All articles by Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Metsä Group to end plywood production in Suolahti

Metsä Wood, part of Metsä Group, plans to discontinue plywood production in Suolahti, Finland.

IWF opens doors

Atlanta is once again home to the biennial International Woodworking Fair (IWF), showcasing leading technologies and products for the wood products sector

New EPF chairman starts role

Pablo Figueroa Lopez of Finsa has taken over as chairman of the European Panel Federation (EPF). Here he speaks to Stephen Powney about taking up the important role and how he sees the priorities for the EPF

European woodbased panels production at low EBB

The annual European Panel Federation AGM and conference is an important marker in the wood-based panels calendar. This year the event was held in Riga, Latvia

“Essential” decors

Surfacing producer Schattdecor recently announced its new Global Essentials 2024 collection. Here is a summary of the exciting new collection

Innovations in Italy

This year’s edition of the Xylexpo woodworking technology saw reduced visitor numbers but a number of interesting innovations presented in the Rho fairgrounds, reports Stephen Powney who attended the Milan event

Fibreboard waste solutions

The prospect of recycling waste fibreboard for reuse in new MDF boards is a current big focus in wood R&D circles. The EcoReFibre project is an EU-funded initiative which includes development of solutions to achieve this, with numerous partners involved, including leading wood-based panels technology manufacturer Dieffenbacher

MDF expansion slows

In this the first part of our annual survey of the global MDF producing industry, independent consultant Geoff Rhodes looks at the MDF mills and their capacities in Europe and North America and at the prospects for the industry generally. Significant investment in MDF capacity has slowed substantially as short-term difficulties are a reality

Paged makes progress

Plywood manufacturer the Paged Group has signed a new service agreement with Raute and opened a new LabTech R&D headquarters in Pisz, Poland. Stephen Powney reports

Resisting fire

The addition of expandable graphite and carbon nanotube additives to improve the fire resistance of wood-based materials, including panel products, is showing potential according to a research project. Bartłomiej Mazela, of Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poland is leading a research project on the subject – this article is a summary of the research, which was presented at last year’s International Panels Products Symposium in Wales