm (grammes per square metre) and is usually delivered in roll form, he explained. He listed its advantages as: easy to laminate; flexible; multiple usage; and inexpensive compared with other laminates such as thermally-fused or high pressure melamine. "New and exciting developments are recoatability, optical embossing, continuous and simultaneous four-face lamination and a full cycle lamination time of 3.2 seconds for an 8ft panel," said Mr Fortin. Mr Crow summarised the HPL (high pressure laminate) production process and said the two largest categories of HPL are general purpose laminates for flat use and postforming grades for curved edges. He pointed out that high-wear, compact and fire retardant grades are also available. Mr Crow then went on to describe the production of thermally-fused melamine panels. The basics of Kraft and decor papers for decorative and industrial laminates were covered in another tutorial by Rhonda Nichols of International Paper and Paul Marshall of MeadWestvaco Corporation. The speakers took delegates back to the basics of paper manufacture and the specific requirements of Kraft and decor papers. The rotogravure printing process was described by David Field of Interprint Inc, who took delegates through the history of printing from 1790, when William Nicholson invented the first printing cylinder, to the present, digital, age. Impregnating equipment and methods was the subject of the fourth tutorial, by Peggy Lemmer of Dynea Overlays Inc and Wayne Xu of Shaw Industries, while testing methods, specifications and standards for decorative laminates was covered by industry expert F Holbrook Platts of Platts Laminate Technologies. Phenolic and melamine resin chemistry was the sixth tutorial, presented by Mary Epling of Georgia-Pacific Resins inc and Alan Edwards of Hexion Speciality Chemicals. Session 2 of the symposium was the Hall of Fame Luncheon, during which certificates were presented to several notable contributors to the industry over many years (see news pages). Session 3 was in fact the opening session of the symposium proper and included a presentation to Rhonda Nichols for services to the TAPPI committee. Session 4, 'Laminates', began with 'How to reduce warping of melamine laminates', presented by Bert Stijnen of DSM Melamine. He said that warping can be minimised if water is heterogeneously distributed throughout the laminate and the size of the 'water-poor' domains is reduced. Water content is adjusted by varying the molar ratio of the saturating resin. "A laminate with good dimensional stability is from an impregnated paper with a higher degree of resin conversion," he said. 'Cladding the world in decorative laminates' was the optimistic-sounding title of the paper from Keith Phillips of Trespa International BV of Holland. He said that the new European standard for laminates, EN438, includes a section on exterior laminates, adding: "The solution to cladding the world is compact laminate, or solid phenolic laminate, which should be above 6mm thick to be self-supporting". He added that the critical factors for compact laminate facades are: reaction to fire; durability of coating; durability of phenolic core; dimensional stability; and method of attachment to the wall - preferably ventilated between the wall and the laminate. In 'High speed online visualisation for improved quality and process productivity [on paper machines]' Andrzej Denysiewicz of Technocell described how the use of 10 high-speed cameras on the paper production line had reduced web breaks by 26% over five months. The next speakers were Frederick Kurpiel and Luca Onesti of Protronics, part of the Italian panel manufacturing group Frati of Italy. They described Protronic's computer vision defect detection system, this time for laminated panel surfaces. The company developed its own camera with two microprocessors inside, which means there is less data to transmit on communication lines and users can have up to 15 cameras on one line without affecting those communications, explained Mr Luca. The system employs ProCM software to give real-time defect display. Session 5, on the second morning, covered 'New products and processes'. This was kicked off by Andreas Lentner of Hymmen of Germany who described 'Direct multi-colour printing on wood and wood composite panels'. "Direct printing is not new but until now was for low-visibility areas," said Mr Lentner. "But today it offers an exciting alternative for furniture fronts, with developments in inks, water-resistant layers, CNC controls and cycle times." He suggested that advances in printing technology, control software and ink formulations had taken direct printing to this new level. 'Conventional printing + digital technology = profits2' was the claim of Terry Amerine of Fujifilm Sericol, a supplier of printing inks. Mr Amerine said that digital printing will not replace conventional methods, but that the two are complementary. Digital has the advantage in short production runs in terms of set-up times and also offers a quicker response to urgent printing requirements, but is not the answer for all applications, he said. 'Oriented polypropylene films for decorative lamination' was the subject of Ron Rodeck of AET Films. He said that these films had replaced substrates which couldn't continue to meet the demands of the market. He said this was because they offer exceptional resistance to water, good print fidelity, dimensional stability and a significant barrier to formaldehyde emissions. The three families of polypropylene (PP) films are: calendered, bi-axially oriented (OPP) and, the subject of this presentation, which was enhanced OPP. Calendered PP films are an alternative to PVC but are only available in thicker films and have adhesion problems to become a 'universal decorative laminate'. The normal OPPs, whilst thin and strong, lack robustness and also have adhesion problems, said Mr Rodeck. The speaker added that his enhanced OPP retained the advantages of PP, but with greatly improved adhesion, robustness and print quality. The next speaker was Gene Dera of Doellken-Woodtape, on the subject of 'Green edgebanding alternatives'. He pointed out that, while PVC has been around since 1970 and is still popular, there are issues with dioxins and chlorine release. Mr Dera then summarised the alternatives available. He suggested that for chlorine-free materials, use ABS, PP or 3D. For laboratory furniture, use PVC or PP. For high heat resistance, ABS, PP or 3D. For high quality, 3D. The cheapest types are ABS and PVC and these are also problem-free in use on simple machines. The edgebanding for use in as many applications as possible is ABS, said the speaker. Session 6 was entitled 'Green/environmental' and the first speaker to take the stand was George Cruzan of the Formaldehyde Council to give a 'Formaldehyde issues update'. "Most of the issues are over-blown. All chemicals are hazardous - it is a question of how we use them. For example, excessive oxygen damages the DNA in your lungs," said Mr Cruzan, pointing out that formaldehyde is essential to life