Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), scheduled for next March 14-15 in Atlanta, continues to add speakers to it lineup. The event, which is hosted by Panel World magazine and Georgia Research Institute, will be held for the ninth time at the Omni Hotel in downtown Atlanta.

Additions to the list of keynoters include Greg Lewis (left), vice president, Wood Panels, Forest Economic Advisors LLC, and Hanoch Magid, CEO of SMARTECH.

Lewis’ talk will be entitled “Strong Demographic Tailwinds Will Support Wood Panel Demand Mid-Decade.” Following near-term market weakness in late 2023 and the first part of 2024, FEA expects healthy demand growth to resume in 2025. Construction markets will improve and absorb the growth in capacity. Lewis writes FEA’s monthly Panel Advisor and is the primary author of FEA’s quarterly Panel Forecasting Service publication. He has also co-authored studies on the international wood panel and lumber industries.

SMARTECH’s Magid will address his company’s implementation of AI technology, and how it can reduce the use of raw materials such as wax and resin, increase productivity, improve quality and stability, and reduce environmental impact, enabling producers to stay ahead of their competition. Magid boasts an impressive tenure of more than 30 years in leadership roles in global high-tech companies, focusing on innovative technology, customer support and operations.

Lewis and Magid join a keynoters lineup, as previously announced in the last issue of Panel World, that also includes

• Roy O. Martin III, chairman, CEO and CFO of RoyOMartin (Martco), who will speak on “Empowering Culture: Navigating Change while Preserving a Culture of Excellence”
• Christian Dieffenbacher, CEO of Dieffenbacher, with his talk entitled “Future-Oriented by Tradition”
• Stuart Gray, CEO, Roseburg, “Looking Back to Look Forward: the History and Future of Roseburg Forest Products”
• Matthew O’Malia, co-founder of TimberHP, speaking on “Prefabricating the Future with Wood”
  

The PELICE full agenda is expected to be announced in November.

For exhibitor information, contact Fred Kurpiel: [email protected]
For presentation information, contact Rich Donnell: [email protected]

PotlatchDeltic Corp. has announced that Ryan Daniels and Bobby Pannell have joined the Wood Products division, with Daniels serving as Director of Operations, responsible for leading the manufacturing teams at the six lumber facilities and the St. Maries plywood mill, and Pannell serving as Director of Engineering, responsible for leading the engineering, reliability, and continuous improvement team for the division.

Daniels joins PotlatchDeltic from Hood Industries, where he had responsibility for leading manufacturing at four lumber and two plywood facilities. Prior to Hood Industries, he was VP Manufacturing at Coastal Forest Resources, where he led operations of two plywood and one lumber facilities. Daniels has a Bachelor and Master of Science in industrial engineering from the University of Arkansas.

Pannell joins PotlatchDeltic from Georgia-Pacific, where he had the responsibility for managing an engineering team that supported five lumber mills. He has a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Clemson University.

“I am excited to welcome Ryan and Bobby to the team at PotlatchDeltic. The experience and insight they bring to the organization will be key as the division implements operational improvements and capital projects,” says Ashlee Cribb, Vice President of the Wood Products division.

Wood-based materials manufacturer, Egger Wood Products, recently completed construction of a $22 million decorative paper saturation line at its Lexington, NC facility. The new line will infuse decorative papers with resin adhesive necessary for thermally fused laminate (TFL) production. The increased capacity will alleviate supply chain issues and logistical costs, while allowing for greater production flexibility to better serve customers in the North American market.

Previously, saturated papers were shipped from Egger’s manufacturing facility in St. Johann in Tyrol, Austria, a process which could take up to three months. The local saturation line will reduce the company’s carbon footprint as well as:

—Allow for greater production flexibility to produce different board sizes and formats which will better serve the company’s customers in North America.
—Provide faster delivery times for the Egger Decorative Collection and custom orders.
—Increase capacity to alleviate supply chain issues and logistical costs.

The investment also allows Egger greater efficiency by significantly reducing waste and managing costs.

During TFL production, a short cycle press uses high heat and pressure to fuse the saturated paper onto both sides of raw particleboard, creating decorative TFL panels for use in interior design applications.

In addition to the completion of the new saturation line, September also marked the three-year production anniversary of Egger’s Lexington plant, which first started operations in 2020.

During the past year, nearly $90 million in new investments have been completed at the company’s North American facility, including a third lamination line, a wood recycling center and a third dump trucker—plus the new paper saturation line. In total, these four investments have added 50 jobs to the company’s Lexington facility, which now boasts nearly 500 employees.

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EGGER INVESTS MORE THAN $42 MILLION IN NORTH CAROLINA

Acres, a data-driven land research platform that supports fast, informed decision making, is partnering with Forisk Consulting, a leader in analyzing timber markets and wood baskets, to visualize timber data for both companies’ clients. This collaboration between Acres and Forisk will further expand Acres’ capacity to provide and visualize important information on U.S. timberland through its powerful land valuation tool.

“We’re thrilled to bring Forisk’s experience and data to the Acres platform to help more investors and managers in the timber industry. We care about helping the forest industry make better decisions, and we see this partnership with Acres as a great way to enhance that value,” says Forisk President and CEO Brooks Mendell.

Acres and Forisk’s partnership creates deeper access to timberland insights for customers of both companies. The Forisk North American Forest Industry Capacity Database (“Mill Database”) covers 55 states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada. With Acres, users can interact with nearly 2,000 wood-using mills nationwide to quickly view the mill type, status, current and historic owner information, capacity, and certifications. This data is key to understanding how much a mill can process and produce and overall supply chain progress.

“Data-driven insights into timberland add up. If you don’t see the whole picture of land you’re buying or selling, you can’t get the most out of your transaction. Our strategic partnership with Forisk Consulting is an immense opportunity to create a 3D image for people in the forest industry so they can continue to do the important work of driving the national timber supply chain,” says Mark Foley, Director of Timber Investments, Acres.

AFRY Management Consulting has announced that Guillermo Velarde will lead the Wood Products and Surfaces Team in North America.

Guillermo has been named a Principal Consultant at the AFRY’s New York office. He has more than 15 years of experience in the wood products industry value chain within the North and South American markets. His areas of expertise include composite panels, surfacing materials, engineered wood products, mass timber and flooring products.

As a Principal at AFRY, Guillermo will advise industry and financial clients in corporate strategy, product strategy, market analysis and due diligence projects.

Prior to joining AFRY, Guillermo held Director positions at Arclin USA, where he managed complex projects in the areas of product strategy, market growth, marketing, and corporate development. Guillermo has also held and will continue with different roles in industry trade associations to support and promote the entire industry and the market.

E-mail: [email protected]