FDM October 2011

Visit us at VietnamWood, Booth 619 from October 12-15, 2011 Furniture Design And Manufacturing Asia Established Since 1986

october 2011

Over

Edge

The

Increasing

The House Odds

Transformation Through

Automation

Hardwood Flooring

The Natural Solution

ENQUIRY NO. 263

mna 11 t e Vi d 20 011 o 2 wo 5.10.

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PA N L EPLL A S TS P AE N P LN AT N Even today, after more than 130 years, one thing above all drives us when we build complete lines for the wood panel industry: the development of concepts and technologies which not only satisfy but also delight our clients. To reduce material and energy costs, to boost productivity, or to ease the burden on the environment with intelligent solutions, for example. This is what we live for – now and in the future.

www.dieffenbacher.com

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Furniture Design And Manufacturing Asia Established Since 1986

Contents October 2011 • VOL. 23 NO. 7

Focus

16 Tested & Trusted

Furniture testing can give assurance to consumers on the safety of the products and reduce the risk of product liability, as explained by Seah Chong An, VP for mechanical testing services, Tüv Süd PSB. By Wong Tsz Hin

18 The Science Of Quality

In the second segment of a twopart special feature on medium density fibreboard manufacturing, developments in refining and blending/resination processes are presented, along with scientific approaches to quality control.

By Dr Nadir Ayrilmis, Istanbul University

24 Over The Edge

Manufacturers who consider the prices of edges and neglect the hidden costs induced by using inferior edges in production may risk driving away impatient customers. By Christopher Bollow, Doellken (Surteco SE)

24 28 Case-Study: Transformation Through Automation As Mark Anderson, MD, Proform Products, found out, reinvesting in automation can prove a practical solution for improving the productivity and profitability of small to mid-sized cabinet makers. By Barbara Schulz for Homag Australia

32 The Cost Within

In an exclusive interview, WK Tan, MD of Lignar Engineering, explained the benefits of having a good dust extraction system and why companies should invest more, especially in testing times.

By Wong Tsz Hin

18

38

Technology 34

Fingerjointing Simulation — First Step To Complete Integration

Computer simulation imitating the cross-cutting and fingerjointing processes has the potential to optimise raw material use and allow experimentation without disruption. By Prof Anders Grönlund and Magnus Fredriksson, Luleå University of Technology

34 2 FDM Asia

38

october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Ace In The Hole

The importance of proper boring and drilling in woodworking cannot be overemphasised; an inaccurate hole in terms of placement and size can lead to uneven stresses and strains. The use of right methods however, can churn out wood products that last a lifetime. By Shahnawaz Abdul Hamid

PANELS 42

Increasing The House Odds

The inherent variability of wood leads to supply-chain inefficiencies and waste. Acoustic tools can help to manage this natural variation by pre-sorting lumber according to end-use requirements. By Alexis Achim and David Auty, Université Laval, Québec

Cut your cost With the new ContiRoll速 generation 8

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Contents October 2011 • VOL. 23 NO. 7

WOODS & SUSTAINABILITY 56

In the face of volatile market conditions, key appointment holders of various Malaysian woodworking associations gave their analysis on the performance of Malaysia’s wood industry and share their views on the challenges ahead. By Wong Tsz Hin

46

58

58

Hardwood Flooring: The Natural Solution

Hardwood flooring is renowned for its warmth and elegance.

Selection of appropriate timber material hinges on the grade, colour and hardness requirements, as well as the environment of the intended application. By David Hayward, Australian Timber Flooring Association

FURNITURE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY 52 The Critical Binder

When it comes to composite wood panel production, choosing the right binder for the job is essential. By Iain Stanton, composite wood panel marketing manager, Huntsman

Established in 1986, FDM Asia, formerly Asia Pacific Forest/Timber Industries, is a business magazine on sawmilling, woodworking, woodbased panels and furniture manufacturing. The Publisher reserves the right to accept or reject all editorial or advertising material and assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited artwork or manuscripts. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the magazine, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior written consent, not unreasonably withheld, of the publisher. Reprints of articles appearing in previous issues of the magazine are available on request, subject to a minimum quantity.

The views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the Publisher and while every attempt will be made to ensure the accuracy

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Eastern

62

Certified Wood: New Opportunities For Furniture Industry The demand for woodbased products derived from sustainable sources is rising rapidly. Achieving certification can help give companies a competitive edge. By Thorsten Arndt, PEFC Geneva

and authenticity of information appearing in the magazine, the Publisher accepts no liability for damages caused by misinterpretation of information, expressed or implied, within the pages of the magazine.

All correspondence regarding editorial, editorial contributions or editorial content should be directed to the Editor.

The magazine is available on subscription in Singapore at S$126.00 (GST applicable) per annum by surface mail. Subscription by airmail to readers in Asia Pacific costs S$160 per annum; Europe and the Americas, S$230 per annum. For further details, refer to the subscription card found within the pages of each issue. For more subscription information, please fax to: (65) 6379 2806 or email: brendatan@epl.com.sg.

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06 Editorial 08 Industry News 70 Calendar Of Events 71 Product Highlights 72a Enquiry Form 72b Subscription Form

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advertisers’ enquiry numbers.

Events & Exhibitions Exhibition Preview: 66 Dubai WoodShow 2012 Exhibition Highlights: 68 VietnamWood 2011

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Status Of Tropical Forest In Asia

As governments around the world increase their efforts on the promotion of sustainable forest management, countries in Asia have witnessed progress, as well as challenges. Extracted from ITTO’s Status Of Tropical Forest Management 2011

SURFACES & FLOORING 46

Forging A Track For Growth

Regulars

october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

The Academy TheChinese Chinese Academy of of Forestry Forestry

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We are an expert supplier of MDF, PB and OSB production lines, with a good performance of 140 complete lines in China and export markets, due to our innovative technology and high accuracy of manufacturing ability.

Product in good demand:  Size 4’ X 16’ and 18 layer multi-opening production line with 150,000 cubic meter capacity per year (samply factory can visit)  Size 4’ X 8’ and 30 layer multi-opening production line with 120,000 cubic meter capacity per year (samply factory can visit)  100,000-200,000 cubic meter capacity per year continuous pressproduction line (200,000 capacity samply factory trail run in this year)

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Editorial Published by:

Inward Before Going

Outward

I

nitial fears on the collapse of the US dollar and Euro have gradually dissipated. Both currencies are expected to stabilise as the Federal Reserve implements measures to revive the US economy and leaders of European countries find resolution to avoid a default from debt-ridden nations.

Despite these positives, the global economic outlook still looks far from certain.

Prediction of a global meltdown is at this stage premature, but investors’ confidence remains shaken. While most do not foresee the market to sink to the low suffered three years ago during the recession, many choose to remain cautious.

As remarked by an exhibitor at FMC China in Shanghai, the woodworking industry is usually not directly implicated by the global economic situation. Any ill effects would probably be felt only a few months later. Nevertheless, most exhibitors have found reasons to remain conservatively optimistic.

Over the last 20 years, China’s furniture industry has seen a phenomenal growth of an average of 20 percent per annum. Production volume was at RMB4.11 billion (US$643 million) in 1988 and for the year 2010, that figure has surpassed RMB800 billion. The market has evolved from wood processing for export to one that is driven by domestic demands. Manufacturers expect export volume to western countries to drop, but believe that domestic consumption can readily replace it.

The development of domestic markets will become an essential factor to survival in this testing time. This is an opportunity for the woodworking industry in Asia to revaluate its philosophy. Countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam have been reliant on export markets in the past and did not aggressively pursue the domestic one, which still has potential for growth.

Besides the change in focus, companies are also urged to take this opportunity to make investments that can help improve productivity and efficiency. This is especially important for places like Malaysia, which faces a shortage of labour force. Automation will help mitigate this challenge and ensure that plants stay competitive.

As we approach the last quarter, there is no indication that the overall performance of the year will not be better than the last. The common sentiment is that the momentum gained in the first half of the year will slow. Growth will probably be reduced, but a sharp decline is unlikely. The spotlight will be on Asia once more. If the domestic markets of the region can fulfil their potential, then there will be a lot to look forward to in 2012.

Wong Tsz Hin

6 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd (a fully owned subsidiary of Eastern Holdings Ltd) Registration No: 199908196C

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Kenneth Tan

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Tjut Rostina

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Wong Tsz Hin

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contributors

Alexis Achim Prof Anders Grönlund Barbara Schulz Christopher Bollow David Auty David Hayward Iain Stanton Magnus Fredriksson Dr Nadir Ayrilmis Thorsten Arndt

Executive Board chairman

Stephen Tay

group executive director

Kenneth Tan

financial controller

Robbin Lim

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I N D U S T R Y

Industry News

News

OCTOBER 2011

Sarawak Expects Plywood Export To Grow a 10 percent increase last year.

plywood export to increase by between

Meanwhile, the value of logs and timber

10 and 15 percent this year as a result of

products exported in the first quarter of

the increase in demand from Japan.

this year fell by 10 percent compared with

In a quarterly report, the Sarawak

the same period last year. There was also

Timber Industry Development (STIDC)

a fall in the overall volume of logs and

said the earthquake destroyed timber

timber products exported.

factories located at Ishinamako, Ofunato

The STIDC said that plywood exports,

and Miyaki city areas. They included six

which fell by 11 percent in the quarter

plywood, one particleboard and one pulp

under review, remained the major

and paper mills.

contributor, accounting for RM848 million

The corporation said to house its affected population, Japan constructed

katie hargrave, Massachusetts, US

Sibu, Malaysia: Sarawak expects its

(US$273 million), or 52 percent, of the

last year. The total production of log, the

total export values.

state’s next biggest export earner, fell

about 30,000 units of temporary shelters. It

From January to March this year,

by 28 percent to 1.8 million cubic metres

said that plywood price was expected to go

exports fell to 588,152 cubic metres from

from 2.5 million cubic metres in the last

up by up to 15 percent this year following

722,403 cubic metres in the same period

corresponding quarter.

Indonesia Diversifying Export Options

as badly, but economic activity has been

Jakarta, Indonesia: Amber Tjahyono,

Economic growth still looks weak in

which expanded by 6.1 percent last

chairman of the Association of Indonesian

other nations with which Indonesia trades. In

Furniture and Handicraft Industry said

Europe, during the second quarter, France’s

Analysts say Indonesian companies

that weak demand has already cut

economic growth stalled, and Greece had

have been diversifying their exports to

sales for the industry by 20 percent,

a 6.9 percent contraction. Asia did not fare

avoid dependence on a single country for

Export of wooden furniture products, rattan bamboo, metal, plastic and handicraft by value dropped to US$1.2 billion in the first half of the year from US$1.5 billion in the same period last year.

“US and European markets continued

Chuzai Living, Jakarta, Indonesia

according to The Jakarta Globe.

slipping. Even Indonesia’s economy, year, isn’t immune.

their earnings. Those same companies could also look to expand their sales at home, buoyed by Indonesia’s economic growth.

“Indonesia’s largest markets for commodities are China and India,” said Mastono Ali, an analyst at CIMB Securities Indonesia.

to weaken, while the strengthening of

“Companies have to start looking for

the rupiah against the dollar makes

new potential markets, maybe in Asia, or

exporters scream,” Amber said.

those companies could always expand

Loyal customers in the US typically

in the domestic market,” he added.

accounted for 30 percent of Indonesia’s

“The domestic economy is relatively

total furniture export, but that has fallen

undisturbed so there is potential to

by as much as ten percent.

grow in Indonesia.”

8 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Industry News

Timbor Home Set Up Forestry Project Gujarat, India: Timbor Home, a manufacturer

The hardwood species is a fast growing

and retailer of furniture and modular

versatile species which can be used for

kitchens, has strengthened its integrated

manufacturing furniture, plywood, joinery

business model by setting up a forestry

and other kinds of woodwork. It is set to

Nippon Paper Turn Wood Rubble Into Fuel

(plantation) project so as to source wood

replace other wood which is currently

Tokyo, Japan: The Ishinomaki

for its in-house requirements. At the other

being imported. Growers are likely to

Mill of Nippon Paper Industries,

end of its integrated model, the company’s

get a much higher remuneration from

the main company of the Nippon

retail outlets have grown to over 100 stores

it than through other forestry means, as

Paper Group, has started in-house

across 18 states and 72 cities.

the trees are fully grown and start giving

power generation at its N1 turbine,

Wood is the core raw material for the

yielding in five to six years. This species

attached to biomass Boiler 1, which

company’s products and keeping a long-

has been successfully grown in China,

commenced continuous and full-

term view, it has integrated backwards

Israel, Australia and India.

scale operation. stuart

and has gone in for plantation of fast growing hardwood species for captive consumption.

In association with that, the group has decided to incinerate wood rubble from the earthquake at the mill, at

The company has taken 60 acres land

the request of the governor of Miyagi

on long lease and has planted 30,000

Prefecture, and at the same time to

saplings of biotech generated timber

use it as fuel to generate power.

wood. It plans to expand the plantation

About 120,000 tonnes of rubble

over an area of 2500 acres in the next three

will be used as fuel each year. Part

years. As the world market is showing

of the electricity, up to 40,000 KW

preference for plantation timber products

(electricity for 100,000 households),

and advocating sustainable resources,

generated at the mill is supplied to

timber is getting scarce worldwide and the

Tohoku Electric Power.

price of wood continues to increase.

Vietnam Exporters Urged To Trace Source Of Timber Zealand, Switzerland and Norway are

for export. As a consequence, wood

furniture is mainly exported to the United

also applying strict measures against

manufacturers are relying on wood

States and EU countries with a 45 and

illegal wood products. Meanwhile, the

imports from neighboring countries

30 percent mark up share respectively;

Vietnamese government has ordered to

to make furniture products.

however, now these two main markets

shut the gates of forests in the country to

Vietnam has about 3,400 enterprises

are applying new policies such as the

protect the natural resources and banned

employing 300,000 people in the timber

Lacey Act which will greatly hinder

the use of forest wood to make furniture

sector. Firms now are compelled to

exports from Vietnam, as reported by Sai Son Giai Phong Online.

According to Hans Farhammer, first secretary and head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, the thrust of the US Lacey Act is to make it a

Will Clayton, Blackburn, UK

Saigon, Vietnam: Vietnamese wood

import wood from other countries, often without knowing its sources.

Last year, wood exports touched US$3.34 billion, 10 times higher than in 2000. In 2009 there was 16.24 million hectares under forest cover in

federal crime to knowingly export

Vietnam, 48 percent of which provided

wood sourced illegally, either from

raw wood for the export industry.

illegal logging, stealing or originating

Still, Vietnam has to import wood

from ‘suspicious’ sources.

from other countries like Malaysia

Similarly, Japan, Australia, New

and Laos.

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

9

Industry News

La-Z-Boy Reports 1st Quarter Increase

Trex Company Finds Distributor Vaginia, US: Trex Company, a

Michigan,US: La-Z-Boy has reported its

in the company’s upholstery segment

operating results for the fiscal first quarter

increased 7.7 percent to US$217.5

that ended July 30, 2011.

million from US$201.9 million in the

manufacturer of wood-alternative

Net sales for the first quarter were

prior year’s first quarter. The operating

decking and railing products, is

US$280.1 million, up 6.4 percent compared

margin for the quarter was 5.1 percent

expanding its foothold in the Pacific

with the prior year’s first quarter. The

compared with 5.0 percent in last year’s

Northwest region with the addition

company reported net income attributable

comparable quarter.

of International Wood Products to

of US$45.5 million, of which US$43.4

For the quarter, retail delivered sales

its distribution network. products supplied to dealer partners across the territory. International Wood

were US$48.8 Forever Wiser

The move will see the company’s

million,

up

38.3 percent compared with

Products is a stocking distributor

the prior-year

of building products that has been

period.

distributing composite decking and

delivered sales

railing for nearly 15 years. Its primary

increase for the

trading territory for this partnership

core 68 stores

will consist of Oregon, Washington

included in last

and Alaska.

year’s

The announcement comes on the

The

first

quarter was 10.4

heels of several new additions to the

million was attributable to a reduction

percent. The additional sales increase was

company’s product portfolio. These

of certain valuation reserves against the

mainly associated with the acquisition of the

products are sold at more than 5,500

company’s deferred tax assets.

15 stores in Southern California, formerly

retail locations.

For the fiscal 2012 first quarter, sales

operated by a consolidated VIE.

Washington, US: US president Barrack

greater cross-agency collaboration to

Obama has announced in August, 2011,

strengthen rural America.

that the Departments of Agriculture,

Increased use of advanced biofuels is

Energy and Navy will invest up to

a key component of the energy security

US$510 million during the next three

agenda, but there is currently a lack of

years in partnership with the private

this manufacturing capability for next

sector to produce drop-in aviation and

generation drop-in biofuels in the US. To

marine biofuels to power military and

accelerate the production of bio-based jet

commercial transportation.

and diesel fuel for military and commercial

Niko Pettersen, Helsinki, Finland

US To Invest US$510 Million In Biofuel Research

The initiative responds to a

purposes, Secretary of Agriculture Tom

directive earlier this year as part of

Vilsack, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu,

the ‘Blueprint for A Secure Energy

and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus have

The joint plan calls for the three

Future’, the Administration’s framework

developed a plan to jointly construct or

Departments to invest a total of up

for reducing dependence on foreign

retrofit several drop-in biofuel plants and

to US$510 million, which will require

oil. The biofuels initiative is being

refineries. This effort will help address

substantial cost sharing from private

steered by the White House Biofuels

energy security and national security

industry – of at least a one-to-one match.