and is synthesised within the human body. He outlined the studies carried out, which concluded that, in rats, prolonged exposure to a formaldehyde level of two parts per million or more can cause nasal cancer. Research continues on what level would apply to humans, said the speaker. Colin McMillan discussed 'Life cycle analysis (LCA) of laminate products versus competitive building materials', covering both LCA and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), as outlined in the ISO 14040 series, as it relates to laminate products. He said that the drivers for LCA are: market and competition; it answers requests for environmental and social information; it enhances a company's public image; it plays a role in green purchasing policies; and it can identify cost savings within companies. Session 7 was lunch, with Christopher Lowell as special guest speaker. He is a well-known TV personality and author in North America, having his own shows about interior design and decor. Session 8, 'The marketplace', began with an overview of the global laminates market by Jan Jaap Nusselder of DSM Melamine Americas Inc. The main forecasts were that laminate flooring production will continue to grow in North America, causing imports to stagnate, while production in China will also grow, to about 400 million m² in 2012, and that most of that Chinese market will be served by domestic producers, who will also be looking to export. Mr Nusselder said that North America's melamine laminate production is at a low level now but he forecast 7% per annum growth for the future. Global consumption growth was also estimated at 7% per annum. He added that development of the industry started in Europe and that Europe is the technology leader. However, he said that China is approaching European production levels. He also intimated that furniture imports from China into North America will continue to rise sharply. The speaker suggested that new investment was required in North American panel and furniture industries, that they need to be innovative and have winning designs and they could then take advantage of their shorter lead times. Chris Leffel, formerly of the Composite Panel Association (CPA) but now with panel manufacturer Sierra Pine, looked at the North American board market in recent years and at its future prospects. He said particleboard saw a recovery in 2004, followed by a slowdown in mid-2005, due to shifting furniture production and imported substitute products. He predicted a slight increase in demand in 2006, with increasing imports, and a decrease in demand in 2007/8 with domestic capacity falling 13% from its 2005 levels. For MDF, Mr Leffel also reported a recovery in demand in 2004 which continued into 2005. Mouldings and laminate flooring accounted for most of this, with much of it imported from Europe. For 2006/8 he forecast increased demand (+8%), combined with a 3% increase in domestic production, but also a steep rise in imports, particularly from South America. He said that he expected most of any new MDF plants to be built in the US rather than Canada. He also said he expected to see more vertical integration in the panel industry in North America, as seen in Europe, saying: "The survivors will address issues of raw material source, product mix and will partner with their customers". He warned of the environmental challenges facing the industry, such as MACT regulations on factory emissions, product emissions and fibre availability. "The [US] industry must look to diversify its products and look for replacement opportunities," said Mr Leffel. "There will be a panel business going forward and certainly Sierra Pine will still be here." For the outlook for South American panel producers, Pedro Montes of Georgia-Pacific Corporation, said that MDF capacity today stands at 3.1 million m³ and that he expected it to reach close to four million m³ in 2007, with growth mainly in Brazil and Chile. Particleboard growth, on the other hand, has been restrained he said, with Brazil as the main producer. He did not foresee capacity growth for this panel type. In plywood production, Mr Montes said Brazil leads the way, with Chile in second place, with new plants planned for Chile and Uruguay. In melamine resin impregnated paper, Brazil leads with 74% of the region's production. Mr Montes concluded that the region has healthy growth in GDP of over 4.5% annually, sustainable forest plantations and a growing demand for its panel products, particularly thin and moulded MDF. Mathias Krull of Munksjö Paper summarised the world market for laminate flooring. He said that average annual market growth between 1995 and 2005 had been 7.2% (or 5.4% excluding China). The speaker said 65% of world laminate flooring production is in Europe, although consumption there accounts for only 50%. "Western Europe's demand will be rather stagnant and the strong growth of eastern Europe and Turkey will not counterbalance the need for further export, mainly to North America, if European production capacity will be utilised as in the past," said Mr Krull. "European based companies have taken decisions for major investments, particularly in North America, and the capacity increase in North America will amount to more than 75 million m² in 2005-7. Domestic companies have and will install new cutting lines as well." Turning to China, he said: "China has by far the largest production (approx 190 million m²) and the highest consumption volumes of laminate flooring, mostly consumed within China". The final morning of the symposium was devoted to three workshops: 'Board regulation'; 'Colour and appearance'; and 'Specifying in the real world'. The last named had a panel composed of Dick Titus of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA), Rick Troxel of Roseburg Forest Products and the CPA, symposium chairman Lee Miller and Michel Fortin as moderator. After presentations on standards for kitchen cabinetry in the KCMA and on the CPA's Buyers & Specifiers Guide, a lively discussion followed, led by Lee Miller, about certifying fabricators in the industry and also generic advertising to raise the profile of decorative laminates. Mr Miller was concerned that specifiers can specify a high-end product with the required specification such as fire retardency, while the fabricator can use a low-end product which does not meet the specification, pocketing the difference in cost, and the customer might never know - particularly when the identifying marks were on the back of the laminate. "This practice leads to poor-performing product in the marketplace and damage to the reputation of the whole industry," said Mr Miller.  "We've also marketed to specifiers and not educated the public. We need a 'Decorative Surfaces Institute' to raise our own image to being the premier decorative product," he added. Mr Miller suggested that this would need a separate budget and to be funded by all in the industry "who will benefit from a larger slice of the pie". To obtain a copy of the proceedings of this conference, or other information on TAPPI, go to www.tappi.org  

