Clipping
Industry Developments
IWF 2008, the International Woodworking Machinery and Furniture Supply Fair, which will be held August 20-23 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga., will feature an expanded technical and business conference program, including a new symposium the day before the show opens and 16 sessions during the show designed to educate IWF 2008 buyers with the latest information on technology, manufacturing and business techniques.
Feature
Infrared Cameras Overcome Visibility Problem at Log Vats
Veneer manufacturing requires logs to be softened before they are transported into the plant for peeling and further processing. If not sufficiently softened, logs can split in the peeling process resulting in lost productivity and waste. To ensure logs are properly softened, they are bathed in outdoor troughs filled with a caustic hot-water solution. Once the logs are sufficiently softened, they are removed from the vats, loaded on conveyor belts and transported inside the plant for peeling.
Making Pellets: Right Place Right Time by Jennifer McCary
2005, Ken Eldredge delivered a load of pack baskets to a customer in southern Maine. He left Corinth early to beat the morning rush hour traffic and arrived ahead of schedule. Eldredge decided to kill time in the pellet stove section of a nearby store, where he struck up a conversation with the owner and ended up missing his appointment.
“I had heard of pellet fuel and pellet stoves, but I didn’t know much about them. They had one unit operating and it was putting off tremendous heat,” Eldredge recalls.
Panel World Conference & EXPO Puts Finger in the Pulse
Despite sour markets, or perhaps in response to them, more than 500 industry professionals attended the first Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo held February 7-9 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center here.
Attendees represented wood products producers, research and association organizations, and equipment manufacturers. They came to hear more than 90 speakers address new products, technologies and processes, domestic and international trends and developments, sales and marketing tips and human resources issues.
Plum Creek MDF Succeeds with New Thin Line by Dan Shell
Plum Creek personnel continue to fine-tune North America’s largest single MDF facility, featuring two production lines under one roof. The original line and press have been tweaked and modified into producing twice its rated capacity when installed in 1974, and the addition of a new thin high-density board line in 2002 gives both lines a combined annual output of 275MMSF.
Current major capital improvements include a new PPC biofilter emissions reduction system now going in downstream of the existing Geoenergy wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP) system currently operating on the original line (Line 1). On the new line (Line 2), a PPC biofilter is up and running, making Line 2 fully MACT compliant. Once the biofilter on Line 1 starts up by summer, the plant will be MACT compliant across both production lines.
Portland Wood Tech Features Diverse Clinic
Jim Quinn, former president of Oregon-based Collins Companies, will deliver a keynote talk during the Wood Technology Clinic & Show to be held March 12-14 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.
Quinn is currently a Member Manager (co-owner) of Hawaii Island Hardwoods LLC, a startup company that is focusing on manufacturing and marketing high value hardwood lumber products from locally grown species. Quinn’s address is entitled “Great Hardwoods In Hawaii—But a Tough Place to Do Business.” It will review the extremely challenging process of starting a wood products business in Hawaii, and provide some insight into the operation itself.
Quality Control
Production plants in the MDF and particleboard industry cannot imagine operation without online measurement technology. Due to the increased production capacities and the associated high production speeds, changes in production parameters, if even for a few seconds, can cause substantial financial losses. It is necessary to prevent these situations using up-to-date measurement and regulation systems. However, what is the profitability application for these systems in OSB production plants?
Like the production of particleboard and fiberboard, the moisture content, the material distribution, density, thickness and bond quality are important factors for the optimization and quality control of OSB panel production. Nevertheless, there are several considerable differences.
Projects
Recent Mill Orders, Installations & Startups
MEGTEC Systems reports that Norbord has chosen MEGTEC to supply two Cleanswitch regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTO) for the Cordele, Ga. OSB mill, collecting off-gases from four existing direct-fired dryers on Line 1. Including these units, Norbord will have installed 19 MEGTEC RTO/RCO units over the last four years.
The project includes two Cleanswitch oxidizers, each with the capability of handling 80,000 wscfm of dryer exhaust air, stainless steel ductwork, and a MEGTEC-designed demister. The new RTO units will be installed downstream of an existing three-field WESP (wet electrostatic precipitator). The Cleanswitch units are designed with special materials of construction for enhanced corrosion protection, and include MEGTEC’s proprietary cleanable, media beds.
Supply Lines
Equipment & Supplier News
In November 2007, Steinemann Technology AG started up its own abrasive belt conversion operation and thus completed its range of products for the sanding process. Steinemann Technology AG and Hermes Abrasives have dissolved their exclusive cooperation.
The first segmented belts made by Steinemann left the production plant in Shanghai late last year and were successfully tested by customers with regard to panel surface quality and running-meter performance. Steinemann (Shanghai) Machinery Co Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Steinemann Technology AG. The operation includes a production site for wide belt sanding machines up to 1,600 mm working width for the local MDF and particleboard industry.
Taking Stock
‘On the Verge’ At Pelice by Dan Shell
Despite a housing market downturn that has affected all segments of the forest products industry, visitors, presenters and suppliers at the first Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) in Atlanta in February reflected a resilient optimism of preparing mills and their processes and products for the inevitable market upturn ahead.
Whether looking to adopt new technology or lower costs associated with existing processes and systems, or to realize more sales and human resources success, visitors to the PELICE event found plenty to take home and ponder, information to base major decisions on, and newfound ideas that may diverge and evolve into successful opportunity.
Update
Breaking News
U.S. and Canadian structural wood panel production was 38.5 billion SF in 2007, down 3.9 billion SF, or 9%, compared to 2006, according to APA—The Engineered Wood Assn. Oriented strandboard accounted for nearly two-thirds of the decline, or 2.5 billion feet, most of it in Canada. Plywood production fell by 1.4 billion feet.
What's New
New Products & Technologies
Tri-Mer Corp. reports an advance in biofiltration for the efficient control of VOC emissions. The Tri-Mer system has proved to be a practical alternative to thermal oxidizers, in-bed biofiltration and aerobic digestion for the control of VOC emissions from virtually all sources. This new biofiltration-based VOC control alternative combines the best characteristics of an in-bed bioscrubber and aerobic digestion with the high removal efficiency of micron-scale mist scrubbing.