Interagency Work Group and Rural

challenges, and will provide economic

US spends more than US$300 billion

Council, both of which are enabling

opportunities in rural America.

on imported crude oil per year.

10 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

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ENQUIRY NO. 288

Visit us at

Industry News

Kronospan Starts Wood Processing Project

Egger Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary

Grodno, Belarus: Austrian Kronospan Holding has started to

St Johann, Germany: Egger is celebrating its 50 th

build a wood processing plant in the town of Smorgon.

anniversary in 2011. The Tyrolean family company employs

The US$150 million investment project will be implemented

more than 6,500 people with 17 production plants in

within three years. To date, the company has started to construct

seven countries around the world, and a turnover of

administrative facilities in the northern industrial zone of the

approximately €1.8 billion (US$2.5 billion).

district capital. The investor bought idle facilities and territories which belonged to Smorgon Aggregate Plant.

Over US$4 million have already been pumped into the

Products offered by the company range from décor paper, edging to wood-based panels to various different industries within the woodworking sector. egger

construction project. There are plans to deliver and install the first equipment by November 2011. By the end of the year, the foreign direct investment inflow will make up about US$30 million. The production will be launched in 2012.

The new plant will process 1.5 million cubic metres of wood and produce laminate flooring (laminate chip board, medium density fiberboard and other materials). The company will be export-oriented and intends to employ around 300 people.

Kronospan Holding is a manufacturer of wood panel products and laminate flooring with substantial investments in Central and Eastern Europe. The company operates 30 branch offices in 18 countries and employs 11,000 people with annual sales of €2.7 billion (US$3.75 billion).

Helsinki, Finland: Finnish forest industry production increases substantially during the period from January-June, 2011.

The total value of forest industry

Till Krech, Berlin, Germany

Finland’s Forest Industry Continues To Grow price hikes, which were implemented in the early part of the year.

Sawn timber production came to about 5.4 million cubic metres in January-June, up some eight percent

production is estimated to have been

from the corresponding period of

about €10.5 billion (US$14.6 billion) in

2010. Plywood production increased

January-June, up some 10 percent from

16 percent in the first half of the year.

the corresponding period of 2010.

Construction activity has picked up

Finland produced 3.5 million tonnes of pulp as well as 5.8 million tonnes

in some European regions, such as the Nordic countries.

of paper and paperboard in January-

The forest industry purchased

June, 2011. Paper and paperboard

seven million cubic metres of wood

production volumes remained on par

in April-June, with all timber grades

with the first half of 2010, while pulp

in good demand. The volume of

production was up two percent from

purchases more than doubled from

the comparison period. The price of

the first quarter of the year. Timber

pulp has continued to rise, while the

prices are now at their highest level

prices of different paper grades have

for a few years and also higher than

remained quite stable following the

the average of the 2000s.

12 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Industry News

Henkel Posts Solid Performance

Ponsse Reports Profit Of US$6.83 Million

Dusseldorf, Germany: Henkel has continued its solid

Moscow, Russia: During the second quarter of 2011,

performance in the second quarter, with sales increasing

Ponsse Group’s net sales grew by 23 percent compared

to €3.95 million (US$5.49 million), a rise of 1.6 percent.

with the corresponding period last year and stood at

After adjusting for foreign exchange, sales improved by

€81.2 million (US$112.86 million). Compared with the

six percent. At 6.3 percent, organic sales, which exclude the

corresponding period, the service business continued

impact of foreign exchange and acquisitions/divestments,

to show strong growth.

showed a strong increase.

In the first six months of the fiscal 2011, the company

The operating result amounted to €5 million during the second quarter. During the past quarter, the result

increased sales by 5.1 percent to €7.78 million. In the

was burdened by impairment of €2 million related to

growth regions of Eastern Europe, Africa/Middle East,

external trade receivables in South America, which are

Latin America and Asia (excluding Japan), sales rose by

included in other operating expenses. ponsse

4.7 percent to €1.67 million. Organic growth amounted to 11.6 percent. Particularly, adhesive technologies and cosmetics/toiletries contributed to this growth.

Fagus-GreCon Celebrates 100th Anniversary Hannover, Germany: Fagus-GreCon celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Fagus Factory by inviting customers, business partners, friends and staff to a three-day celebration.

The factory was built in 1911 and business has since evolved to encompass preventive fire protection and measurement systems, and fingerjointing lines.

The company presently appoints more than 500 employees worldwide with turnover of around €80-100 million (US$139

The company’s consolidated net sales in January–June,

million) per year, indicating an annual growth of around ten

2011, amounted to €153.2 million, 31 percent more than in

percent.

the comparison period. International business operations

Earlier this year, the factory was classified as a UNESCO

Grecon

world cultural heritage site.

accounted for 67.7 percent of total net sales.

First half 2011 operating result was €10.4 million, equalling 6.8 percent of net sales in the period under review.

After the strong growth in 2010, however, net sales are expected to increase at a more moderate rate in accordance with the group’s strategy. Full-year profitability and cash flow in business operations are expected to develop positively and improve compared with 2010.

The capacity of the factory will be increased during the year and moderate recruitment will continue throughout the whole group. The company will make investments in its service network in Iisalmi and Jyvaskyla. In addition, the company will invest in machining and welding capacity and automation of the Vierema factory.

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

13

Newtown grafitti, Sydney, Australia

Industry News

Italy Experienced Growth In Foreign Orders Milan, Italy: Recovery in the Italian woodworking industry recorded an abrupt slowdown in the April-June 2011 period, with rates closer to 2010 rather than the positive start of 2011.

And there is a difference between foreign markets, more receptive and willing to invest, and an Italian industry that is static and unwilling to renovate its production equipment, according to Acimall, the Italian woodworking machinery and tools manufacturers’ association.

The orders book is stable at two months, while prices have increased by 1.4 percent since the beginning of the year.

This situation is also due to the average size of technology

Of the interviewed companies, 30 percent indicate a positive

users in Italy: limited production capacity and financial resources

production trend, 40 percent stable and 30 percent decreasing.

prevent the acquisition of high-tech solutions.

Employment is considered stationary by 77 percent of the sample

The Italian woodworking machinery and tools industry has

and falling by the remaining 23 percent. Available stocks are

recorded a 0.4 percent increase in orders compared to the same

stationary according to 53 percent, decreasing according to 27

period of last year. Foreign orders have grown by 15.6 percent,

percent and growing according to the remaining 20 percent.

while domestic demand is dropping dramatically (minus 31.5

The domestic market will be shrinking according to 37 percent

percent). In the same period, turnover expanded by 1.4 percent.

of the sample, stable according to 43 percent and expanding according to 20 percent.

Appointments

Wood Council Of New Zealand Appoints CEO

Weinig Concept Appoints GM

Wellington, New Zealand: The Wood Council of New

Tauberbischofsheim, Germany: Weinig Concept has

Zealand has appointed Jane Arnott to the role of CEO for NZ

announced the appointment of Dr Otto Leible as GM

Wood, the operation that runs the over-arching marketing

of the company. He is the successor of Uwe Motzkau,

programme for the forest and wood sector.

who has left the company earlier this year.

She will assume full responsibility for the programme

The 52 year old, who

that is currently outsourced. Ms Arnott has an extensive

holds a PhD in mechanical

background in business strategy, marketing and brand

engineering, is experienced

management. Previously she has worked in the transport

in the project business

logistics, manufacturing, construction, forestry and

of the woodworking

agriculture sectors. Her experience includes investor

industry. From 1993 to

relations, public affairs, non-financial audits and

2003, he worked in several

managing nationwide sponsorship projects across

advanced positions for the

multiple stakeholders.

manufacturer of sawmill

In New Zealand the forest wood sector benefits

technology, Linck, in

from a pan industry marketing approach that promotes

Germany and France.

the unparalleled economic, social and environmental

Since 2003, he was the GM of Springer Fance SAS

benefits, and life cycle contribution of timber. This is

in Obernai.

reinforced by extensive collaboration with research

The company within the Weinig Group is

and teaching institutions such as the Structural Timber

specialized in realising projects from initial concepts

Innovation Company (STIC) and Scion. NZ Wood is

and planning, to assistance in financing, setting up of

also an integral member of the International Wood

turn-key plant and finalization through commissioning

Promotion Network.

and training.

14 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

ENQUIRY NO. 299

Focus

Tested & Trusted Furniture testing can give assurance to consumers on the safety of the products and reduce the risk of product liability, as explained

by Seah Chong An, VP for mechanical testing services, Tüv Süd PSB.

By Wong Tsz Hin Mr Seah Chong An

F

urniture manufacturers with the intention of selling their products in various countries will need to understand the requirements stipulated by authorities of the target markets. Although the current level of control over goods available in the market is not as high as many would have desired, countries are beginning to step up their efforts to ensure that the public gets quality products that adhere to the relevant safety standards.

The current monitoring process is a reactive one that relies on feedback and random checking. Once a product is reported or found to be unsafe, it will be pull off the shelf.

There is no obligation for furniture makers to ensure their products satisfy the various safety requirements before they make them available for sale. However, without testing their products, they will expose themselves to the risk of a massive recall and potential loss in investment.

That is the reason why a lot of manufacturers voluntarily send their products for testing to attain the seals or certificates of approval. While there are no plans to completely regulate the goods available in the market and make furniture testing mandatory, initiatives are in place to perform more regular inspections.

In Singapore, the Consumer Goods Safety Regulations (CGSR) programme was launched in April, 2011, to provide post-market action in order to reduce the impact of unsafe consumer goods once safety issues have been discovered.

The appointed regulatory body under this programme have

16 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

the power to investigate, stop the sale of and ban unsafe products from the market.

Certification Marks Suppliers and consumers are encouraged to check for signs that indicate a product has been tested and certified to applicable safety standards. Some of these include the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA) certificate, commonly used in the UK, the Geprüfte Sicherheit (GS) Mark, that is commonly used in Germany and Europe, and the Tüv Mark.

Displaying these marks will inform consumers that the product has been evaluated, tested and certified against appropriate product safety standards by a third party organisation. Not only will this increase the appeal of the products, it also helps eliminate the associated costs incurred for remedial action, such as removal of products, when the goods are discovered to be non-compliant.

Different countries adopt different standards for their products. A furniture piece that is certified safe in one country may not satisfy the requirement of another. It is important to identify the target export markets and test prototypes before going into mass production. Some testing bodies may offer recommendations on modification of design to fulfil certain standards.

Focus

Types Of Testing There are three main types of furniture testing — mechanical, chemical and fire testing. Generally, these are conducted in accordance to international standards covering ISO standards, American, Australian, British and European standards.

Mechanical testing put furniture under stress from intended/ possible usage to investigate their performance in terms of stability, strength, durability, abrasion resistance, flammability

ENQUIRY NO. 7101

ENQUIRY NO. 298

Mechanical testing put furniture under stress from intended usage to investigate their performance.

and colourfastness. On top of these, furniture is also tested to identify possible hazards to potential users.

For example, furniture designed for toddlers will be assessed to ascertain that there are no openings where a baby’s head might be trapped in.

Chemical testing ensures furniture products comply with requirements of national environmental standards. Harmful substances released from the furniture can endanger the health of users and as such, their emission levels are checked. Substances detected under chemical testing include formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, aromatic solvents, total aldehydes, flame retardants and halogenated solvents.

Furniture certification can offer consumers assurance in the safety of the products. It is becoming a deciding factor in the midst of the plethora of products available in the market.

Companies that send their products for testing can reduce the risk of costs due to recall of products or penalties as imposed by safety authority. It also enhances a company’s reputation and builds confidence in its product offerings. FDM

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

17

Focus

In the second segment of a two-part special feature on medium density fibreboard manufacturing, developments in refining and blending/resination processes are presented, along with scientific approaches to quality control. By Dr Nadir Ayrilmis, Istanbul University

Of

Quality

M

edium density fibreboard (MDF) is widely embraced by furniture makers for its smoothness and excellent machining characteristics. However, the material suffers a major disadvantage compared to plywood due to its susceptibility to unrecoverable swelling when in contact with water.

In the previous issue, developments in enhancement techniques to increase dimensional stability of MDF panels, especially against swelling under the influence of moisture, were discussed. These treatment methods can be divided into pre-treatment, post-treatment and advancement in production technology through the use of nanoparticles.

As the second segment of this two-part special feature on MDF manufacturing, developments in refining and blending/ resination technology are presented, together with recent scientific approaches to quality control in the wood-based panel industry.

Refining Refiners have been improved over the years, with more efficient fibre production at lower cost. The quality of refined fibres depends on many factors, including species, size and distribution, pre-treatment steam pressure, retention time in the digester, applied power, geometry of refining plates, refining intensity, disc speed, and dwell time within the plate zone.

18 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Walmart, Bentonville, US

The Science

To facilitate refining, chips or particles are steamconditioned at an elevated pressure, usually 10 bars in a digester (steam vessel) that is connected directly to the refiner.

Small pieces of wood particles called shives tend to escape from the refining zone without being refined due to the high centrifugal force induced by the operating speed of the refining discs. There are a number of ways to reduce shive content by varying refining process parameters.

Recent trends in refining technology include: 1) the use of larger diameter discs and more power, 2) two-stage refining to improve fibre quality and to handle more effectively a range of sizes within the material furnish, and the 3) addition of dilution water to raw material furnish. Early tests suggest reduced power requirements and longer plate life.

Improvements in digesting capabilities result from the use of high-pressure steam/heat treatment. The objectives for increasing pressures up to 17 bars are: a) to reduce refining energy, and b) to obtain improved fibre quality for better bonding.

With proper pre-treatment, it appears feasible to manufacture MDF panels without adhesives, therefore without the addition of formaldehyde. Recently, chemicals used routinely in the paper industry have been added to enhance the digestion process. Research needs to devise ways of adapting this

Focus

Blending & Resination

The blender and out-feed pipe are water-cooled to avoid resin and fibre deposits. After the second dry fibre resination, a gentle drying to the target moisture content is recommended

by IMAL. It is claimed that resin savings of up to 35 percent compared to conventional blowline can be achieved.

The resin technology of wood-based fibres has been a high priority topic in the wood-based panel industry. The cost for the binder, normally urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin, corresponds Scientific Approaches To Quality Control to 20-30 percent of the specific production cost.

With regard to online techniques, a variety of testing methods The constant and accurate dosing and mixing of particles have been developed over the years, many of which are and fibres with resin is the precondition in achieving a board already available on the market, including ultrasonic, microwave, with good mechanical properties. The blowlines from the and x-ray techniques. In recent years, other techniques refiners to the dryers are used for blending adhesives with have evolved, including infrared thermography, near infrared the fibres. Disadvantageous of this blowline blending is the reflectometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance. fact that the resinated fibres have to pass through the flash dryer (110 to 40 deg C) which tends to precure some of Infrared Thermography the resin. To compensate for this, a higher resin amount is The basis of infrared thermography is the fact that every required (compared to dry resination). object having a temperature above absolute zero emits A blending process, Ecoresinator was developed by electromagnetic radiation which is called thermal or Planck Siempelkamp. Compared to the traditional MDF blending radiation. Since wood-based panels are mostly manufactured process, it is claimed that plant operators can benefit from by hot-pressing, quality control is in many cases possible by up to 15 percent resin savings. Due to a special nozzle passive heat flow thermography. The cooling of the objects technology made by Schlick and the use of superheated to be tested is observed by an infrared camera, installed steam, the system atomises the resin to less than 15 micron typically directly behind the press. droplet size, reducing the amount of resin required.

Many defects differ in thermal capacity and/or conductivity In traditional MDF manufacturing, resin application into fibre from the good areas and become thus apparent by different prior to the drying process cause the following problems: surface temperatures.

- Heat from the dryer reduces resin reactivity - Increased resin requirement to ensure tack and board properties - Creates high levels of formaldehyde emission from the resin - Resin spots on board surface require frequent maintenance and lots of cleanups Developments in blending technology focus on fibre resination after drying, allowing: - Reduced resin consumption - Reduced dryer emission - Better mat consolidation The cost for binder corresponds to 20-30 percent of the specific production cost.