The 60th annual Forest Products Society meeting in June melded 300 wood scientists, educators, mill managers and forest industry suppliers, who heard 130 speakers and chatted with another 130 poster presenters. The gathering point was southern California's Newport Beach where the delegates, in their scarce free time, could enjoy the beaches, the surf and nearby golfing. An added feature was honouring Art Brauner who has retired from the society's top staff job, executive vice president, after 37 years of service. Thirteen society past presidents attended. The new executive, Carol Lewis, greeted the group. John R Shelly, University of California, was chair of the meeting. The meeting's 'Focus Day' session emphasised smart building for the 21st century. California's housing and community development director Lynn Jacobs, said: "California continues to experience very high rates of population growth and further tightening of its housing markets". She said housing production had not kept pace with the state's needs, particularly in the coastal and metropolitan areas. The annual need is 220,000 units, but this has not been met since the 1980s. Each year, 500,000 new residents move into the state. She said California's home ownership rate is the second lowest in the US, yet the housing industry is the second largest industry group in California's economy, with one million workers employed. It makes up 11% of the economy. Ruben D Grijalva, director, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said 95% of the forest wildfires are contained at l0 acres or less. He advocated 100ft of space between combustibles. A major problem is flying embers. Kate Dargan, assistant state fire marshal, said building standards have aimed to eliminate conflagrations in urban areas. The same goals are driving the urban/forest interface. Dr Jim Bowyer, retired from the University of Minnesota, was somewhat critical of 'sustainability' classifications. "A sustainable material is theoretically infinitely abundant and capable of being produced, used, and disposed of or re-used without permanently impacting the earth's natural systems. Despite the reality that producing all materials results in significant environmental impacts, only wood is held to standards linked to extraction. The result is designation of environmentally preferable materials using single attributes that often don't stand the test of rigorous assessment," he complained. Dr Bowyer also criticised systems for not considering embodied energy in a product such as steel studs. He said life-cycle assessment procedures only provide a standardised framework for determining environmental burdens linked to a product or process. He added that every such assessment has shown lower environmental burdens associated with wood buildings compared with those made from other materials. He said: "Wood will re-emerge as the responsible environmental material. "Architects and builders who look beyond the biases and politics of current green building initiatives, and to whom the sustainability issue really matters, will find wood the environmentally preferable material for almost every application". Ann Edminster, environmental design consultant, Pacifica, California, advocated substituting wood, whenever possible, for more problematic materials. However, she said, "We only allow it one life and we don't make it last long enough." She advocated building smaller houses designed for enduring value. She also advocated wooden studs in commercial buildings. Dr Thomas M Bonnicksen, Texas A&M University, called attention to the US' alarming forest health and wildfire crisis. He said many public forests are dangerously overgrown and more than 32 million acres burned in the last five years. He observed that public attitudes toward forest management have created an atmosphere in which a hands-off, preservationist approach has prevailed recently. He said that that approach has left forests increasingly susceptible to catastrophic wildfire and Americans more dependent on wood products from places in which they have no say over environmental practices. Dr Bonnicksen declared that Californians are totally detached from the environment around them. He advised: "Let foresters be foresters. We must sell wood products to pay the cost. Just taking the little stuff is foolish. Use the historic forest as a model in forest restoration. Agencies must have the will, the incentive and the know-how to mark the trees. It's our country's heritage". Dr Bonnicksen ended: "By embracing restoration forestry, we can enhance biodiversity, make communities safer and ensure a sustainable supply of wood products to meet the needs of a growing population". To help accomplish such a goal, Susan L LeVan Green, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, is researching new uses for forest thinnings, including wood-plastic composites, engineered roundwood structures, erosion control products, water filters, biomass power and biofuels. Herbert Kennedy, Georgia-Pacific Resins, Inc, Monroeville, Alabama, said the economic outlook is generally favourable for North America and the energy market is not as bad as it may appear, but the trade deficit is at a peak. He recognised that composite panels are a growing part of the North American forest industry and wood adhesive vitality is important to the panel industry. Skyrocketing oil prices are big news, but he calculated that 1980 oil prices were higher, in the same dollars. He predicted US$40 per barrel in 2009. He recognised that resins are affected by oil prices. Regarding urea, he said: "We are at the mercy of the agricultural market". He reported limited reinvestment in adhesives capacity because of recent highly competitive adhesive markets. Mr Kennedy said OSB uses more adhesive per square foot than plywood and warned that I-joist capacity is above demand. Discussing wood thermoplastic composites for resistance to decay and moisture, Dr Michael Walcott, Washington State University, reported that polymer contents of less than 35% can significantly retard intrusion of both moisture and fungi. Kate E Semple, University of British Columbia, said isocyanate wood binders are generally more sensitive to open mat assembly times in composite board production than other systems. She added that holding time for pMDI-blended wood furnish is believed to be no more than five hours. She reported that panels made from shortleaf pine, blended and immediately pressed, were significantly higher in strength, particularly in internal bond, than those in which the mat was held for 10 or more hours before pressing. Zhiyong Cai, Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, said his study indicates that thin-layer glass fibre (3.5% OD weight) overlays in MDF and flakeboard production can improve MOE, MOR and resistance to thickness swell and water absorption. He added that the technique could increase serviceability and market potential of wood composites used as exterior siding products. Todd F Shupe, Louisiana State University, reported that the LSU AgCenter is developing a closed-loop preservative-treated wood recycling programme. Options are recycling the treated wood and removal of the toxic preservatives. A goal is to scale up to pilot plant stage research to develop wood composite panels from preservative-treated wood. The primary interest is in wood liquefaction, hydrothermal treatment and composite products. Conrad Kevin Groves, Forintek, Vancouver, BC, Canada, indicated that a number of chemical products can be applied to OSB surfaces to significantly reduce mould growth held at high humidity for up to eight weeks. Nicolas Andre, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is studying on-line near-infrared spectroscopy to predict the buffer capacity of particleboard furnish. A high buffer capacity will slow resin cure during pressing and lead to low internal bond. He said accurate monitoring will help control panel quality by adjusting process parameters such as the amount of resin and additives, press closing time and line speed. John O'Connor, Oregon State University, reported on mechanical compression perpendicular to the grain to increase wood density, increasing strength and stiffness of low density wood for use as components in structural composites. Sumin Kim, Seoul National University, South Korea said that MDF and particleboard emitted greater amounts of VOCs than did laminate and engineered flooring. Dr Rupert Wimmer, University of Natural Resources & Applied Life Sciences, Austria, said use of natural fibre composite automotive interior parts is increasing. The most common process prior to compression moulding is non-woven needle-punch technology. This involves kenaf and polypropylene laid aerodynamically to a loose fibre fleece before entering a mechanical needle-punching consolidation with 7,200 needles. He said advantages of the product include low weight, low production-energy use, good acoustic, mechanical and safety properties, renewable resource balance and low allergic reactions during production. There are drawbacks: unpleasant odour, lower strength, mould growth, moisture absorption, low product uniformity, limited heat resistance and poor fire resistance.

