Wood Technology Company’s (WOTECH) new MDF plant in Egypt is up and running, with machinery supplier Siempelkamp securing provisional acceptance for the installation.
The Provisional Acceptance Certificate for the facility, located in Idku in Beheira Governorate, was signed in September 2026.
German machinery specialist Siempelkamp supplied and designed the production line after WOTECH awarded it the contract in December 2019 through an international tender process.
With a design capacity of 205,000m³ of MDF and HDF per year, the plant repurposes an agricultural by-product that would otherwise require disposal, reinforcing Egypt’s national efforts to collect and recycle rice straw at an industrial scale.
The plant uses Egyptian rice straw as a fibre source, addressing the lack of domestic wood resources for MDF production in the country.
Siempelkamp supplied the full production line, including systems for rice straw feeding, processing, glueing, pressing and finishing, as well as energy and safety technology.
WOTECH, collaborating with Egyptian contractors, handled civil works and site infrastructure.
WOTECH chairman and CEO Hossam Elfahmy said: “Egypt has built a national system to collect and recycle rice straw after every harvest.
“In Idku, we contribute an industrial outlet to that effort, turning this agricultural residue into MDF with no added formaldehyde, made to the European standard EN 622-5.”
Production at the facility involves several adaptations to prepare rice straw instead of wood, though the forming and pressing stages are similar to those in conventional MDF manufacturing.
The resulting MDF panels are bonded with PMDI resin, which contains no added formaldehyde.
During performance testing, the plant’s 16mm boards met the requirements of European Standard EN 622-5 for MDF in dry conditions.
As the plant transitions towards full commercial output, WOTECH is also laying the groundwork for exports to international markets.
