Nile Wood, a subsidiary of Egypt Kuwait Holding (EKH), has ordered a complete MDF line with continuous press CPS + from Dieffenbacher for its new location in Sadat City, Egypt.
The order placed in September 2020 represents EKH’s first move into wood-based panels production and follows a development and construction phase that began at the end of 2018.
EKH was founded in 1997 by a consortium of Kuwaiti and Egyptian business people and has since grown into one of the fastest growing companies in the Middle East and Africa with stakes in 19 companies.
"We first contacted Dieffenbacher at Ligna 2017 in Hanover and started specific project discussions a few months later," explains Walid El Hennawy, CEO of Nile Wood.
“We trust that Dieffenbacher will supply us with a high-end MDF line that will set new standards for wood-based panel production in Africa."
Sesbania wood from the company's own plantations will be used as the raw material for the MDF plant. The fast-growing species can be harvested in just two years.
The overall MDF system for Nile Wood includes the continuous press CPS + measuring 8ft x 32.4m, a chopping line, dryer and sifter, the gluing, forming station and forming line, finishing and the raw panel store as well as the grinding and sawing line. MDF production is scheduled to start at the end of 2021.
Under full load, the plant will achieve an annual production capacity of 200,000m3.
The first CPS + sold in Africa went to Panneaux d'Algerie in 2019 for an MDF plant in El Tarf, Algeria. The second CPS + is part of Ghamoud's new particleboard plant project, also in Algeria.
