by Web Editor | Aug 9, 2012 | Update
Governor Bob McDonnell announced that following Virginia’s year-long efforts, and hosting of a Chinese technical delegation of plant pest officials, China has agreed to a six-month pilot project that will begin re-opening the Chinese market to Virginia’s hardwood and softwood log exporters. While technical details are still being finalized, Virginia logs will be allowed to enter China immediately via designated ports and with enhanced pest treatment and testing protocols under the terms of the pilot project.
In April 2011, China banned hardwood and softwood log exports from Virginia and South Carolina, citing pest interceptions. Following a mission to China, McDonnell invited technical experts from China to visit Virginia and observe how logs are harvested, inventoried and undergo treatment or testing to prevent the unintended transport of pest organisms. The McDonnell administration also worked closely with federal agencies involved in trade negotiations with the China.
Once a Chinese visit was established, the Virginia Dept. of Agricultural and Consumer Services put together a comprehensive program for the team of officials from China’s Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (CIQ) including site visits, which demonstrated the effectiveness of treatment, tracking and inspection protocols currently in place to guard against unwanted pests being transported in log shipments.
Last year the value of Virginia’s log exports into the global marketplace was nearly $57 million, down $10 million from 2010. Prior to the ban, Virginia was a major East Coast supplier of logs to China, the world’s largest log importer.
by Web Editor | Aug 9, 2012 | Update
Workshop Day Planned For Portland
Hatton-Brown Expositions LLC, producer of the new Timber Processing & Energy Expo to be held October 17-19, 2012 at the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Ore., has announced that “Workshop Day” will be held on Thursday, October 18.
Hatton-Brown Expositions is an affiliate of Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., which oversees Timber Processing, Panel World and Wood Bioenergy magazines.
Workshop Day will include presentations on Veneer Lathes & Dryers, Wood Dust Issues, Wood Energy Systems, and Sawmill Scanning & Optimization. The topics relate to the show’s three main areas of focus: veneer and panel production, lumber production, and wood-to-energy.
Registration for Workshop Day, which entitles participants to sit in on any of the presentations, is only $75.
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by Web Editor | Aug 8, 2012 | Update
Attendee pre-show registration opened in June for the new Timber Processing & Energy Exposition to be held October 17-19 at the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Ore.
A pre-show registration fee of $10 includes tickets for “a beer and a bratwurst” at the event’s Beer Garden, which will be open on the exhibit floor at designated hours. Registration on site will be $20. Registrations are good for the entire three day exposition.
Nearly 100 companies (as of early June) had signed on to exhibit, accounting for more than 30,000 sq. ft. of space, meaning the event is more than 75% sold out, according to Hatton-Brown Expositions, producer of the event.
The Portland Expo Center is located off Interstate 5 between downtown Portland and Vancouver, Washington. It’s only minutes from the Portland International Airport and has immediate access to the Max Light Rail.
TP&EE will be held in Hall D. Exhibitors will cater to an attendee base of primary producers of lumber, veneer/plywood and engineered wood products as well as wood-to-energy producers.
For information on exhibit space sales, contact Fred Kurpiel at 678-642-1238; e-mail [email protected].
Pre-registration can be conducted at www.timberprocessingandenergy expo.com.
by Site Manager | Apr 27, 2012 | Update
Organizers of the new Timber Processing & Energy Expo report that 65 equipment and supplier companies have signed up to exhibit during the October 17-19 event to be held at the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Ore. Those exhibitors have reserved 21,000 sq. ft. of booth space, as of early April, meaning the event is more than 60% sold out.
“And we’re still six months away,” comments Co-Chairman Rich Donnell, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Panel World magazine and Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. “The show is almost selling itself, which indicates to me that companies are anxious to experience a new venue in the Northwest.”
Panel World is affiliated with Hatton-Brown Expositions, which is the show producer. Panel World along with Hatton-Brown publications Timber Processing and Wood Bioenergy are the magazine hosts of the event.
The Portland Expo Center is conveniently located off Interstate 5 between downtown Portland and Vancouver, Washington. It’s only minutes from the Portland International Airport and has immediate access to the Max Light Rail.
TP&EE is scheduled for Hall D, which encompasses 72,000 sq. ft., nearly half of which will be sold as exhibit space. The overall Exposition Center sits on 60 acres and includes five halls with 330,000 sq. ft. The facility hosts more than 100 events annually, attracting in excess of 500,000 attendees.
Exhibitors will cater to an attendee base of primary producers of lumber, veneer/plywood and engineered wood products as well as wood-to-energy producers.
