PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/14/20 8:29 AM Page 1
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:29 PM Page 2
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 9:24 AM Page 3
TA K I N G
STOCK
WHERE PLANS TAKE SHAPE
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. Street Address: 225 Hanrick Street Montgomery, AL 36104-3317 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 Telephone: 334-834-1170 Fax 334-834-4525
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Publisher David H. Ramsey Chief Operating Officer Dianne C. Sullivan
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Editor-In-Chief Rich Donnell Senior Editor Dan Shell Senior Associate Editor David Abbott Senior Associate Editor Jessica Johnson Associate Editor Patrick Dunning
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Publisher/Editor Emeritus David (DK) Knight
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Production Manager/Art Director Cindy Segrest Ad Production Coordinator Patti Campbell Circulation Director Rhonda Thomas Online Content & Marketing Manager Jacqlyn Kirkland
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Advertising Sales Manager David H. Ramsey • (334) 834-1170
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES SOUTHERN U.S. Kathy Sternenberg • (251) 928-4962 ksternenberg@bellsouth.net Classified Advertising Bridget DeVane • (334) 669-7837 • 1-800-669-5613 bdevane7@hotmail.com MIDWEST USA, EASTERN CANADA John Simmons Mar-Tech Communications 32 Foster Cres. Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1R 1W1 (905) 666-0258 Fax: (905) 666-0778 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com WESTERN USA, WESTERN CANADA Tim Shaddick 4056 West 10th Ave, Vancouver BC Canada V6L 1Z1 604-910-1826 Fax: (604) 264-1397 E-mail: tootall1@shaw.ca Kevin Cook (604) 619-1777 E-mail: lordkevincook@gmail.com INTERNATIONAL Murray Brett 58 Aldea de las Cuevas Buzon 60 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain Tel: +34 96 640 4165 +34 96 640 4048 E-mail: murray.brett@abasol.net
F
rom the looks of it going in, the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), which is scheduled for March 12-13 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Ga., is offering up its best lineup of speakers and sessions since the inaugural PELICE in 2008. That’s saying something, because there have been some good ones. Take a look at some of the keynote speakers from producer companies from both the structural and non-structural sides of the wood products industry: Ashlee Cribb of Roseburg, Steve Carroll of Arauco, Mark Lindquist of Huber, Bernd Bielfeldt and Luciano Tiburzi of Egger, Terry Secrest of RoyOMartin, Jerry Uhland of CalPlant I. All of these people and their companies have been in recent years or are currently going through some major mill projects. They’ll be addressing these projects but also providing insight on the makeup and direction of their companies as we enter the year of perfect vision. If you look at the titles of some of their talks, you see “Growth through Innovation,” “Building a Future,” “Journey to a World Class Safety Culture.” As always, the PELICE keynote lineup includes somebody who can provide the “big picture” in terms of production, market and economic trends for North America. That would be Frank Goecke of AFRY (formerly Pöyry), whose talk on the second morning of PELICE is entitled: “Dynamics in Wood-Based Panels and Engineered Wood Products—Opportunities and Challenges for the North American Industry.” Breakout sessions on the first day include Handling & Process Technologies, Project Implementation (if you want some insight into project engineering and construction, this is a must), Air Emissions Treatment, Board Scanning Technologies, and Women in Manufacturing. We noticed that last year RoyOMartin held a Women in Manufactur-
ing Day,” so we decided to insert the topic in PELICE, and as a result Michelle Driscoll from RoyOMartin and Anna Umphress from Georgia-Pacific will deliver talks on the subject. One thing that stands out about 2020 PELICE is that the second day sessions are exceptionally strong including: Mass Timber Developments, Fiber Developments, EWP Performance and Process Improvements (those sessions combined include 14 presentations). All of these follow the morning keynote session, which includes three speeches, ranging from markets to adhesives to decorative veneer. The amazing thing is that all of this is concluded by noon. PELICE has always prided itself on packing a lot into what amounts to a day and a half long conference. As we go into PELICE, impeachment is over, the presidential primaries are upon us, housing starts have ticked upward, and the stock market (as I write this anyway) has been very good. As you read this you can probably still preregister on the show site: www.pelice-expo.com, and by all means feel free to walk up the day of the conference and register at the PELICE desk in the Omni North Tower PW Grand Ballroom.
RICH DONNELL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Ph: 334-834-1170 Fax: 334-834-4525 e-mail: rich@hattonbrown.com
PanelWorld • MARCH 2020 • 3
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 12:04 PM Page 4
(Founded as P l y w o o d & P a n e l in 1960—Our 501st consecutive issue) VOLUME 61 NO. 2
MARCH 2020
Visit our web site: www.panelworldmag.com
PROJECTS Pollmeier
60
20-48
SUPPLY LINES WMF In China
64
PELICE PREVIEW Speakers, Exhibitors
TAKING STOCK PELICE 2020
3
PANELWORKS Classified Advertising
66
50 PLYWOOD TODAY Where It Stands
GEO DIRECTORY Veneer/Panel Suppliers
67 EVENTS PELICE
UPDATE OSB Was Up
70
6
EXHIBITORS Here’s The List
20
AGENDA Speakers Lineup
22
SPONSORS Thanks To Them
26
COVER: Following a fire Manthei Veneer could have pulled in the reins on its hardwood veneer facility in Petoskey, Mich. Instead it chose to rebuild with a new Meinan lathe. Story begins on PAGE 12. (Jessica Johnson photo)
Panel World (ISSN 1048-826X) is published bimonthly by Plywood & Panel World, Inc., P.O. Box 2268, Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 (334) 834-1170, Fax (334) 8344525. Subscription Information— PW is sent free to owners, operators, managers, purchasing agents, supervisors and foremen at veneer operations, plywood plants, composite products plants, structural and decorative panel mills, engineered wood products plants and allied export-import businesses throughout the world. All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $50 annually; $60 in Canada; $95 (Airmail) in all other countries (U.S. funds). Single copies, $5 each; special issues, $20 (U.S. funds). Subscription Inquiries—TOLL-FREE 800-669-5613; Fax 888-611-4525. Go to www.panelworldmag.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe or renew via the web. All advertisements for Panel World magazine are accepted and published by Plywood & Panel World, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold Plywood & Panel World, Inc. harmless from and against any loss, expenses, or other liability resulting from any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Plywood & Panel World, Inc. neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee as to the quality of goods and services advertised in Panel World. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to reject any advertisement which it deems inappropriate. Copyright ® 2020. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Printed in USA. Member, Verified Audit Circulation Managed By Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc.
4 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:50 AM Page 5
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 10:11 AM Page 6
UPDATE
ARAUCO CLOSING EUGENE MDF
ARAUCO announced it is closing its medium density fiberboard (MDF) production facility in Eugene, Ore. as of May 1. ARAUCO states it will continue to support customers from its other facilities, and that the decision was based on an assessment over several years that the older manufacturing platform was less competitive compared to the company’s other more advanced MDF platforms. “Decisions regarding plant closures are difficult,” says Pablo Franzini, president of ARAUCO North America. “We are working diligently to provide options for Eugene employees to help them through a difficult transition. We are committed to meeting our customers’ needs from our other facilities.” A month earlier ARAUCO announced it is closing its particleboard line in Moncure, NC Carolina as of April. It cited similar reasons. ARAUCO’s Moncure MDF line will be integrated with a molding line to create
an advanced MDF millwork operation that will drive efficiencies and support the company’s commitment to provide customers with value-added products. “The new investment will strengthen our millwork footprint to better serve our customers,” Franzini says.
WEYCO SELLS MORE TIMBERLAND
Weyerhaeuser is selling 630,000 acres of timberland in Montana to a private timberland investment company for $145 million in cash. “The sale of our Montana acreage is part of our ongoing effort to strategically optimize our timberland portfolio,” comments Devin Stockfish, president and CEO of Weyerhaeuser. “The transaction includes a diverse mix of softwood species and an existing 110,000 acre conservation easement which preserves public access in perpetuity.” The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020. The company’s three manufacturing
facilities in Montana are not affected by this announcement. “Our manufacturing operations in Montana continue to deliver strong results,” Devin adds. “Our people have done an outstanding job driving improvement in safety and operational excellence over the past several years, and they also do terrific work to support the communities where we operate.” In November Weyerhaeuser completed the sale of 555,000 acres of timberland in northern Michigan.
OSB OUTPUT HAD SLIGHT UPTICK
OSB production in the U.S. in 2019 was 15.354 billion SF, up 1.5% from 2018, while Canadian output was down 9.1% to 7.631 billion SF, reports APA— The Engineered Wood Assn. Plywood output in the U.S. was 8.557 billion SF, down 3.5% from 2018, while Canadian production was down 2.4% to 1.922 billion SF. For the year, glulam production in the U.S. of 280.4MMBF was down very lit-
6 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:29 PM Page 7
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 10:11 AM Page 8
UPDATE
tle from 2018, while Canada had a modest increase to 23.1MMBF. U.S. production of I-joist was 464 million linear feet, a drop of 9.8%, while Canada’s output was 249.6 million linear feet, down 1%. LVL output in the U.S. was 67.4 million cubic feet, down from 71.3, and was 6.5 million cubic feet in Canada, down from 7 million.
production from our spreader and our PLV (parallel laminated veneer) line.” Taihei designed and produced the press. Installation crews were sourced locally, while Taihei supervised the installation.
FRERES INSTALLS HORIZONTAL PRESS
Boise Cascade Co. announced three promotions. Rob Johnson has been promoted to Vice President of Engineered Wood Products (EWP) Sales and Marketing. Johnson joined the company’s Wood Products division as a business optimization engineer in 2014, and accepted a director position with EWP Sales and Marketing in March 2019. Chris Seymour has been promoted to Vice President of Manufacturing Operations, Wood Products. Seymour began his career at Boise Cascade in 2000 and has held several leadership roles in the company’s manufacturing division. Jeff Strom has been promoted to Vice President & General Manager, Eastern Region, Building Materials Distribution. Strom joined Boise Cascade in 2006 as a sales representative and has taken on increased responsibility over the last 14 years. Previously, Boise Cascade announced that Nate Jorgensen becomes its new CEO effective March 6. He replaces Tom Corrick, who is retiring from his roles as CEO and director. Jorgensen has 33 years of experience in the forest products industry, joining the Boise Cascade engineered wood products (EWP) marketing team in 2015. He was promoted to senior vice president in 2017 to lead the EWP sales and marketing organization, and was named chief operating officer (COO) in January 2019. “It is a privilege to lead this organization and our 6,100 talented associates,” Jorgensen comments. “I share our senior leadership’s passion for operational excellence, strategic market growth and exceptional customer service. By leveraging our integrated business model, we are well positioned to focus on the opportunities that lie ahead.” Corrick began his Boise Cascade career in 1980 as an internal auditor. He went on to hold a number of leadership roles, culminating with his appointment to CEO in March 2015.
Freres Lumber reports it is the first North America company to install and operate the Taihei horizontal press Model P25-AB, a hot press for laminating plywood after gluing and prepressing. Freres says it is already reaping numerous benefits it says the horizontal press offers over conventional U.S. vertical presses. The horizontal press differs from conventional vertical presses in that the heat plates are installed vertically and apply pressure to the plywood horizontally. The new press was installed between Thanksgiving and Christmas and was fully operational on December 17. This horizontal press increases production efficiency, maximizes the uniformity of contact pressure, is easier to install and maintain, is safer and is more energy efficient, according to Freres. The horizontal press does not require a dedicated operator— the system has an automatic feed system. This latest investment reflects Freres’ commitment to providing new, highquality products to the plywood and engineered wood markets. The horizontal press is designed to produce 10 ft. plywood, which will provide the opportunity to produce long length panels in the future, though the company has no plans to do so at this time. Additionally, the new system has a small footprint in relation to the number of platens, allowing Freres to install this 60-opening press, where previously there had been a 24opening press. The new horizontal press sits on a cement slab. “We are committed to investing in advanced technology to keep Freres current and competitive, and have always looked to the future when making equipment and product decisions,” says Kyle Freres, vice president of operations for Freres Lumber. “This new horizontal press will broaden the range of products we can offer, by freeing up two other presses to accept additional
BOISE ANNOUNCES PERSONNEL MOVES
8 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:29 PM Page 9
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 10:11 AM Page 10
UPDATE
IS DOGWOOD FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
A Future Forest + Jobs analysis of a Dogwood Alliance report finds that Dogwood’s policy recommendations would reduce carbon sequestration by 35%, shrink forest area, and eliminate more than 70,000 jobs in North Carolina. “These groups care more about attacking the forest products and bioenergy sectors than making smart, scientifically-supported climate and energy policy,” comments Brian Rogers, spokesman for Future Forest + Jobs. “The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other leading climate science authorities have repeatedly confirmed that renewable wood bioenergy like that harvested in North Carolina plays a vital role in replacing fossil fuels and meeting the great challenge of global climate change.” In collaboration with the Oregon-based Center for Sustainable Economy (CSE), the Dogwood Alliance examined the carbon impact of North Carolina’s forest products industry. According to Future
Forests, Dogwood/CSE concluded that industrial logging was the state’s third– largest source of emissions and advocated for a massive government intervention into private land ownership in order to maximize carbon sequestration from North Carolina’s forestland. According to Future Forest + Jobs, citing a review of the Dogwood/CSE study by the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI), a nonprofit that provides scientific research about the forest products industry, Dogwood/CSE’s report is full of “analytical errors and significant omissions and oversights.” One such oversight, according to Future Forests, is that the Dogwood/CSE study assumes that “regenerating forests sequester carbon more slowly than older forest stands.” As NCASI notes, “It is widely known that young forests sequester carbon more rapidly than older forests, so replacement of an older forest with a younger one means more annual sequestration per acre, not less.” Dogwood Alliance/CSE makes two
overall recommendations: They discuss the benefits of longer forest rotation periods, even rotations as long as 90 years. And they advocate for massive government regulation on private landowners to force them to maintain their forests into maturity. Instead of growing forests, Dogwood/CSE’s mandate would encourage landowners to switch from forestry to other more carbon-intensive, income-producing alternatives such as farming, cattle ranching, or selling off their land for development. All of these would have adverse climate effects, as they would completely eliminate forest acreage. North Carolina State University reports that the forest products industry is a critical sector for North Carolina. Forest products manufacturing directly employs more than 70,000 and supports more than 144,000 jobs statewide. The forest products industry generates nearly $1 billion in state, local and federal tax revenues. Future Forests + Jobs (FFJ) is an initiative of the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association (USIPA).