A possible approach to fibre blending has two stages. In the first stage, the resin is applied via the Thermography has successfully been used for the testing of blowline at an addition level of only 3-5 percent adhesive. boards with thicknesses between 3-38 mm and at production The wax is applied as usual via refiner discharge screw. The speeds of up to 30 m per min. The surface temperatures of second resination stage takes place (like 30 years ago) in a the wood-based panels can vary between 40 deg C (coating separate blender after fibre drying. with decorative papers) to more than 100 deg C. Resin is applied by air-nozzles, mounted on a ring in Temperature differences can be used for panel testing and front of the open in-feed (negative air pressure because of process control. In systems where heat and mass transfer is exhausting fans) of the drum blender. The internal paddles possible (which is true in most practical cases), temperature generate a turbulent fibre flow ensuring effective blending. differences are always connected with heat flow. www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA  october 2011

Andrew Magill, Boulder, US

technology to MDF production within the cost constraints peculiar to this industry.

19

Jennifer Feuchter, Surrey, Canada

Temperature differences will cause heat flow, and a heat flow caused by some reason will lead to temperature differences, the amount of which will depend on the object's thermal properties. Surface regions under which defects with a low thermal conductivity can be found will cool down more rapidly since less heat can be supplied form the hot interior. Air inclusions and delaminations are examples for such defects. In such a way, they can be detected in the infrared image.

If it is not possible to utilise cooling or heating processes caused by the production process, the object can be exposed to an exterior heat pulse (active heat flow thermography).

In the easiest case, this can be done if the object passes an infrared heater on a conveyor belt. This will cause a heat wave which penetrates into the object while the surface cools down. If the conduction of heat is retarded by defects of

rosmary

Focus

Difference in thermal conductivity can cause defects such as air inclusion and delamination.

low thermal conductivity, the surface above the defect will stay warm for a longer time, which can again be detected in the infrared image.

to identify many (mostly organic) substances or even to measure their quantity in compounds.

The near infrared (NIR) reflectometry range has some advantages over other spectral ranges. Amount of adhesive as well as the mixing ratio of softwood and hardwood can be measured in the mat of a particleboard line. Since NIR spectra are temperature dependent, the spectra can in principle also be used for temperature measurement.

Metso Panelboard has used NIR technology as the basis for their PanelPro system for monitoring important parameters in MDF production. Engstrom of Casco Adhesives, Sweden, described real time determination of formaldehyde emission from particleboards using NIR spectroscopy requires sample surfaces of high optical quality.

Elaborate sample preparation is not necessary. Furthermore, the samples need not be transparent. For this reasons NIR reflectometry is a suitable tool for online process monitoring in the wood-based panel industry. However, calibration procedures and multivariate statistical methods (chemometry) are necessary for evaluating NIR data.

Due to the shorter wavelength, the ratio of scattered and absorbed radiation is larger than in the other infrared regions. This fact is utilised in NIR reflectometry. A ray of light striking a surface can be reflected in a mirror-like way or penetrate into the sample. The light penetrating into the sample can be absorbed or reflected diffusively. It is the diffusively reflected part of the light, which contains spectral information of the sample. It can easily be collected by a lens and subsequently analysed.

Near Infrared Reflectometry

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

The appearance of spectral lines which are specific for a given molecule in the infrared spectral region can be used

Many atomic nuclei have intrinsic magnetic moments which are characterised by the so-called magnetic quantum

MDF is a popular material for furniture assembly.

20 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Jeff Warren, Lima, Peru

Focus

Thermography can be used for non-invasive detection of defects.

number m. Possible applications are the measurement of raw density and moisture content in particleboards, the estimation of the degree of curing of adhesives and the detection of adhesion defects.

The moisture content of wood-based panels has to meet a certain target value in order to avoid problems

such as cracks, distortion and decay. It also influences the measurement of other important properties, including distortion. The lack of reliable, precise, and fast techniques for moisture determination often causes wood products to fall short of customers’ expectations.

The moisture content can only be precisely determined if the local density is also known. Unlike other techniques, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) can measure these quantities at the same time, giving more accurate and also more stable results. It is also possible to obtain moisture and density profiles perpendicular to the surface and to achieve a certain lateral resolution.

The system acquires NMR signals of a disc-shaped measuring volume at a certain depth inside the board’s cross-section. The raw density measured by NMR is found to be in accordance with data obtained from x-ray FDM measurements.

ENQUIRY NO. 7102

The Altendorf WA 8:

The benchmark for quality.

Altendorf WA 8 NT with non-tilting saw unit and manual rise/fall adjustment of the main saw blade.

Altendorf WA 8 TE with motorised rise/fall and tilt adjustment of the main saw blade.

Since Altendorf was established in 1906, the company has repeatedly set new standards. Now you can experience this for yourself with the Altendorf WA 8. It makes light work of everything from simple but precise squaring cuts through to complex angles, and is ergonomical and easy to use. With a level of quality all its own, the WA 8 lives up to the promise of the international market leader.

Altendorf WA 8 X with motorised rise/fall and tilt adjustment of the main saw blade and motorised adjustment of the rip fence.

F E AT U R E S Sliding table length 2,000, 2,600, 3,000 or 3,200 mm Cutting width 1,000 or 1,300 mm Cutting height max. 100, 125 mm

ENQUIRY NO. 226

Altendorf WA 8 T with manual rise/fall and tilt adjustment of the main saw blade.

Altendorf Asia Sdn. Bhd. H-2-13, Block H, Jln PJU 1A/3 · Taipan 2, Ara Damasara · 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor D. E. Phone +60 3 78428769 · Fax +60 3 78428768 · altasia@tm.net.my · www.altendorf.com

sd_wa8_Anzeige+Produkt+2011_171x122_006_4c_gb.indd 1

10.02.11 10:17 www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

21

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Focus

Over The

EDGE H

aving visited numerous furniture manufactures throughout the years in Asia, I can truly say that there are more and more well qualified and especially experienced people working in Asia’s woodworking industry today. I have also experienced that there is great knowledge on major surface materials and machinery. But I also got the impression that there is a lack of knowledge when it comes to the details of plastic edgebanding and what good quality edgebanding can do for a furniture manufacturer.

In the past and even today, in some regions, a plastic edgeband has ‘only’ one reason for existence — to cover the sides of a panel. But plastic edgebanding

24 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Manufacturers who consider the prices of edges and neglect the hidden costs in duced by using inferior ed ges in production may ris k driving away impatient cu stomers. By Christopher Bollow, area sales and marketing man ager Asia, Doellken (Surteco SE )

Focus has developed over the years and established furniture makers have intelligently make use of this to much success. They use sophisticated plastic edgebanding to increase the efficiency of their production, to start marketing activities and to even actively promote it in order to differentiate from competitors and increase orders.

How do they achieve these? What are the features of a simple edgeband that could possibly contribute to these? In the following I will outline some of the advantages of a well manufactured quality plastic edgeband.

Production Efficiency When a manufacturer calculates the production costs, they take everything into account to derive a result that is as close to reality as possible. This is something we are aware of. But how many manufacturers actually add up the costs an edgeband induces, not only when it is purchased, but also when it is used in production?

When purchasing an edgeband, this is the time when the great bargaining begins — payment terms, discounts and promotion prices. A lot of effort is taken to push the supplier and to lower the company’s cost for all products, including the edging. And when the choice goes to purchasing a low quality edgeband, it seems as if the company has saved money. A panel with a cheap edgeband costs less than a panel with a more expensive edgeband.

This makes sense, at first sight. But is that really the case? Admittedly, the edgeband is only a minor part the furniture, but even though this is the case, it is a very important component as it can do a lot of damage that many companies neglect when making the decision on which edgeband to buy.

In order to keep the production smooth, interruptions and downtimes of the machines are not welcomed and need to be avoided. Even though an edgeband is just a small part of the furniture, it can cause interruptions and even delay the supply of furniture.

How many hours did your edgebanding machine not produce correctly because of problems caused by edgebanding?

What delay did you suffered for not being able to produce because the edgeband could not be used and had to be claimed, and new material was not available immediately?

Technical Aspects Of Edgebands ENQUIRY NO. 290

Only very few companies allocate the problems clearly to get the correct picture. The reason for this lies in the detail of an edgeband which many do not see. For this we need to take a look at the technical details of this product group.

Composition and geometry of an edgeband is important for a production process on the edgebanding machine. Strong www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA  october 2011

25

Focus bowing of an edgeband, missing pre-tensioning, cracking of the edgeband during trimming or scraping, stress whitening of the radius after trimming/scraping and bonding problems are only a few aspects related to edgebanding that cause problems on a machine and reduces the production efficiency.

They have a direct impact on the amount of time a furniture piece needs to be produced.

All major edgebanding machine producers have already taken this into account, which is the reason why they have been working closely with the market leaders of plastic edgebanding for years.

Their machines are originally designed and produced to match plastic edgebanding. That is the reason why they always present their machines using quality edgebanding.

When asked, this is also what they would recommend.

Naturally, they aim at showing customers what the machine is able to achieve and how the customer can continue to get satisfying results.

And customers are willing to pay for these developments.

Machine suppliers have developed intelligent features at high cost. Amazingly, often you can find productions filled with

Stress whitening caused by tooling can be reduced or even eliminated if high quality raw material is used in the formulation of the edge. Glue lines caused by instable pressure rollers can be eliminated by a well-designed edge with features such as pre-tensioning. Further, the leading edgeband manufacturers offer support on optimising the process for the customers as knowledge in application technology is available.

To sum it all up, the purchasing price is only one part of the costs of an edgeband. The other part is what costs are created in the production. An investment into a better edge will finally pay off as edgeband related costs are minimised and the process is optimised.

expensive high-speed, high-tech edgebanding machines using edgebands with low quality.

You have a high-speed machine but the edgeband stops the process every few minutes or have to be re-produced at some parts. You use diamond tipped trimming blades from international tool suppliers and still get stress whitening on the radius of the edgeband. You have a very stable machine process but the edgeband shape varies all the time, causing interruptions. You have state-of-the-art pressure zones and use quality glue but still have strongly visible glue lines and a poor bonding quality. Is that what you expect when you invest in a good edgebanding machine? It needs a matching system to get good results.

But quality edgebanding is not only designed for highend machinery. High quality edgebanding is actually able to compensate missing functionality of lower-end machines and tooling. It gives the manufacturer the chance to improve the results.

them to a board and put both samples to a window that is exposed to sunlight for four weeks. After this period of time, the change in colour to green/yellow of the cheap edgeband was very extreme while the other one remained the same.

He do this for dozens of pieces and handed these samples out to his customers, who were impressed and surprised, and finally gave him orders.

But there are many good ways for a manufacturer to show his efforts to be better than others. Focusing on and promoting the look and feel of the panel is an important issue.

And you can be confident of it by using quality edges.

Perfect matching of the edge to the board by the precise print, the exact matching gloss level and embossing for the good surface feel for a reduced transition from the baord to the edge makes the difference.

Another interesting example I experienced was that a company producing low-end furniture used high-end design oriented edges to upgrade the overall impression of its

26 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Securing The Orders I have seen very good marketing activities using quality edges.

One of them is from a manufacturer in Taiwan. He focused on the UV light resistance of the edgeband as a marketing tool to point out the advantage of his quality products.

He had edges from two suppliers matching his surface. A low quality one and one from a reputed supplier. He applied

Focus inexpensive simple board — a perfect way to distinguish itself from its competitors.

When marketing quality edges as part of your range, you have the chance to promote your efforts towards a healthier living environment as well. Quality edgeband suppliers offer good alternatives. Besides Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), which is commonly used for edges, there has been successful differentiation taken place by offering environmental friendly Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) instead. Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) and PolyPropylene (PP) as can offer better environmental characteristics as well.

Further, quality edges do not contain dangerous plastisisers, which is frequently used in cheap edges to compensate the brittleness resulting from the high amount of inexpensive chalk added. These things can be pointed out very well in any marketing campagne and proven by a Greenguard certification of the supplier.

Looking at the health aspect in today’s plastic edgebandings, the trend is to improve public health and quality of life through edges that reduce chemical exposure and improve indoor air quality.

When competing for projects or getting orders in the retail business, the price is important and very often the most crucial factor. Especially when this is the case, it becomes even more important to offer something unique that gives you an edge over the competition.

Quality edgeband manufacturers do not just offer normal printed edges but have invested into new technologies. They have a variety of products for you to market and differentiate from others at only a little extra cost. One of these unique ways is digital printing. Freely select any photo-realistic theme and apply it to your individual piece of furniture with minimum batch sizes of less than 100m.

When choosing low quality edges, you might not always get a negative feedback directly. As experience has shown, many a times, you will not even receive a claim. Customers often would change the supplier to someone who is able to offer the standards that fulfill their growing expectations FDM without much hesitations these days.

ENQUIRY NO. 7103

The solution: Premium quality plastic chains combined with our patented sliding rail system. The chains are working maintenance-free and unrivalled perfectly. One more advantage: The extremely narrow heating zone preserves delicate veneers and reduces shrinking considerably. This is how to splice both precious micro veneers and thick veneers.

KUP1040_Anz_FDM_Asia_FL-Innov_II_RZ_neue_Kette.indd 1

Heinrich KUPER GmbH & Co.KG Heinrich-Kuper-Straße 10 – 15 33397 Rietberg Germany

Phone Fax E-Mail Internet

ENQUIRY NO. 293

Tannic acid stains on your veneer?

Not with the KUPER FLI 1000.

+49(0)5244/984-0 +49(0)5244/984-2 01 info@KUPER.de www.KUPER.de

25.08.11 19:57 www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

27

Focus

Case-Study:

Transformation

Automation

Through As Mark Anderson, MD, Proform Products, found out, reinvesting in automation can prove a practical solution for improving the productivity and profitability of small to mid-sized cabinet makers. By Barbara Schulz for Homag Australia

P

roform Products is a supplier and manufacturer of quality components for the domestic and commercial markets.

The company’s first major investment was a PVAC post-forming machine imported from Germany, one of only a handful in Australia at the time.

Throughout the next decades, the company expanded to provide custom design and manufacturing of a wide range of prefabricated components for kitchens, bathrooms and all types of built-in cabinets, as well as components for shop and office fit-outs.

Today, the company has three primary product families: post-formed benchtops for kitchens, cut-to-size-componentry for office, kitchen or bathroom, and customised kitchens, an area Mr Anderson is keen to expand.

“We sell all of our components in a flatpack and our customers assemble the kitchens themselves,” Mark Anderson, MD of the company explains. “The difference between our business and imported products is our ability to customise.

Moreover, we offer a seven-year manufacturer’s warranty.”

28 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

At its 5,300 sq m manufacturing facility, the company does everything from CNC routing, benchtop production, cut-to-size and edging. It runs computerised beam saws for straight-line flat panel cutting, hot melt edgebanders, advanced CNC routers, and a through-feed PVAC hot press as well as a flow-through post-former using PVAC glue.

Just-In-Time As part of an effort to stay abreast of the latest technology and to respond to growing just-in-time and batch-size-one demands, the company recently purchased a CNC gantry processing centre with fully automatic labelling, as well as a beam saw, that includes a specialised power concept programme and fully automatic labelling.

“The reason to invest in these machines was to increase efficiency for high-volume stack-cutting, but also to be more efficient when processing low volume work,” he says. “The additional nesting machine allows us to quickly react to lowvolume customised orders, while the automated beam saw allows for very high output rates for standard cuts.”

9/14/10

The beam saw was retrofitted with an automatic labelling system, which is the first of its kind in Australia. The printer is located within the pressure beam, in the operator’s field of vision, and through the power concept programme, labels the finished top sheets, even if several sheets are processed at the same time.

The labeller is part of a ‘Domino System’, which ensures that the work area is quickly freed up, ready for cutting the next parts with high output quantities. The Domino System also comprises a parts buffer, one or more destacking carriages and the corresponding software module in the control.

6:10:23 PM The software calculates the number of carriages and their configuration. At the same time, subsequent processing can already be stipulated by specifying that destacking should be related to production order, machine or process.

In addition to this, the beam saw is equipped with energysaving technology that can bring annual energy savings of up to 20 percent.

Cycle Time Reduction “Our beam saw is probably about 50 percent quicker than

our previous saw without this function,” Mr Anderson states and adds that “on some products, we now even achieve more than a 50 percent decrease in cycle time.”

The power concept module gives the beam saw an additional efficiency push through its twin pusher system.

The concept is based on an independent programme fence that can be freely positioned. The advantage is that while the main gripper is still feeding the current panel for the final cuts, the second gripper is already collecting the next panel and getting it into position. Moreover, two stacks can be independently positioned over the cutting line to cut two different-sized pieces at the same time.

To even further increase productivity, roller conveyor systems were installed to replace most forklifts throughout the factory. Furthermore, every machine is fitted with two scissor lifts, which further eases materials handling and accelerates high-volume processing.

Automation Is Key There are many reasons why cabinet makers are now considering automation. For some, increased pressure from low-cost

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ENQUIRY NO. 057

f

Focus

29

Focus regions is forcing them to reduce their direct-labour costs. For others, a lack of skilled labour encourages the use of robots or rollers to load and unload machines. It may be that the reasons to automate are not related to labour at all.

For him, automation is the future and key to remain competitive. His company does not only face fierce competition from abroad, but also from Australia’s eastern states, which according to him are generally able to offer the same products at a lower price because raw materials are cheaper in the east than in Western Australia.

“I always thought automation and machinery is the way to make things better,” he says. “When it is time to process the product, you have to process it quickly to let the customer grow.”

