GERMANY – Whether ContiRoll® Generation 9 NEO, annual plants or new wood-based panelboards concepts: The future of the engineered wood industry is taking place at the Siempelkamp Research and Development Center; customers worldwide are using one of the largest test centers in the industry for ambitious projects more actively than ever before.

Not only is the latest generation of the ContiRoll® being tested here – the test center is also setting new benchmarks in numerous other research fields in close collaboration with wood-based panel producers.

The ContiRoll® Generation 9 NEO is “ready for take-off” in Siempelkamp’s Krefeld test field. Thus one of the most innovative press concepts enters the most important phase. The key features of this continuous press compared to its predecessor generations: extended flexible press infeed, innovative heating concept, innovative hydraulics, increased press speed – features that have already motivated customers to buy the Generation 9 NEO in Krefeld.

Resource efficiency and the use of annual plants in panel board production are also among the current core topics of the Krefeld experts. Siempelkamp is positioning itself worldwide as a technological driver in this field. After intensive research and development, Siempelkamp brought new methods for processing alternative raw materials such as rice straw and bamboo for fibreboard production to series maturity – a topic that already caused a sensation at LIGNA 2019. Following the first order from California-based CalAg LCC, which ordered a complete Siempelkamp plant for processing rice straw in 2017, another customer has now placed a similar project in the Siempelkamp test center. “Projects with annual plants are currently receiving the strongest response – here we are seeing many projects from customers represented worldwide,” says Dr. Michael Schoeler, Head of the Krefeld trial center.

“The further development of classic wood-based panels is also meeting great response in the market and even more demand from the Siempelkamp test center. Another project is dedicated to the production of hybrid boards. These new processes are characterized by a board surface that is particularly easy to coat and has very good mechanical properties,” explains Dr. Michael Schoeler.