The previous Portland show under a different ownership simply ran its course, Donnell says. “It was a great show for many, many years. But I believe the machinery community and the mill community are looking for a new event that is organized and operated by people who are hands-on with the wood products industry. In fact people have been asking us for years to do this.”
Donnell says that one area where the previous Portland show became increasingly lacking was the veneer/plywood industry. “It became almost purely a lumber show, and certainly lumber is a major portion of it,” Donnell says. “But the veneer/plywood sector is equally as big and we intend for our new event to represent it equally well.”
Panel World magazine was one of the hosts of the recently concluded Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) in Atlanta. Asked what the difference is between PELICE and the new Portland show, Donnell responds, “PELICE was primarily a conference with great support from the exhibitor community. TP&EE is primarily a machinery exhibitor show.”
However, Donnell adds that TP&EE will have a conference element to it, more specifically called “Workshop Morning.” It will be held on the morning of October 18 and include three subject areas, with multiple presenters addressing each. The topics are: Veneer Lathes & Dryers; Wood Energy Systems; and Sawmill Scanning & Optimization. The topics relate to the show’s three main areas of focus: veneer and panel production; wood-to-energy; and lumber production,
“We’re now beginning our promotion efforts to convince the mill community that they will thoroughly enjoy this event,” Donnell says. “Many of them, particularly in the panel sector, had quit coming to the Portland show because they weren’t getting enough out of it.”
Donnell adds that these same people are the readers of Panel World, Wood Bioenergy and Timber Processing magazines. “They know us. They know we’ll give this show 110% with them in mind.”
For information on exhibit space sales, contact Fred Kurpiel at 678-642-1238; e-mail [email protected].
For information on Workshop Morning, e-mail [email protected].
Also visit www.timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com.
by Web Editor | Mar 26, 2012 | Update
Arauco announced it will reconstruct the plywood mill that was destroyed by fire at its complex in Nueva Aldea, Chile.
“We know that the community, our workers and neighbors, expect us to rebuild these facilities, thus contributing to the development of the Region and the commune, by recovering job positions that were lost in this regrettable event,” says Iván Chamorro, Arauco’s public affairs manager.
Arauco estimates that construction and startup will take at least two years. The destroyed mill had an annual production capacity of 450,000 m3. Arauco didn’t report the planned capacity of the new facility.
Numerous forest fires erupted in the Bío Bío Region on December 31 and spread vastly due to high temperatures and strong winds. The blaze affected at least 7,000 hectares of Arauco’s plantation forests before reaching the Nueva Aldea complex, which included the plywood mill, a pulp mill, sawmill and biomass power plants.
Arauco shut down all of the plants and joined firefighting efforts that included more than 500 firemen within the industrial complex and its surroundings backed by seven airplanes and eight helicopters. Only the plywood mill was destroyed, and no casualties or employee serious injuries were reported by Arauco.
While announcing the planned rebuild, Arauco also indicated that 237 of the 661 operators that were directly affected will be relocated into other tasks or the design work of the new panel mill project. Regarding workers that cannot be relocated, Arauco will not terminate their jobs using the force majeure clause that can be used in these situations.
A training program is being developed in collaboration with the Chilean Labor Ministry to provide workers with better tools to enter into new job opportunities.
by Web Editor | Mar 26, 2012 | Update
Following proposals from the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau (SPIB), the American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC) recently approved a design value change for No. 2 2×4 visually graded southern pine lumber as well as lower southern pine 2×4 grades such as No. 3, Stud, Construction and Utility. The new design values go into effect on June 1, 2012.
The ALSC declined to approve SPIB-proposed new design values for other southern pine grades and sizes, pending additional testing that the lumber inspection agency is performing on those products. The new southern pine 2×4 design values recently approved by ALSC reflect a 20%-35% reduction in such properties as bending, tension, compression and MOE.
Officials with SFPA say Southern lumber producers and their customers are generally pleased with ALSC’s decision. “Industry and customers need time for an orderly implementation and this announcement provides that,” says Cathy Kaake, SFPA senior director of engineered and framing markets, who adds that the intent of the transition period will give the marketplace time to begin using the new design values or switch to other southern pine grades and sizes that meet strength and stiffness requirements.
The SPIB is in the process of submitting new design value proposals for other southern pine lumber sizes and grades once additional testing is completed, scheduled for later this year.
The new design values result from an ongoing southern pine lumber testing program in place since the early 1990s. In the past few years, testing results and anecdotal evidence from end users prompted a closer look from SPIB officials after reports of some southern pine lumber not meeting published design values in some applications.
