pelice 2024 will cover higher level focus on markets & technologies

The ninth Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) will feature 38 speakers, while nearly 100 exhibitor sponsors will fill the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta, Ga. USA.

“We’ve packed a lot into a relatively short time frame of a day and half so I would advise attendees to have an idea ahead of time where they need to go to hear whom they want to hear,” comments Rich Donnell, co-chairman of PELICE and editor-in-chief of Panel World, which hosts the event along with Georgia Research Institute. “It’s easy to get turned around without a game plan.”

Donnell adds, “The agenda has come together nicely and there’s a great range of subject matter, from big picture outlooks to detailed technology insights.”

Mill projects is always a theme of PELICE, and it kicks in the first day, with talks by MARTCO CEO Roy O. Martin III, whose company is completing a new OSB mill in Corrigan, Texas (its second OSB mill at that site); and Roseburg CEO Stuart Gray, whose company is beginning to build an MDF facility in Dillard, Ore.; and TimberHP co-founder Matthew O’Malia, whose company has just started up a wood insulation board facility in Maine. In fact wood insulation board will also be the subject matter for Grenzebach Director of Project Engineering Karl Aicher and for Jim Martin, Director of Advanced Composites Equipment for Globe Machine Manufacturing, both on the second morning of PELICE.

If want to hear about the latest developments in Mass Timber and Cross-Laminated Timber, no one has more experience with it than Nick Milestone, Director of Project Execution with Mercer Mass Timber, who will address its growing status as the preferred choice in build system design, often in combination with existing technologies such steel and concrete.

Meanwhile Rich Baldwin, Chief Investment Officer of Oak Creek Investments, will look at current and future markets and potential in North America for MPP and CLT, while Georgia Forest Commission Director of Forest Services Devon Dartnell hones in legal developments in host-state Georgia that will enhance the utilization of mass timber in commercial construction.

Greg Lewis, Vice President Wood Panels for Forest Economic Advisors, will do what he does best, address wood panel demand as we move into the middle of the decade, and the word is he has a positive outlook. And AFRY Principal Guillermo Velarde will also provide AFRY’s outlook for wood panels in North America and the opportunities therein.

The emerging era of data science for the wood products industries will be addressed by Timothy Young, Interim Director of the Data Science Institute for Machine Learning and AI at the University of Tennessee. Young refers to data science as the “new soil” for growth in the industry, with analytical techniques that can reduce variation of key process and subsequently enhance cost savings. Young is known worldwide for his expertise on analytical modeling, machine learning, AI applications and real-time predictive analytics.

Longtime wood products industry professional, Cory Elliott, now Senior Project Manager with Crow Engineering, will address his company’s approach with AI based control systems toward viable solutions and tolerance enhancement in plant modernization, and he also address some cautions when moving forward with this technology.

Processing modeling is the subject for Bakelite Manager of R&D Bob Breyer, Sr., while Biele Sales Manager Paul Gavin focuses on digital solutions and production control; and Kadant Director of Product Development Lorne Fardy teams with Kadant Sales Director Conor McElveen on using Smart-connected technology to improve stranding for OSB; and KTC VP of Operations Jowan Toor discusses 3D BIM applications for greenfield and brownfield projects.

If you’re looking for a good talk on resins and binders, Wanhua Business Director Timothy Chaffee will focus on the closing of technological gaps of isocyanate wood binders. 

Several talks will address the latest in-line quality control, scanning and measurement technologies and several more will expound on the current and future state of air emissions control regulations and technologies. Two talks, one from Raute and one from Argos/Con-Vey, will address automatic panel repair technology.       There’s much more, with a lot of variety: biofiber panel solutions, veneer dryer technology, spark detection, wastewater recovery, thermal oil optimization, log handling, waterproof packaging. 

As usual the presentation rooms are adjacent the exhibitor floor in the ballroom, and all of the food functions are held on the exhibitor floor.