Hence, being able to produce small batch sizes just-in-time is very important for his business, and he decided to invest in a new automated nesting cell. The machine was installed in November 2009 and subsequently, he further expanded the business’ batch-size-one capabilities with the addition of a second nesting cell and a power concept saw.

Nesting technology is based on advanced cutting algorithms specifically designed to optimise the cutting layouts in routing.

It consistently delivers high utilisation layouts, significantly reducing the waste and maximising productivity.

Mr Anderson believes automation and machinery is the way to make things better.

or to gain a competitive advantage. These strategies often involve the purchase of new machines and other equipment.

However, while the latest machines can do wonders for productivity, software packages shouldn’t be overlooked.

Mr Anderson can attest to this fact. As part of an integrated solution to make his production as efficient as possible, he has always believed in software.

“Business for me is finding the right solution, and software is what I believe is our future,” he says. “We employ three IT people and we develop our own software for our internal quoting system and production. We are also currently developing more software to manage the whole process from the point of data entry straight through to production. I believe software is our future. Software and robotics will play a big part in the future of our businesses. It’s just about getting the volume to justify to do it.”

His passion for software and his belief in the endless optimisation opportunities Faced with global competition, manufacturers need to use technology to stay competitive. through IT have also made him take over software company Benchfab, which develops The required workpieces are routed out of fully-sized and sells postform benchtop production software. materials on a CNC processing centre in one workstep, As the world moves to ‘just-in-time’ and ‘batch-size-one’, also including all necessary holes and grooves. In order to nesting assumes a stronger and stronger place in the cabinet optimise the raw material cut, the programmed workpieces making scene. While he wants to expand the batch-size-one are automatically nested via optimisation software. side of his business, he makes sure to have enough products in stock to service customers on demand. FDM Software Integration Faced with global competition, today’s manufacturers need to ENQUIRY NO. 7104 use technology in a way that allows them to stay competitive

30 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

That’s the way we do business each and every day. Northwest Hardwoods lumber is available in a wide range of grades that have been hand selected for maximum yield. This translates to more usable lumber and cost efficiency for you. And American hardwoods are in plentiful supply: the volume has more than doubled since 1953. USDA Forest Service 2007 Contact us for a quote today: asiasales@northwesthardwoods.com northwesthardwoods.com Shanghai, China: 86.21.6218.5218 • Vietnam/Guangzhou, China: 86.20.3878.1570 • Hong Kong: 852.2865.5922 © 2011 Northwest Hardwoods, Inc. All rights reserved.

ENQUIRY NO. 280

PREDICTABLE SUPPLY. AFFORDABLE PRICES.

Focus

The Cost

Within In an exclusive interview, WK Tan, MD of Lignar Engineering, explained the benefits of having a good dust extraction system and why companies should invest more, especially in testing times.

By Wong Tsz Hin WK Tan, MD of Lignar Engineering

D

ust extraction system is an important element of any production plant, not just to ensure proper environmental control to provide safe working conditions for workers, but also to enhance productivity and prevent possible hazards that may threaten the vicinity.

For small enterprises and workshops, a non-stationary dust collector would be sufficient given the smaller production volume and as such, lower dust build-up. However, for plants of a bigger scale, a full dust collection system will be necessary to provide efficient removal.

The cost of a complete installation can constitute a substantial amount of investment, a fact that is not lost on companies. Unfortunately, many only sees the direct expenses associated with it and neglect the hidden costs that may be incurred in the future.

A less than adequate system can have a huge impact on production and affect potential revenue. For example, an extractor that cannot remove dust from machines efficiently will cause unnecessary stoppages, as operators need to clean their workstations and the work pieces periodically.

Dust build-up in the air may also irritate workers and reduce their overall performance. If the system breaks down and requires maintenance regularly, it will increase the amount of downtime.

Most importantly, wood dust is a combustible material. If necessary control is not implemented to regulate extraction, or preventive measures against fire and explosions are absent, the odds of fire-related accident will increase. This will not only inflict devastating damages to the factory, but may also result in the loss of lives.

32 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Features Of A Good System A good dust extraction system should be modular, to enable flexibility in design, provides effective dust removal, so disruption is minimised, offers proper storage with safety features that help reduce the risk of accident, and enables energy saving to lower operating cost.

A modular system will enable modification without the need of reinstalling the whole setup. As plants expand or reduce in size, units can be added or removed to satisfy new requirements. Good dust removal will eliminate downtime and sustain smooth and continuous production.

Storage should be designed such that hazard is kept to a minimum, and even in the occurrence of accident, the damage should be away from critical assets. As for energy saving feature, the system must be able to monitor the operation of machines and allocate resources accordingly.

Fans should only be switched on when the machine is in use and the airflow capacity should be adjusted based on the number of running units.

Most established companies recognise the difference a good extraction system can make and are willing to invest in a good setup. Smaller companies are generally more concerned with actual pricing. They have the tendency to go for cheaper installation just to save on capital cost. It is not uncommon to see these companies opting for a better system after a few years, usually when the loss of potential revenue hits home.

Due to the nature of the setup, it is impractical to modify an existing system provided by another supplier. A change will typically involve the removal of the old system and the installing of a new one. This process can take over a few

Focus months to complete, meaning production must be discontinued in the meantime. The overall cost inflicted is far more than the initial investment in a good system.

Investment In Testing Times As the industry faces an uncertain outlook and a possible global recession, companies should take this opportunity to restructure their businesses. The reduced amount of orders provides a window of opportunity for manufacturers to use the downtime to upgrade their operations.

While conventional thinking is to limit the amount of spending during testing times, it is actually a good time for companies to make investments that help streamline operations and improve efficiency.

One way is to increase the level of automation, something that is hard to implement when production is running at full swing. With less orders, companies will be able to afford time to install new machinery and train their workers to produce high value products.

There is a growing concern for furniture manufacturers in the region whose traditional export options, the US and

Europe, may no longer have the same appetite for consumer goods. Exporters are shifting their focus to China and India, two huge emerging markets. However, the penetration into the Chinese market may not be as easy as it seems.

Growing labour costs and strict legislation control mean that foreign investors will be faced with a few barriers if they want to establish their presence there. It is more feasible to maintain offices and production plants outside China, and ship the products there. From experience, the freight cost for transporting goods out of a port in China is often higher than transporting goods from an international location to China.

Productivity will become a crucial factor for survival in the competitive market. Companies that are willing to invest to improve productivity and differentiate themselves by offering high value products will be better positioned against the challenges ahead. They must be aware of the hidden costs and potential revenues, and understand that sometimes FDM spending more is the key to earning more.

ENQUIRY NO. 7105

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ENQUIRY NO. 289

www.

33

Technology

Fingerjointing Simulation:

First Step To Complete

Computer simulation imitating the cross-cutting and fingerjointing processes has the potential to optimise raw material use and allow experimentation without disruption. By Prof Anders GrĂśnlund and Magnus Fredriksson, LuleĂĽ University of Technology

Integration

I

rioncm

n recent years, there has been an increased interest in an integrated approach within the forestry production chain. This means that forest and tree characteristics are viewed as linked together with end user requirements on wood products.

The aim of an integrated approach

34 FDM Asia  October 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

is to utilise knowledge of the end user requirements for different wood products and knowledge of the properties of timber to control the flow of material from the forest to market, achieving a more optimised use of the raw material.

However, the forestry production chain is complex in its nature as a result of

the complexity of the raw material, as well as the various production stages, actors, and decisions involved, such as in harvesting, bucking, breakdown, drying, crosscutting, final processing, and marketing.

This is one of the reasons why simulation is a suitable method for

Technology in economic terms for the entire production chain is a very complex problem, which is why simulation is a suitable approach to it, allowing a quick answer to how a change in one or many of the above parameters affects the outcome.

Experimentation Without Disruption

Complete Simulation Of Production Chain

It is one of the most common operations research and management science techniques employed today.

Among the advantages of simulation is that it allows experimentation with complex systems without disrupting the system itself, achieving better control over experimental conditions, and studying a system with a long timeframe in compressed time.

This makes simulation an excellent tool for studying the forestry production chain, which is both complex and has a long timeframe.

In the present day, most simulation is performed using computer models, instead of, for instance, physical or analytical models.

As an example, in a furniture component production process with several actors involved, there are generally several decisions that affect the final product, with regard to quality, recovery and price.

Some examples are: • Allowable sizes and types of defects • Process parameters • Cutting of solid products or fingerjointing • Raw material • Safety zones to avoid cutting within defects • Length of cut pieces To optimise each of these parameters in order to achieve the best possible outcome

Previous simulation efforts in wood research have focused mainly on the

process of converting lumber into a final product.

If such a tool can use the Swedish Pine Stem Bank (SPSB), or other databases of real but virtual logs, it would provide means to test different production strategies and choice of raw material for different products without the need for time consuming and expensive test sawing.

The in-data will be constant, which is an advantage for comparison purposes. It would also mean that the whole production chain could be studied, as well as the impact of various decisions on the entire system.

One step towards this aim is the possibility to simulate production of fingerjointed furniture products, based on the SPSB and the simulated breakdown of those stems.

It is imperative that the simulations are based on empirical data, recorded by modern measurement techniques and using contemporary cases, since the properties of wood varies a lot depending on the highly varied growing conditions of trees.

The SPSB is a database that consists of properties for 246 Scots pine (Pinus Sylvestris) trees. The stem bank trees, from welldocumented sites at different locations in Sweden, have been documented thoroughly with regard to both tree properties and silvicultural treatments.

They have been scanned with a medical computer tomography (CT) scanner in order to record internal properties such as knots, pith location, and sapwood/heartwood border. This results in a parametric description of each tree for these properties, as well as for outer shape.

Jordanhill School D&T Dept

supporting the integration of the forestry production chain. Simulation aims at imitating the operations of real world facilities or processes, often to study it in a scientific way in order to understand its behaviour.

early parts of the forestry production chain, for example, log breakdown simulation tools. Another area of interest is production process simulation for both sawmills and the secondary wood industry, separately. There are also tools available for the simulation of traditional cross-cutting.

There is a need for a simulation tool that can take into account the whole forestry production chain, including the secondary wood industry and the

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA October 2011

35

The SPSB can be used for sawing simulation by using the simulation software Saw2003. In Saw2003, the CT-scanned logs of the SPSB provide input, and the software allows the user to view and manipulate logs and boards in three dimensions (3D). It models a sawmill that uses cant sawing with two sawing machines, edging and trimming. The latter two are value-optimised according to timber prices and grading criteria, and the simulation results in virtual boards with information about knots, value, dimensions and so forth.

In Sweden, the wood furniture industry is characterised by both large and small companies, but with a relatively high degree of automation and staff competence. Practically all of the raw material is produced locally, from relatively slow-growing forest, which results in lumber with high density and small knots. With increased automation, a need for effective production strategies has arisen. Moreover, the raw material cost is in the normal case over 70 percent of the overall costs in a Swedish sawmill, which makes effective raw material use important.

Greg Hayter, North Carolina, US

Technology

Future Possibilities

or accepted depending on quality requirements. Pieces longer than the specified maximum length are cut into several maximum-length pieces if possible.

If not, for instance, if the remaining piece will be too short, the long piece is cut in half, and the algorithm is repeated on the two resulting pieces. The software also includes a function for avoiding cutting within defects.

Further Simulation — Fingerjointing This is why a flexible computer programme imitating the crosscutting and fingerjointing processes has been developed.

The software utilises the boards created by Saw2003, and imitates cross-cutting and fingerjointing of these boards, based on various quality criteria Computer programme can be used to generate a list of cutting and process parameters, such positions for each board. as maximum allowable size of This procedure results in a length defects, maximum and minimum allowable recovery for every board, taking into length of cut pieces, and the magnitude account various losses such as those of various losses in the process. generated in fingerjointing. The defect The software generates a list of cutting data from the accepted pieces are carried positions for each board according to over into fingerjointed components, and these settings, thereby generating pieces these data are stored in plain text files that are considered either rejected

36 FDM Asia  October 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

for further analysis. Total length recovery, number of components, number of cross cut pieces and all cutting positions for each board are also recorded. Length recovery is defined as the total length of the finger jointed products divided by the total length of the boards that are cut and jointed.

A comparison between simulated data and the results of an industrial scanner and optimizer shows promising results. The simulation is optimising the cutting decisions in a similar way to the real process.

The simulation tool provides ample scope for future research. For example, sawmill breakdown simulation using the SPSB together with this simulation software would allow investigation of the impact of different sawing patterns, other breakdown strategies, and raw material, on the whole forestry production chain including the further processing.

The results from the simulations can be used in, for example, process simulation software, applying probability functions on the defects that are left on the fingerjointed components, in order to predict the amount of boards that are sorted out in a further step (for instance at a furniture manufacturer). In many furniture production processes, boards with damaged knots on the edges might be sorted out due to customer demands. This is not detected by an industrial scanner/cutting optimiser that only considers the size of defects.

Currently, development is focused on building a complete simulation environment, based on Saw2003 and the fingerjointing simulation software described here. These existing softwares will be able to create added possibilities for rip sawing, cut sawing, fingerjointing and quality sorting of boards.

Technology

Industrial Applications One prerequisite for a real industrial application of this simulation environment is the possibility to scan logs for internal defects in industrial speed, with full information in three dimensions about knots, cracks, rot, etc.

This would be possible with a CTscanner that is capable of scanning logs

at production speed, something that is being developed within the multinational research project CT-Pro. Using such a scanner together with a powerful simulation tool adapted to industrial use, would enable a producer to test many possible outcomes of the many production stages involved in different products, choosing the best possible strategy before the saw blade has even touched the log.

This means that in a longer perspective, the possibilities for using the right piece of wood for the right product will be much larger, and in a few decades, the way wooden products are produced might be changed completely.

Another future prospect is to have the results visualised using computer graphics, to perform customer preference studies on different choices of raw material

and/or process parameters and quality requirements, or maybe even utilise the technology in sales.

In this way, a customer might be able to view his or her order in a virtual environment and choose the preferred product in terms of knot structure and visual properties. This might enable a make-to-order production strategy in the forestry production chain, from the forest to the finished product, with the aesthetical values of the product as a deciding factor. Perhaps the future will allow us to decorate our living rooms with the wooden products we want, choosing the amount, size, and colour of knots on our furniture before production has even begun.

FDM

ENQUIRY NO. 7201

ENQUIRY NO. 253

This would provide an opportunity for a system perspective on the forestry production chain, and the simulation environment could be used as an aid in communication between buyers and sellers, to provide unbiased information in a quality-price-discussion, and as an aid in production strategy decisions. A large amount of research efforts are being put into this objective, which will hopefully lead to a powerful research tool.

For more information,please visit :www.yalianjx.cn

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA  October 2011

37

O

ne of the biggest advantages of using wood in homes or offices is its ability to withstand high loads, especially when the subjected stress is parallel to the wood grain. A piece of Douglas-fir wood with a cross-sectional area of one square inch can withstand a compressive force of approximately 20,000 Newtons.

Despite this apparent strength, wood manages to remain soft when compared to most metals, making it extremely pliable in the workshop. Drilling or sawing through a piece of wood is relatively easier when compared to doing the same to metals such as steel or aluminium. Unlike the latter, cutting fluids are rarely needed when working with wood.

For reasons such as these, the timber industry is experiencing a renaissance of sorts. Timber exports from countries such as Malaysia and China have faced an upward trend in recent years, with even places with lower export volumes, such as Vietnam and Cambodia getting a slice of the pie.

However, this increase in demand for wood needs to be complemented with the right expertise in woodworking.

At its core, woodworking is supported by two basic processes: boring and drilling. Boring enlarges an existing hole through the use of a rigidly mounted cutting tool. Either the part or the tool may be rotated to facilitate the removal of material.

Ace In The

Jason Hickey

HOLE

38 FDM Asia  October 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Haldane Martin, Cape Town, South Africa

Technology

Wood use is experiencing growth again in several countries.

The importance of proper boring and drilling in woodworking cannot be overemphasised; an inaccurate hole in terms of placement and size can lead to uneven stresses and strains. The use of right methods however, can churn out wood products that last a lifetime. By Shahnawaz Abdul Hamid

Technology Unlike boring, drilling is perhaps more commonly known to the layman.

It essentially involves the creation of a round hole within a work piece and is achieved through the use of a drill bit that applies pressure as it rotates, forming chips at the cutting edge.

Machines & Portables

edge, a spiral of patterns wrapped around a central guiding point, is located and the shank, which is the end part of the bit, is gripped by the drill’s chuck.

They are usually made out of either steel, tungsten-carbide or polycrystalline diamond and are sometimes coated with a nitride or oxide compound. When

used to drill wood, drill bits do not have to be extraordinarily hard and can be manufactured from cheaper low-carbon steel or other steel alloys.

Drill bits come in many various types, with each type able to cater to a different application. For instance, some holes may require a countersink while

It should be stated that drilling and boring can be achieved using the same machines, albeit with slightly different tools. To bore, a boring tool or bar can be inserted into the machine. However, boring is not recommended for use on handheld machines, as it requires a rigid and sturdy set-up.

