Leading Latin America panel manufacturer Masisa SA has taken delivery of major sections of a new 280,000m3/year medium density particleboard (MDP) line being built at its board plant in Cabrero, Chile.
The US$55m project involves the conversion of the site’s original 160,000m3/year MDF line to a MDP particleboard unit.
It is adding new equipment to the existing line’s Kusters continuous press, confirmed Masisa’s Chile operations manager Luciano Tiburzi.
The 21m Kusters press is capable of turning out MDP panels in a thickness range of 2.5-40mm.
New equipment for the line includes a 27ton/hour Buttner dryer, a Siempelkamp front end as well as panel handling and a new cut to size section supplied by Kontra.
Panel handling is being modified to process a nominal 2,000m3/day, according to Mr Tiburzi.
Cabrero’s new line is expected to lead to the creation of 145 new jobs on site following its commissioning.
Production at the new plant is due to begin in the third quarter of this year.