Spanish architecture is now suddenly undergoing a renaissance, with masters such as architect Santigo Calatrava leading the way with new ideas and innovations. Structural solutions are being solved at a remarkable level and the union between engineering and architecture has never been closer. "I always try to design buildings that respond to people's needs, including the need not only for functional buildings, but for buildings that represent something for the community," says Santigo Calatrava. Among the various projects in Spain are the restorations and expansions (already accomplished or nearing completion) of several airports, all managed by the public business entity AENA: Madrid, Alicante, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Ciudad Real and others among which is Minorca, where Patt, a company of the Fantoni Group, has supervised the acoustics of the new departures area. Minorca is a popular tourist resort and its highly frequented airport requires sophisticated sound-absorption properties. The airport has wide open spaces which are vulnerable to acoustic pollution. To combat this problem the sound-absorption products of Patt were chosen in a signed contract of EUR1.5m. The work started in June of this year and will include 8,000m² of AP-Topakustik for the ceilings and 4,500m² for the walls. The installation is scheduled to be finished by the time this edition of WBPI is published. Why AP-Topakustik? It is a sound-absorbing MDF product which is claimed to be among the most innovative available on the market. It is made up of sound-absorption strips and, besides allowing a high degree of sound absorption with good acoustics, the structure has an attractive appearance. It is available in four different drilling and milling types (according to the required degree of absorption) and four different finishes (white, maple, beech and aluminium). The strips allow simple assembly with an even surface thanks to the absence of junctions. The product is thus said to be ideally suited to public halls, theatres, sports facilities, work and residential buildings. Installations already completed in Spain include the auditorium Oceanografique of the Ciudad de las Artes y de la Ciencias in Valencia, the fair buildings of Valencia, the Banco de Espana in Madrid, the Conservatory in Bilbao, McDonald's in Barcelona and the press hall of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. In 2004 Elio Catania was appointed president and managing director of 'Ferrovia dello Stato' (Italian society for railroads of the state). The challenge was to modernise the Italian railway and the high speed lines. Many steps have been taken since then: 'Alta Velocità' (high speed) is being realised and some lines are already technologically advanced. In Rome, for example, on arrival at the Termini station a dedicated route takes the traveller to the lounge hall where a hostess offers assistance in a refined environment. The relaxing atmosphere is helped by the acoustic well-being of the AP-Topakustik white ceiling: noiseless waiting, 24 hours a day. Peace, no noise from trains, no undertone of people talking or loudspeakers. AP-Topakustik has also played a part at the European Space Agency (ESA) headquarters in Rome. The mission of ESA, with its 17 member states, is to find out more about the earth, the solar system and the universe in general that could be useful for the improvement and well-being of society. At ESA's Centre for Earth Observation, ESRIN, headquartered in Frascati, AP-Topakustik has been used to cover a virtual reality theatre - a centre which monitors environment changes in real time. It is also featured in the Security Control Center (SSCC) - the brain of the ESRIN security system - in a maple finish and in the conference room in a silver finish. The product was recently put on display at the European parliament in Brussels at an event which was part of Roadmap 2010, a project aimed at the promotion of the use of wood to support sustainable development and give information about the social and economic benefits of its use in the building industry (see WBPI issue 2, 2006, p12). Here, Topakustik was used to good effect in a partition wall with a winding shape which gradually converged to encompass a sound-deadening meeting room within itself. Music and acoustics are, of course, an inseparable pair and the Fantoni Group is very much aware of this. At the prestigious Casa del Jazz in Rome, restoration had to be carried out and Fantoni improved the acoustic performance of the auditorium in the main building. And just recently the San Giacomo square in Udine was the venue for a high-level concert devoted to Mozart and involving world-renowned artists. AP-Topakustik was used as a back-drop to the orchestra. Two large visually appealing curved walls were constructed with the product, which is said to have given perfect acoustics to the performance.