An example of a machine commonly used for drilling is the drill press. This upright contraption is usually bolted to the floor or the worktable, allowing for vibration-free operation. There are two types of drill presses in the industry: hand-feed and power-feed.

The hand-feed drill press allows the operator to control the drilling and boring process manually, through the use of a feed handle. Power-feed drills are bulkier and equipped with motors to allow automatic feeding during drilling, usually at a preset depth of cut per revolution of the spindle.

Both these drill press types are usually used for medium-duty work in factories. Where light-duty work is to be accomplished, for handmade furniture for instance, portable drills are usually sufficient, reducing cost and energy usage.

Some of these drills are cordless and operate using rechargeable batteries such as nickel-cadmium and lithium-ion.

Types Of Drill Bits

ENQUIRY NO. 234

The drilling process cannot be achieved solely through the use of drills. Drill bits or simply, bits, are fitted into drills, which provide a constant rotation, allowing the bit to impart torque and axial force to create the hole. A typical drill bit has two parts: the front end is where the cutting www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA  October 2011

39

Technology

Drilling & Boring Tips When drilling and boring, it is important to follow certain guidelines to prevent

40 FDM Asia October 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

happening. However, too low a feed rate can result in too much heat being produced, which may cause burnt holes, as well as chatter, which are marks left on the surface.

deviation from the intended design as well as reduce the need for excessive energy and material wastage.

To begin, drill bits need to be well maintained to prevent dulling. A dull bit can cause holes produced to be tapered instead of straight or an under-sizing of the diameter of the hole.

In extreme circumstances, a dull drill bit can break during drilling or boring, possibly causing injury. To prevent this, drill bits should be sharpened periodically using a drill grinding machine or replaced.

Also, woodworkers should avoid drilling or boring at high spindle speeds, as this may increase dulling.

Emerging Technologies

Vicky Hugheston

others may need to be tapered. In the field of woodworking, the following few drill bits are commonly used.

Lip and spur drill bits are a variation of the hugely popular twist drill bit, and are suited for drilling on wood. Also known as brad point bits or dowelling bits, they have a sharp centre and corners, and are able to remain accurate during drilling.

The drill bit cuts the circumference of the hole first, before the inner parts of the cutting edges plane off the base of the hole. This allows the wood fibres to be cut cleanly, rather than being pulled messily from the timber.

For rough boring in wood and for creating larger holes, a spade bit can be used. However, their flat design at times causes splintering as they emerge from the specimen. Nevertheless, cutters on a typical spade bit come with spurs to produce a ‘cleaner’ hole.

Another drill bit that can be used to create large holes is the auger bit. The bit is outfitted with a screw thread at its tip to draw it into the work piece — eliminating the need to push — and a long spiral flute for effective chip removal.

They usually have a hexagonal shank to create a firmer and more secure connection with the drill chuck.

A Forstner bit is a specialised drill bit type that is commonly used for installing concealed hinges. Forstner bits, like auger and spade bits, are capable of boring flat-bottomed holes with large diameters, in any orientation with respect to the wood grain.

For these reasons, they can be drilled through glued veneer for the addition of other materials as part of inlay. They are usually equipped with radial cutting edges to plane off the material at the bottom of the hole but require periodical stoppages to allow the clearing of wood chips.

Not cleaning or lubricating drills and drilling at high speeds can cause overheating.

Part of the regular maintenance of drill bits is to clean them, usually after every use. Drills clogged with dust, sand or wood shavings are ineffective at clearing chips and can result in excessive generation of heat. Overheating can also be prevented through lubrication.

Cleaning the drilling machines is an equally important task. T-slots, grooves and belts must be periodically wiped or vacuumed to remove dust and chips.

Spindles and sleeves are also to be cleaned, ensuring they are free from grit. This will allow the precise fitting and motion of all parts during operation.

A drill that is not properly centered and a high feed rate can result in an oversized hole. Remounting the drill and reducing feed rate can prevent this from

Like other woodworking processes, boring and drilling are seeing emerging technologies, which promise shorter production lead time and lesser wastage.

Some of these technologies may involve a complete break from the past, while others may be slight tweaks to the current models available.

Given some of the inaccuracies that may result from drilling, lasers have been used to guide the woodworker in making an accurately placed hole. Admittedly, the use of these lasers leads to an increase in the efficiency of the drilling or boring process. Attached to the drill press, the beams make a crisscross on the material being drilled.

CNC wood routers are also reducing the level of skill needed in drilling and boring process. Using a CAD/CAM program, a wood piece can be designed on a computer, and then have its blueprints transferred to the router, which cuts the piece automatically. Some routers come with multiple spindles that can improve the efficiency of the overall process.

Unlike drill presses, CNC wood routers do not require constant cleaning. This is because they are usually are fitted with air ducts which suck up the wood chips and dust generated.

Although wood is seen as a ‘soft’ material that can be easily manipulated to form a myriad of shapes, a combination of care and expertise in boring and drilling is still warranted in producing optimal results. Nevertheless, these processes should become easier as manufacturers begin to realise the sector’s potential, and invest more heavily in its research and development. FDM ENQUIRY NO. 7202

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Panels

Increasing

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The

ODDS

The inherent variability of wood leads to supply-chain inefficiencies and waste. Acoustic tools can help to manage this natural variation by pre-sorting lumber according to end-use requirements. By Alexis Achim and David Auty, Université Laval, Québec

W

ood is an inherently variable material, feeding the supply chain with a resource which has the desired end-use properties. As such, it can represent a considerable challenge to the wood processing and manufacturing industries.

Since end-use properties of solid wood products are normally determined at the post-processing stage, a proportion of output will fail to meet the required standards, with important economic and logistical implications along the supply chain.

Clearly, the ability to manage this variability higher up the wood value chain — ie: between forest and sawmill — will benefit both suppliers and customers by improving procurement decisions before processing, either to suit the specific needs

42 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

of a mill, or by optimising product flow by making the best use of available raw materials.

The use of readily available and relatively cheap tools which use the principle of stress-wave propagation to predict the wood properties of standing trees and logs can go some way towards achieving this goal for any components which require a minimum mechanical stiffness or strength.

Acoustic Sensors Early applications of acoustic-based technology focused on within-mill processes such as assessing the performance characteristics of structural lumber.

These applications rely on the fact that in a slender rod of an isotropic and homogenous material, the speed of an

Panels acoustic stress-wave is related to its density and stiffness.

This is demonstrated in the following formula:

ν=

ΜΟΕ

ρ

where ν is the speed of sound (m s-1), MOE is the modulus of elasticity (dynamic, ie: determined in vibratory conditions) (N mm-2) and ρ is the density (kg m-3).

In wood, which is a heterogeneous, anisotropic material, empirical assessments have shown that a longitudinal stress wave can provide a precise estimate of the MOE in static bending of sawn pieces.

In order to make nondestructive assessments earlier in the supply chain, industrial interest has recently refocused on the use of resonance-based technology on logs to predict the MOE of sawn lumber. Using the same physical principle, predictions of stiffness at the log level are based on deriving the speed of sound from the harmonic frequencies of a plane wave induced on the logs by a simple hammer tap.

The acoustic velocity of a log derived by this method approaches the volume-weighted average velocities of all lumber sawn from it, although sawmillers are often more interested in the distribution of MOE measurements within the log in order to identify a threshold velocity above which logs will yield a pre-determined proportion of structural lumber.

Problem Of Variability

ENQUIRY NO. 282

Recent research has demonstrated the potential of this technology to improve the efficiency of any wood manufacturing process dedicated to the production of a component requiring minimum stiffness.

However, apart from a few countries such as New Zealand and Australia, where the technology is widely used, the progression from a research-based demonstration to an industrial-scale application has proved problematic.

This is mainly attributable to two factors, and both are linked to variability. Firstly, mechanical properties vary systematically

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

43

Panels

High between-log variation limits the adoption of acoustic screening.

within a tree, both radially and along the longitudinal stem axis. As such, even with careful acoustic screening of the log supply to include only the stiffest material, variation will remain in the mechanical properties of the lumber produced from each individual log.

Hence, although acoustic tools can help in managing between-log variation, they cannot directly address within-log variability. This situation has been a barrier to the widespread adoption of acoustic screening prior to primary processing.

The between-log variation is very high even when the species, growing conditions and silvicultural practices are the same.

Secondly, additional problems arise because an estimation of dynamic MOE requires a measure of log density, which, similarly to mechanical properties, is subject to both betweenand within-tree variation.

Furthermore, the moisture content of logs varies according to tree characteristics, site conditions, and seasonal factors such as mean temperature. This affects the effective log density and, in turn, acoustic velocity.

Although log density could easily be measured on the production line, most industrial applications to date have tend to assume constant density and hence have relied solely on the linear relationship between acoustic velocity and MOE to make stiffness predictions.

Research results report such linear relationships for several species around the world, but these studies were generally conducted over a short timescale, and in highly controlled conditions. When faced with the need to adjust acoustic velocity thresholds because, for example, seasonal changes affect the moisture content of their wood supply, it is often found that industrial partners prefer to focus on sorting their

44 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

products further along the supply chain. However, this approach may come at a price.

Playing With Percentages The inherent variability of wood leads to supply-chain inefficiencies and waste. There is an economic cost for every piece that is processed and then rejected because it fails to meet a given criterion. Despite the two issues described earlier, any supply chain faced with the problem of producing stiffness-related rejects will benefit from using acoustic tools on trees or logs.

An appropriate analogy can be found in the unlikely form of the percentage game of roulette, where the simple addition of the 00 on the American wheel almost doubles the house edge for any single bet in comparison to European roulette.

In this analogy, the house can be substituted for any forest product manufacturer with very high losses, ie: rejects.

Although the reject rate might remain high, the mill could increase its profits in the long run by choosing the American roulette wheel (acoustic tools) over its European counterpart (business as usual).

Despite the fact that an amount of variability remains, acoustic screening could help forest industries to play the percentage game more intelligently by reducing the proportion of rejects, in return for a relatively small capital investment.

Furthermore, predictions could be improved by the use of feedback mechanisms which account for the variability in effective log density due to seasonal or even daily fluctuations in factor affecting log moisture content. In this way, threshold velocities could be adjusted in order to optimise outturn of FDM lumber with desired structural characteristics.

ENQUIRY NO. 7301

ENQUIRY NO. 292

Surfaces & Flooring

Hardwood Flooring: The

Natural

Solution Hardwood flooring is renowned for its warmth and elegance.

Selection of appropriate timber material hinges on the grade, colour and hardness requirements, as well as the environment of the intended application. By David Hayward, technical manager, Australian Timber Flooring Association

46 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

H

ardwood flooring, available in many species and board sizes, can be laid over a variety of substrates from timber board products to concrete slabs. This makes hardwood flooring ideal for new homes and apartments as well as renovation work, where there is a product suited to almost every owner.

If there is intention to provide a sound environmental choice for customers in their purchase of flooring products, then also consider the benefits of Australian hardwood flooring. Only six percent of Australia’s 147 million hectares of native forests is public forest that is potentially available for timber harvesting.

Timber is harvested from about one percent of these public native forests each year. Australia is also serviced by two timber-certifying organisations, predominantly known as the Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFCS) and the Forest Stewardship Council Australia (FSC).

Surfaces & Flooring

Chain of custody tracks hardwood flooring from its origin to end use.

Fundamentally, certification, whether through AFCS or FSC, provides proof that the timber has originated from sustainably managed forests and that the environmental impact of forestry and timber production has been put into consideration.

Carbon Retention Chain of custody (CoC) tracks a wood or forest product such as hardwood flooring from its origin in a certified forest through to its end use as a floorboard by the end consumer. CoC covers all intermediate steps such as harvesting, transportation, primary and secondary processing, manufacturing, re-manufacturing, distribution and sales. As such, it is an inventory control system.

It promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of forests.

Many also do not realise the benefit of timber products that lock up atmospheric carbon. Trees extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and hardwood flooring stores that carbon. Up to half the dry weight of wood is carbon that has been absorbed from the atmosphere by trees as they were growing.

Lowering the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is said to be one of the most important things that can be done to reduce the damage associated with climate change.

Choosing an Australian hardwood floor also has other environmental benefits including lower embodied energy and producing less greenhouse gases than other non-timber flooring products. Therefore, selection of hardwood flooring is more than choosing a beautifully individual floor made from a renewable resource, it can also create a positive impact on climate change.

ENQUIRY NO. 203

Common Wood Species There are many Australian species from different parts of the country used in timber flooring. For example, Spotted Gum, Ironbark, Blackbutt and Tallowwood from the states of Queensland and New South Wales, Tasmanian Oak and www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA  october 2011

47

Surfaces & Flooring Victorian Ash are blends of southern ash eucalypts from the states of Victoria and Tasmania, and then in Western Australia, the species Jarrah and Karri are often used in timber floors.

These species provide some of the best flooring timbers in the world. Their natural beauty, adding both warmth and elegance, has made them the feature of many an Australian home and have also been exported as flooring to many countries around the world.

Considering some of the characteristics and properties of these species mentioned above, it becomes quite evident why they are sort after for flooring.

Colour is always an important consideration when purchasing a timber floor and the rich array of colours,

Colour, colour blends and toning increase the appeal of wood flooring.

colour blends and toning available with these species is attractive to purchasers. For example, Jarrah can provide a mix of rich reds with paler toned board; Ironbark a blend of dark to mid-browns and reds, with some lighter toned boards; and Blackbutt a more creamy appearance with some brown boards.

Similarly, the southern ash eucalypt mixes provide for creamy-coloured floors and with some boards possibly having a pinker tinge. As such, this rich range of tones and blend of colours available is valued and provides floors that are unique and individual to each home. No two floors are exactly the same and for this reason, a floor is likely to differ to some degree from photos in magazines or samples that are of the same species or species mix.

Grading System The grading of timber flooring is another important aspect.

The grade of the floor influences its character and irrespective of whether the chosen grade contains many features or only

48 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

a few, aspects of production quality do not differ and are maintained to high standards for all grades.

It is important to realise that grading does not cover colour or colour variation, but assesses floorboards in terms of the character of the trees history. Grading is therefore about the features present where some grades permit larger gum veins, knots and past borer activity.

Many consider that these features add to the character and charm of their floor as it expresses the nature of timber flooring being a real and natural product. In other grades, the cleaner natural lines and figure of the timber will dominate with fewer and smaller features present.

The Australian standard covering the grading of timber flooring includes three grades as follows: • Select Grade Contains features of a limited number and size. The features may include gum veins, past borer activity and small knots.

The effect in a floor is that features are observable but they do not dominate the overall appearance.

• Medium Feature (Standard Grade): The number, type and size of features present is significantly greater than for Select Grade and the effect on the character of the floor is in many instances much more dominant.

Gum veins that are present may extend across the face of the board, greater natural discolouration is also present. Knots and past borer activity can also be more pronounced. Such features add to the character of the floor. It should, however, be noted that the features present and resulting character is very much dependent on the species chosen.

• High Feature Grade Boards with a high degree of feature are permitted in this grade and this can add a lot of character to the floor, creating a more rustic look. The number and size of features included can be greater than for Medium Feature/ Standard Grade but again the choice of species will have an overriding influence on the character present.

Again it is important to understand that the grade has no influence on a floor’s fitness for purpose in terms of its manufactured moisture content range or machining tolerance.

All grades permit some feature and even though it may be named ‘Select Grade’, some gum veins, knots and past borer activity is permitted.

How the boards are mixed into the floor both in terms of colour and feature is up to the installer, so any specific views on this should be discussed with the installer prior to installation.

Because different features tend to dominate different species,

Surfaces & Flooring

Hardness Consideration In addition to colour and grade, the hardness of the timber is also often a consideration, more so for commercial floors than domestic floors. The hardness of timber is not directly related to how hard or easy the timber is to work with various tools, but is a measure of the resistance of the wood to indentation. The hardness figures most commonly used are those obtained from the Janka test and from this, the different species are characterised as being very hard, hard, moderately hard and soft.

Those species that are categorised as moderately hard, which include the southern Australian ash species, still provide an attractive and durable feature floor, and it is within this category that other species from around the world such as American Maple and European Oak are also included.

For some heavy use applications, greater consideration should however be given to selecting a species of appropriate hardness to suit the application. The selection of a hard timber species can provide improved resistance to indentation and abrasion. The other species mentioned above, including the likes of Jarrah and Spotted Gum, lie within the hard to very hard categories. Some are also truly surprised at how hard species like Ironbark are.

It is necessary that hardwood floor owners have an understanding of what can be expected during the installation of the floor, its ongoing performance and the care that will preserve its life. The customer may live in a drier location or semi-tropical to tropical locality. There may also be the presence of air-conditioning, heating systems or large expanses of glass with a lot of direct sunlight.

ENQUIRY NO. 258

two floors of the same grade may also appear different. Many Australian manufacturers have their own grade descriptions which are similar to those in the Australian standard but will differ in some respects. It is therefore important to be aware of such differences.