10 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 11
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 12:23 PM Page 12
MICHIGAN HARDWOOD VENEER PRODUCER RISES FROM THE ASHES Family company makes the decision to rebuild; industry sees first major investment in hardwood veneer in many years. BY JESSICA JOHNSON
PETOSKEY, Mich. ike many have before, and likely many will in the coming years, Manthei Veneer had a fire. The green end of the rotary face veneer mill in picturesque Petoskey was a total loss in August 2017. After squeaking by during the downturn, focusing on getting as lean as possible while still providing top quality products, the fire caused President (and third generation family owner) Jeremy Manthei to question whether it was going to make sense to rebuild. “We had to take some time to figure out if it was time to call it good,” he explains of the gut reaction to the fire. The business, built by his grandfather and his grandfather’s brother more than 75 years ago, is in an industry that has faced some challenges over the last number of years. “The domestic hardwood plywood industry has been fairly volatile recently. It’s a good industry with a lot of great people, but I don’t think it is growing, at least not right now. Imports have been eating into the domestic producers’ market share for the last 20 years through foreign direct government subsidies and other illegal practices,” the current Chairman of the Decorative Hardwoods Assn. (formerly HPVA) says bluntly. “But, we employ a large
L
The brand new Meinan lathe has vastly improved peel quality for Manthei Veneer.
number of people in a relatively small town, and we don’t like to quit. We thought if we’re going to do this rebuild, we need to do something better than what we were doing before.” So the sizable Manthei family, and the Manthei family of companies’ board met and decided—they would rebuild, coming back stronger and with higher tech. Gone was the serviceable Coe lathe, the conditioning vats and all log handling equipment. The winter of 2017 saw representatives from many of the popular equipment manufacturers visiting coastal Petoskey. Manthei reviewed proposals from several based on his “wish list” and explanation of what the operation is striving for in hardwood veneer production. While he says each company had
pros and cons, ultimately the board felt confident in Meinan Machinery Works ability to translate what the mill wanted to do in the future, taking current production to the next level of quality and thickness tolerance. Manthei explains, “Meinan seemed like the ones that understood what we were trying to do the most and seemed like they had the best solution. Anna McCann (Merritt Machinery President and Meinan representative in North America) great to deal with. It wasn’t necessarily a price issue, but instead it was their design.” When it came to log handling equipment, while the family looked at tons of options, Morbark ultimately got the business for all debarking equipment and log conveyors. A local engineering firm handled the conversion (and
12 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 12:23 PM Page 13
subsequent build) of steam to water conditioning vats, supported by equipment from Process Engineering and Equipment Co. “This is a tough business and very competitive, so long term we’re still making a lot of improvements. We want to make the best veneer in the world, period. So our goal is to manufacture the smoothest veneer by completely eliminating all manufacturing induced defects: rough grain, knife nicks, end stain and splits, all while holding perfect thickness tolerance and the best color. We made a lot of improvements in our process in getting the veneer to come out a lot whiter than the old mill,” Manthei emphasizes. Once the Board met and the decision was made, the timeline was relatively quick. The first half of 2018 was dedicated to design work and needed engineering, plus ordering equipment. Construction began in the second half of 2018. Manthei Veneer’s mill peeled its first hardwood log using the new Meinan lathe in April 2019. Commercial production really hit its stride in May 2019, Manthei says, and production capacity has continued to ramp up incrementally. Manthei says it is hard to pinpoint an exact annual production number because of the vast array of products the
mill produces. The mill is set up to be able to run anything between thicknesses of 1/12 to 1/82 of an inch, in all the major North American hardwood species. Instead of measuring square feet, Manthei tracks production revenue by shift. At the end of 2019, the mill was running one shift, with the goal of going to three shifts. The mill prides itself on being one of the most nimble hardwood veneer producers in North America with the widest variety of hardwood veneer products in stock, including all rotary and plain sliced face veneer species. Being nimble with a wide variety also means sometimes the mill moves slower, but efforts are being made to be faster. Manthei says the project was fairly smooth, mainly because the Manthei family owns a portfolio of companies that includes one in heavy construction and three ready mix concrete plants. This allowed the project management to stay in house—while also leveraging expertise in the local talent pool for things like excavation and placing concrete. The nine-month project timeline was slightly aggressive, considering northern Michigan’s climate can be brutal, but crews had the building pretty much closed in by winter. They were still doing some concrete work with the vats in win-
ter using ground heaters, which Manthei says was a pain, but they are used to it and know how to work in winter. “It was a blessing it came together. We were within a week or so of the estimated start date, which we felt good about, and we felt good about being within our budget. Not everything we do is on time and on budget but this one was!” Manthei says with exuberance. “We handpicked who we knew would work efficiently. That was a real benefit we had in this process—the expertise in our family and in our team.”
OPERATIONS Seventy-five years ago the family wasn’t what you would call experts in the veneer business. Jeremy Manthei says Ted and Ernie Manthei were the classic first-generation group—real hardworking dudes that didn’t speak English as kids—working the land to grow and farm berries. When wooden berry crates became difficult to procure, the brothers decided they wanted to make their own and purchased, what they thought was, a machine to make the crates. Instead it was a veneer lathe the brothers had absolutely no idea how to operate. The lathe, a far cry from what Ted and Ernie’s descendants would purchase in 2018, was stashed in
Third generation family owner and Manthei Veneer company President, Jeremy Manthei
PanelWorld • MARCH 2020 • 13
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 2:07 PM Page 14
a barn and ignored for a few years. “Someone came along and told them that what they had was a veneer lathe and recommended someone who could help them get it into production. So, they set it up and within a couple days they were making really good maple veneer. Come to find out we’re not located in a very good area for strawberries, but we happen to have some of the highest quality hard maple and red oak timber in all of North America right in our back yard. Buying the wrong machine for berry crates turned out to be a real blessing. I think that’s why we’ve been able to stay in business for so long,” Manthei says. The quality of the resource within the local area is what Manthei says drove the business into the direction of higher end maple and oak veneer. Logs are procured mostly from local sawmills or foresters; some are resold, but most are peeled in Petoskey. “We’re very selective in the type of logs we peel,” he says. Before the fire, logs were delivered, conditioned and peeled at a different site than drying and splicing. Now, everything but log delivery and merchandizing happens on the same site. For Manthei, merchandizing logs properly is critical and he says that’s a big part of any kind of veneer operation: understanding how to merchandize the resource to the highest and best value. Once logs have been merchandized, trucks carry them to the main mill site. Logs are conditioned using the new 10 tank water vats, which have given the mill more consistent cooking and an improvement in peel quality, while also eliminating end stain, which is a big benefit of the new veneer for Manthei’s customers. Once conditioned, logs are cut to length and debarked. Once debarked, logs are charged, peeled and veneer is reeled. Meinan provided the charger for before the lathe, the 8 ft. lathe and the reeling system. The highly automated Meinan 8 ft. lathe combined with a new Taihei knife grinder has allowed the mill to peel the variety of species Manthei says are critical to operations, including low density hardwoods like poplar and basswood that the older lathe struggled with as it was a time consuming process to change knife profiles. While unreeling and a Merritt clipper were untouched by the fire and therefore not part of the 2018 capital investment, as it was previously the start of the mill on the site, there were changes that had
Manthei Veneer is processing 50% more sheets of veneer using the new Meinan lathe.
10 water vats give consistent cooking and have improved peel quality.
14 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 15
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 12:28 PM Page 16
Log handling, debarking and cut to length machinery provided by Morbark
to be made to accommodate the lathe. The Keller screen dryer Manthei uses was put in in the late 1980s. To handle the increased workload and varying thicknesses (including the incredibly thin sheets), improvements to the dryer controls were made to try to get more
throughput and increase quality. Manthei’s moisture content target is between 8-12%. The dryer is the biggest bottleneck currently in the mill. It’s not the drying per se, but instead keeping the dryer full and able to handle the thin veneer fast.
Four grading lines finish the process. Veneer is graded to both industry standards and custom/customer-specific grades. Manthei says the bulk of veneer is sold as sheets, dry and graded. A small percentage ends up in the family’s own specialty plywood operation. The ability to produce thinner veneer, in addition to their core products of 1/32 and 1/42 in. thick veneers, Manthei believes, is where a future competitive advantage is with the Meinan lathe—the mill is able to peel veneer sheets as thin as Asian producers who are constantly pushing the worldwide industry standards. “We’re now able to peel down 1/82 of an inch thick (.3 mm). The industry standard thicknesses for maple veneer in North America is either 1/42 or 1/38 of an inch thick, which our new lathe also peels extremely well. The Chinese have figured out how to peel down to 1/82, and they’ve been able to get a lot of business because of it,” Manthei explains. “I’ve been over to China; they peel veneer half as thick as North American producers. On a thinner piece of plywood, a cabinet
16 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 12:24 PM Page 17
door insert for example, they are able to take significant cost out of the panel, since veneer is such a large percentage of the total cost.” This competitive edge is what helped Meinan win Manthei’s business. During his trips abroad, Manthei noticed that while others might be able to peel veneer that thin, they are doing so at extremely slow speeds with a lot of labor. Also, the veneer from Asia is often very low quality since the logs are shipped in containers from North America and are stained and discolored due to the long transit times. “We are able to peel very thin veneer at industrial speeds, with high quality and great color, all while paying a living wage and keeping jobs in the U.S.,” he says with pride. The mill is able to use its small-scale specialty plywood plant to test the extremely thin veneer and help show customers what it can do. “We were able to learn the recipes for higher levels of production of plywood with thin veneers. And we offer those to our customers so they can know how to do it effectively. That’s a brand new product so people are still doing trials,” he adds. Manthei says that aside from machin-
The existing Merritt Machinery clipper has handled the uptick in production well.
ery, the biggest investment the company has made has been in more technical maintenance personnel. The company recently hired its own controls engineers, as machines become more and more automated, and therefore difficult
to fix. Manthei explains, “Our maintenance manager is a controls engineer; we’ve tried to invest in more technical maintenance people in the last couple years, as I am sure every mill like us is—the equipment is getting a lot more
PanelWorld • MARCH 2020 • 17
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 2:18 PM Page 18
A fire in 2017 devastated the green end of Manthei Veneer, resulting in a total loss.
sophisticated. We’re trying to build our human capital accordingly.” The Taihei knife grinder the mill purchased does a combination of grinding and honing, which Manthei says he really likes because of its ability to accurately do microbevels, making everything more precise. “It’s expensive,” he recognizes. But for the Manthei family, the investment was worth it for the completely better peel quality than what the mill was running before. Looking to the future, Manthei says though the dryer infeed was tweaked in April 2019, the entire downstream process needs to be moving faster and better equipped to handle veneer that is incrementally getting thinner and thinner. 50% more sheets of veneer are moving through the plant per shift as they did prior to the fire. For Manthei, that’s a
The family’s small specialty plywood plant tests new products using thin veneer.
huge step in the right direction. “We can’t control the market, so we’re just focusing on what we can control. We can get better and continue to make quality improvements,” he notes. The mill, despite the uncertainty the fire brought, was able to hold on to the bulk of employees—about 100 in total—making what Manthei calls a really good team. The team is a big part of the mill’s success, which Manthei also credits to the mill’s overall offerings: “We’re a fairly nimble operator, maybe because we’re smaller and striving to be innovative. If the market shrinks or grows, being flexible is important. It’s easy to just run the same thing every day. But if we can provide the best value to our customers by offering the highest quality veneer, competitive pricing, and a real freight and inventory savings by filling out trucks with a variety of species and cuts, we believe there’s a place for a company like ours in whatever size market there is.” PW 18 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:50 AM Page 19
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/13/20 10:41 AM Page 20
MARCH 12-13, 2020
Omni Hotel at CNN Center • Atlanta, GA, USA
2020 EXHIBITORS A-LERT Construction & Services Addinol Lube Oil Gmbh Altec Integrated Solutions Andritz Ashland Atlantic Combustion Automation Industries Biomass Engineering & Equipment BKB Industrial Brunette Machinery C.C. JENSEN Casey Industrial Civil & Environmental Consultants Cogent Industrial Technologies Con-Vey Continental Conveyor Costa Sanders Custom Engineering CV Technology Decorative Hardwoods Assn. Dieffenbacher USA Dieffenbacher-Zaisenhausen Maschinenfabrik Dürr Systems Eagle Projects Services Electronic Wood Systems N.A. Evergreen Engineering Evertree Technologies EWTA-Engineered Wood Technology Assn. Fagus GreCon
Flamex Fromm Packaging Systems Georgia-Pacific Chemicals Globe Machine Grenzebach Hansen-Rice Hexion Hurst Boiler & Welding IMAL-PAL Group IPCO Isel Itipack Systems Jones Construction Kimwood KraftPowercon Laidig Systems LDX Solutions LIGNOR Lonza Wood Protection Matros Technologies Matthews Marking Systems Mid-South Engineering MoistTech NESTEC Nextwire Panel World Paratherm Heat Transfer Fluids Player Design Process Combustion Process Sensors ProChem Quantum Chemical Raute-Metriguard
REA JET Roo Glue Samuel Coding & Labelling Schrader Verfahrenstechnik SEMCO SHW–Storage & Handling Solutions Siempelkamp LP Sigma Thermal Signode Southern Environmental SparTek Industries Spraying Systems Co. Steinemann Technology USA Sweed Machinery Tanguay Tebulo Industrial Robotics Timber Automation Timber Products Inspection (TPI) Timber Structures 3.0 (TS3) Top Wood Jobs TSI USNR Venango Machine Veneer Services Wechsler Engineering West Salem Machinery Westmill Industries Willamette Valley Co. WPS Industries Wrapabull (As of February 12, 2020)
20 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 21
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 1:18 PM Page 22
MARCH 12-13, 2020 Omni Hotel at CNN Center Atlanta, GA, USA THURSDAY, MARCH 12 EXHIBITORS/ATTENDEES BREAKFAST (Grand Ballroom North) 7:30-8:30 a.m.