Canpar Industries' particleboard mill, annually producing 150 million ft², 3'4in basis, in Grand Forks, British Columbia, is not one of those flashy headline-making brand new plants. But under a patina of age leavened with some new machinery and techniques, it's North America's largest door core manufacturer. Grand Forks is somewhat off the beaten path, a scant two miles north of the US-Canadian border. It's really not on the way to anywhere, but Grand Forks is a peaceful, attractive mountain-rimmed community and Canpar is an important ingredient. The mill is located on the banks of the Kettle river near the mouth of a scenic canyon and was established about 40 years ago during particleboard's first growth cycle. The initial product was industrial board, but in later years management saw the value of niche products and gradually switched to door core. Chairman and CEO Bruce Welch bought the mill. A huge high-pressure single-opening Becker & van Hüllen press, one of few still in service, serves the number 2 line. But number 1 line has an impressive new forming system installed under less-than-ideal conditions, making that line the star. Operations director Peter Metcalf said the 30-year-old existing former was "totally worn out. It collapsed as we removed it". Canpar went to a wider mat with installation of the new Metso blender and screen. This all resulted in a 3% production increase, along with better forming accuracy and improved board qualities. Plenty of pre-planning went into the switchover, with an eight-person team organised for the job so as to minimise downtime. They worked around the clock during the eight-day shutdown after which operations resumed, with the mill back to full capacity in two or three days. Mr Metcalf said Terry McSweeney of Westec did the drawings and was at the mill for the entire installation. "It was nice to have the resource on the site," he said. "And we had the expertise of Metso here. "It was quite a feat to get that equipment into the building, even disassembled." In the tight quarters, they had to raise the equipment ahead and behind the former, tie it to the roof, bring the former in, and then lower the existing equipment back into place. Manufacturing vice president Randy Johnson, a 30-year veteran of the wood products business, said: "It was a very artful task to shoehorn all that in. The new former has been extremely reliable. I don't think we've had more than nine hours of downtime from it in more than a year". Forming accuracy enables high-quality panels at low densities, while maintaining other standards. Another advantage is self-cleaning rollers. Forming along the length of the line is quite consistent, he said. The system uses a weigh scale in the forming bin, providing instant information about bin flow. At the same time as the new former, Canpar installed a new Carmanah screen to handle the increased volume. Mr Metcalf said: "We're the largest door plant in North America and possibly the world. We have a niche. The only industrial board we produce is for our cover sheets". Mr Johnson said his mill's two major competitors produce perhaps half of his output. "We're absolutely focused. We're sold out in North America," he declared. The mill has 123 employees with 91 in production and maintenance and is heavy to value-added business, which tends to be labour-intensive. They produce 237 products in 11'8in and 13'4in, with some 11'2in. Up to one million lock blocks are included in a typical week's production. These are concealed particleboard blocks glued to the insides of hollow-core doors to provide support for lock sets. All of Canpar's raw material is softwood sawmill residues, except for wood from one pulp mill. The plant's raw material supply (chip undersize, planer shavings and sawdust) comes from a 150km radius of the mill. The closest supplier is the Pope & Talbot sawmill just across the street. It is a mixture of pine, fir, spruce and hemlock. Grand Forks has a fairly mild and dry climate and the wood supply is stored outside, which does result in somewhat higher moisture for the dryers. Both the mill's two lines draw from a common source. Bauer machines refine the material. Line 1, the improved line with the new Metso Classiformer, has two Bison drum dryers for a second pass. The material, 12 tons per hour, feeds across an Imal weigh-belt and two Carmanah screens to dry storage. A Coen burner fired with sander dust heats the dryers and pre-dryer, serving both Bison drum dryers. Imal/Pal blenders introduce Hexion resin. The mat is trimmed and proceeds to the DeMets 72in roller belt pre-press, then through a Bunting metal detector to the charging rack through company-built trim saws and on to the DeMets 64x120in eight-opening hot press. Refurbished Dieffenbacher platens were added in 1996. A GTS DH-V 10/40 gas-fired boiler heats the press to a normal pressing temperature of 450ºF. Normal pressing time for 11'8in board is 3 minutes 10 seconds. After passing through a cooling chamber the panels go to a shop-built stacker. Schwabedissen saws trim the panels. All output is sanded after two days of warehouse conditioning. Line 2 employs a Bison 9x45ft rail forming station feeding a Becker & van Hüllen 9x45ft single-opening pre-press heated to 2500F which, in turn, feeds a Becker & van Hüllen 9x45ft single-opening press heated by a gas-fired Cleaver Brooks 750-93 unit. The press has a water hydraulic ram system to produce an extremely high 4,000psi. The Imal trim line has two 108in edge trim saws, two centre long-cut 28x60in splitter saws, and 12 cross-cut saws, 48x120in. The mill produces standard thicknesses of 11'8in, 11'2in, 15'8in, 111'16in, 13'4in, and 21'4in, cut to almost any size. Edge-gluing produces long panels to be cut to any length. The plant has five thousand ft² of raw storage and another five thousand ft² of dry storage. The product is SCS certified. The mill ships 25 rail cars and 25 trucks of panels weekly throughout North America. A one-locomotive short-line railroad owned jointly by Canpar and adjoining Pope & Talbot links the mills with the main Burlington Northern railroad for product shipments.