So to summarise these two aspects, the overall colour or blend of colour in a floor is dependent on the species or species mix chosen and the character of the floor, in terms of the features present, such as gum veins, is dependent on the chosen grade.

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA  october 2011

49

Surfaces & Flooring To accommodate all these variables, different methods of installation are going to be appropriate to different homes and therefore, practices used in one installation will often differ from others. For this reason, it is important that the correct person is selected to install and finish the floor.

Someone who is suitably qualified and experienced will be required to provide an installation that is appropriate to user’s home and the backup that may be needed. As such, many installers, sanders and finishers are members of national flooring associations where they can receive up-todate information, training and can easily access those with specific areas of expertise.

Environmental Influence The installation and finishing should not be rushed as the condition of the timber, climate and dwelling environment all need to be assessed, possible issues rectified before installation, and sometimes it is necessary to just wait for the timber to settle to the installation environment.

Timber is a not a man-made product, it is totally natural and as such, with seasonal changes in weather conditions, it will absorb moisture from the air and swell a little, while under drier conditions, it will lose moisture to the air and shrink a little.

It is therefore quite normal for timber floors to show small gaps at board edges, particularly during dry periods or in conditions where refrigerative air-conditioning is used that can dry the air. Similarly, where there is intense sunlight on a floor or heating systems, drier conditions will be experienced and the floor will respond accordingly. Conversely, there can also be conditions within a dwelling where timber floors will expand a little and for this reason all floors are provided with expansion allowance.

50 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

There are many simple things that the owner of a hardwood floor can do to maintain the character and beauty of the floor. Curtains, tinted glass or similar features should be used to protect floor areas from intense sunlight, and mats both inside and out are an effective means of trapping grit which can scratch floor surfaces.

Moderate use of cooling and heating systems and avoiding extreme conditions will also result in only moderate changes in a floor’s appearance. In general, the conditions that we enjoy living in will also be most suited for timber floor. Heavy items of furniture need to be carefully positioned without dragging them. Similarly, it should be ensured that the feet of chairs and tables have felt pads or protectors applied.

A regular cleaning programme should also be considered to ensure that the floor remains in pristine condition. Antistatic mops are effective for collecting dust and grit. When it comes to other types of mopping to provide a deep clean, it is best that your floor finisher be contacted. There are many finishes on the market and different products are suitable for different finishes.

Timber floors renowned for their durability will provide many years of lasting beauty, enhancing both the appearance and value of your home. Each timber floor is also unique and for this reason timber floors are so valued and the feature FDM of many homes.

ENQUIRY NO. 7401

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Wood material processing line has a huge importance on MDF and PB production. Nowadays, this technology is developing with great effort around the world. In general, the different working stations such as disc chipper, ring flaker, refiner, rechipper, de-barker, etc should bring synergy into full play.

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ZHONGFOMA Machinery Co is a market leader in this regards, its wood preparation machineries which are equipped for the MDF and PB production up to the capacity of 300,000400,000m3/y. More innovated machines like BX2116 chipper, BX4614 ring flaker, BX5614 double stream mill and BF14150 screen are designed for wood based panel industry. Moreover, as refiner is one of key machines

for MDF production line, so the company have increased R&D effort to produce series of refiners for the disc size of 42”, 44”, 48”, 50”, 54” and 58” with bigger capacity.

In the near future, the company will cater to the market demand to design and manufacture the refiner for paper pulp industry.

ENQUIRY NO. 295

Furniture Design & Technology

The

Critical

Binder C

hoosing the right binder for the job at hand is crucial for wood-based panel producers as it can have a dramatic impact upon the production process, line speeds and quality and features of the end product.

One technologically advanced resin binder that is becoming increasingly popular is Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI). Although it has been available to the composite wood panel industry for over 30 years, MDI is coming into its own at present as advances in its chemical composition have led to increased applications and benefits. Furthermore, the ‘no-added

52 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

When it comes to composite wood panel production, choosing the right binder for the job is essential.

By Iain Stanton, composite wood panel marketing manager, Huntsman

formaldehyde’ characteristics inherent in MDI have made it an even more timely solution to ever more restrictive industry regulations.

Manufacturing Of MDI MDI is derived from benzene and its production is a complex process involving a sequence of chemical reactions, resulting in a very versatile range of resins. These MDI resins are used in a wide range of applications, from the manufacture of rigid insulation foams, flexible seating foams to the manufacture of shoe soles.

In the case of wood panels, MDI provides a supreme bond with the wood

particles or strands as it has a reaction with the wood itself, when put under intense heat, creating a chemical weld.

This is a different and superior type of bond to the mechanical weld that formaldehyde based products produce; in the case of formaldehyde products, it is clear to see where one material starts and another ends.

However, MDI bonds by forming a diffusion interphase, the resin spreads over the surface of the wood and penetrates into cracks, cell lumen and even cell walls. Penetration depths of up to one mm are readily achieved, which is well beyond the three cell depths

Furniture Design & Technology

Binder Benefits Advantages provided by the strong chemical weld of MDI in the production of wood panels include fast curing, ease of adding biocides or fire retardants, improved moisture resistance and an excellent strength to weight ratio.

Other potential benefits could include: • Increased mill productivity • Increased wood species variety and tolerance • Increase in the panels’ physical property performance • Wider tolerance of wood moisture variability • Finished panels that are smooth, light and more natural in appearance when compared to those which are manufactured using formaldehyde based resins.

• Compared with traditional formaldehyde options, MDI resins require a lower dosage making it a cost-effective binding option when comparing on a cost cubic metres basis.

MDI resins can help manufacturers of composite wood products to achieve a more stable processing window; improved material performance in terms of internal bond strength; and increased protection against thickness swell, while reducing production costs.

MDI In Panel Production The market for MDI resins is continuing to pick up pace, as more and more

composite wood panel producers are realising the tangible benefits that this technology has to offer. The resins are widely considered as a ‘no-added formaldehyde’ option, providing the solution to meeting the ever more stringent legislations coming into play that restrict the levels of formaldehyde emitted from wood panels.

The Medium-Density Fibreboard (MDF) market is huge and MDI is already used to some extent by producers who have become aware of the performance benefits it can offer.

There are various adhesives available for Oriented Strand Board (OSB) production and the binder of choice differs from country to country. Throughout North America, Phenol Formaldehyde (PF) resins have traditionally been used

by OSB manufacturers. However, this

is no longer as common place as it once was.

Driven mainly by the cost-effectiveness of MDI and the increased productivity rates offered, more manufacturers have been making the switch to standard polymeric MDI in the core layer of OSB boards.

MDI is one of the most effective adhesives that manufacturers of OSB can use, either within just the core layers of the panel or within both the core and face layers, to give their panels strength. The real advantage of MDI is the strong bond it forms with the wood strands; which results in a tough construction at the pressing stage.

MDI also allows for shorter press times than other resins and it works at lower temperatures, increasing productivity and saving energy for manufacturers.

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ENQUIRY NO. 268

commonly assumed to be needed for wood resins to provide adequate adhesive strengths.

In the diffusion interphase, the MDI effectively becomes one with the wood and this, along with the penetration and the spread, is responsible for the high performances expected from MDI bonded wood including the resistance to thickness swell and the high strengths.

| WagnerMeters.com

*Accuracy proven by multiple independent university studies.

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

53

Furniture Design & Technology In Europe, MDI resins have been fully embraced by the composite wood panel industry, with all OSB mills using MDI resins in the core layer, and many taking things one step further by switching to catalysed (or fast-cure) resins.

The argument that using MDI resins in OSB production creates better economics — compared with using Melamine-Urea-Phenol-Formaldehyde (MUPF) — is so convincing that many European manufacturers use 100 percent MDI resin in both the face and core layers of their boards. Complimented by the significant improvements made within release agent technology, it is easy to see why MDI use has really become so prevalent.

Furthermore, when comparing MDI with MUPF, MDI performs better than MUPF due to the nature of its adhesion to wood. The wood surface naturally has a lot of chemcial groups called hydroxyl groups (-OH). MDI resins are terminated with isocyanate groups (-N=C=O), which

react with the (-OH) hydroxyls on the wood forming urethane linkages. These linkages help to make the MDI-bonded boards perform better when exposed to moisture.

‘No-Added Formaldehyde’ Solution MDI resins are a family of powerful, noadded formaldehyde, fast-curing resins for the composite wood panel industry.

Some resins are in fact considered as ‘exempt’ within the requirements of section 93120.3 of the CARB standards. The use of such resins will classify your product as both CARB I and CARB II compliant, as well as EPF-S and Japanese F-Four Star compliant.

MDI resins are a family of powerful, noadded formaldehyde, fast-curing resins for the composite wood panel industry.

MDI resin technology can be the answer to the legislative restrictions being placed on manufacturers. Regular testing of wood panels have been conducted to illustrate how MDI is a ‘no-added formaldehyde’ option.

Future Of MDI The nature of this advanced technology means that this resin and its applications are constantly evolving, with significant interest coming from the Asian market of late.

Asian composite wood panel producers are becoming more and more open to MDI technology and much of the focus is to ensure that interest is nurtured and an open dialogue cultivated. Part of this dialogue needs to be about informing the industry on what MDI resins are, how they can be utilised and the long-term benefits.

Once this message gets through, MDI will become the resin of choice for the majority as the practical application results speak for themselves. FDM ENQUIRY NO. 7501

54 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

ENQUIRY NO. 251

Wood & Sustainability

Forging A Track For Growth In the face of volatile market conditions, key appointment holders of various Malaysian woodworking associations gave their analysis on the performance of Malaysia’s wood industry and share their views on the challenges ahead.

By Wong Tsz Hin Dr Jalaluddin Harun Director General Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB)

support government’s inspiration in reducing foreign workers, timber industry is adopting mechanisation approach and using local skilled workers. The industry is also updating the design and marketable products as to the market requirement. Rubberwood products are rebranded as high value products. Application/

1) How is the performance

adoption of certification and sustainable forest management

of the industry in the first

scheme has also increased.

half of 2011?

For

the

first

half

of

3) What are some of the major challenges for the industry

2011, Malaysia’s export

ahead?

of timber and timber

The major challenges are, firstly, raw material supply. Case

products showed a drop

in point, sustainability of rubberwood supply, especially for

of 4.9 percent compared

MDF and furniture manufacturing, and import of coconut trunk

to the same period in

from Indonesia and surrounding countries for the Malaysian

2010. Export of wooden

plywood industry.

furniture, sawn timber and

Secondly, human capital, ie:

plywood, which are Malaysia’s major timber export items recorded

a) lack of local skilled labour,

negative growth.

b) continued dependence on foreign workers, related to

Wooden furniture exports have declined by 13.5 percent,

whom are real concerns of minimum wage, security bonds,

whilst sawn timber exports fell 7.9 percent and veneer 16.9

increasing levy, compulsory medical insurance, runaways

percent respectively. Fortunately, the export of plywood increased

and of being lured away by neighbouring produces (eg:

by 1.3 percent.

These declines were due to weakening buying activities by most major markets. The four largest buyers of Malaysian timber products were Japan, US, India and Taiwan.

Vietnam and China), and c) inconsistent foreign labour policy; Thirdly, the provision of incentives and insurance facilities, for factory/mill modernisation, automation and mechanization,

Despite the drop in the value of export arising from the world

and insurance coverage facilities as pre-requisite to credit/loan

economic situation, the Malaysian furniture industry retained its

financing. And finally, market enhancement, ie: development

position as the largest valued-added wood exports earner for

of niche and new emerging markets, eg: ‘green’ marketing,

the country last year.

appreciation of Ringgit against the greenback and cabotage

Furniture sector today is a significant and important contributor

issues in Sabah and Sarawak (escalating freight charges)

to the country’s economy and is the eighth world largest exporter in 2010 compared to the ninth position in 2009.

4) What is your outlook for the industry?

Timber and timber products, especially furniture have been

In my opinion, the timber industry will continue to be among

exported to more than 190 countries around the world. It also

the important drives for the Malaysian economy in achieving

provides employment opportunities to more than 300,000

the 2020 inspiration. This can be portrayed through the

people. Currently, there are nearly 4,000 wood-based factories

launch of the National Timber Industry Policy (NATIP) which

in the country.

has set a goal of RM53 billion (US$17.5 billion) in timber export by 2020.

2) What are some of the growing trends of the industry?

The industry is currently growing towards producing ‘green products’ by applying ‘green designs’ and material. In order to

56 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

ENQUIRY NO. 7601

Wood & Sustainability Ricky Yap Chairman Malaysian Wood Moulding & Joinery Council (MWMJC)

Dato’ Low Kian Chuan President Malaysian Wood Industries Association (MWIA)

1) How is the performance of the

1) How is the performance of

industry in the first half of 2011?

the industry in the first half of

Export to all the traditional markets,

2011?

such as Europe, US and Australia

Peninsular Malaysia’s (excluding

remains lack luster for the first half

Sabah and Sarawak) export

of 2011.

performance of RM769.5 million (US$257.53 million) for the

For wood mouldings, export valued at RM172 million for

first quarter of 2011 (Jan-March) has shown a decrease of 7.9

the period from Jan-March 2011, just a slight increase of 0.9

percent excluding furniture, compared to the same corresponding

percent as compared to RM170 million for the same period

period for 2010.

in 2010.

The builder’s joinery and carpentry sector performed better

2) What are some of the growing trends of the industry?

with a 12.1 percent increase, RM250 million, as compared to

The growing trends are the use engineered products including

RM223.57 million for the same period last year.

composite and laminated products, the use of imported raw

However, the total export of all major timber products

materials from overseas together with local timber species to

dropped by 10.4 percent, RM4.63 billion, as compared to

produced value added products, the demands for certified

RM5.16 billion for the same period last year.

timber products both from local and overseas markets, and the increasing concerns on the impact of environment due to

2) What are some of the growing trends of the industry?

external factors.

In order to conserve our natural resources and to maximise the usage of timber, more priority should be given to engineered

3) What are some of the major challenges for the industry

products such as engineered door, engineered flooring and

ahead?

joinery frame (for example, fingerjointed and laminated KOMO

The major challenges faced by the industry are the decreasing

products for Holland and laminated scantling for Germany).

supply of raw material from permanent forest reserve in Peninsular Malaysia due to the implementation of sustainable forest

3) What are some of the major challenges for the industry

management which indirectly encourages the industry to source

ahead?

for their raw material globally to produce value added products

The slow economic recovery in the main markets coupled with

for both local and export markets; the increase in the cost of

the weakening of US dollar against the ringgit has posed a treat

production due to factors, such as electricity and oil prices; the

to manufacturers and exporters. The other major challenges

fluctuation of currency which erode the thin profit margin; and

include fluctuation in freight at short notice, short supply of raw

the expected sluggish market demand from Malaysia’s traditional

material and insufficient workforce, which remains critical.

buyers such as Europe, US and the Middle East.

4) What is your outlook for the industry?

4) What is your outlook for the industry?

We do not foresee much optimism for the year 2012. Exports to

Despite all the challenges, optimism remains for the industry.

Europe and US are expected to experience slow to moderate

Malaysia is implementing sustainable forest management to

growth due to uncertainties in the financial and building

ensure the sustainability of the industry.

construction sectors.

In addition, the industry will undergo a restructuring exercise

On the other hand, overall demand for timber products is

in which company that can accommodate the changes and

expected to remain robust in the Asian region, especially China

demands of the markets will survive. There is an urgent need

and India. For Japan, following the March earthquake and tsunami,

for players to keep abreast of the new challenges. The traditional

it is expected that demand for timber products, particularly

method of doing business is no longer applicable.

plywood for reconstruction purpose, would pick up.

ENQUIRY NO. 7602

ENQUIRY NO. 7603

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

57

nick@

Wood & Sustainability

Status of

Tropical

Forest

in Asia

As governments around the world increase their efforts on the promotion of sustainable forest management, countries in Asia have witnessed progress, as well as challenges.

Extracted from ITTO’s Status Of Tropical Forest Management 2011

T

here has been considerable change in the global policy environment in the five years since the preparation of the report on the status of tropical forest management in 2005. Some of these changes have had, or are likely to have, a significant effect on efforts to promote sustainable forest management (SFM) in the tropics.

Overall, there appears to have been continuing progress towards SFM in tropical forests in the period 2005 to 2010. Some of the developments that were identified as indicating progress towards SFM in the 2005 survey have continued since, including the move towards the enactment of new forest laws and regulations and the reorganisation of departments responsible for forests.

58 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Increasing interest in certification is also apparent within both government and the private sector. There have been developments in forest law compliance, stimulated particularly by demands from importing countries for legality-verified products.

Cambodia The government of Cambodia reported that, since all forest logging activities were suspended in 2001, the forest sector made no contribution to national GDP in the period 2003–08.

However, this does not take into account illegal activities or subsistence and traditional uses, the official logging of annual bidding coupes, or logging carried out under small-scale harvesting

permits. No recent information is available on employment, income, recreational facilities or other benefits.

Deforestation is still occurring at a rapid pace in Cambodia. Even though an estimated 85 percent of the country’s people live in rural areas, only a small area of forest is under community forest management. Nevertheless, the government of Cambodia is looking to increase this area to two million hectares and a community forestry office has been established within the forest administration.