11:35–Noon Executing Projects in the Digital Age —Bijan Shams, President, Cogent Industrial Technologies
MORNING KEYNOTERS SESSION (Rooms B-C)
HANDLING & PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES (Oak Room)
8:30-8:35 a.m. Welcoming Remarks and Keynoters Introduction —Rich Donnell, Conference CoChairman; Editor-in-Chief, Panel World
10:35-11:00 a.m. An Honest Appraisal of Current Softwood Lathe Systems and Thoughts about the Future —Alan Knokey, Vice President, USNR
8:40-9:05 a.m. Growth through Investment and Innovation —Ashlee Cribb, Senior VP-Chief Commercial Officer, Roseburg Forest Products
11:05-11:30 a.m. Smart Material Handling – Good Designs Are NOT More Expensive —Dane Floyd, President, Veneer Services
9:10-9:35 a.m. Arauco Grayling: Building a Future —Steve Carroll, Vice President Manufacturing, Arauco NA
11:35–Noon Robotics in Wood Products —Jeremy Goebel, Sales Manager, Con-Vey
9:40-10:05 a.m. Huber Engineered Woods—Spring City Plant Restart —Mark Lindquist, VP-Operations, Huber Engineered Woods
EXHIBITORS/ATTENDEES LUNCH (Grand Ballroom North) 12:05-1:25 p.m. AFTERNOON KEYNOTERS SESSION (Rooms B-C) 1:30-1:35 p.m. Remarks and Remembrance —Dan Shell, Senior Editor, Panel World
TIME OUT WITH EXHIBITORS (Grand Ballroom North) 10:10-10:30 a.m. MID MORNING SESSION (Rooms B-C) 10:35-10:40 a.m. Remarks and Introductions —Fred Kurpiel, Conference CoChairman; President, Georgia Research Institute 10:45-11:05 a.m. Introducing Egger Lexington, NC: A State-of-the-Art Particleboard Manufacturing Plant —Bernd Bielfeldt, Division Director Technics and Production Americas, Egger 11:10-11:30 a.m. Positioning Egger High-Quality TFL for North America’s Growing Furniture Industry —Luciano Tiburzi, Division Director Sales and Marketing Americas, Egger
1:40-2:05 p.m. The RoyOMartin Journey to a World Class Safety Culture —Terry Secrest, Executive VP of Manufacturing and Product Sales, RoyOMartin 2:10-2:35 p.m. 20 Years, 8 Months, and 17 Days…But Who’s Counting —Jerry Uhland, CEO, CalPlant I
3:15-3:35 p.m. We Know a Thing or Two Because We’ve Seen a Thing or Two —Tom Lepak, VP Business Development, Casey Industrial 3:40-4:00 p.m. Using Knowledge Management Initiatives to Achieve Successful Project Implementation —Justin Price, Principal, Evergreen Engineering 4:05-4:25 p.m. Project Execution—Modern Tools and Classic Principles —Scott Stamey, Vice President/Sr. Project Manager, Mid-South Engineering 4:30-4:50 p.m. Relocating An Energy Plant, How, And Why Engineer It? —Tom Wechsler, President, Wechsler Engineering WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING (Room C) 3:10-3:35 p.m. A Look into Self-Growth, Working Outside the Norm and Mentoring Future Leaders —Michelle Driscoll, Technical and Environmental Manager, Corrigan OSB 3:40-4:05 p.m. If You See Her, You Can Be Her: Raising the Profile of Women In Manufacturing at Georgia-Pacific —Anna Umphress, Senior Director, Business Unit Communications, Georgia-Pacific
TIME OUT WITH EXHIBITORS 2:40-3:10 p.m.
AIR EMISSIONS TREATMENT (Oak Room)
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION (Room B)
3:10-3:35 p.m. Alternative Methods for Particulate Control in Particleboard Plants —Rodney Schwartz, Vice President Sales & Business Development Americas, Dürr Systems
3:05-3:10 p.m. Moderator Remarks —Bijan Shams, President, Cogent Industrial Technologies
22 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:31 AM Page 23
3:40-4:05 p.m. Base-Metal Catalysts in the Board Industry: Continuing Application Experience —Dr. Grigori Bunimovich, Owner and COO, Matros Technologies
9:40-10:05 a.m. Why Specify North American Decorative Hardwood Plywood and How? —Kip Howlett, President, Decorative Hardwoods Association
4:10-4:35 p.m. Forty Years of Wood Dryer Emission Control—Where Have We Been, Where Are We Going? —Steve Jaasund, Geoenergy Product Manager, LDX Solutions
TIME OUT WITH EXHIBITORS (Grand Ballroom North) 10:10-10:30 a.m.
SCANNING TECHNOLOGIES (Hickory Room)
10:30-10:50 a.m. Global Breakthrough of CLT – Markets and Technologies —Dominik Wolfschütz, Market Research Specialist, German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers Assn. (VDMA)
3:10-3:35 p.m. The Total View of Board Quality by HighResolution Ultrasonic Linear Array Scanning Technology —Konrad Solbrig, Head of Technology Wood-Based Composites, Electronic Wood Systems 3:40-4:05 p.m. 3-D ParticleView: Three-Dimensional Particle Measurement —Torben Marhenke, Research and Development, GreCon EXHIBITORS/ATTENDEES RECEPTION (Grand Ballroom North) 5:00-7:00 p.m.
FRIDAY, MARCH 13 EXHIBITORS/ATTENDEES BREAKFAST (Grand Ballroom North) 7:30-8:30 a.m. MORNING KEYNOTERS SESSION (Rooms B-C) 8:30-8:35 a.m. Welcoming Remarks —Fred Kurpiel, Conference CoChairman; President, Georgia Research Institute 8:40-9:05 a.m. Dynamics in Wood-Based Panels and Engineered Wood Products—Opportunities and Challenges for the North American Industry —Frank Goecke, Director, AFRY 9:10-9:35 a.m. Research and Development of IsocyanateFree and Formaldehyde-Free Cold-set Wood Adhesives —Kaichang Li, Professor, Chemical Engineering, Oregon State University
MASS TIMBER DEVELOPMENTS (Room B)
10:55-11:15 a.m. A Manufacturer’s Review of Supply Chain Challenges and Opportunities for the CLT Market —Charles Gale, Strategic Business Analyst, SmartLam North America
EWP PERFORMANCE (Oak Room) 10:30-10:55 a.m. Stranding Mainly Young Eucalyptus to Produce, Cost-Effectively, a Portfolio of Superior Performance Engineered Wood Products and Solutions, Including Cross Laminated Strand Timber —Graeme Black, CEO, Lignor 11:00-11:25 a.m. Effective Protection of Engineered Wood Products from Termite Attack —André Siraa, Global EWP Technical Manager, Lonza Wood Protection 11:30-11:55 a.m. Scrimber: How to Make Structural Material from Any Kind of Wood —Stefan Zöllig, Co-Owner, Timber Structures 3.0 PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS (Hickory Room)
11:20-11:40 a.m. Emerging Markets: Mass Timber Earns its Place —Scott McIntyre, North American Business Director Performance Adhesives, Forest Products Div., Hexion
10:30-10:50 a.m. Developments in Thermal Oil Pump Room Safety —Rob MacKrell, Manager, Projects, Wechsler Engineering
11:45–12:05 p.m. Detection of Internal Lack of Bond Defects in Wood Fiber Based Products —Clyde Steffens, Principal, Automation Industries
10:55-11:15 a.m. The Impact of Friction on Energy Consumption: A Case Study from the Wood Processing Industry —Steffen Bots, Technical Manager, Addinol
FIBER DEVELOPMENTS (Room C) 10:30-10:55 a.m. Keeping Structural and Decorative Wood Products Relevant: Development of Alternative Fibers, Products, and Processes —Richard Baldwin, CFO/Treasurer, Oak Creek Investments 11:00-11:25 a.m. Demonstrating the Value of Closed-Loop Biomass in Hybrid Panel Board Production —Wendy Owens, CEO, Hexas Biomass 11:30-11:55 a.m. The Emergence of Bamboo Building Materials in the 21st Century —Avery Chua, President, dasso USA
11:20-11:40 a.m. High Resistance Wear Boards —Bert Baumann, Sales Manager, BKB Industrial 11:45–12:05 p.m. The Lifeblood of Your Plant —Peter Smyth, Industry Sales Manager, C.C. Jensen CASH DRAWING (Grand Ballroom North) (Must be present to win) 12:30 p.m. LUNCH ON YOUR OWN
PanelWorld • MARCH 2020 • 23
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 24
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 10:57 AM Page 25
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 9:24 AM Page 26
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 9:24 AM Page 27
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 10:11 AM Page 28
Preview
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following editorial profiles are of companies that have placed advertisements in this issue of Panel World and that are also exhibiting at PELICE 2020. All statements and claims are attributable to these companies.
ALTEC INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS Altec is pleased to announce the installation and commissioning of a complete new lathe deck at Coastal Plywood in Havana, Fla. The installation includes a new veneer lathe, electric charger, AC spindle drive, step feeders and added tray drives. The project was delivered, installed, commissioned and started on schedule. The lathe is complete with our steel fabricated electric carriage, which is heavier and has a lower center of gravity than traditional carriages. The lower center of gravity and the wider, longer footprint substantially increase stability throughout the peel. The carriage has electric actuators on carriage travel, horizontal bar gap and knife pitch and, for the first time, an electric servo driven roller bar. Other features are hydraulic knife clamps, oil lubrication system and multi strand drive chain. Altec lathe systems receive extensive factory testing. The backup rolls are also heavier than traditional ones, provide better more stable tracking and through careful design are easier to set up and maintain. Also for the first time, the backup rolls are driven with electric servo motors. By driving the roller bar and backup rolls with electric servo motors we can precisely control speed and torque. Initial results indicate a dramatically improved peel quality with this technology. The lathe was built and extensively tested at our facility in Diboll, Texas. The electric charger, our fourth, was similarly factory tested. The extensive factory testing was crucial in ensuring installation and commissioning time was kept to a minimum. The combination of the electric charger, electric lathe actuators and electric motors mean that approximately 80% of the hydraulics are removed from the lathe deck area compared to a traditional lathe installation, dramatically reducing maintenance and cost of ownership. Booth 315.
28 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:53 AM Page 29
COGENT INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES Cogent is a professional services firm offering independent expertise in industrial technologies and project management to the woodbased panel board and wood pellet industries. Our technical expertise include process engineering, industrial safety, industrial automation, electrical, industrial IT and operations performance management systems delivering a totally integrated plant connecting equipment, processes and people. Our project management services include management of multidiscipline engineering, procurement management and construction oversight. From greenfield to modernization, our clients across the globe utilize our proven project execution methodology to successfully define, design, build and operate their industrial plant and to improve safety, productivity and efficiency in their operation. Cogent Industrial Technologies President Bijan Shams will be delivering a presentation at the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo. The presentation will focus on executing projects in the digital age, a topic that will resonate with the structural and non-structural wood products industries. The presentation will examine the complexity and challenges of delivering a project and managing post-project operational performance issues. Shams will demonstrate how digital platforms can sig- Cogent President Bijan Shams will deliver a presentation at nificantly improve the outcome of both initiatives as well as provid- PELICE. ing a platform for Industry 4.0 initiatives. “The digital age is having a transformational impact, enabling industrial operations with a competitive advantage. The purpose of this presentation is to show how deployment of digital platforms are significantly improving the management of projects and how these platforms are transitioned from project to operations to manage and improve operational performance,” Shams comments. Booth 107.
CON-VEY At Con-Vey innovative solutions are the standard. We provide proven designs and complete, heavy duty lines for material handling, including infeeds, outfeeds, controls, and hydraulic systems. Lines can include unstacking, stacking, gluing, pressing, packaging, edge profiling, and automated bundle cut saws. The pictured Billet Beam Press (cold press) was made for gluing LVL beams together. In order to achieve our customer’s needs and goals—such as thickness, width and length requirements— Con-Vey custom engineered this complete automated system. Most presses would be up to 24 in. wide and multiple lengths. However, ConVey produced these beam presses to be up to 4 ft. wide by 80 ft. long. The press and hydraulic power system create up to 150 lbs. per square inch of pressure. The press can be designed as pass thru or—in this Billet beam press built by Con-Vey is an innovative solution for customers. case—are loaded and unloaded by a cart system from one end to save space. This line allows for edge clean up on the finished beams as well as automatic sealing. The presses adjust automatically to different lengths as they are loaded. Cycle times vary based on adhesives and temperatures. The presses are cold platen type and can be used for laminated solid wood beams (glulam) as well as LVL. Booth 209.
PanelWorld • MARCH 2020 • 29
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:53 AM Page 30
CUSTOM ENGINEERING Custom Engineering is one of the world’s largest suppliers of precision machined controlled temperature platens, and is North America’s largest platen manufacturer. In addition to shipping to all 50 states, Custom Engineering ships to customers in South America, Europe, Japan, China and India who depend on them for production. Custom Engineering manufactures platens as small as 12 in. square for use in laboratory presses, and as large as 10 ft. x 52 in. for board and panel presses. Typical heater or cooling sources include electric, steam, water and thermal fluid. Custom Engineering is a world leader in heated platens. Custom Engineering’s press platens are used for applications as simple as cooling molds after curing and as high tech as hot forming of titanium and composites at 1700°F. Platens from Custom Engineering are in use today in every imaginable industry; from compression molding of rubber to hot forming of titanium, from copper clad and decorative laminating to the manufacturing of plywood, hardboard and particleboard. Maintaining square and flat platens is critical to operational efficiencies. When platens become nicked, bent, gouged or damaged, they will produce imperfections in the end product. Often this will lead to additional costly finishing operations like additional sanding of particleboard. We repair all types of platens restoring them to original specifications. Custom Engineering refurbishes and replaces platens for nearly every make of hydraulic press in existence, regardless of the original manufacturer. Booth 403.