The 2006 global particleboard capacity survey contains over 60 additions and modifications to the previous mill listings as a result of new or revised data being received from operators, equipment suppliers and many other industry commentators. This report covers only the North American and European mills. Part 2, covering the mills in the 'Rest of the world', will be published in issue 6 of WBPI. Please note that although this research was conducted during the 2006 calendar year, the listings in the following pages show mill capacities as at the end of 2005 and forecast changes apply to the current year and to 2007.

When Plum Creek Timber Company's plywood mill was built in Columbia Falls Montana, US, in 1964, it was one of the many commodity mills producing sheathing which rose up in US softwood plywood's heyday, but many have gone. It is specialities that have kept many of the remaining mills - including Plum Creek's - in business, and keeping up with the latest time and labour-saving innovations is a big part of it, along with methods and equipment giving better-quality output. Encouraging employees to do their best is another big feature in Plum Creek's mills. These three philosophies have kept Plum Creek plywood right up there in an industry declining in numbers. One of the latest innovations is robot-controlled panel patching, or plugging. Plant Manager Rick Nelson said his mill has been heavily into industrial panels for more than 20 years and overlays have become more important, particularly in concrete form stock using Dynea and Paneltech overlays. The Columbia Falls mill's output is entirely in exterior grades. As an example, Marine tech grade plywood is one speciality. This is designed for rigorous marine use with Superior 'B' face grades. It is all structural 1, group 1 species construction, produced with 'ultra core' tight, 'high c' grade cross-bands and centres. A preponderance of Plum Creek plywood's logs come from the company's own timberlands since it is the nation's largest private timberland owner. The plywood mill uses primarily Douglas fir and western larch. Present log diameter averages 9.5in (diameters are gradually decreasing) with a minimum diameter of 7.5in. The lathes peel down to a 3.25in core which a local mill buys, squares two sides, and sells for landscaping timbers. The plywood plant shares a log yard with Plum Creek's adjoining sawmill and MDF mill and the entire site is one mile wide. A LeTourneau machine unloads trucks while a Caterpillar 980 decks logs, serves the conditioning vats and feeds the mill. A 36in Salem ring debarker skins the logs, which then proceed to a 72in double circular saw built by Plum Creek. It cuts them to 8ft peeler lengths. Next they go to the 12 hot water conditioning vats for up to 24 hours, depending on conditions, to achieve a 110ºF core temperature. The blocks come up to the 250hp Coe lathe installation. The Coe 765 x-y charger works through the scanner to the lathe, which has three retractable spindles. The automated system peels seven to eight blocks per minute, primarily in 1'10in and 1'7in. The veneer offbears to four 90ft trays with Lloyd controls. A Ventek scanner and moisture detector precedes the Durand-Raute rotary clipper, which offbears to a CTC diverter and 10-bin stacker that can stack random and 27s in two bins each. The other bins take full sheets. There are four moisture sorts. A short green chain pulls remaining random strip and there is a centre-cut fishtail at the end of the line. Two Coe jet tube direct-fired dryers with Sweed automatic feeders are heated by a Wellons fuel cell which burns residuals, bark, sander dust and plywood trim. The second dryer has a rather unusual set-up with six steam sections heated from a central boiler for the complex and the others heated by a cell reheating dryer air. To solve a dryer dust-plugging problem, Plum Creek installed a PPC Industries electrostatic precipitator. Hot gases from a blending chamber go through a Zurn Industries multicyclone to remove larger particulate and wood fibre picked up in the recirculated air. The dried veneer goes through Ventek GS2000 scanners and sorting to CTC and Braun-Cardin 10-bin stackers. With declining grades because of smaller wood, this accurate sorting is particularly important. The mill had seven manually-operated Raimann patchers. Robotic controls have already been added to two of these. Two more are slated to be added this autumn, leaving two manual machines remaining. The veneer goes under a Ventek scanner which locates defects. This information goes into computer memory for each sheet as it is transferred to the patch line. The sheets are automatically placed on the patcher's table with the accuracy required to ensure accurate patching as the computer controls the travel of each sheet. Maintaining positive control, vacuum heads on Panuc M-410 robots move sheets around under the patcher heads in the computer-controlled patching pattern. The system is being supplied by Ventek and the Precision Technologies division of Willamette Valley Co, Eugene, Oregon, US. Two Raute composers with Ventek scanning systems serve a Durand five-feeder lay-up line installed eight years ago. The line can handle lay-ups from 0.25in to 1.5in. From lay-up the panels go to a pre-press and two 36-opening Williams White hot presses with Raute and Spartek unloaders. Offbearing, they go to a pie rack for cooling and to a Willamette Valley Co synthetic patching putty line as required. A Globe saw line is followed by a Coe Tidland six-head sander. A rebuilt six-head Kimwood will be added. The mill produces 120 million ft², 3'8in basis, or 480,000ft² per day, with a total workforce of 200. The green end runs two shifts with three shifts on dryers, pluggers and composers and two shifts on lay-up through the finish end.

Thirteen nations were represented at the meeting which drew 170 participants to learn the latest about veneer and wood based panels. Kimmo Suomalainen of Raute Oy, Nastola, Finland, explained the advantages of producing 4x8ft from 8x8ft plywood, including less required labour, fewer man-hours per unit of production, less equipment and reduced trim loss. Panels are produced at l00x100in and sawn into either 4x8ft or 8x4ft with long-grain faces used in construction and short grain in industrial applications.

Public perception is everything. Is the industry producing a high-quality decorative paper based surface to compete on equal terms with solid wood, veneer or stone, or is it producing 'just laminate'?
"I can't afford 'the real thing', so I will have 'just laminate' on my kitchen worktops," says Mr or Mrs homeowner. This issue was raised with some enthusiasm by chairman Lee Miller at the TAPPI Decorative and Industrial Laminates Symposium in Atlanta in August (full report starts on p44).
He wants the industry to raise the profile of laminates generically. He said the industry had marketed to the specifiers and not educated the public. He talked of a 'Decorative Surfaces Institute' to raise the industry's own image to be the "premier decorative product", funded by the industry for the benefit of the industry. His other concern was with rogue contractors who use a lower grade of laminate than that specified. For instance, he highlighted the potential use of non fire retardant laminate where such a grade was demanded. As the grade is stamped on the back face of the laminate, how would the client know? Another example is the use of unbacked laminate worktops above dishwashers, where heat and humidity levels lead to warping of the worktop. The result of these misuses is not, of course, one instance of fire damage, or one worktop failure. The real result is damage to the image of decorative laminate in total. Mr Miller suggested certification of contractors as one answer to this problem. Decorative laminate technology has developed so dramatically that it takes close examination to tell a wood-grain or stone-effect laminate (particularly if it is embossed-in-register) from real wood or stone. It is no longer 'just a laminate' but a high-quality product in its own right - available in unique and stunning designs as well as copies of natural materials - which has resulted from extensive research and development and should be appreciated as a surfacing choice in its own right, not as a 'cheap' alternative. Does this all sound a little familiar to panel manufacturers too? If a non moisture-resistant panel is used in the wrong place. or a panel is subjected to bad site practice, failure can result and that will reflect badly on wood based panels in general. Too often the supplier of a panel has not enquired as to its end-use to ensure the correct product is being supplied. Generic promotion of all products, including the value-added ones, and of their correct application, would obviously benefit the whole industry and improve that public perception. But who is going to do it?  

Some 70 experts from 11 nations exchanged information in Miami Beach, Florida for the Structural Board Association's third world OSB symposium in May. The adjoining hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast will be an important OSB market during the next few years of rebuilding from recent storms. And the delegates got a personal preview of the bitter weather as thunder storms, huge hail, torrential rain and raging winds lashed their headquarters at Miami Beach Resort Hotel. The storm, which broke a long Florida drought, forced a change in meeting rooms. Containers lined the original room catching water coursing down from a leaking roof, while nearby new high-rise building construction continued in one of the US' largest building markets.

The Dare group of companies has a diverse range of products including silver paper for cigarette packets, cigarette filters, alloy wheels for cars and computer products. It entered the MDF manufacturing business in 2002 with two 80,000m³ production lines supplied by Shanghai Wood Based Panel Machinery (SWPM). Having 'tested the water' with these lines, Dare decided it was a good move and started up its first continuous-press MDF line in Danyang City, Jiangsu province in 2003, with a nominal capacity of 200,000m³.

