Let’s Hear It For The Ladies

Article by Jessica Johnson, Senior Editor, Panel World

One of the things I noticed when I joined the Panel World staff at the ripe ole age of 23 was how often I was the only woman in the conference rooms of the mills I visited. There’d be a female secretary, maybe one or two ladies out on the manufacturing floor, but that was rare. Thankfully, the landscape has changed in the decade plus I’ve been stomping around wood-based panel plants. More and more women are on production floors and in salaried positions—aligning with the Manufacturing Institute’s 35×30 campaign, which aims to increase the percentage of women in manufacturing to 35% by 2030.

Earlier this summer I made the trip to Louisiana-Pacific’s siding plant in Hayward, about two hours from my family’s cabin in northern Wisconsin. A welcomed break from family time—I mean how much fishing can my twin 10-year-olds do, you ask? 16 hours per day apparently. And imagine my pleasant surprise as I was talking “fun facts” with Plant Manager Brett Wienen that corporate-wide in LP, the most tenured female team member was on his staff.

She’s Wanda Headley, currently Hayward’s Supply Chain Planning & Fulfillment Manager, though Wienen says over her career she’s “done pretty much everything.” Having started with Hayward in December 1984, she’s closing in on 40 years. Back then, LP’s organizational structure was split into regional offices, and Headley got her start as an administrative assistant for the Northern Regional office located in Hayward. After a year, she moved over to the LP Hayward mill and hasn’t looked back.

According to Headley: “Back when I started my career with LP there were very few women in management or on the mill floor. That has changed dramatically within the last 10 years or so.” A sign of the changing times, of course, but most importantly a good reminder that hard work and dedication are not gender-specific.

Thanks to Headley’s consistent presence she’s been able to travel to nearly all of the facilities in the LP portfolio (including the Nashville corporate offices) to help train others on the coordination of production with the facility’s team and the planners at LP’s corporate offices.

Women still only make up less than a third of the manufacturing workforce. I’m so proud to come across careers like Headley’s that prove Rosie the Riveter all those decades ago was right: We Can Do It!

When In-Person Trade Shows Were Doomed

Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

For some years, even before the COVID pandemic, equipment shows had come under the gun. Some people were saying: No need for them. Why waste the money? Everything you need is already on the website. Indeed it seemed that such shows might be on the wane. We heard this kind of talk at the Timber Processing & Energy Expo (TP&EE) we produce every other year in Portland, Ore. And we heard it at other equipment shows where we regularly exhibited.

Then came the pandemic. Everybody had to cancel their trade shows. Whether you liked them or not, now you couldn’t go. Suddenly they didn’t exist. Well, they kind of existed.

I believe they were called “virtual” trade shows. I was bombarded with e-mails from companies that were now in the virtual trade show production business. When you visited the trade show, you entered a 3D virtual lobby, with a lot of signage and “virtual” people standing around. Then you entered the exhibit hall and could comb through each of the exhibits, click on one of them, call up their profiles and product offerings, chat with one of their representatives. Even put one of their products in your shopping cart and make a purchase. “Hey, I’ll take one of those gang saws.” “Credit card number please…”

I couldn’t quite get past the artificial people. It reminded me of the fake people they used to produce certain scenes in the movie Titanic. If you look real close…they’re not real. Seriously, it was a noble attempt to create a social platform during a period of social hibernation. But we weren’t interested in doing one for TP&EE. We’re a little old-fashioned around here. About the closest we got, after we were forced to cancel our 2020 show, was to allow all of the exhibitors to post short videos on our show website.

I assume virtual trade shows are still being done and I would imagine that their capabilities have become quite creative.

In the meantime, since the end of the pandemic, it seems that in-person trade shows have had a resurgence. There’s a lot of enthusiasm at these events. The pandemic reminded people that it’s a lot more fun and professional to meet with people in person. Body language is an essential part of communication.

We resumed our in-person TP&EE in 2022. Though traditionally the event has been heavier to the sawmill crowd, it had a good turnout from the panel mill people. We expect more of the same this September 25-27 at the Portland Expo Center. I see exhibitors that also cater to the panel and engineered wood products industry like Westmill, USNR, Samuel, Raute, Imal, Grenzebach, BE&E, Murray Latta, Spartek, Altec and many others.

We hope to see you there, for real.

Number Nine Was Very Fine

Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

Everybody seemed to have a really good time at the recent Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) in Atlanta, from beginning to end, as the accompanying photos on this page would indicate.

PELICE wasn’t “brought to you” by Stella beer, but it sure looked that way, once Roy O. Martin of Martco placed three Stella beers on the first morning keynoters tables. As Martin explained, he was letting the world know that he pays off his bets, which in this case was an annual bet with the wife of yours truly on the LSU-Alabama football game, won last year by Alabama. The bet—a case of Stella—actually started some years ago between Roy’s late first cousin, Jonathan Martin, and my wife, May, and since Jonathan’s departure Roy has taken it on. You would be hard-pressed to find bigger LSU and Alabama fans than the Martins and my wife, respectively.

As an Auburn fan, well, I just have to put up with it.

While Stella kicked off the conference, the event ended with the traditional drawing out of a tumbler full of business cards for $500 cash. You have to be present to win, and Howard Hall of Huntsman, shown standing at right in the photo, indeed was, accepting the goods from Panel World Senior Editor Dan Shell. The rest of the audience as usual responded with a chorus of boos, and quickly headed for the exits, putting the final punctuation on the ninth PELICE.

PELICE is a relatively short event, lasting a day and a half, and it’s really a sprint from beginning to end for everyone to get the most out of it. And there’s a lot to get from 35 presentations, 100 exhibitors, and the numerous producers in attendance. Speaking of producers, a special thank you goes to the following producer companies that sent their personnel to PELICE. Sorry if we’re missing one or two, but here you go: Arauco—ATCO Wood Products—Boise Cascade—CalFibre—CIPA Lumber—Columbia Forest Products—Georgia-Pacific—Godfrey Forest Products—Gregory Log & Lumber—Hasslacher—Hood Industries—Huber Engineered Woods—Hunt Forest Products—JELDWEN—Langboard—Louisiana-Pacific— Mercer International—Pacific Woodtech—Peak Renewables—Plummer Forest Products—PotlatchDeltic—Roseburg—RoyOMartin—Scotch Plywood—States Industries—Tafisa Canada—TimberHP—Tolko Industries—West Fraser—Weyerhaeuser.

The next PELICE will be held April 16-17, 2026, and it will be the 10th PELICE since its inception in 2008. I’m sure there will be a special anniversary celebration. You can bet on it!