DIEFFENBACHER Dieffenbacher is a world-leading manufacturer of complete turnkey production lines for woodbased panels, including particleboard, MDF, OSB and LVL, with 16 production sites and sales offices worldwide. Dieffenbacher Customer Support, located in Alpharetta, Ga., concentrates on sales, service of spare parts and upgrades for the North American market, whereas Dieffenbacher North America Inc. in Windsor, Ontario, Can. has stateof-the-art manufacturing and machining equipment for a large range of different components of woodbased panel plants. Two major new plant projects were completed in the U.S. in 2019. On February 8, Arauco produced the first board at one of the most productive particleboard plants in the world. The 820,000 sq. ft. plant in Grayling, Mich. includes a Dieffenbacher CPS+ continuous press, which Arauco calls “North Opening ceremony of Roseburg Forest Products’ new LVL plant in Chester, SC America’s highest-capacity, single-line particleboard press.” The complete plant project included the dosing silos for the chips, two drum dryers and associated energy system, a glue mixing station, the EVOjet P glue saving system, forming line and forming station as well as the raw board handling system, the sanding line and the Lukki storage system. In Chester, SC, Roseburg Forest Products celebrated the opening of its new LVL plant on October 28. The line will produce up to 285,000 m³ LVL per year, made possible by microwave preheating and continuous press technology. Dieffenbacher supplied the world’s highest-capacity LVL press and the upstream 600 kW microwave, the most powerful preheating system of its type in LVL production. “We knew of Dieffenbacher’s previous LVL projects. These excellent references are among the reasons that we ultimately chose Dieffenbacher as our supplier,” comments Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulbery. Booth 103.
30 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 31
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 2:37 PM Page 32
DÜRR SYSTEMS Dürr Systems (Megtec) is a global supplier of turnkey clean air solutions that meet stringent emissions regulations, improve process performance and protect thermal downstream equipment. The engineered wood products industry relies on Dürr for effective emissions control of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from dryers and press vents. With thousands of systems installed worldwide in many process industries, we have the knowledge to provide an optimized solution engineered to meet specific needs. Our designs are modular, operator-friendly, and cleanable, including alkali-resistant ceramics and corrosion-resistant materials of construction to suit the application. Dürr is a single-source suppler offering optimized Dürr installation at Southeastern OSB facility systems, including the CleanSwitch regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) to control VOCs, combined with our SonicKleen wet electrostatic precipitator to remove sub-micron particulate and fumes from dryer and energy-system gas streams with unparalleled uptime and reliability. Wet scrubbers provide high-efficiency particulate removal for dryers, press vents, and energy systems, thereby preventing buildup on the connecting ductwork and downstream equipment. Our selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) DeNOx systems chemically reduce NOx to clean nitrogen gas and water. We also cost-effectively control particulate emissions and opacity with our proven pulse jet fabric filter (baghouse) technology, dry ESPs, and cyclone dust collectors, which can be applied to a variety of particulate sources or used as a pre-cleaner to lighten the dust load on a secondary collector. We further confirm our commitment to the wood products industry with the availability of a pilot unit scrubber/wet ESP/RTO for testing process slipstreams to determine the optimal pre-filtration and RTO ceramic bed configuration. The Dürr Aftermarket Services team delivers right-from-the-source expertise. Our people are skilled in helping you maintain your equipment by recommending upgrades and rebuilds of your existing equipment, with the goal being to optimize its efficiency and performance, which reduces energy costs. Booth 616.
EVERGREEN ENGINEERING Evergreen was incorporated in 1985 with headquarters in Eugene, Ore. We originally served mainly the forest products industries (wood products and pulp & paper) that used to be predominant in the Pacific Northwest. In 2016, Evergreen opened an office in Atlanta, Ga. to better serve clients in the Southeastern United States, and in 2019 we opened our newest office in EvEvergreen Engineering celebrates its 35th year in business in 2020. erett, Wash. Building products—panel, solid, composite, and engineered—remain the major segment of our business. We’ve completed thousands of projects all over the United States and into Eastern Canada, up to and including complete greenfield plants. Evergreen has the strongest technical team for engineered wood products (EWP) including LVL and I-Beams. Our staff members have been heavily involved throughout the development of these technologies. Evergreen appreciates the importance of project planning. We help to formulate and assess options and tradeoffs early in the planning phase to achieve maximum leverage and opportunity for success. We then assist with project scope definition, accurate cost estimation, payback justification, detailed engineering, construction management, commissioning, and startup. Our plywood and veneer projects have included new plants for Champion International in Camden, Texas; Springfield Forest Products in Fitzgerald, Ga.; and International Paper in Spring Hill, La.; construction management and veneer dryer restoration and scrubber design for Springfield Forest Products in Springfield, Ore.; block heating vat design for Murphy Plywood in Sutherlin, Ore. and Boise Cascade in Florien and Oakdale, La.; and new lathe installation and energy studies at five Louisiana-Pacific plants in Louisiana and Texas. The keystone to Evergreen’s success has always been, “The best reward for good work is more work.” More than 95% of Evergreen’s business is repeat and referral. We earn repeat and referral business by providing timely, superior products and services with value. This means that we listen carefully to our clients so that we understand what needs to be done; we develop and coordinate design and documentation; and we deliver the right design package on time and within budget. Booth 505. 32 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 33
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:53 AM Page 34
ELECTRONIC WOOD SYSTEMS EWS North America LLC works closely with Electronic Wood Systems GmbH and Baumer Inspection GmbH to supply a wide range of quality control and inspection systems to the engineered wood panel, furniture and flooring market in North America. The application of ultrasonic systems for the detection of delaminations, blows, and voids is well-established for different kinds of wood-based composites. Beyond blow detection for panel grading, ultrasonic devices are beneficial tools to run the production at maximum output while keeping high panel quality. However, the requirements on such inspection systems are increasing to consider wide product ranges (panel thickness and density), high production speed, and small defect sizes, which must be reliably detected under all conditions in modern panel production. EWS has engineered ultrasonic devices for decades. Now, a new generation of Blow-Scan system is intro- Electronic Wood Systems Blow-Scan technology duced, called the “BEAST” (Board Evaluation ultrasonic linear Array Scanning Technology). The total view of board quality is completed by the comprehensive range of capable measuring systems by EWS as a key factor for Industry 4.0 in wood-based composite production. For more than 35 years, Baumer Inspection GmbH has specialized in high precision surface inspection and quality supervision. With more than 750 installed systems worldwide, Baumer wants to be your global partner for automatic optical inspection systems for defect detection and process monitoring. Baumer scanners inspect raw panels, sanded panels, furniture panels, decorative papers, foils, laminate flooring and surfaces and edges of furniture components. Baumer Inspection is integrated in the Swiss Baumer Group, a world leader for high-quality sensors and systems for factory automation. With more than 2,500 employees worldwide, and 250 employees dedicated to industrial image processing/image sensors, Baumer Inspection is one of the leading companies in the vision industry. Our customers benefit from a broad portfolio of standard products, comprehensive consulting and a reliable service. Booth 206.
FAGUS GRECON Preventive fire and explosion protection is an important measure, not only to protect production, but also the company and the people working within. Fagus GreCon is offering safety to industry with their GreCon spark detection & extinguishing systems with new intelligent detection technology (IDT). The system provides excellent preventive protection, as it does not wait for an actual fire or explosion to erupt. The system prevents the development of a fire or explosion by the early detection and elimination of the ignition source. With a GreCon system it is possible to de- GreCon spark detection and extinguishment tect and eliminate ignition sources before a fire or a dust explosion occurs. IR detectors monitor the conveying paths and activate high-speed water extinguishing within milliseconds. The diversion or shut-off of product flow is possible if extinguishing with water is not possible for the application. IDT is used in the new DLD 1/9 detector. IDT not only identify hazardous moving ignition sources before a fire breaks out, the DLD 1/9 detector is also able to differentiate between dangerous sparks or harmless incidence of extraneous light due to leaky/damaged pipes or an opening of an inspection flap. A four level progressive alarm system ensures countermeasures are triggered quickly without interruption of the production process, in most cases. Thus, damages and downtimes are minimized or eliminated without disturbing the production process. Additionally dust collectors and silos can be monitored for fires or spontaneous ignition. When an alarm event happens the system triggers extinguishing countermeasures even before the plant operator or fire brigade notices the fire. The integration of GreCon control console into the customer’s control system is possible via Profinet. The safety equipment event data is easily linked with the process control data. This is an important contribution on the way to Industry 4.0. Today, safety is of great importance in modern production plants. High value production equipment must be running continuously, especially under strong international competitive pressures and economically difficult times. A higher level of operational safety is reached with GreCon spark detection & extinguishing systems. Booth 700. 34 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 35
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:53 AM Page 36
HEXION Hexion continues to enable the expanded use of wood in building and construction and leads the charge as we’ve done for more than 80 years. Our resins and adhesives are the key to transforming wood veneer, fibers and strands of lumber into engineered wood like plywood, OSB, flooring and I-joists. Thanks to Hexion, every tree that enters a mill can be used to its maximum potential. Making the most of our resources is just the start. Technology developed in our labs has reduced emissions from composite wood and other building materials such as thermal insulation by over 90% since the 1970s. We are the adhesive— both literally and metaphorically—in sustainable construction. Adhesives and resins for structural engineered wood products must meet many standards including heat performance, customer quality and emis- Hexion adhesives for sustainable construction sions regulations. Our versatile EcoBind adhesives for structural engineered wood products recently completed all independent laboratory testing required by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is certified for high volume manufacture of glue laminated beams (glulam) and cross-laminated timber (CLT). Ultra low-emitting, lower waste options are available. Phenol-resorcinol-based resins—thermally stable well past the combustion point of any wood—have passed ASTM D-7247, the most rigorous test of adhesive bonds at elevated temperatures. These resins are also durable and water resistant. Booth 115.
IMAL-PAL GROUP The IMAL-PAL group is a leading and flexible manufacturer of equipment and engineering for plants and complete lines, with an extensive reference list for a growing number of applications for the production of OSB, MDF, particleboard, wood fiber insulation board, pressed pallets, pallet blocks and special production lines for pellets. The group is able to offer a full range of products, including the WMG, a fully automatic knife ring washing system that is part of the sharpening room where flaker knives are sharpened by a 6-axes anthropomorphic robot. The latest versions of the SRC14.690_EVO4 knife ring flaker and the MSG mill are able to increase capacity by as much as 30% and hence reduce the related KW costs per ton of wood produced. The HD oscillating screen with low friction hydrostatic suspension system to support the screening box will also be displayed. The continued focus on innovation and development has Imal Hi-Jet particleboard resination system led to the creation of the “new cleaning tower,” able to remove all pollutants from the material, exploiting height and gravity in order to reduce the number of conveyors required to convey the material from one machine to the other. The new evolution of the “all in one” type Cyclops is an optical selector based on NIR technology detection and ejection by air compressed nozzles; this version is integrated with metal detector and blower; its application is to clean the wood flow from all kinds of pollutants such as plastic, rubber, foam, stones and metals. Another of the group’s core technology is the Hi-Jet resination system for existing and new particleboard, MDF and OSB lines which can reduce resin addition by as much as 20%. The group has 190 plus systems in operation around the world. The latest evolution of the Dynasteam, the mat steam injection system installed on more than 110 production lines, increases production by up to 30%. The group has also installed more than 68 of the FBC200 (Full Bond/Blister Classifier) and LBC200 worldwide, with more in the pipeline. The group will also offer new and modern systems for the production of pallet blocks and pressed pallets, ideal for valorising recycled wood for the manufacture of wood-based products with an elevated added value. Booth 117. 36 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 37
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:53 AM Page 38
LDX SOLUTIONS (GEOENERGY) Since 1984 the Geoenergy line of emission control technologies offered by LDX Solutions has led the way in the continuing drive to minimize emissions from wood dryers. Whether it is a veneer dryer, a rotary drum dryer or a flash tube dryer there is a Geoenergy technology that will satisfy regulatory demands. The mainstay of the LDX fleet of technologies is the E-Tube wet electrostatic precipitator, which provides the fine particle removal performance that is essential in the dryer emission abatement challenge. Based on an electrode design that outperforms any other arrangement, the LDX Solutions Geoenergy wet ESP & RTO wood dryer application E-Tube wet ESP can achieve excellent particulate removal efficiencies on any variety of dryer, wood species and dryer combustion system. Included with any E-Tube system is the technical know-how that goes into the entire system design including the quench, water recycle, solids removal and control systems. This know-how is a result of the experience gained in the installation of more than 150 wood dryer E-Tube wet ESPs over the past 35 years. However, particulate emission control is usually only half the challenge. In the U.S. most wood dryers are also required to control volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that come from heating the raw wood to dry it. To meet this challenge most wood dryer emission control systems supplied by LDX include GeoTherm regenerative thermal oxidizers or GeoCat regenerative catalytic oxidizers. Both products utilize even-chamber heat recovery beds coupled with fast-acting poppet valves to achieve the >98% VOC destruction at up to 97% thermal efficiency that customers and regulators require. And, like the E-Tube wet ESP design, these simple, rugged technologies are the result of decades of real-life experience in VOC control. Working together, the E-Tube wet ESP and GeoTherm/GeoCat technologies make attainment of today’s rigorous emission control requirements a reality. That includes the US EPA MACT rules for panelboard or even more stringent PSD (prevention of significant deterioration) permit requirements that a facility might encounter in an ambient air non-attainment area. Booth 316.
