GERMANY – Siempelkamp, the German based plant manufacturer for the wood-based materials industry, received in September the largest order in the company’s history. 

Swiss Krono SC – formerly KronotexUSA – the South Carolina, USA subsidiary of Swiss Krono Group, commissioned the USD 230 million order.

The investment will expand the high-density fiberboard (HDF) mill and laminate flooring Swiss Krono SC production site in Barnwell, South Carolina. The scope of supply for this plant includes Siempelkamp’s integrated range of competencies, starting with the extensive process technology ranging from the wood yard to a high-bay storage system including a transfer station to the flooring production.

This expansion will allow Swiss Krono to produce 300,000 cubic-meters of HDF per year, which the company will use for laminate flooring manufacturing operations and sell to furniture, cabinet, fixture, door and other wood-based manufacturers. In total, the project will increase the company’s annual laminate flooring capacity by an additional 8 million square-meters. The project commenced this summer and HDF operations will likely begin by the summer of 2018.