I think that Ligna for the machinery industry – and Interzum for the added-value sector – have always provided quite an accurate barometer for the climate in the panel making industry; both exhibitions seem to reflect the mood looking forward, rather than the current situation.
We all know it has been a very difficult few years since the financial crisis in 2008 and that 2014 was not a brilliant year for most panel making companies, particularly in western Europe.
However, the mood at these two major exhibitions this year would suggest that a lot of people in our industry are expecting that the worst is over and the future is looking more positive, with increasing demand for panels for furniture and construction.
North America, particularly the US, has been the major bright spot in the last couple of years as its economy improved. However, some of that brightness seems to have dulled this year. In his exclusive report for WBPI, expert industry economist Bernard Fuller of Cambridge Forest Products Associates, based in the US, introduces a less optimistic forecast for housing growth, which of course supports the panel industry (see p28 in this issue).
The first part of our survey of the global MDF industry, in Europe and North America, provides few surprises: western Europe is largely stagnating in terms of capacity, while growth for the European continent is headed by five imminent new mills in Turkey and one in Russia. In North America, the recommissioning of the MDF mill at Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, is set to add 257,000m3/year to the region’s capacity.
When we include Mexico in that North American arena, we find MDF capacity about to jump from 74,000m3/year at the end of 2014 to 754,000m3/year by the end of 2015.
Our MDF survey, written by industry expert Geoff Rhodes, begins on p16 of this issue and gives a very comprehensive overview of the industry in Europe and North America at the end of 2014 and looks ahead beyond 2015.
We have an eclectic mix of articles making up the rest of this issue, from a decorative laminate study by the Freedonia Group, to a study of the use – and mis-use – of ‘waste’ wood, presented by Pöyry Management Consulting.
We also have two stories about OSB: a new line in Malaysia producing OSB from rubber wood tree trunks (p36); and a new concept in China, using OSB as the basis for the very exacting market of container flooring panels (p34).
In the northern hemisphere, we are now approaching the Summer, when of course the markets traditionally become somewhat quieter. However, as visitors to the exhibitions reflect on the innovations they saw, I’m sure the orders will come flowing in.
Please keep me advised when they do and we can publicise your success in our news pages.