MID-SOUTH ENGINEERING Mid-South Engineering Co. is a full service, consulting engineering firm founded in 1969. Our design experience extends through the panel and engineered lumber sector of the trade, with a broad range of engineering and related services offered. Our veteran staff has executed thousands of projects within the veneer, plywood, OSB, MDF, particleboard, engineered wood products, and mass timber industries. We offer our clients multi-disciplined (mechanical, industrial, electrical, civil and structural) engineering support for projects of any size. We can also provide feasibility studies, project planning, project management, pneumatic design and construction coordination. In addition, Mid-South can make use of drone imagery and 3D design to complement traditional site documentation and project execution. Mid-South has branch offices in Hot Springs, Ark.; Cary, NC; Orono, Maine; and Richmond, British Colombia, serving clients domestically and around the world. To find out more about Mid-South and to see some of the projects we’ve worked on, please visit our website at www.mseco.com. Mid-South is excited to be an exhibitor at the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo. In addition to our booth presence, our Vice President and Senior Project Manager, Scott Stamey, P.E., will be presenting on “Project Execution— Modern Tools and Classic Principles” during the Project Implementation panel discussion. Be sure to stop by the booth to discuss how Mid-South can contribute to your next project. Booth 215.
38 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 39
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:53 AM Page 40
MATTHEWS Clearly marking your wood products gives you a competitive edge in the marketplace, and our solutions are the industry’s best to help you do that. From identifying your product with large, bold images of your company name or logo to accurately printing specifications, association trademarks, mill numbers and more, our comprehensive solutions help you every step of the way. l Powered by MPERIA, Matthews’ VIAjet V-Series marking system features our reliable Drop-onDemand (DOD) valve technology. Matthews’ DOD valve printheads are considered the fastest in the industry, marking products with maintained high print quality at speeds up to 800 FPM (244 m/min), with the longest life—more than 9 billion activations per valve head. l Powered by MPERIA, the most versatile and powerful print management platform, the VIAjet LSeries thermal inkjet printer provides high print resolution at very high speeds. Matthews works off the MPERIA platform for marking control. l The MPERIA A-Series is a new generation of print and apply label system that works so well so you’ll almost forget you have it installed. It’s designed for simple maintenance of printheads, rollers and driving belts, with easy access and no tools required. The single-piece solid-construction frame, sealed ball bearings and brushless DC motors reduce mechanical points of failure and maximize the longevity of your system, even in rough environments. l MPERIA platform enables you to manage and control marking at every stage of your production line all from a single location. Control one printhead, one production line—or many. Meanwhile, line operators need only be trained on a single system to start jobs, manage changeovers, and resolve issues faster. MPERIA seamlessly integrates with virtually any coding equipment, data file or enterprise system. It’s so adaptable, you’ll never need to re-engineer existing data systems or modify current workflows. Booth 614.
PARATHERM Paratherm HE is an economical, highly refined, mineral oil-based heat transfer fluid formulated for service in closed-loop heat transfer systems to 600ºF. As shown by its almost water white appearance, Paratherm HE has an extremely low level of impurities. Its low vapor pressure equals greater stability in vented expansion tanks. Paratherm HE has a negligible vapor pressure that produces almost no reaction with air in vented expansion tanks. Paratherm HE heat transfer fluid is a key product for engineered wood processes due to its high-quality group II base stock and high flash point. Thermal fluids are an extremely important part of these processes because for the enormous heat loads, quantities can range from 10,000 to 75,000 gallons. Hundreds of systems in the wood products industry count on Paratherm’s industry leading fluid technology for their critical operations. Paratherm has been in business for more than 30 years. We are a dedicated team of service-oriented people with a variety of training, skills and experience. Our sales engineers can help you select the appropriate heat transfer fluid for your application. We also offer technical services to assist with troubleshooting along with a superior fluid analysis program. Paratherm’s fluid analysis laboratory analyzes thousands of samples a year. Our state-of-the-art laboratory provides streamlined results that you can be confident in. Results and recommendations are provided in a clear, concise report, and follow-up consultation is included with every analysis. Paratherm products are always in stock and available globally across North America and in Europe, South America and Asia. We specialize in high volume, bulk delivery and emergency 24/7 service. Our sales engineers are on call 24 hours a day to get you what you need when you need it. Booth 626.
40 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 41
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:53 AM Page 42
RAUTE Raute introduced the Patchman, the first automated patching system in North America in 1998 at the Georgia-Pacific mill in Eugene, Ore. This vision sensing technology accurately detected flaws and punched out defects while inserting a patch in one swift movement, averaging about one patch every two seconds. The Patchman was revolutionary because it did not rely on operators to make patching decisions but instead on the technology of a camera grading system that Raute first introduced in 1997 at the Ainsworth Savona mill. Since then, the technology has advanced considerably and the 2nd generation P2 patching line Raute patching expertise is faster and more accurate than all past designs. Clocking in at less than one second per patch, cartesian robots move with precision, while dual AC servo motors patch from the bottom eliminating debris on the veneer. Only a single operator is required to fill the automatic strip feeder and monitor the process for multiple levels, significantly reducing labor costs. Find out more about how the P2 increases capacity, quality, and recovery at raute.com/p2 Columbia Forest Products installed their P2 in September of 2019, which was production ready in a mere four and a half weeks. “Realistically, the return on investment will be realized in December 2020, just over a year after installation,” says Mike Fournier, Mill Manager, Columbia Forest Products. Raute’s P2 uses butterfly-style patches for superior load bearing and patch retention properties. Patches remain steadfast even during temperature and moisture fluctuations during further plywood manufacturing processes. After rigorous and exhaustive testing in real veneer and plywood scenarios, Raute submitted their butterfly-style patches to the APA for lab evaluation and the results revealed that our patches are able to bear double the load of industry standard style of patches. As of December 2019, Raute’s butterfly-style patches were included in the updated Grade A veneer PS1-19 standard under the “compound boat” patches, which have multiple rounded ends. Before that, the US Dept. of Commerce (USDOC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) had not changed wood patch standards since Structural Plywood split from Construction and Industrial plywood standards in 2007. Richmond Plywood upgraded to a P2 in 2016 and has been exceeding capacity guarantees ever since. Enabled with G5 technology, it is the highest capacity single patching station in North America with the most accurate color camera detection system and motion control. “Without the need for multiple operators, the cost savings are significant, says Gurnam Minhas, Chairman, Richply. Find out how you can save on spare parts when you invest in the P2 patching line. Booth 109.
ROO GLUE Roo Glue manufactures innovative adhesive technologies including Premium PVA adhesives for outstanding bond strength and that may replace formaldehyde-containing adhesives in panel construction and veneer splicing. Water-based adhesive technology has come a long way since PVA adhesives were introduced in the early 1950s. Today the workhorse PVA adhesive for plywood and engineered flooring is replacing formaldehyde-based technology. It is also an exceptional supplement to bio-based adhesive systems, boosting bond strength and reducing delamination. For veneer splicing Roo Glue offers a one-part, clear drying product that is ideal for high-speed splicing equipment. Veneer faces and panels constructed with the one-part Roo 6510 splicing adhesive can comply with CARB regulations and outperform competitive two-part systems. Roo Glue provides adhesives and services from coast to coast. Roo Glue is known for innovative adhesives, exceptional technical service and a responsive team that is committed to building a relationship that is focused on providing the best service and support in the industry. With a fully equipped wood glue testing lab and manufacturing sites on the East and West coasts, Roo Glue is ready to provide solutions for any wood bonding needs. Booth 406. 42 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:30 PM Page 43
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:53 AM Page 44
SAMUEL CODING AND LABELING Samuel Coding and Labeling Div. is the industry leader in custom and off the shelf solutions for the wood products industry. With years of experience in the wood products industry, we are uniquely suited to provide you with solutions that are tailor made to suit your facilities. We provide a full system solution with design, fabrication, installation and ongoing support. With hundreds of installations across North America we offer unparalleled industry experience. Samuel Coding & Labeling systems for panel products include ink jet grade mark systems, ink jet printers for marketing information, ink jet nail line systems, ink jet stencil machines, automatic systems to print labels and staple them to finished packages, product tracking, and recent developments in print and apply UPC bar codes for panel products that are guaranteed to remain bonded to the panels. Booth 212. Samuel provides product identification systems.
USNR USNR’s Coe-brand lathe systems are designed to run for decades, and indeed they do. The key to maintaining peak performance is upgrading for recovery improvements and maintenance reduction. The direct drive roller bar is a specially-designed fluted roll that permits large lathe spindles to remain in the block longer, improving recovery and production especially from low-quality blocks. It delivers torque to the block surface, reducing spinouts and plug-ups. Cast iron knife bars can be upgraded to cast steel which is stronger and more robust, providing much greater stability. The new electronic gearbox design allows for faster roundup and transitions to the target peel rate, thus quickly achieving the first salvageable veneer. Cast steel knife bars can be repaired while cast iron cannot. Existing charger frames can be upgraded with a USNR lathe upgrades improve performance and recovery. whole new frame to rejuvenate the line and increase reliability. USNR’s computerized lathe charger chucks and rotates the block to maximize veneer recovery. This fast and accurate positioning contributes to production speeds up to 18 cycles per minute. Decades of lathe charger experience have resulted in an easy-to-maintain design with few moving parts. The core drive is another easily upgradable area that benefits the entire process. It provides stability to the diminishing core and imparts peripheral drive to the block as it is being peeled. The combination of stability and drive reduces spinouts and improves veneer quality. It also assists core ejection from the spindles, reducing time to “chuck” the next block. USNR’s new hydraulic power unit is an energy efficient upgrade for mills that have several smaller units, or older designs with unsupported parts. The upgrade replaces the hydraulic power unit including reservoir, pumps, and motors. The lathe carriage roller screw features a direct-coupled, modular AC Servo motor and planetary screw drive that replaces hydraulic cylinder and ball screw technologies. Its threaded rollers retract the lathe carriage at a sustained rate of 20 in. per second, eliminating position errors and the complexities associated with older positioning techniques. It offers a larger load transfer contact surface which significantly increases burden capacity and longer life. Booth 217.
44 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:31 PM Page 45
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:53 AM Page 46
WESTMILL INDUSTRIES WESTMILL’s patented WestVac Dryer Emission Control and Seal System provides an effective method of controlling veneer dryer emissions at the dryer’s end walls. It is designed to keep fresh air out while maintaining the optimum humidity level inside the dryer. The system costs nothing to operate and is standard on our new dryers or it can be retrofitted onto existing jet dryers. All of this is accomplished via the system’s Re-IntroDuct, which draws any escaped heat-energy and humid dryer gases back into the drying chamber by way of low-pressure vacuum created by the main circulation fans. The amount of vacuum in the system is adjustable and can be operated automatically or manually. WestVac system benefits include: l increased dryer production l greatly improved veneer quality l reduced energy consumption l reduced risk of fires l increased dryer humidity ratio Westmill green end WestVac system l reduced in-plant emissions The WestVac system costs nothing to operate. It does not require a costly auxiliary fan to draw the emissions from the seal chamber, nor does it require an additional burner or steam coils to maintain the temperature of the dryer emissions to keep from pitching the dryer’s exhaust system. These types of seal-systems cost tens of thousands of dollars annually to operate while being a constant maintenance headache and expense. Several WestVac systems have already been installed worldwide and it has proven to be very effective at controlling dryer humidity levels and emissions. WESTMILL’s WestVac system is simple and inexpensive to operate and enables plants to more effectively control emissions leaking from the ends of a veneer dryer. This helps maintain a more humid environment inside the dryer, which is more suitable to consistently produce high quality veneer. Westmill Industries is a leader in veneer drying technologies and has been serving the plywood and veneer industry since 1975. Booth 516.
WILLAMETTE VALLEY COMPANY Willamette Valley Company’s primary goal is to help our customers achieve their goals. Using our patching products like polyurethane, epoxy or putty allows them to upgrade their wood substrates. Further, our coatings, primers and sealers help protect their finished products and the utilization of our fillers and extenders help to optimize glue systems. We are indeed proud of our Pre-Tec division in their work to develop and improve application systems accurately dispensing WVCO products using the latest automation and robotic technologies. WVCO recently opened a state-of-the-art R&D Center where we challenge our expert formulators every day to work to enhance all of our chemical products, achieving high performance and cost effectiveness. Finally, after-the-sale technical service is key. Our service goal is to make sure that our products and equipment perform as they were intended, ensuring the lowest net cost for our customer base. Booth 509.
WVC Pre-Tec technology at Corrigan OSB
46 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:31 PM Page 47
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_cs.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:53 AM Page 48
TIMBER AUTOMATION Timber Automation provides engineered equipment, control systems, and turnkey construction services for wood yards that maximize yield, increase uptime and reduce production costs. Our LogPro division has two flagship offerings, including our radial log crane and drum debarking systems. Our continuous duty (Class F) radial log crane is designed for off-loading treelength stems and shortwood. In just one or two picks, off-load entire trucks to storage, log processing decks or directly into a debarking infeed system. The optional trolley allows maximum use of the wood storage area. Our cranes surpass the most stringent requirements of CMAA 70 specifications. The overall class F structural design of the crane utilizes heavy-wall pipe and tubing for a strong yet simple structure. Structural truss assemblies are shop welded with nondestructive testing and main connections are of a pinned design. Unlike Timber Automation LogPro radial log crane other cranes of similar construction, the structure at the pivot of the crane is filled with concrete to counterbalance the crane lifting forces. As a result, the pivot bearing is always under compression. The counterbalance design ensures that even in the case of a pivot bearing failure, the crane will not overturn. Our drum debarking systems are engineered and manufactured to meet the most rigorous standards required, optimizing wood yard operations throughout the forest products industry with XXHD design, premium efficiency electric drives and various lifter arrangements. This flexibility enables debarking perfection while reducing white wood loss in an easily-maintainable power system. Available in 9 to 15 ft. diameters and lengths from 15 to 120 ft., our drums meet the industry’s highest quality specifications, with up to 1.5 in. shell thickness; 5% - 11% bark slot area; 30,000 lb. rated axle assemblies; plus maintenance and safety features that cost extra on competitors’ drum systems. From biomass and engineered wood products to maximum volume for pulp and paper service duty, Timber Automation has a shell design/drum model for your needs. Booth 308.
