Australian Panels orders new record MDF line
20 February 2024A new 8ft x 78.6m MDF press ordered by Australian Panels will be the longest ever press of its kind developed by panel production technology specialist Siempelkamp.
The Australian wood-based panel producer ordered the plant from its German partner for its location in Mount Gambier.
The new MDF plant is the sixth Siempelkamp plant for Australian Panels. The customer last opted for a Siempelkamp particleboard plant in August 2023, which will be the largest in Australia with an annual capacity of over 650,000m3. It will also be built at the Mount Gambier site.
“With the new, sixth order, the number of Siempelkamp equipment at Australian Panels increases to four MDF plants and two plants for the production of particleboard,” said Geoff Robson, managing director of Siempelkamp Pty Ltd.
The new order for the Mont Gambier location includes the forming and press line, the gluing and the cooling and stacking lines. The scope of supply also includes the competence of three Siempelkamp subsidiaries: Pallmann supplies a drum chipper, CMC Texpan a wood chip screening system, and Büttner contributes a drying system.
The raw material used will be light Pinus Radiata – a non-porous coniferous wood that is particularly suitable as a feed material for the production of fibreboard and particleboard. The MDF plant will be delivered in May 2025 and production is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2026.
