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Attswonrx, Vancouver, B.C., completed the purchase of the remaining 50% of Footner Forest Products and its OSB facility in High Level, Alb., from Grant Forest Products.

Ainsworth will continue to keep the High Level mill on a care and maintenance basis until market conditions support restarting production, which was indefinitely curtailed in December 2007. The company's three other OSB mills have been operating at above 90% capacity.

C.e.o. Rick Huff said, "ln the first quarter of 2011, we continued a strategic plan that advances our abili$ to deliver innovative, value-added products, increases the geographic diversity of our sales, and positions the company for longterm growth. As part of this plan, we are targeting growth through key overseas markets, particularly Japan and China."

According to Robert Fouquet, v.p. of marketing & sales, sales to Japan increased after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. "The phone lines in our office in Tokyo started to ring and there was an onslaught of inquiries coming in about buying our 0SB, because it disrupted Japan's plywood mills, with a 30% loss in capacity," he said. "We reacted immediately by ramping up volumes of Japanese-grade OSB at our mills and met the demand."

Geoncn-PlctFtc, Atlanta, Ga., reports that three of its six 0SB mills continue running. lts mills have been idle in Skippers, Va., since June; in West Hope, W.V., since February, and in Grenada, Ms., since last year.

G-P is spending $30 million to complete construction of a new 0SB mill in Clarendon, S.C., which it acquired last May from Grant Forest Products. Also included in the sale were OSB mills in Allendale, S.C., and Englehart, Ont.

.We expect it will take most of this year to complete construction on the plant,' said Mark Luetters, president of wood products. "Having now operated an identical plant at Allendale, we believe we will be able to quickly and efficiently begin producing 0S8," as significant OSB-producing regions, which will have a major impact on the dynamics of the market.

"In the past decade there has been massive substitution of less expensive and more resource-efficient OSB in place of plywood, especially for sheathing in housing construction in North America," says Neufeld. "It is unfortunate that many of the OSB facilities in North America were closed as a result of the housing downturn. This would not have happened if producers had aggressively developed export markets as a hedge to downturns in North America. Over the next five years, producers will need to be more

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Hueen EnelneEneo Wooos, Charlotte, N.C., continues to operate its five OSB mills, while launching a new marketing campaign for its ZIP System OSB wall sheathing that focuses on the energy-efficient performance beneflts of the sheathing when installed with ZIP System tape.

-Building performance has become increasingly important to builders due to new energy code requirements and homeowner preferences for energy savings and comfort," said general manager Charlie Robinson. "You can reduce air leakage by 99% compared to housewrap by taping panel seams with ZIP tape, to reduce air leakage into and out of the home. This helps protect the R-value of insulation, which reduces heating and cooling costs by an average of 10o/o;' aware of global developments as the closed facilities are brought back into production."

RovOMlnrtN, Alexandria, La., is moving into its fifth year of operation at its OSB facility in Oakdale, La.

"Manufacturing and selling high quality value-added products is an important facet to accomplishing our longer-term operating objectives," said Terry Secrest, vice president of the 0SB unit. "We focus considerable time and energy on manufacturing, marketing, and selling radiant barrier roof panels, Eclipse-Energy Guard wall panels, and WindBrace extended length panels."

The company's radiant panel products are available FSC-certified and have earned third-party verification from Reflective Insulation Manufactures Association International.

"Emphasis has been placed on translating the Eclipse radiant barrier product from a singular roof decking application to a wall sheathing application, which replaces traditional housewrap," said Tony Rocha, senior field sales and business development representative. "Eclipse-Energy Guard is gaining recognition in the market as a housewrap replacement. Builders are saying they save time and money by using Eclipse-Energy Guard panels."

Tot-xo, Vernon, 8.C., now offers T-Grade, a new, reengineered OSB flooring for the residential market. The product is the first result of a $3.2 million upgrade to its Meadow Lake OSB facili$, which began in the last quarter of 2010 and was completed in March 2011.

"We asked our customers how we could help them be more successful and T-Grade is the result," said Michael Sivucha, manager of strand-based marketing and sales. 'Builders tell us they're looking for reliable, versatile products for use in custom, semi-custom, and production homes-TGrade meets their needs."

Lmceomo continues to produce 0SB products at its plant in Quitman, Ga.

While plywood is still a preferred product for many applications on the basis of its quality, other regions will increasingly use OSB as a substitute where cost and resource constraints are a factor. BIS Shrapnel predicts OSB could be the next new product to emerge in China and other Asian countries.

The firm forecasts global consumption of plywood to grow at an average rate of about 5o/o per year, and OSB at llTo over the five-year forecast period. The rate of growth projected for plywood consumption is higher than the fore-