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:50 PM Page 49
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 50
NORTH AMERICAN PLYWOOD INDUSTRY: CURRENT STATE AND OUTLOOK Oversupply and competition present challenges, but there are ways to lessen the heat. BY RICHARD (DICK) BALDWIN & RICHARD (RICH) BALDWIN
lywood manufacturing remains a tough and turbulent business. After the North American industry rightsized during the Great Recession (2008-2009), the industry again is struggling. A West Coast plywood mill owner, the veteran of more than a few recessions, operated his mill on a four-day work week during much of 2019. When questioned, he stated, “This year [2019]
P
has been the worst plywood market in 40 years.” He isn’t alone; a counterpart in the Southeast also remarked, “This has been a real lousy year, all year [2019]. And I don’t see it getting much better.” And when visiting overseas clients during the third quarter of 2019, the author heard similar comments from foreign producers. The oversupplied market is a major cause of weak business results for plywood panel producers. What then is the antidote, or cure? Or is there one? Is another round of rightsizing needed? Or have there been enough closures? And what can individual operators do to survive and again generate acceptable profitability? Identifying root causes and analyzing possible remedies are the basis for finding solutions. Let’s begin by reviewing the legacy of our industry.
HISTORICAL The modern plywood industry originated in Portland, Ore. in 1905. During the intervening years, the industry has passed through three distinct eras. Each is briefly described as follows: ● Old Growth Timber Era (1905 to 1950) Plywood makers developed an array of customer specific products during this era. An order delivery would often contain an assortment of grades and panel sizes. Typically, a glue spreader (panel layup) crew would assemble plywood in four or more different sizes,
grades and constructions during an eight-hour shift. When World War II ended, returning veterans and their young families faced a housing shortage. Concurrently, the industry exhausted the supply of large diameter old-growth logs. The dwindling supply of old-growth timber and relatively inefficient mills didn’t provide sufficient veneer grades and plywood to meet the housing needs of a growing post war population. The ensuing residential construction boom led an industry shift into CD sheathing, with the veneer peeled from lower grade and generally smaller diameter logs. Plywood mills that didn’t shift to small logs and structural sheathing usually failed. Adjusting and innovating to match new realities of log supply and markets became essential to survival. ● The Plywood Sheathing Era (1950 to 2000) Small log peeling technology originated in Quesnel, British Columbia in 1950. The technology quickly expanded into the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and later into the U.S. Southeast. Southern plantations that previously grew cotton, tobacco and other crops often were converted into extensive tracts of short rotation timber. This business model of low-cost sheathing production was successful until a major innovation, oriented strandboard (OSB), appeared in the early 1980s. Initially marketed as the “poor man’s plywood,” OSB volume
What do North American plywood and veneer producers need to do to successfully compete with overseas competitors?
50 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 51
grew at the expense of plywood and OSB dominated the structural panel segment by century’s end. This era materially changed the manufacturing and marketing environments, and set the stage for additional changes. The worldwide impact of converting to small diameter timber was just beginning. ● A New Era for the Plywood Producer (2000 to today) Small log peeling technology has prompted the worldwide expansion of the plywood and veneer-based industry. Now any geography able to grow small logs can build plywood plants and compete in the global market. Free trade and a strong U.S. dollar facilitate globalization. European, Asian and South American plywood producers have access to the same technology, equipment and technical support as their North American counterparts, and can be certified to manufacture to national commercial standards or customer specifications. Product quality and prices from new producers often are low, but eventually the quality gap narrows. What do North American plywood and veneer producers need to do to successfully compete with overseas competitors? Here are observations and ideas:
NEAR-TERM FACTORS 1) Constrained Housing Starts For 60 years from the late 1940s to the Great Recession of 2008, U.S. housing starts averaged about 1.55 million per year. Starts occasionally exceeded 2 million in good years and sometimes fell toward 1 million in bad years. However, housing production reliably fluctuated around this six-decade average.
Housing starts over the past decade have never approached the pre-Great Recession average. After bottoming out in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at about 600,000 units per year, housing starts have slowly improved until reaching a plateau of 1.25 million units in both 2018 and 2019. Reputable forecasters, such as Fannie Mae, the National Assn. of Home Builders, and Wells Fargo, predict roughly the same level of hous-
ing construction in 2020. In recent years, more than half of U.S. housing construction has taken place in the Southeast. Three of the top five housing markets (Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston and Austin) are in Texas, and Texas alone has more than 15% of the nation’s building starts. The other two leading markets are the New York City and Atlanta, Ga. regions. 2) Low Mortgage Interest Rates PanelWorld • MARCH 2020 • 51
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 52
Since the Federal Reserve expanded money supply (so-called “Quantitative Easing”) to revive the economy from the 2008 Recession, consumer mortgage rates have remained low. The average 30-year mortgage rate of about 4.6% at the end of 2018 had fallen to less than 4% towards the end of 2019. However, credit standards for mortgage loans are tighter than a decade ago and the low rates often are not available to those with less-than-perfect credit. 3) Strong U.S. Dollar The U.S. trade deficit for softwood plywood has become correlated with foreign exchange rates (particularly for key suppliers such as Brazil, Canada and Chile); that is, the deficit decreased be-
fore 2008 when the U.S. dollar was weakening and has substantially grown since 2011 when the U.S. dollar started a strengthening trend. In July 2011, the Broad U.S. Dollar Trade Weighted Index compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reached a low of 94.6 (the lowest level since 1995); by December 2019, the index had risen 36% to 128.6. The stronger dollar means that foreign manufacturers earn more local currency revenue from U.S. sales. The U.S. trade deficit in softwood plywood was $533 million for the 12 months from October 2018 to September 2019 compared to a $28 million surplus in 2010. Over the last 12 months, softwood plywood import volume was 2.03 billion SF (3⁄8 in.
basis) or 1.79 million m3; or the equivalent of about eight typical North American plywood mills. Persistent foreign competition is causing considerable stress on North American producers. The consensus of economists is that the U.S. dollar will remain strong and the U.S. market will remain attractive. First, in spite of slow growth in this tepid economic recovery, the U.S. economy is growing more quickly than most other major trading partners. Second, U.S. interest rates are relatively high compared to most other industrialized countries. For example, several other important central banks (such as the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan) have near-zero, and even negative, interest
It’s not news that OSB has become the dominant structural panel in North America.
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 53
rates. Third, the Federal Reserve’s initial efforts to normalize its balance sheet (namely, unwind the Quantitative Easing of the 2008 Recession) has also increased the relative investment attractiveness of the U.S. Finally, in spite of heated rhetoric, the Trump administration often pragmatically resolves currency manipulation and unfair trade practice allegations against foreign trading partners (such as China). 4) Competition from South American Producers Products and performance standards are crossing borders. Softwood plywood imported into North America, principally from Brazil and Chile, is typically made from the introduced pine species of Loblolly (P. taeda), Radiata (P. radiata), or Slash (P. elliotti). South American softwood plywood is readily certified to meet U.S. building code requirements. The authors estimate that the approximately 35 Brazilian, 12 Chilean, and 1 Uruguayan softwood plywood mills collectively have a productive capacity of about 6 billion SF (3⁄8 in. basis) or 5.3 million m3. These mills export the majority of their production to Asian, European and North American customers.
In recent years the relatively strong U.S. dollar and economy have favored exports to the U.S., and these South American producers currently export to the U.S. about 1.5 billion SF ( 3⁄8 in. basis) or 1.33 million m3 on an annual basis. However, U.S. producers are challenging the Brazilian imports. In September 2019, a coalition of U.S. structural plywood producers sued thirdparty certification agencies in U.S. Federal Court, alleging false advertising in representing that plywood from Brazil
consistently meets the PS 1-09 standard. A key assertion is that faster-growing Brazilian trees are inherently weaker than slower-growing North American trees. The certification agencies have publicly denied that they did not follow the applicable certification procedures and, as of this writing, have filed motions to summarily dismiss the lawsuit. 5) OSB Market Impact It’s not news to anybody that OSB has become the dominant structural panel in North America over the past 30 years, with OSB production now more than
PanelWorld • MARCH 2020 • 53
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 54
Several OSB mills temporarily curtailed production early in 2019. Three OSB mills (GP in Allendale, SC; Louisiana-Pacific in Fort St. John, BC; Norbord in 100 Mile House, BC) announced indefinite curtailments and the Norbord mill in Cordele Ga. will stop production on one of its two lines. However, U.S. and Canadian OSB producers still have enough installed capacity to abundantly supply (code word for oversupply) structural panels to North America. In Texas and other markets, alternative structural paperboard and foam panel products are now accepted as substitutes for OSB in construction applications. These products entice builders with claims of low cost and easy installation compared to wood-based panels.
LONG-TERM FACTORS
double structural plywood production. The availability and lower cost of OSB effectively cap structural plywood prices. Builders, even if they prefer plywood, often substitute cheaper OSB in flooring, roofing and sheathing applications. Earlier in the previous decade, economists forecasted a return to the historically “normal” level of housing starts of about 1.55 million per year.
After reading the “tea leaves,” several OSB producers invested in two greenfield mills and reopened three curtailed operations. These five mills collectively added rated annual productive capacity of 2.8 billion SF (3⁄8 in. basis) or 2.48 million m3. Given current housing starts relative to earlier expectations, OSB prices plummeted and plywood sheathing prices followed.
1) Tree Availability While the “plenty” may not always be conveniently located, there are plenty of trees. Using modern conversion equipment that can process diameters as small as 6 to 8 in., the current U.S. timber resource continues to yield a variety of lumber and panel products. The U. S. Southeast had 19.3 million acres or 8 million hectares of planted pine in 1980; pine plantations plateaued at 45 million acres or 18.7 million hectares in 2012 (Forisk Consulting). A well-managed forest in the Southeast-
54 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:31 PM Page 55
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 56
MPP production at Freres Lumber in Oregon
ern U.S. will yield some merchantable small logs 17 years after planting, with the remaining timber harvested at 2835 years. This trend to small logs is also evident in the cooler Pacific Northwest, as the planting to harvest time is being compressed. A third generation owned and operated veneer based operation in the Willamette Valley was revisited. After noting a dramatic log diameter decrease in the log yard, the author asked, “Your log decks look different and the diameters smaller. What has changed?” The operator responded, “I like small logs, particularly small diameter timber with tight growth rings, because the veneer is structurally stronger.” Much of this plant’s developing veneer becomes feedstock for LVL and other veneer-based products such as MPP or PSL. Small timber is widely available in some overseas regions. Pine and eucalyptus plantations in New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Brazil,and Uruguay are notably productive. For example, planted forest area in Brazil increased from 4.9 million hectares or 11.8 million acres in 1990 to 10.2 million hectares or 24.5 million acres in 2016, which means that plantation forests more than doubled during the 26-year period. Public attitudes to managed forests are changing as the global warming phenomenon becomes generally accepted.
Given that healthy forests capture carbon from the atmosphere and younger trees sequester more carbon than older trees, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by growing trees and storing the carbon in wood products is recognized as a net benefit for the environment. Societal pressures to sequester carbon will continue to grow. Quality, quantity and structural properties of trees can quickly be improved with genetic research and short rotation growing techniques, particularly in warm Southeastern U.S. and Southern Hemisphere climates. Wood fiber availability is unlikely to become a constraint. 2) Alternative Uses of Veneer A developing model to diversify the North American veneer based industry embraces basic plywood technology, but broadens use of the key veneer and adhesive components. Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is such a product. LVL is a parallel lamination of softwood veneer engineered to attain certain strength and other attributes. Similar to OSB supplanting plywood sheathing in construction, LVL commonly replaces structural beams of solid timber, steel and concrete. The product has gained broad acceptance in North America and is now starting to be accepted elsewhere. Plywood technology continues to spur the development of additional veneer-based products like mass plywood
panels (MPP). MPP was invented by a public/private research coalition of Oregon State University and Freres Lumber Co. MPP is remanufactured from plywood lamellas into billets with dimensions of up to 12 ft. wide x 40 in. long x 2' thick (3.65 m x 12.19 m x 0.61 m) and then machined into precise sizes and shapes. Proponents argue that MPP uses wood fiber more efficiently than cross-laminated timber (CLT) as structural components for construction. Market acceptance of LVL and the introduction of MPP show that veneerbased innovations are conceptually sound, and veneer can become the source of an ever-wider array of useful products.