All forest is state-owned, and conflicts over land tenure are a significant problem. The area of natural forests under management plans appears to have increased in protection forests (and possibly in production forests) since

Wood & Sustainability

India The contribution of forestry to gross domestic product (GDP) fell from about 2.9 percent in 1981 to 1.7 percent in 1991, 1.1 percent in 2005 and 0.9 percent in 2006.

These figures exclude the contributions of forest-based industries (which are counted under manufacturing), as well as the vast amount of products such as fuelwood and fodder, the use of which is unrecorded, and the contribution of ecosystem services such as water and soil conservation.

According to one estimate, about 7.5 million people, mostly in rural and tribal settings, are in forest-related employment.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), about 6.19 million people are employed in the primary production of forest goods, mostly related to plantations, 5.68 million of whom are in paid employment. A further 24,600 people are employed in the management of protected areas.

In India, state forest departments are custodians of the public forest resource and act as the forest authorities.

Increasingly, some responsibilities for and benefits from the forests are being shared with local communities; for example, joint forest management approaches are now being applied to at least 22 million hectares, including in some closed-canopy tropical forests.

Moreover, farmers are becoming more involved in tree-growing, the private sector is participating more in forest management, and partnerships between forest product manufacturing companies and local farmers are developing.

A new national law should enable

the transfer of ownership of certain forest lands to Indigenous communities, although it is yet to be fully implemented.

While India appears to be expanding its forest area (including through a largescale expansion of the planted forest estate), its natural forests remain under threat from unauthorised (and sometimes authorized) land-use change and various agents of degradation, including illegal forest activities.

Indonesia Forests and forest industries make a substantial contribution to Indonesia’s socioeconomic development. The woodproducts sector, for example, employed 205,000 people in 2008.

In 2005 the forest sector generated about 3.25 trillion rupiah (US$380 million) in revenue for the state. Nevertheless, Human Rights Watch estimated that the Indonesian government lost US$2 billion in 2006 due to: • Forest taxes and royalties never collected on illegally harvested timber.

• Shortfalls due to massive unacknowledged subsidies to the forestry industry (including basing taxes on artificially low market price and exchange rates).

• Losses from tax evasion by exporters through transfer pricing.

It is estimated that between 500,000 and 600,000 people are directly employed in the forest industry. This figure would be much higher if all those employed in agroforestry activities and in woodworking and the small-scale production of sawnwood, particleboard, fibreboard and wooden handicrafts were taken into account.

Indonesia’s forests face many threats, including illegal logging, fire, encroachment, poor logging practices, inefficient timber-processing, unsettled land claims and regulatory inconsistency and confusion.

ENQUIRY NO. 180

2005. Following a moratorium between 2004 and 2007, there have been moves to reintroduce commercial logging in natural forests, but to date the area of forest in which harvesting is permitted is small. Illegal logging is significant but unquantified.

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

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Wood & Sustainability Forests are managed by the states and there are differences in the approach to SFM between Sabah and Sarawak and states in Peninsular Malaysia.

Generally the quality of information about the forest sector is high, although it varies by state, and relatively little information on Sarawak was available for this report. There has been little change in forest-related policies since 2005, although a national timber industry policy launched in 2009 aims to encourage further processing.

More than 50 percent of the natural-forest production PFE has been

Myanmar It was reported that about 30,600 people were employed by the government in the forest sector, including 1,400 professionals and 29,200 technical staff. Of these staff, 11,000 were in the Forest Department, 19,300 were in Myanmar Timber Enterprise and about 300 were in the Dry Zone Greening Department.

Overall, some 500,000 people are thought to be dependent on the forest sector for employment; the contribution of forestry to GDP was an estimated 0.4 percent in 2005/06. In 2007/08, the Forest Department spent 11.5 billion Rob and Stephanie Levy, Townsville, Australia

A process to decentralise forestry administration has been partially reversed, and greater coordination between the levels of government is needed to overcome problems in, for example, land-use allocation, forest conversion, illegal logging, illegal timber trade and industrial inefficiency. Efforts are under way at the national level to combat illegal logging and it appears that some progress has been made.

A two-year suspension of new forestclearing concessions was announced in 2010 as part of a climate-change partnership between the government of Indonesia and the government of Norway that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Indonesian forests.

A compulsory certification scheme for concession holders imposes a certain degree of oversight on forest operations.

Malaysia The forest sector in Malaysia directly contributed about US$2.88 billion to the Malaysian economy in 2008 (up from US$2.33 billion in 2003), which was about 1.3 percent of GDP (down from 1.9 percent in 2003).

In 2008, about 167,000 people were employed directly in timber harvesting and primary processing (the latter comprising sawmills and plywood and veneer mills), and another 19,400 were employed in other wood-processing factories.

In Peninsular Malaysia, the 31,750 people estimated to be employed in timber harvesting and primary processing comprised 26 865 males and 7255 females. About 2000 people are employed in the management of protected areas.

In 2005, government revenues from the forest sector were estimated at 1.6 billion ringgit (US$539 million) and total public expenditure was estimated at 373 million ringgit.

Malaysia’s forests are generally well managed, and there is a well-defined and demarcated permanent forest estate (PFE).

60 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

A large part of the furniture manufacturing sector in Malaysia is based on rubberwood, which is grown in plantations.

certified, mainly under the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme. The forest sector plays an important role in the Malaysian economy and is a significant employer.

A large part of the furniture manufacturing sector is based on rubberwood, which is grown in plantations, while much of the harvest in natural forests is still exported as plywood, sawnwood and logs. Well-organised and resourced forest administrations at both federal and state levels have the capacity to ensure that concessionaires adhere to prescribed practices and to oversee the long-term management of the resource.

kyat (US$1.78 billion) on capital and operations, and generated 6.03 billion kyat in revenue. The Department has been operating at a loss since 2000/01.

There appears to have been little change in the approach to forest policy since 2005, with the Forest Law still applying. Myanmar once boasted an exemplary system of forest management, particularly in its large area of teak forests, but in recent decades there has been significant deforestation and forest degradation.

Deforestation may have increased recently in the country’s northern frontier forests. The annual allowable cut has been exceeded in recent years for several

Wood & Sustainability (excluding furniture making), of which about 17,000 are male and 4,000 are female.

About 630 people are employed in direct forest operations. The government sector employs about 22,500 professionally qualified people supporting forestry and about 900 trained forest workers. FAO estimated that about 910 people were employed in protected-area management in 2005.

The Philippines has lost a substantial part of its natural forest, and timber production has declined dramatically in the last three decades. Considerable efforts have been made to encourage community

McKay Savage, London, UK

reasons. Illegal logging appears to be significant, and the Forest Department has endeavoured to bring it under control by the introduction of measures such as checkpoints along transport routes, inspections of logging operations, and an incentive scheme for staff.

Myanmar has an active programme for establishing planted forests, including of teak, and is also expanding its protected area system. The forest sector is a major employer, and it also generates considerable export revenue (an estimated US$859 million in 2008), but the Forest Department operates at a substantial loss. Community

Myanmar has an active programme for establishing planted forests.

forestry faces a number of challenges, such as a lack of security of agreements reached with government agencies.

Philippines The estimated contribution of the forest sector to GDP was 1.6 percent in 1975, 0.14 percent in 1999, 0.05 percent in 2003 and 0.7 percent in 2008. FAO estimated total government revenue from the forest sector in 2005 at 136 million Philippine pesos (US$3.22 million), while the estimated total government expenditure in the forest sector was 1.98 billion Philippine pesos.

An estimated 21,000 people are employed in the forest products industry

forestry on degraded forestland. More than 5,000 communities have communitybased forest management agreements with the government over nearly 6 million hectares, and there is now also a mechanism for individuals to engage in forest stewardship.

However, the extent to which these measures provide secure tenure is contested, and national legislation to bring greater certainty to the forest sector is stalled. Carbon capture and storage has the potential to increase the income that can be earned from forest restoration. In the longer term, this could help to improve the ability of upland areas to provide a range of ecosystem services.

Thailand The cessation of commercial harvesting in natural forests had reduced the contribution of forestry to GDP to about 0.1 percent by 2005. However, the wood-processing sector has increased production in recent years using timber obtained mostly from plantations, non-forest sources and imports, and the sector’s contribution to GDP, therefore, is growing.

Tourism is the country’s primary source of foreign exchange and protected forests are a significant attraction. The government collected 45.7 million baht (US$1.53 million) in forest-related revenue in 2007 (down from 131 million baht in 2002), including licence fees, forest improvement fees and royalties from timber harvesting.

Logging in natural forests has been banned since 1989 in Thailand, but the forests remain under pressure from encroachment, illegal logging, fire and other agents. The Community Forestry Bill, which was first drafted in the early 1990s, finally passed into law in 2007 but its implementation has been held up by a legal challenge.

The Community Forestry Bill has been criticised on the basis that it could prevent some communities from accessing existing community forests because they are inside protected areas. The country’s 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2007–2011) contains several targets for the conservation of natural resources.

The regulatory framework for community forestry is unclear, and there is a lack of trust between forest authorities and forest communities.

Plantations (especially of rubberwood) and imports are supplying the country’s thriving downstream processing timber industry. National parks are of growing importance to Thailand’s economically important tourism industry. FDM

ENQUIRY NO. 7604

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61

Wood & Sustainability

Certified Wood:

New Opportunities For Furniture Industry

Tvilum

The demand for wood-based products derived from sustainable sources is rising rapidly. Achieving certification can help give companies a competitive edge. By Thorsten Arndt, PEFC Geneva

W

ood is a warm, fashionable and natural material that attracts all people. Buildings, joinery and wooden furniture made of certified wood offer simple solutions for designers and manufactures to deliver desired and environmentally sound products to homes and offices.

Certified timber has unique sustainability credentials as a renewable material. Arto J Tiitinen, CEO of Isku, an international, family-owned furniture manufacturer, has noted that it is important, for environmental and quality reasons, that the origin of the raw materials used in production is known. There is a need to guarantee that the timber supplies come from carefully monitored and certified forests so that customers will not be in doubt as to what their furniture is made of.

From Forest To Factory To Consumers Wooden furniture, such as tables, chairs, desks, beds, sofas

62 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

and wardrobes, is an essential part of our homes, offices and gardens. Wood accounts for a major part of total furniture sales worldwide. The sector already provides an enormous range of products in different styles and applications, including office, contract and domestic furniture. Developments in wood design and production processes have opened doors to an ever-increasing number of natural and sustainable products.

Certified wood enables companies to assure their customers that wood used in furniture comes from legal and sustainable sources. In addition to the technical quality and design of a product, consumers are increasingly seeking assurance that the goods they buy are responsibly produced.

More and more public authorities, companies and large retailers, including DIY outlets and furniture stores, are demanding in their specifications that wooden products come from certified well-managed forests.

Tvilum

Wood & Sustainability The benchmark criteria are regularly revised through multi-stakeholder processes to take account of new scientific knowledge, societal changes, evolving expectations, and to incorporate the most up-to-date best practices worldwide.

Nobilia — A German Experience

Furniture manufacturers can show their commitments to sustainability by obtaining certification.

This expectation is about to expand to all sectors of the furniture industry. With the public becoming increasingly aware of the need for sustainable procurement, especially of wood products, the pressure is on for businesses in the furniture industry supply chain to implement their own chain of custody (CoC).

By using certified products, furniture designers, manufacturers and retailers can demonstrate their corporate sustainability commitments. Demand for CoC certification has grown dramatically in the last few years to the extent that, for many companies, the ability to prove that a timber product is derived from a well-managed source is now a key factor in the specification of timber products.

“The willingness of a furniture provider to work towards the goal of implementing a chain of custody certification is something we include in our requirements when we select partners for our commercial development projects,” said Merja Vuorinen, administrative manager of Skanska.

Nobilia, Europe’s second largest built-in kitchen manufacturer, takes its commitment to environmental sustainability seriously.

Obtaining certification was a logical step for the company.

It has worked to rapidly integrate certification standards and requirements into the existing management systems of the company.

Achieving certification has yielded positive results for the company, which became the first kitchen manufacturer in Germany to have achieved sustainability certification. Given rising levels of consumer awareness, this has afforded the company a key competitive advantage, not only in Germany but also internationally.

Certification also enables the company to offer clear and demonstrable evidence of the origin of the raw materials used in its products. This helps to strengthen the company's position in the market and offers the company and its trading partners a further competitive edge.

Safe & Sound

ENQUIRY NO. 108

One of the easiest ways of demonstrating that wood comes from responsibly managed forests is to source it from independently certified forests. Certification progammes also ensure that products are tracked through the whole supply chain from the forest to the end user.

Forest certification bodies, such as PEFC, are umbrella organisations that work by endorsing national forest certification systems developed collaboratively by all interested stakeholders and tailored to local priorities and conditions.

Each national system undergoes rigorous third party assessment against unique sustainability benchmarks. These benchmarks are based on broad consensus by society, and are expressed in globally respected international and intergovernmental processes and guidelines for the promotion of sustainable forest management. www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

63

ednl, Utrecht, Netherlands

Wood & Sustainability The company believes that its decision to be certified was the right one and its commitment to responsible sourcing has assisted the company in maintaining and further expanding its leading role in sustainability.

Decker — Another German Adopter Since 1915, creativity, quality and craftsmanship have been the cornerstones of success for wooden furniture manufacturer A Decker, firm advocates of the benefits of certification.

Environmental considerations are a cornerstone of the company's corporate philosophy, which seeks to ensure that sustainability concerns are integrated throughout the entire value chain, from procurement to production to the final product.

By obtaining certification, the company is showing the marketplace that in choosing certified products, customers and consumers alike can make a valuable contribution to a healthy environment. Certification promotes the company’s tradition of placing strong emphasis on environmental protection, sustainability and credibility in all of its activities, and is a smart move in preparation for future market demands.

Tvilum — A Danish Advocate

Sam Beebe

Tvilum has chosen to take on global responsibility for improving the environment and is not content with merely

abiding by applicable regulations and requirements. It treads new paths to reduce environmental impact even more and to ensure family health and well-being in the house and surroundings.

For example back, in 1994, the company removed PVC from plastic covers and packaging — and today all its furniture is PVC-free. It also reduced the content of lead in the mirrors used in products.

Lead is a particularly toxic metal so it decided to minimise the spread of lead into the environment when mirrors are disposed of. All of the company’s wood furniture is certified for sustainable forestry.

At The Forefront Of Responsibility The furniture sector in some countries has positioned itself as a front-runner in the demand for certified products and has demonstrated its commitment to responsible sourcing of timber.

Accordingly, the demand for furniture, or furniture components manufactured from timber or wood-based products, derived from sustainable sources, is increasing rapidly. With certification, those supplying government departments, large corporate companies, and universities can ensure that timber used in the manufacture of their products originates from sustainable sources and that these credentials can be passed on by the implementation of their own chain of custody systems.

In its purchasing policy, the furniture industry can demand certified products, and as such, increase the number of sustainable products on the market. This gives a clear market signal that the industry accepts only timber from legal and sustainably managed sources. Together with the construction industry, the furniture industry can take advantage of global certification systems and demonstrate its commitment to the principles of sustainability. FDM The ability to prove that a timber product is derived from a well-managed source is a key factor in specification of timber products.

64 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

ENQUIRY NO. 7605

Advertorial

INNOVATE ADHESIVE APPLICATIONS, ENHANCE THE PANEL FURNITURE QUALITY

By Qiuhua Dong, marketing director of Guangzhou Internet Wood Glue

With the growth of panel furniture, most producers face a number of tough issues, especially proper application of new material and innovative processing techniques. These bring the Chinese panel furniture industry to a bottleneck which must be broken through urgently. Increasing environmental friendliness, using new material, and improving new techniques are essential to create a better future for panel furniture and to meet the rising demand of consumption.

IWG (Guangzhou Internet Wood Glue), a professional adhesives supplier and manufacturer, has devoted itself to research and manufacture new woodworking adhesives and offer one-stop bonding solution for the further development of panel furniture. As part of its efforts, IWG has created a bonding system for panel furniture, and meets the unique demand of panel furniture producers. Here, they offer a few solutions for you reference.

(1). 602 UF Glue Power E1 formula: It is E1 grade, has good water resistance, good solvent and heat resistance, a long open-time, and it can be widely used for wood veneer, wood burl, Mahogany and other special veneer hotpressure lamination.

(2). L560/C22 Double component E0 grade modified lamination adhesive, one of the designated adhesives by IKEA furniture: the key feature is no dibutyl phthalate and easy operation, it is suitable for high speed lamination equipments, with the shortest time for hot pressure at 40 seconds. And it’s also widely used for honeycomb paper, three or five layers hot-pressure lamination.

2. Paper Lamination PG240: E0 grade, no dibutyl phthalate, compare with the PVAC white emulsion, the cured membrane is much harder, the surface hardness and smoothness after paper lamination is very close to urea-formaldehyde glue.

