CANADA – Following the successful completion of a CAD 53 million investment in its Val-d’Or, Canada plant in 2017, Uniboard announced an additional CAD 38.5 million investment for its Val-d’Or plant and is the second phase of a major upgrade project to build a world-class particleboard and thermally fused laminate (TFL) plant in Val-d’Or.

GERMANY – The Egger Group again set new records in its annual results for 2017/2018. The sales increased during the business year 2017/2018 by 12.5% to reach EUR 2,683.8 million.

PORTUGAL – Sonae Industria, a leading European wood panel manufacturer, reported a net profit of EUR 18.9 million in the first six months of 2018 (6M-2018), up 34 per cent against the profits of 6M-2017 and reached EUR 15.1 million in the 2Q-2018, an improvement of EUR 4.9 million and EUR 7.5 million when compared to 6m-2017 and 2Q-2017, respectively.

U.S. – Arauco, a global producer of wood products, announced the purchase of Panolam’s industrial assets located in Albany, Oregon. The acquisition continues the expansion of the company’s presence in the North American market.

SPAIN – Garnica, the recognized Spanish manufacturer of plywood from sustainable wood, announced that it is finalizing the details for the start-up, in the second half of 2020, of the project for a new factory located in the French region of Grand-Est, a region of northeastern France with an abundance of poplar wood.

RUSSIA – Kronospan, the world’s leading manufacturer of wood-based panels, announced the production of its first OSB boards at its factory in Ufa, Russia.

BRAZIL – On July 4th, GreenPlac, the first MDF industry in Mato Grosso do Sul, started operations. With an investment of R $ 600 million, GreenPlac – an Asperbras Group enterprise – will be able to generate 200 direct jobs and nearly 700 indirect jobs in the region.

MEXICO – Masisa announced that the particleboard (PB) production plants in Chihuahua, Mexico and MDF in Durango, Mexico, have been certified by the Composite Panel Association (CPA) for compliance with the new regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States of America (EPA), which establish formaldehyde emission standards for the Wood Compound Products Act and Title VI of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

BRAZIL – Duratex, the largest producer of industrialized wood panels and floors, ceramics and sanitary metals from the Southern Hemisphere, announces entry into a new segment of activity, dissolving wood pulp (DWP), in association with the Austrian group Lenzing, leader in the production of special fibers of cellulose.

TURKEY – Starwood Orman Ürünleri Sanayi A.S., a Turkish pioneer in particleboard production, has ordered a particleboard plant with an annual capacity of 460,000 m3 from Dieffenbacher for its headquarters in İnegöl, in the Bursa province.

CANADA – Canadian panel manufacturer Norbord stood out once again among its peers recording the best performance figures in the Notifix® Index for the 1Q-2018 period.

PORTUGAL/CHILE – Product of the joint venture between two leading companies of the engineered wood industry, Portugal’s Sonae Indústria and Chile’s Arauco, Sonae Arauco celebrates its first year as a new brand.