GLOBAL INDUSTRY In previous analysis, the authors have written and spoken of those plywood and veneer-based operations that survived the Great Recession (2008-2009). We dubbed them the “Survivors of the Survivors” because they demonstrated extraordinary skills with people, equipment and markets to survive the crisis. The survivors continue to innovate and improve. In summary, long-term survivors seize opportunities to cut costs and/or improve the acceptance of veneer-based products. However, a decade has passed and many of this generation of leaders are reaching the end of their careers. The following tips summarize lessons
56 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:49 AM Page 57
Friday-Saturday May 1-2, 2020 Richmond Raceway Complex
600 E. Laburnum Ave. Richmond, VA 23222
Make plans today to participate in the 37th East Coast Sawmill & Logging Exposition and take in the East Coast’s largest array of sawmill, pallet, logging, biomass and related machinery, supplies and services. Invest in your future and grow your business. ● More than 300 inside & outside exhibits ● Convenient access ● Plenty of parking ● Log loader contest
● See machinery in action! ● 1 entry fee, 2-day admission
● Pre-expo workshops
Visit www.ExpoRichmond.com to register before April 17, 2020 to receive the special rate of $10. After April 17th, admission is $20 per person. Spouses and children under 18 are admitted with paying adults. An educational course on Wood Anatomy ($100) will be held off-site on Thursday, April 30. For more informaition or to register, visit www.exporichmond.com or www.sim.sbio.vt.edu/?page_id=2616
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 58
from recent mill visits, interviews, and research for prospering in today’s competitive and crowded plywood environment: ● First, Review and Update Sales and Marketing Strategies. OSB is now gaining acceptance in certain value-added markets of plywood such as siding, underlayment, furniture panels, lower value overlays and certain applications in lieu of sanded plywood. One West Coast producer is even utilizing OSB as a thick inner-ply within a decorative hardwood plywood panel. And the use of OSB in furniture may be a predictor in other industrial uses where plywood sheathing is currently the preferred panel. Perhaps it’s time for plywood producers to repeat the approach of the oldgrowth timber era. This was the Era when plywood advocates banded together to educate the market about the unique virtues of plywood, while individual companies worked closely with customers to find new and improved plywood applications. From the late 1940s into the 60s, popular home and garden focused publications often demonstrated uses for plywood and extolled its virtues. The following is additional mill specific advice for competing in a highly competitive market: —Produce one or more panels that others can’t (won’t) do. One western Oregon plywood maker produces and sells non-standard sizes up to 12 in. long (3.66 m). A Southeastern mill makes ¼ in. (0.64 cm) sanded that other producers can’t or won’t produce. Both mills get steady business and good prices for these and related panels. —Be flexible and cater to the customer. Customers are more likely to minimize comparison shopping if they develop confidence that a plywood supplier consistently meets their needs at a fair price. The common practice during a market run of informing steady customers that the mill is “off the market” is a sales tactic that inhibits customer loyalty. —Broaden the mill’s product mix. Accommodating the constraint that automated equipment operates most efficiently with long production runs, optimize operational flexibility so as to provide a broad offering that attracts customers and allows the mill to emphasize the most profitable products at each point in time. That flexibility may be the tool needed to profitably sell your production in a lean market. Lastly, educating current and potential customers about the merits and
unique attributes of veneer-based products is time well spent. Differentiating plywood from competitive products has become crucial. ● Second, Recognize Dry Veneer Marketing Opportunities. As mentioned elsewhere, dry veneer can be converted into a variety of plywood grades and sizes as well as other veneer-based products. Others may be able to add more value to some of your veneer than you can. For example, many plywood plants now segregate dry veneer with defined characteristics as LVL feedstock. Some sell certain veneer types and grades to other plywood producers.
Finding solutions to operating problems and identifying improvement opportunities are key responsibilities for surviving and prospering within the current operating environment. Then there is the bold move by family-owned Freres to develop and manufacture MPP. Freres also supplies green and dry veneer to others. The company assessed longer-term prospects for plywood and LVL, and decided to invest in a new veneer-based product. The immediate benefit of more emphasis on merchandizing and selling dry veneer will be less reliance on the volatile commodity plywood market. ● Three, Increase Veneer Yield from the Log. Improved conversion efficiency through peeling more usable veneer from a given log frequently is a worthwhile cost cutting approach. After recently visiting many mills in North America, South America and Asia, the authors have observed that improved log processing, peeling, and veneer stacking more often than not is the lowest hanging fruit to improve efficiency and profitability. It’s often possible to materially improve veneer yield, without making major capital investments, by training coworkers and refining existing equipment. Sometimes “It ain’t what you got, it’s how you use it.” Creative leadership can produce surprising results. ● Fourth, Retool the Plywood Plant.
Lower costs and greater efficiency are typical justifications. However, getting it right requires more than a cost/benefit analysis. Other factors include: 1) Before committing to a project, define success through a rational methodology that makes realistic planning assumptions to model the economic and other benefits. Other considerations include the opportunity cost of lower production during new equipment installation and cash needed for non-equipment expenses and startup costs. 2) It’s important to thoroughly understand functions, features and engineering of equipment choices, and the project risks. Occasionally there are claims of lathe, dryer and other process innovations that do not benefit from the latest wood science research, and such supposed innovations may hinder the plywood making process. 3) Compatibility of the new equipment with existing or concurrently installed equipment (or components) is vital. It’s not uncommon for existing choke-points to operate faster or slower than the new innovation, so design and select to optimize the entire system. 4) Setup and trouble-shooting skills to correctly startup and then maintain the new equipment are invaluable. Some technical skill-sets, particularly electrical and programming expertise, are increasingly scarce both at the mill level and from third parties. Make certain that you have the requisite engineering and maintenance talent readily available from maintenance coworkers and vendors. 5) Equipment installation often comes with trade-offs, and the new capabilities may create new limitations. Reduced flexibility may come in areas like the ability to peel certain log types and sizes or to manufacture certain types or dimensions of plywood. The changes may be worthwhile, but before proceeding forward the rational mill operator must determine that the net benefits are worth the investment. Finding solutions to operating problems and identifying improvement opportunities are key responsibilities for surviving and prospering within the current operating environment. ● Five, Gather Accurate Numbers that Measure Short Interval Profitability. Comparing progress to the desired outcome is essential to competitive sports. Coaches, players, fans and owners obverse the same set of statistics, but each focuses on the few that best evaluate their individual performance. The most useful statistics, also
58 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 59
known as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), are quickly calculated and displayed. These numbers provide contemporaneous feedback to make rapid adjustments toward the goal of winning. For a plywood producer, not losing is surviving the market bottom and winning is growing sales, profitability, and return on equity. As a youthful executive, the author became the fifth manager of a 5-yearold mill that had been flipped to its third corporate owner. The mill had reported mid-six figure losses almost every month since startup. The leadership team gathered in the office for an initial meeting, and the question “What are we here for?” was directed to the group. An eager hand shot up, and the response was “To make plywood!” “Well, that is important, but that’s only part of the story; we are here to make money, while keeping our people safe.” Several decades have gone by, and the goal of earning profits while keeping our coworkers safe hasn’t changed. What has changed is our instantaneous access to data. Today’s systems generate data in such an overwhelming volume that identifying insights useful for decision mak-
The policy of who has access to which statistics is best determined within each organization. ing can be an arduous undertaking. Key Performance Indicators are the vital few statistics that best reflect operating and individual performance. There typically are no more than six to eight vital statistics, often including measures like sales return, net in-panel wood cost, labor productivity, etc. KPIs should become tools for managing and making decisions. Timely and accurate reports facilitate management decisions that optimizes operating and individual performance. If information systems are timely and accurate, it should be possible to generate accurate Pro-Forma financial and operating reports, with the KPIs emphasized, no later than Monday afternoon of the following week. An accuracy goal of two to three percent considers the impact of accruals and unexpected
costs. The policy of who has access to which statistics is best determined within each organization, but more usually is better than less.
OUTLOOK Without substantial construction increases or further operating capacity decreases, plywood prices likely will continue to challenge producers (in other words, not much different than 2019). There may be occasional upticks during sudden inventory draws (such as from an extreme weather event) or a production disruption. However, a permanent return to the near record prices of spring 2018 is unlikely anytime soon and prudent mill operators should prepare for an extended PW period of disappointing prices. (Conversion factors from metric units to U.S. standard units: 1 cubic meter = 1,130 square feet (3/8 in. basis). 1 hectare = 2.4 acres. 1 meter = 39.4 inches.) Richard F. (Dick) Baldwin, PhD is Managing Partner of Oak Creek Investments, e-mail: dbaldwin@ocinvest.com; Richard W. (Rich) Baldwin MBA is CFO/ Treasurer of Oak Creek Investments, email: rwbald@gmail.com
PanelWorld • MARCH 2020 • 59
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 60
PROJECTS POLLMEIER FINDS DRYING SOLUTION
In the production of its locally sourced BauBuche material, the Pollmeier company from Creuzberg in Thuringia, Germany attaches particular importance to very low final moisture levels and top surface quality of the veneers used. The sine-wave belt dryer supplied by Grenzebach is a key element in processing the beech veneers of which BauBuche is made. Pollmeier’s BauBuche is a local and sustainable material that has an exceptionally high strength and allows structures to be built with slimmer dimensions. The laminated veneer lumber is used for building structures but also in interior design and flooring. The 3.55 mm thick peeled veneer is very difficult to dry and its handling is complex. Strength, surface roughness and susceptibility to cracking constitute a major challenge in processing this material. Some sheets easily get
holes in them, which makes lifting them up with a vacuum in the feeder considerably more difficult. Moreover, most beech veneer sheets have split ends, and that also may cause problems when feeding them to the dryer. In addition, Pollmeier requires a very low final moisture content (< 3% abs. dry) for its BauBuche production. All these objectives have been met with the Grenzebach sine-wave belt dryer. The sine-wave guiding system reduces the waviness of the veneers even when drying wood species with an extremely high moisture content, making handling and processing of the plywood veneers better and easier. The carry and cover belts and the special sine-wave system ensure that the moist veneer sheets, which tend to become wavy, are dried smooth and flat. When the veneers enter the dryer, they have a temperature of 20-30°C, as measured on the veneer stacks at the feeder. When they exit the dryer to the transfer conveyor going to the cooling
section, they have a temperature of 160170°C. The challenge here, apart from providing an optimum air circulation, is to minimize the energy consumption of the process. “Plant efficiency matters greatly to us. That is why we have sealed the dryer infeed and outfeed so that no valuable energy is lost. This gives our customer full control over the system and the process. The customer not only saves money but also reduces emissions into the environment,” explains Michael Meyer, Director Wood Technology at Grenzebach. Pollmeier first conducted trials with the beech veneer on a Grenzebach dryer supplied to a customer in Italy who processes poplar veneer using the sine-wave belt dryer. The trials were successful. A feeder using an intelligent, asymmetrical, vacuum-assisted lifting process supplies the sheets of wet peeled veneer to the dryer one by one, thus preventing inadvertent feeding of overlapping
60 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:50 PM Page 61
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 62
PROJECTS
sheets. Lifting of the individual sheets from a new stack positioned under the feeder continues seamlessly, which makes the system highly efficient. In addition, the integrated wood dust and particle separator helps to reduce the dust concentration in the building.
METRO UPGRADING KANCHANBURI At the end of October, Metro, one of Thailand’s leading wood-based panel producers, confirmed its commitment to Siempelkamp with an order for a new forming and press line for an MDF plant at the Kanchanburi site. The project calls for the replacement of a Kusters forming and press line with a new Siempelkamp forming and press line for MDF with an 8 ft. wide ContiRoll continuous press Generation 9. The press is equipped with a thin- and lightboard package. At 2,000mm/s, the press is designed for thin boards produced at high speed. This is where the
retrofit option for the Siempelkamp Compactor comes into play, protecting the steel belts in the press and enabling plant operators to achieve significant increases in capacity and quality, especially for the production of thin MDF.
FRAMING FIRM PLANS CLT PLANT Longtime timber framing and components manufacturer Sauter Timber is opening a new glulam and CLT plant in Estacada, Ore., with plans to build a manufacturing facility on a five-acre site and employ 25. It’s a major expansion for the Tennessee-based Sauter, which is seeking to capitalize on the growing mass timber construction market. The move also helps Clackamas County, just outside Portland, in its efforts to bolster its timber economy, which boasted 25 sawmills decades ago while Estacada’s remaining sawmill
closed in 2007. County officials have been seeking to capitalize on the strength of mass timber building trends in the Northwest and promoting itself to manufacturers serving the market.
BOISE FOCUSES ON LATHE Boise Cascade has been investing in updating its green end at several of its operations over the past few years, and is now updating its lathe at Thorsby, Ala. The existing Coe-brand lathe was installed circa 1980, and while it has provided excellent performance it is now in need of retrofits. The lathe charger will receive a new USNR M790 pendulum and charger frame. This retrofit is designed to eliminate ongoing maintenance requirements and improve reliability of the charging process. The new equipment is scheduled to be installed in the fourth quarter.
Visit us online: www.panelworldmag.com
62 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:31 PM Page 63
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 9:32 AM Page 64
S U P P LY
LINES ONE STOP TRADING IN SHANGHAI hanghai International Furniture Machinery & Woodworking Machinery Fair (WMF) has been co-located with CIFF (Shanghai) at Shanghai Hongqiao, China since 2018. The two fairs together attract more than 1,500 exhibitors to display products that include furniture products, woodworking machinery and accessories in the 400,000 sq.m. fairground. WMF serves as a one-stop platform connecting upstream and downstream enterprises and stretching across the entire production chain of woodworking industry. WMF will be held September 710, 2020 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai Hongqiao By assembling a variety of cuttingedge machines and a wealth of market information, the exhibits in WMF span across wood primary processing, wood based panel production, sawmill technology, automation machinery, machinery for custom production, wood architecture, green production and safety control, CAD/CAM and wood products packaging. WMF will be occupying Hall 7.1 & 8.1; it is expected to have 420 exhibitors from around the world in an exhibition area of 53,000 sq.m.
S
“Tech Talk” received strong reviews in WMF 2019, claiming that it provided professional and first-hand market news to the audience. WMF 2020 will continue to hold different concurrent events, with topics including: 1) New Products and Technologies in Woodworking Machinery, e.g. Industry 4.0/smart production, application of 3D Cloud in design aspect, digital printing. 2) Marketing Trends—suppliers will be invited to discuss popular materials, color, pattern and sustainable development technology. 3) Solutions to the New Market Trend— speakers will introduce innovative products and technology, smart production chain and smart furniture etc. WMF offers more than just an exhibition; there are conferences and business matching services between exhibitors and buyers provided on the spot to enrich visitor experience. Registration for WMF 2020 is open now on www.woodworkfair.com. Exclusive benefits will be offered to registered visitors, including free admission (one badge, two fairs: WMF + CIFF (Shanghai)), one free copy of the show catalogue and priority to participate in conferences.
SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW YOUR SUBSCRIPTION Take time now to subscribe or renew your subscription to Panel World. To keep our subscriber list up to date, we ask that all subscribers renew every year. Thank you.
RENEW ONLINE:
www.panelworldmag.com
OR CALL US AT
800-669-5613
64 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:50 PM Page 65
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PWmar20pgs_SS.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/20 2:36 PM Page 66
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Recruiting Services Executive – Managerial – Technical - Sales
JOHN GANDEE
THE Forest Products Group
Jon Olson
Contingency or Retained Search
9237
Depending on Circumstances / Needs
“Your Success Is Our Business” Serving the Wood Products and Building Materials Industries For more than 26 years.