Like several other entrepreneurs at the time, Giacomo Trombini saw the potential for a new particleboard mill in Italy and in 1960 he built his first factory in Pomposa. The other major activity of the company was in shipping, which started around the same time and is also still going strong, with the Trombini fleet now comprising nine ships with a total tonnage of 280,000. Other group industrial activities include docks in the nearby port of Ravenna, agriculture and construction. Unlike many of his contemporaries in the Italian particleboard business, Mr Trombini's company grew and flourished, in spite of the country's problems over the years with raw materials, and the company now run by his son Andrea boasts 750,000m³ of raw particleboard and around 29 million m² of melamine faced panel production per year.

World MDF capacity grew by 3.2 million m³ in 2005 - somewhat less than the exceptional 4.8 million m³ in 2004 but still a 7.6% increase. The growth in 2004 was reportedly the largest, before two years of lesser increments. This year's WBPI World MDF capacity survey would tend to support this view. It shows continued growth globally but at lower levels than the recent past. Furthermore, with some adjustments to last year's European data, it transpires that 80% of world capacity growth in 2005 was attributed to 'the rest of the World' and amounted to 2.5 million m³, or 10.7%. The 2004 survey referred to the 'old MDF world' of Europe, North America and Australasia. The old world lost its majority position in 2003/4 and by 2005 accounted for only 43% of world capacity.

Chunping Dai, organising committee chairman, explained the background of the meetings, which began in Cluny, France in 2004. He said, "The veneer industry is a dynamic and diversified sector of the wood products industry. Products include plywood, LVL, decorative veneer and light packaging. "The objective of this symposium is to bring together representatives from producers, equipment and resin suppliers, as well as researchers from around the world, to discuss key issues and opportunities." Participants heard some 40 speakers. They met in the midst of a Vancouver building boom escalated by the forthcoming 2010 Winter Olympics.

The preparation of the raw material for panel manufacture, in the form of chips and flakes, has been the sole concentration of Pal since it formed an alliance with fellow Italian company Imal in 1998 and the two firms ceased to compete in the same market areas, choosing instead to concentrate on their respective strengths. Pal has in fact been involved in wood preparation since its foundation in 1978. This alliance coincided with the beginning of a dramatic increase in the use of recycled wood for panel production - particularly particleboard. Using recycled wood is of course a real benefit to the environment as well as offering a relatively cheap source of raw material to the panel manufacturer. But it does have its own set of problems, chief of which is the contamination of the wood with a whole range of pollutants in the form of metals, sand and stones.

The rolling grasslands of northern Uruguay, for long the lone preserve of the gaucho and his grazing cattle, are gradually giving way to a fresh, green landscape of gently swaying pine and eucalyptus trees. Like the pampas breeze, the transition has been gentle, with groups of cows still wandering lazily between the precise tree lines of the plantations. But this idyllic rural scene masks what promises to be one solution to the ever-pressing search for fresh timber to meet a growing shortfall in global wood supply. One US giant in forest products which recognised the value of buying and planting timberland in Uruguay a decade ago is Weyerhaeuser Company. Today, the Washington State-based group and its joint venture partners have built up a national estate of some 130,000ha, chiefly loblolly pine and eucalyptus grandis plantations.

Termoventilmec started life as the brainchild of the Benvenuti brothers in 1951 in Treviso. In those days, the company, known today as TVM, supplied galvanised ducting for suction systems for flour mills for the food industry. In 1955, it spread its technology into the wood, mechanical and footwear industries and today 70% of its turnover is in the wood processing industry and 50% is in the panel manufacturing sector. Recycling of plastic, paper, rubber and other areas where there is airborne pollution make up the rest of the company's sales. The current managing director, Livio Zaros, joined the company in 1970 and in 2003 he oversaw the moving of the business into brand new purpose-designed offices and factory in Spresiano, not far from the original location and to the north of Treviso. It is 25km from Venice airport. "We design, manufacture, install and commission machinery and systems for the extraction of dust, chips, trim materials or bark and filter the air, offering high- and medium-pressure conveying lines," explained Mr Zaros. Whilst the factory stocks a number of components common to most of its complete systems, all projects are custom-made in the factory to customers' specific requirements. The process starts from flat galvanised or black steel plate and sheet, which is cut with a plasma cutter and made into components for TVM's systems. But it doesn't end with ducting. Silos, cyclones, cyclone filters and radial fans are all made on site in Spresiano. Unloading systems for silos are also offered, in chain or screw type, and medium or small crushing machines for wood waste are available, although these are mainly supplied to the furniture industry. The company also designs and supplies rotary blowers for high-pressure conveying lines. A major change in the requirements for TVM's type of products came into force in 2003 with the implementation of the ATEX regulations. These set norms for explosion resistance in all of the equipment which TVM manufactures - and challenges for the company's designers as the entire systems had to be reinforced to meet the standards. "We had to redesign all our products - fans, bag filters, rotary valves, everything, to meet the new norms concerning elastic resistance, plastic resistance and we had to pressure-test everything to destruction," said Mr Zaros. "We had to use special software developed by NASA in the US and we invested a lot of money in this. "This may seem like a relatively low-tech industry, but to design a safe, effective filter system is not easy. It is also not sufficient to check each component, but you must check the complete system with all components from all suppliers including spark detection/extinguishing, suppressors, control units, everything. We now know the exact limits of our products in every application." While the cost of compliance with ATEX regulations is considerable, as Mr Zaros pointed out, an explosion has the potential for enormous and very expensive damage. However, Mr Zaros acknowledged that some potential customers look only in the short-term - at the price. Rotary valves for low, medium or high pressure are designed in-house and built up from steel plates in the workshops, including the radial fans themselves. These are constructed from stainless steel when they are to be used in wet conditions, such as for wet chip transport in a panel mill. Fan impellers of course have to be accurately balanced and this is carried out on an electronic machine in the factory. "In positive pressure, we only make open fans because they do not get blocked by plastic bags, paper and other foreign material which may get sucked into the line," said Mr Zaros, explaining that in negative pressure situations where the material to be transported does not pass the fan, an ordinary fan can be used. The company manufactures four families of self-cleaning bag filters - two positive and two negative pressure. Cleaning is by compressed air pulses and reverse air pulses. The central section for bag filters is reinforced to ATEX norms. For those panel mills with pre-2003 bag filter systems, all is not lost. TVM can supply this central section, with diaphragms and explosion vents, to be inserted between the head and the hopper to upgrade the plant to meet current standards. For new bag filters, a different system is used, employing ATEX-certified vents. The company supplies its systems directly to the clients, or as part of the supply contract of other engineering companies - for instance Pal srl, which uses TVM equipment on its wood preparation lines. The woodyard is another area of application for TVM products - where wet bark needs to be transported for example. Having extracted all this wood 'waste', TVM can also offer a pellet plant to make use of it. Launched at the Xylexpo exhibition in Milan in May, the pellet press produces wood pellets from your wood 'waste', which can be burned to provide energy. In spite of the general global recession in recent years, Mr Zaros said TVM has seen demand for new plants maintaining an even keel and that the company has prospered.