PB, MDF Lamination or Honeycomb Paper Edgebanding Technique

Edgebanding is an important factor which determines panel furniture quality. In order to resolve this issue, IWG is devoted to sell high quality ‘Elephant’ brand Edgebanding, and have build long-term cooperation with many big manufacturers, like QUMEI Furniture, I&D Furniture, M&Z Furniture and OPPEIN. In order to overcome the EVA defect with no good solvent and heat resistance, the company created a new APAO hot-melt 88280 series adhesives for the market. It’s a perfect product and make the edge really safe. And for technical process innovation, our hotmelt glue 88800 is specially designed for high effective equipment with speed of 60m/mins and faster.

Adhesives For Decoration Board

1. Veneering In order to sell at higher price and achieve better profit, environmentally friendly, stylish and high performance-price ratio adhesive must be used in panel furniture. IWG has two formulas with high quality, high effectiveness and good environmental protection which can be used in veneer lamination.

(1). 9601: E0 grade white emulsion glue, dibutyl phthalate free, It’s suitable for PB, MDF, Honeycomb paper three layers cold or hot-pressure compound.

(2). PG240 white glue, it has fast setting time, the cured membrane is very hard, and has good solvent resistance.

It’s recommended for PB,MDF, Honeycomb paper three layers cold and hot-pressure compound, also widely use for curve board fast cold and hotpressure manufacture.

(3). L560S/C22: It’s suitable for Honeycomb paper three and five layers compound panel furniture fast molding hot pressure.

IWG, as the biggest wood glue supplier, has years of experience in R&D wood glue for furniture. Especially for the panel furniture, no matter what the challenge, the company is always willing to work with you find a best and innovative solution for a variety of application and for the new materials.

ENQUIRY NO. 296

Exhibition Preview

Dubai

April 3-5, 2012 Dubai International Conven tion and Exhibition Centre United Arab Emirates

International Wood & Wood Machinery Show

T

he Dubai International Wood & Wood Machinery Show will be held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from April 3 to 5, 2012. The change in venue will provide different exhibition facilities that will attract international and local exhibitors and visitors from all over the world.

The theme for 2012, ‘Sustainable Wood for a Better World’, reflects the increased interest throughout the wood trading and manufacturing sectors for sustainable materials to be in line with international standards.

The show is one of the biggest Middle East trade events that focuses on wood, wood products and woodworking machinery, creating a potential market for woodworking machinery for projects which require skilled and high technology installations.

It offers visitors a chance to meet wood and woodworking professionals, develop ideas for increasing the range and quality of business, and learn new techniques and sources of supply. It has a vision to be the rostrum of ideas and technologies, as the attention of

66 FDM Asia october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

wood manufacturers and traders turns to innovative resources.

The Middle East has been resilient to the effects of the global financial crisis and construction continues at a sustainable level. Dubai remains a major centre for supply and manufacturing in the wood sector for the Gulf and beyond, where domestic growth is driving many economies.

Exhibitors will be connected with the global wood industry, especially key raw material supply areas. Specialised trade visitors, who are knowledgeable professionals and serious business buyers from all over the world, will use the trade fair as an opportunity to strengthen ties with customers, make valuable contacts and catch up on the trends and technological developments in the wood industry.

A number of country associations have already confirmed their return to the show, including the Taiwan Woodworking Machinery Association, American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), French Timber, American Softwoods, Quebec Wood Export Bureau and Malaysian Timber Council (MTC).

The American hardwood industry has been a supporter of the show and has been accompanied in recent years by increasing numbers of American exporters. MTC has maintained a strategic office in Dubai for many years as a part of its global representation and in recognition of the importance of Middle East markets for Malaysian timber and wood products.

The American softwood industry had a busy show in 2011, despite the temporary slowdown in regional construction. It represents a wide range of softwood suppliers. The hardwood options at the show are strengthened by the continued promotion of French hardwoods by French Timber and the Quebec Wood Export Bureau from Eastern Canada.

Taiwan is a supplier of woodworking machinery and is expected to be joined

by German and Italian exporters as in previous years. Pavilions from more than 10 countries are expected to take part in this show covering all types of wood, wood materials, tools, fittings and machinery from over 30 countries.

FDM

ENQUIRY NO. 7701

Expected Exhibition Area : 60,000 sqm Expected No. of Exhibitors : 700

Online Pre-registration Now Opens!

Exclusively supported by Eumabois

Endorsed Overseas Publications

ENQUIRY NO. 297

Enquiries

Exhibition Highlights

International Vietnam Woodworking Industry Fair 2011 October 12-15, 2011 Venue Saigon Exhibtion & Convention Center (SECC) 799 Nguyen Van Linh, Tan Phu Ward, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Accommodation

Located at the heart of Phu My Hung New City, Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center (SECC) is the largest exhibition and convention centre at the south of Vietnam. It is 15 minutes from the centre of Ho Chi Minh City and 30 minutes from Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The centre comprises four indoor exhibition halls totaling 40,000 sq m, additional outdoor exhibition space of up to 20,000 sq m, a 2,000-seat convention centre and an office tower. Parking is available underground.

Transportation TAXI

Taxi/Limousine Service from the airport Bus service number 34 and 102 (alight near the front of the centre) Road access from Nguyen Tat Thanh Road/Khanh Hoi/Highway One to Nguyen Van Linh Parkway

Caravelle Hotel 19 Lam Son Sqaure, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Distance from exhibition centre: 5.4 km

Kimdo-Royal City Hotel 133 Nguyen Hue Ave, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Distance from exhibition centre: 5.3 km

Grand Hotel Saigon 08 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Distance from exhibition centre: 5.1 km

Sheraton Saigon Hotel And Towers 88 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Distance from exhibition centre: 5.4 km

Hotel Continental Saigon 132-134 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Distance from exhibition centre: 5.5 km

Majestic Saigon Hotel 01 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Distance from exhibition centre: 5.0 km ENQUIRY NO. 7702

68 FDM Asia  october 2011 | www.fdmasia.com

Exhibition Highlights BOOTH HIGHLIGHTS Booth 200 Homag Asia

Products & Services Panel sizing machines Machining centres ENQUIRY NO. P761

Booth 293 American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC)

Products & Services US Hardwoods

ENQUIRY NO. P769

Booth 202 Siempelkamp

Products & Services Complete panel plants Daylight presses Short cycle presses

Booth 300+304 Dunhua Yalian Machinery

ENQUIRY NO. P762

Products & Services Panel production lines Continuous roller presses Continuous flat presses ENQUIRY NO. P770

Booth 204 IMA Klessmann

Products & Services Complete production lines CNC machining centres ENQUIRY NO. P763

Booth 313 Northwest Hardwoods

Products & Services American kiln-dried hardwood lumber ENQUIRY NO. P771

Booth 205 Wemhoener

Products & Services Short cycle presses Throughfeed press lines Special lines/presses

Booth 596 Baillie Lumber

ENQUIRY NO. P772

ENQUIRY NO. P764

Booth 206 Robert Bürkle

Products & Services Lacquering/printing lines Presses Lamination lines

Booth 599 Sandvik

ENQUIRY NO. P765

Booth 207 GreCon Greten

Products & Services Fire protection technology Measurement systems Scanners ENQUIRY NO. P766

Booth 211 Dieffenbacher

Products & Services Complete panel plants Continuous presses ENQUIRY NO. P767

Booth 230 China Foma (Group)

Products & Services MDF/HDF production lines Particleboard production lines Impregnation lines Short cycle lamination lines Sawmill equipment Plywood equipment ENQUIRY NO. P768

Products & Services American & African Hardwood

Products & Services Steel belts (stainless steel and carbon steel) Smooth and textured press plate and press belts ENQUIRY NO. P773

Booth 638 Kanefusa Corporation

Products & Services Saw Blades Cutters Machine knives ENQUIRY NO. P774

Booth 658 Lignar Engineering

Products & Services High load filter Modular dust collection system ENQUIRY NO. P775

Booth 720 Wintersteiger SEA

Products & Services Thin-cutting saw blades Sharpening machines Presses ENQUIRY NO. P776

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

69

Calendar of Events

2011

October

4-5: VDMA Management Seminar (Thailand) Rama Gardens Hotel Bangkok, Thailand Tel: +49 69 6603 1340 Fax: +49 69 6603 1621 Email: ingo.bette@vdma.org Web: machines-for-wood.com/seminar/thailand.

html

6-8: The Wood Machinery Exhibition Simmonscourt, RDS Dublin, Ireland Tel: +00 353 (0) 1 288 8821 Fax: +00 353 (0) 1 288 3127 Email: david@exhibitionsireland.com Web: www.woodmachineryexhibition.com

7-8: VDMA Management Seminar (Malaysia) Classic Hotel Muar (Johor), Malaysia Tel: +49 69 6603 1340 Fax: +49 69 6603 1621 Email: ingo.bette@vdma.org Web: machines-for-wood.com/seminar/malaysia.

html

Fax: +886 2 26597000 Email: service@ccie.com.tw Web: www.linkage-vn.com

14-20: Sajam Namestaja 16-19: Fame NextOneNow SMX Convention Center Pasay City Manila, Philippines Tel: +63 2 631 2834/6329007 Fax: +63 2 631 2977 Web: www.manilanow.ph

22-25: Index Dubai 2011

Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) Binh Duong, Vietnam Tel: +49 69 6603 1340 Fax: +49 69 6603 1621 Email: ingo.bette@vdma.org Web: machines-for-wood.com/seminar/vietnam.

html

12-15: VietnamWood Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam Tel: +886 2 26596000 Ext 322

Kindly indicate the events you are interested in and fax the sheet/s along with your details in the Product Enquiry Page to (65) 6379 2806 or enquire online at www.fdmasia.com

16-18: India International Furniture Fair Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre Bombay, India Tel: +65 6297 2822 Fax: +65 6296 2670 Email: sales@indiafurniturefair.com Web: www.indiafurniturefair.com

25-28: FIMMA Maderalia 2011

21-24: Timber Israel 2011

Feria Muestrario Internacional de Valencia Valencia, Spain Tel: +0034 902 74 73 30 Fax: +0034 802 74 73 45 Email: feriavalencia@feriavalencia.com Web: fimma.feriavalencia.com

Manezh, Pobeditiley Ave, 20/2, Minsk, Belarus Tel: +375 17 2269083, 2269858 Fax: +375 17 2269858, 2269936 Email: julia@minskexpo.com Web: www.minskexpo.com

27-29: Woodworking Machinery & Supply Expo Direct Energy Centre, Toronto, Canada Tel: +866 967 2015 Fax: +630 929 8994 Email: wms@heiexpo.com Web: www.woodworkingexpo.ca

To be considered for inclusion in the Calendar of Events, send details of event (name, date, venue, organiser contact) to: The Editor FDM Asia Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd 1100 Lower Delta Road EPL Building #02-05 Singapore 169206 Tel: (65) 6379 2888 • Fax: (65) 6379 2805 Email: fdmasia@epl.com.sg

Belgrade Fair Belgrade, Serbia Tel: +381 (0)11 265 5307 Fax: +381 (0)11 265 5224 Email: namestaj@sajam.rs Web: www.sajam.co.rs

Dubai World Trade Centre Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 (0) 4 4380355 Fax: +971 (0) 4 4382357 Web: www.indexexhibition.com

25-28: Woodworking International Specialised Exhibition 10-11: VDMA Management Seminar (Vietnam)

Fax: +81 3 3262 8442 Email: info@ifft-interiorlifestyleliving.com Web: www.ifft-interiorlifestyleliving.com/en/

NOVEMBER 2-4: IFFT Interior Lifestyle Living Tokyo International Exhibition Center Tokyo, Japan Tel: +81 3 3262 8443

Tel Aviv Fairgrounds Tel Aviv, Israel Tel: +03 688 2929 Fax: +03 688 3031 Web: www.sbl.co.il

21-25: ZOW Moscow Expocentr Moscow, Russia Tel: +7 (812) 320 8096/8865 Fax: +7 (812) 320 8090 Email: zow@restec.ru Web: www.zow.ru

25 Nov-5 Dec: Philippine Furniture & Furnishings Show Megatrade Hall 1, SM Megamall Mandaluyong City, Philippines Tel: +63 2 631 2834/9007 Fax: +63 2 631 2977 Web: www.cfip.ph

29 Nov-2 Dec: WOODEX 2011 Pavilion 1, Crocus Expo Exhibiton Centre, Moscow, Russia Tel: +7 495 925 34 13, ext. 210 Fax: +7 495 925 34 13 Email: avn@mvk.ru Web: www.woodexpo.ru

*All details subject to change without notice. Please check with organisers for updates.

Product highlights Elesa: Machine Components

SCM Group: Edgebander

The DD52R box indicator features a lowered height case suited to woodworking machines — they may be assembled by passing onto a machine spindle in any angular position to give a direct reading of the machine component. Stainless steel bushings are available as is protection to IP67 if required.

The Ergostyle range of machine elements includes the ERM range of adjustable clamping handles in epoxycoated zinc die. These handles are suitable for applications where space is tight as they allow partial tightening with a limited arc, then release and reverse to tighten again over the same arc.

The VB639 series provide up to 130 mm diameter of rugged leverage for heavy duty operation — where the application of a hammer may be required.

The VRTP spoked handwheels offer a solution for high torque double-handed operation. Sizes are available from 80 mm diameter up to 373 mm.

The Stefani One Touch is a single-sided edgebander designed for just-in-time/batch-of-one processing. The machine performs gluing, edging and tool changes with one touch of the finger. This technology eliminates set-up time and the need to open the cabinet for edge changeover or glue regulation, as well as reducing machine stoppage for processing changes which leads to increased production output.

It can be equipped for thin, ABS and solid wood edge processing. Up to five different glue types can be separately selected. The EPP-Eco Power Pack enables energy saving and the double hard disk equipped on the machine allows continuous data back up.

The machine comes with an ED System, which ensures chip and dust extraction with less energy consumption, and Opti-Cut which optimises cut and reduce wastage.

ENQUIRY NO. P781

ENQUIRY NO. P783

FSB: Window & Door Hardware

Vollmer: Processing Software

The various system elements come in a number of different finishes for a broad range of needs, specifically aluminium silver anodised, stainless steel satin matt and bronze bright patinated.

A two-stage staining process makes for a great degree of surface compaction on aluminium silver anodised products, and as such is resistant to corrosion, light and the elements.

Hardware with a stainless steel satin matt finish is ideal for fitting to heavily used doors and windows. Bronze furniture has resistance to corrosion, high tensile strength and good hardness, because a copper-tin alloy that is 92 percent copper has been used.

With the copper in the alloy also having disinfectant properties, bronze bright patinated finishes are suitable for use in hospitals and care units with exacting hygiene regimes.

The ExLevel Software helps to design polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tipped boring bits by generating a simulation based on 3D solids. This enables the universal grinding machine QXD 200 to produce the boring bits.

The grinding machine measures, erodes, and sharpens PCD cutting tips of all kinds in one clamping.

Wide-ranged automation enables the machine to create various types of PCD tools with up to 250 mm diameter and 200 mm length.

Six CNC axes form the basis of this operation which makes manual intervention unnecessary and reduces downtimes.

3D-CAD data generated by the software will remain available after programming for further subsequent applications. As such, the CAD-data can be used in different CAD, CAM or CAE systems.

ENQUIRY NO. P782

ENQUIRY NO. P784

www.fdmasia.com | FDM ASIA october 2011

71

Advertising Index Enquiry Number

Advertisers / Agency

Page Number

263

American Hardwood Export Council IFC

057

American Lumber Co

29

297

Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd (WMF Beijing 2012)

67

289 Baillie Lumber Co

199 Bino (SH) Machinery Co Ltd

5

295 China Foma (Group) Co Ltd

51

279 Dieffenbacher GmbH Maschinen - und Anlagenbau

1

253 DunHua Yalian Machine Co Ltd

37

204

Fulpow Industrial Corp

72

258

Holy Wood Industrial Corp

49

293

Heinrich KUPER GmbH & Co KG

27

264 Internet Wood Glue Co Ltd

7

296 Internet Wood Glue Co Ltd

65

290 IMA AG Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

25

234 Java Berhad

39

180 Jeffer Machinery Co Ltd

59

299

Koelnmesse Pte Ltd (FurniPro Asia 2012)

15

292

Koelnmesse Co Ltd (Interzum Guangzhou 2012)

45

33

280 Northwest Hardwoods Inc

31

288 Sandvik South East Asia Pte Ltd

11

291 Surteco Pte Ltd OBC

261 Siempelkamp Maschinen - und Anlagenbau GmbH & Co KG

3

294 Taihao Woodworking Machinery Co Ltd

41

108 Taihao Woodworking Machinery Co Ltd

63

251 Technik Associates Inc

55

282 Tong Fong Cutters Co Ltd

43

298 Thermwood India

17

203 Wen Chih Machinery Industrial Co Ltd

47

268 Wagner Meters

53

226 Wilhelm Altendorf GmbH & Co KG Machinenbau

21

200 Wemhoener (Changzhou) Machinery Co Ltd IBC

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This quick reference guide is provided as an additional service.

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