Tel: (800) 985-5191
jon@olsonsearch.com Custom search & recruitment services for the complete range of composite panel and related careers in the U.S., Canada and Europe. www.olsonsearch.com
512-795-4244
Top Wood Jobs
Call or Email me anytime! john@johngandee.com www.johngandee.com
Austin, Texas
Recruiting and Staffing George Meek geo@TopWoodJobs.com www.TopWoodJobs.com (360) 263-3371
3220
SEARCH NORTH AMERICA, INC. FOREST PRODUCTS RECRUITING SINCE 1978
The Jobs You Want — The People You Need
1615
IT'S YOUR MOVE...
1009
4231
& ASSOCIATES, INC
3779
PANELWORKS
WWW.SEARCHNA.COM
CONTACT CARL JANSEN AT 541-593-2777 OR Carlj@SearchNA.com
Company dealing with woodworking with equipment
FOR SALE!
two production and warehouse halls with social and office facilities, dryer room, boiler room Usable area: 3 357,03 m2 POSSIBILITY OF SELLING PROPERTY AND MACHINES SEPARATELY
More information contact us: www.flywood.pl office@flywood.pl phone: +48 75 64-64-648
13653
66 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
GEOs_0320.qxp_GEOs_Jan04.qxd 2/11/20 9:33 AM Page 67
VENEER/PANEL SUPPLIERS
DIRECTORY ■ Poland
■ Taiwan
ASIA
GREAT GIANT INC.
■ India
VENEER AND VENEERED PRODUCTS 260 Dachang Road Niao Song District Kaohsiung, Taiwan 833 Tel: 886 7 3790270 Fax: 886 7 3790275 E Mail: jc.giant@msa.hinet.net
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA
■ Spain
PRODUCERS OF SLICED AND ROTARY CUT VENEERS
SPECIALISTS IN AUSTRALIAN & PACIFIC VENEERS FSC & PEFC ECO-CERT Veneers from around the world Over 150 species in stock Reconstituted veneer/spliced faces/rotary veneers Website: Email: Tel: Fax:
www.briggs.com.au admin@briggs.com.au +61 2 9732-7888 +61 2 9732-7800
EUROPE ■ Malaysia
www.fsc.org FSC™ C004099 The mark of responsible forestry
SUPPLIERS OF FSC SPECIES • All figured species (Eucalyptus, Anegre, Sycamore...) • All pommeles and African species. • All burls (Ash, Elm, Olive, Walnut, Oak...) • Smoked and dyed veneers. Veneer layons.
We supply furniture, panel and architectural grades. VALENCIA – SPAIN Tel: +34-96126 5400 Fax: +34-96126 5144 timbercom@timbercom.com
www.timbercom.com
■ Switzerland
■ Austria
Manufacturer In Malaysia CARB P2 / EPA Certified Fancy plywood/MDF/ Particle Board/ Blockboard Layon Veneer, Veneer Parquet, etc. Lot 488, Jalan Jati Kiri, Kg. Perepat 42200 Kapar, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel: +603 3259 1988 • Fax: +603 3259 1886 E-mail: bungaraya@bungarayapanel.com Website: www.bungarayapanel.com
11/19
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
GEOs_0320.qxp_GEOs_Jan04.qxd 2/11/20 9:33 AM Page 68
VENEER/PANEL SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY
NORTH AMERICA
■ Idaho
NORSTAM VENEERS, INC. Proud to announce we have the “Newest Veneer Mill in the World”
■ Canada ■ British Columbia
6670 - 144th Street, Surrey, BC V3W 5R5 Plant: (604) 572-8968 Fax: (604) 572-6608
Producers of high quality fine face veneers. Specializing in species indigenous to the West Coast. We manufacture Music grade solids and veneers. We also offer custom slicing, cut-to-size and log breakdown. Fir • Hemlock • Spruce • Pacific Maple (Figured and Plain) • Alder Western Red Cedar
■ Ontario
Knotty Idaho White Pine Western Red Cedar Red Alder Clear White Pine & Ponderosa Pine Clear Vertical Grain Douglas Fir, Hemlock, & Cedar
P.O. Box 339 Post Falls, Id. 83877 208-773-4511 FAX 208-773-1107 email: info@idahoveneer.com
NEXT CLOSING: MARCH 23, 2020 ■ Indiana Amos-Hill Associates, Inc.
A FULL SERVICE PLYWOOD & VENEER COMPANY WE OFFER: Short turnaround time, In-house veneer mill—ROTARY, FLAT CUT, RIFT and QUARTERS, Custom pressing capabilities, Architectural specified plywood jobs, Huge veneer and core inventory, Over 100 natural species and engineer veneers in stock, All sizes and thicknesses–6'x4' to 5'x12', Internal logistics for fast on-time deliveries Contact us: Birchland Plywood-Veneer Ltd. TeL: 705-842-2430 • Fax: 705-842-2496 Visit www.birchlandplywood.com to view our “Live Log Program”
Quality Veneers Manufacturers of Decorative Hardwood Veneer Domestic and International Markets Species include: Walnut, White Oak, Red Oak, Hard Maple, Cherry and Birch “Quality is the Lifeblood of our Business” 112 Shelby Ave. ◆ P.O. Box 7 Edinburgh, IN 46124 Phone: 812-526-2671 ◆ Fax: 812-526-5865 E-mail: info@amoshill.com Website: www.amoshill.com
MANUFACTURER OF QUALITY HARDWOOD AND SOFTWOOD VENEERS
Green & Kiln Dried Hardwood Lumber
P.O. BOX 32 HWY. 135 BUS: 812.732.4391 MAUCKPORT, IN 47142 FAX: 812.732.4803 EMAIL: info@norstam.com
RSVP is proud to offer a full line of imported and domestic veneer that includes burls, crotches and highly figured woods. If you would like more information pertaining to these products or others we offer please contact us directly or visit our website.
4920 N. Warren Dr. • Columbus, IN 47203 Ph: 812-375-1178 • Fax: 812-375-1179 www.RSVPveneer.com
The mark of responsible forestry FSC Supplier: SCS-COC-002445 * SCS-CW-002445
Reserve your space today. Call Melissa McKenzie 800-669-5613
Reserve your space today. Call Melissa McKenzie 800-669-5613
■ United States
■ Kentucky
■ Georgia
A new “Dimension” in Veneer & Plywood
Dimension Plywood Inc.
Custom Architectural Plywood & Doors 415 Industrial Blvd. • New Albany, IN 47150 Tel: 812-944-6491 • Fax: 812-944-7421
Dimension Hardwood Veneers, Inc.
Rotary & Sliced Veneers 509 Woodville Street • Edon, Ohio 43518 Main Office - Tel: 419-272-2245 • Fax: 419-272-2406 www.dimensionhardwoods.com FSC-C041275
11/19
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
GEOs_0320.qxp_GEOs_Jan04.qxd 2/11/20 9:33 AM Page 69
VENEER/PANEL SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY ■ Michigan
■ Ohio
ESTABLISHED 1972
A new “Dimension” in Veneer & Plywood
Dimension Hardwood Veneers, Inc. Rotary & Sliced Veneers 509 Woodville Street • Edon, Ohio 43518 Main Office - Tel: 419-272-2245 • Fax: 419-272-2406
Dimension Plywood Inc. Custom Architectural Plywood & Doors 415 Industrial Blvd. • New Albany, IN 47150 Tel: 812-944-6491 • Fax: 812-944-7421 www.dimensionhardwoods.com FSC-C041275
Proudly serving our clients in the hardwood plywood sheetstock, plywood component, solid wood component, face and core veneer markets for over 40 years. Looking forward to applying our worldwide knowledge and resources to help create the solution you need. inquiry@pittsburghforest.com Office: 724.969.5000 375 Valleybrook Rd, McMurray, PA 15367
■ Vermont
NEXT CLOSING: MARCH 23, 2020
■ Minnesota
North America’s largest manufacturer of fancy face rotary veneer.
BUFFALO VENEER & PLYWOOD CO.
Offering FSC certified veneer products in Red Oak, Hard Maple, Birch, Ash, Tulip Poplar, Basswood in Stock Panel & Cut-to-Size Lay-ons as well as unspliced veneer .4mm thru 1.5mm thickness
Quality Plywood, Six decades strong! Stock Panels Counter Front Panels All Thicknesses and Cores NAF, FR and MR Availability Domestic and Imported Veneers CARB P2 Certified
Plain sliced Alder and Aromatic Cedar faces and flitch stock are regularly available. Also offering domestically produced FSC Mixed Credit/CARB Phase II Compliant Aspen platforms - both long grain & cross grain dimensions in a variety of thicknesses.
501 6th Ave. NE - Buffalo, MN 55313 Tel: (763)682-1822 Fax: (763)682-9769 Email: sales@buffaloveneerandplywood.com Website: www.buffaloveneerandplywood.com
Contact Sales at 802-334-3600 • Fax: 802-334-5149 www.cfpwood.com • 324 Bluff Rd. • Newport, VT 05855
■ Mississippi Universal Veneer Mill Corp. Manufacturing and Sales Sliced Harwood Veneers Custom Cutting Available 1776 Tamarack Road Newark, OH 43055 Ph: (740) 522-2000 Email: info@universalveneer.com
■ Pennsylvania
LOCATE VENEER & PLYWOOD PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WORLDWIDE. Reserve your space today. Call Melissa McKenzie 800-669-5613
11/19
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_ASM.qxp_Layout 1 2/11/20 10:52 AM Page 70
EVENTS MARCH
SEPTEMBER
8-10 • 2020 NAWLA Leadership Summit SUMMIT + WWPA annual meeting, JW Marriott Desert Resort & Spa, Palm Desert, Calif. Call 503-224-3930; visit wwpa.org.
30-October 2 • Timber Processing & Energy Expo, Portland Expo Center, Portland, Ore. Call 334-834-1170; visit timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com.
10-11 • Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo, Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; e-mail dianne@hattonbrown.com; visit bioenergyshow.com.
OCTOBER
10-13 • Fimma-Maderalia 2020, Feria Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Visit fimma-maderalia.feriavalencia.com/en. 12-13 • Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 800-669-5613; visit pelice-expo.com. 16-18 • Dubai Woodshow, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Call +971 4 39 23232; visit dubaiwoodshow.com.
APRIL 1-3 • International Wood Products Assn. annual meeting, Hyatt Regency, Savannah, Ga. Call 703-820-6696; visit iwpawood.org. 14-16 • American Forest Resource Council annual meeting, Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, Wash. Call 503-222-9505; visit amforest.org. 26-28 • American Wood Protection Assn. annual meeting, Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, Incline Village, Nev. Call 205-733-4077; visit awpa.com. 26-29 • Composite Panel Assn. Spring meeting, Laguna Cliffs Marriott, Dana Point, Calif. Call 703-724-1128; visit compositepanel.org.
MAY 1-2 • Expo Richmond 2020, Richmond Raceway Complex, Richmond, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit exporichmond.com. 26-29 • Xylexpo 2020, Fieramilano Rho Fairgrounds, Milan, Italy. Phone +39-02-89210200; Visit xylexpo.com.
AUGUST 25-28 • International Woodworking Fair 2020, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 404-693-8333; visit iwfatlanta.com.
Check us out online at
panelworldmag.com
17-20 • APA-Engineered Wood Assn. annual meeting and Engineered Wood Technology Assn. Info Fair, JW Marriott Turnberry Resort & Spa, Miami, Fla. Call 253-565-6600; visit apawood.org. Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.
A
●
D
●
L
●
I
●
N
●
K
This issue of Panel World is brought to you in part by the following companies, which will gladly supply additional information about their products. ADVERTISER
Acrowood Altec Integrated Solutions Argos Solutions Biele Automation Process Brunette Machinery CMC-Texpan Cogent Industrial Technologies Con-Vey Corvallis Tool Custom Engineering Daubert Chemical Dieffenbacher GmbH Durr Systems East Coast Sawmill Expo Electronic Wood Systems Evergreen Engineering Fagus GreCon Hashimoto Denki Hexion Imal S.R.L IMEAS S.P.A. INTEC Engineering GmbH Johnson & Pace Krafft Walzen LDX Solutions Limab Matthews International Meinan Machinery Works Metal Detectors Mid-South Engineering Nondestructive Inspection Service Pal S.R.L Paratherm R & S Cutterhead Manufacturing Raute Wood Roo Glue Samuel Packaging Systems Group Southern Environmental Stela Laxhuber GmbH Sweed Machinery Taihei Machinery Works Timber Automation USNR Wemhoner Surface Technologies Westmill Industries Willamette Valley WMF 2020 China Xylexpo 2020
PG.NO.
8 5 2 41 8 61 21 60 54 33 31 7 37 57 25 53 19 47 71 11 45 61 64 10 64 49 17 72 6 65 65 11 18 65 15 16 25 62 49 35 43 59 9 55 39 65 63 24
PH.NO.
425.258.3555 604.529.1991 +47 916 694 25 +34 629 429 620 800.686.6679 +39 035 737111 604.207.8880 541.672.5506 541.929.2234 814.898.2800 800.310.9068 +49 0 7262 65 103 920.336.5715 804.737.5625 +49 5151 5574 0 888.484.4771 704.912.0000 281.741.0410 888.443.9466 +39 059 465 500 +39 0331 463011 +49 0 7251 93243 0 903.753.0663 +49 2421 9360 0 770.429.5575 +46 31 58 44 00 888.622.7183 +81 562 47 2211 541.345.7454 501.321.2276 304.562.6835 +39 0422 852 300 610.941.4900 815.678.2611 604.524.6611 877.766.4583 800.323.4424 850.944.4475 +49 8724 899 0 800.888.1352 +81 568 73 6421 501.623.0065 800.289.8767 +49 5221 7702 0 877.607.7010 541.484.9621 +852 2516 3362 +39 02 892 102 00
ADLINK is a free service for advertisers and readers. The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.
70 • MARCH 2020 • PanelWorld
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/10/20 12:31 PM Page 71
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!
PW_0320_bkj.qxp_Layout 1 2/13/20 9:29 AM Page 72
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!