Transporting panels around the panel production and finishing lines is a job which needs to be done accurately and with some care, while having those panels in the right place at the right time is vital to the efficiency of the mill. Twenty years ago, EMG was founded in Pozzaglio ed Uniti, near Cremona in northern Italy to do just that. The company has always specialised in the production of special automation plants for the panel and furniture manufacturing industries and its products are to be found in every part of the factory and, these days, most parts of the world. The essential central feature of EMG's products is the movement of panels around the factory.

This is a particularly significant year for Imeas as it marks the 40th anniversary of this manufacturer of wide belt sanders and grinding machines. When it set up in business in 1966 in Villa Cortese near Milan, Imeas Spa specialised in the design and manufacture of machines to sand and grind stainless steel and wood based panels. The name of the company means, in Italian, Industria Macchine ed Attrezzature Speciali, or 'special industrial machines and tools'. Since 1996, the company has added a range of other substrates to its list of materials to sand and grind, including fibre cement board, decorative laminates, rubber, PVC and linoleum, to name but a few. And a new project for Imeas this year is to supply a calibrating line to flooring specialist Tarkett for PVC flooring panels.

After four years of operation, the Trombini Group's drying plant in Frossasco has met the expectations of both the Annovati and Instalmec technicians, says Adriano Stocco, managing director and founder of Instalmec srl. Annovati's engineers say the plant responds fully to the requirements of the original order, while the Instalmec technicians have seen the planning and processing choices of the client realised, he says. "The first 45,000kg/hour mono-tube drum dryer in Italy, created in vacuum, has thus proved to be a success both in terms of our planning and in terms of our customer's requirements. Plant characteristics were studied down to the smallest detail, which is our philosophy, so as to obtain a reliable and highly functional plant."

After more than 40 years, CMC Texpan has established a solid position in the international panel industry as a specialist in forming systems.   Dario Zoppetti, chairman of the company his father started as CMC in 1962, is content. "We are very satisfied with the existing situation - we have plenty of work to take us through to mid-2007 which is unusual in our branch of the industry," he says in his office, situated beneath the Alps and alongside the river Serio in Colzate.   Work in progress in the factory includes a four-head forming station for Egger at Hexham, UK, another for Giriu Bizonas in Lithuania and a similar set-up for PG Bison in South Africa. The capacities of these lines range from 1,000m³ a day at PG Bison to 2,600m³ a day at Egger Hexham.

The expertise of Trasmec Company Ltd is in industrial conveying and the storage of loose materials and stretches back to the formation of the company in 1954. Originally, Trasmec operated in the chemical, food, feedstuffs and seed industries, transferring its expertise to the panel industry as Italy's particleboard sector developed. Today, 90% of Trasmec's business comes from the panel industry globally. "We have a good order book because we have received so many orders for delivery through to mid-2007," said general manager Roberto Moroni, whose father Dante founded the family business.

To go to Xian in Shanxi province without visiting one of the most famous World Heritage Sites, sometimes described as the eighth wonder of the world, would be a mistake. It is one that I did not make, thanks to a conveniently placed weekend in my schedule. Discovered by four peasants in Xiyang Village in 1974, the site contains three pits where 8,000 life-size pottery soldiers and horses have been unearthed - each one unique in appearance - together with 10,000 weapons such as bronze spears and arrow heads. In another area, bronze chariots and horses have also been uncovered.

Ladislaus Döry, president of the EPF, welcomed delegates to the open part of the EPF and FEIC's joint annual meetings in Helsinki, pointing out the appropriateness of Finland as a venue, given the importance of the forest products industry to the national economy. He then welcomed Finland's minister of trade and industry, Mr Mauri Pekkarinen, who addressed the meeting. Mr Pekkarinen said that in the 1990s, the Finnish government launched its 'Time for Wood' campaign to strengthen competitiveness and ensure future development in the industry. "We wanted to raise public awareness and during the campaign, wood made a comeback and domestic use of sawn wood doubled," said the minister.

The BioComposites Centre is a self-financing business within the University of Wales, Bangor, which itself has the oldest school of agriculture and forest science in the UK. Headquartered in the university in Bangor on the north Wales coast, BioComposites offers its services to the international panel industry and other wood based product sectors. Explaining the business structure of the centre, director Paul Fowler said: "We are self-financing but with the support and infrastructure of the university behind us. We have to go out and actively seek business to fund the centre and that keeps us hungry for funds".

In a surprise announcement at the Xylexpo exhibition in May, we heard that Imal had bought a majority stake in sister company Pal. This move further cements the close relationship which the two businesses have enjoyed since 1998 when they exchanged shares in each others' companies and separated their scope of supply. In this arrangement, areas where the two companies competed directly were separated, with Imal continuing and expanding its essentially electronic-based expertise in the areas of electrical equipment, glue blending, on-the-line and laboratory quality control devices and so on, while Pal concentrated on its range of wood preparation equipment such as screens, sifters and related equipment up to the dry silo in particleboard and MDF mills. Areas of direct competition between the two companies were thus removed by re-allocating them to the most appropriate factory.

The panel industry, together with all other sectors of the wood products business, is fighting an ongoing war.
A war is made up of many battles and several of those battles have already been won by the industry and/or its representatives. Unfortunately there always seems to be another one to fight.