November 2017

Connections encourages EWTA and APA Members to submit news of interest to scain@engineeredwood.org

CORRECTION
Thank You Platinum Sponsors

Due to an editing error of the presentation slides at the APA Annual Meeting’s Chairman’s Monday night reception in Huntington Beach, California, last month, several EWTA Platinum-level sponsors were not recognized at the awards dinner. Those members inadvertently left off the list were:

Thank you to our Platinum sponsors for your generous support of Info Fair.

EWTA NEWS

EWTA Welcomes New Members

EWTA welcomes two new members:

EcoSynthetix of Burlington, Ontario, Canada, is a renewable chemicals company specializing in bio-based materials that are used as inputs in a wide range of end products, including wood composite panels. Sales representative Scotti Good can be reached at sgood@ecosynthetix.com.
Hansen-Rice Inc. of Nampa, Idaho, is a solutions-driven organization providing value to construction projects through pre-construction, in-house 3D design, general contracting and self-performed steel and thermal work. Marketing representative Tami McIntyre can be reached at tmcintyre@hansen-rice.com.

EWTA Supplier Award Winners Honored

EWTA’s 2017 Supplier Awards honored five members during the Chairman’s Dinner at the APA Annual Meeting in Huntington Beach, California, Oct. 30. Two entries tied to win the Innovation of the Year Award: the Vacuum Feeder Peel Cups (Sweed Machinery) and the Cross Laminated Timber Press (USNR). Supplier of the Year Award winners were KADANT Carmanah Design in the Equipment/Tooling category; Willamette Valley Company in the Materials/Supplies category; and Panel World Magazine/Hatton-Brown Publishers Inc. in the Consulting/Services category. APA members voted for the awards online as well as during the Annual Meeting and Info Fair. Winners will also be highlighted in the spring Engineered Wood Journal magazine. EWTA member Tebulo Industrial Robotics was the sponsor of the Supplier Awards program.

EWTA Allocates $100,000
for APA Projects, Research

EWTA’s Advisory Committee, at its fall meeting in Huntington Beach, California, voted to recommend an allocation of $100,000 to fund five projects benefiting the engineered wood industry. The project proposals, presented by APA staff, included:

$20,000 for a study on emerging technology for wall sheathing systems
$26,000 for research on wood product usage in residential construction
$10,000 towards production of the Build a Better Building commercial
$20,000 to produce a post short educational videos
$24,000 towards APA certification under the USDA BioPreferred program

The recommendation was forwarded to the APA Board of Trustees as part of the overall EWTA budget for 2018. Research contributions, made possible by EWTA member support, continue to trend in a positive direction with more than $340,000 invested since 2000.
EWTA Research

EWTA Advisory Committee
Recommends 2018 Budget

The EWTA Advisory Committee finalized the association’s 2018 budget during its meeting earlier this month in Huntington Beach, California. The budget is for income of $475,600 and expenses of $503,700, resulting in a year-end net deficit of $28,100 and cash reserves of $159,930. The deficit is due to increased allocation of funds towards APA research projects (see story above) in light of ample cash reserves. The proposed budget was forwarded to the APA Board of Trustees for approval.

Info Fair Breaks Record with Number of Sponsorships and Booth Spaces

Sponsorship of Info Fair continues to grow, with 72 members sponsoring and 85 members exhibiting at EWTA’s annual supplier exhibition this year. This year’s event features the highest number of paid sponsors and booth spaces in the history of the exhibition. Seventy-two of the 85 companies who exhibited also sponsored the event. Fourteen companies were Platinum sponsors: ALTEC Integrated Solutions Ltd., BRUKS Rockwood, Chem-Trend LP, CMA engineering Inc., COSTA Sanders LLC, Evertree, Huntsman Polyurethanes, Meinan Machinery Works Inc./Merritt Machinery LLC, Samuel Packaging Systems Group, Signode Packaging Systems, Spar-Tek Industries, Sweed Machinery Inc., USNR, and Westmill Industries USA Corp. Seventeen companies were Gold sponsors and 23 provided sponsorships at the Silver level. Additional sponsorships included support for the Supplier Awards program, the golf tournament, the tennis tournament and the cripple coot shoot. A complete list of exhibitors and meeting sponsors can be found on the EWTA website. The next Info Fair supplier exhibition is Oct. 27-29 at the La Cantera Resort & Spa, Hill Country, in San Antonio, Texas.

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EWTA MEMBERS NEWS

Georgia-Pacific Chemicals
Names Dennis Easter VP

Georgia-Pacific Chemicals has announced the promotion of Dennis Easter to vice president and general manager of thermosets. Formerly Business Manager—Wood Adhesives, Easter’s role will now expand to include managing GPC’s South American wood adhesive business, merchant formaldehyde sales and industrial resins business. The industrial resins group includes products for composite, coatings, laminates, and insulation.

H.B. Fuller to Purchase
Adhesives and Sealants Company

H.B. Fuller Company recently announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase Royal Adhesives & Sealants, a manufacturer of high-value specialty adhesives and sealants headquartered in South Bend, Indiana. With this acquisition, H.B. Fuller will gain product technology and add people and skills that will result in a more capable and dynamic company for customers and employees, the company said in a press release.

B&W MEGTEC Supplying Emission Control Equipment to South Carolina Plant

Babcock & Wilcox MEGTEC has been awarded a contract to supply emission control equipment to a fiberboard manufacturing plant in South Carolina. B&W MEGTEC will design, fabricate and supply two CleanSwitch regenerative thermal oxidizer systems to Buettner Energie-und Trocknungstechnik, Germany, for use at Swiss Krono Group’s manufacturing facility in Barnwell, South Carolina. The RTOs will control volatile organic compounds created during the fiberboard manufacturing process. Engineering work on the project is currently underway. B&W MEGTEC is scheduled to deliver the equipment in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Wechsler Engineering Launches
Equipment Company

Company representatives at Wechsler Engineering recently launched an independent equipment company called Wechsler Technologies. For the past eight years, all specialized equipment was designed and delivered to Wechsler’s industrial customers by Wechsler Engineering. Wechsler Technologies offers a variety of products including process heaters (fuel-fired and electric), thermal fluid safety components, and custom equipment.

AkzoNobel Tops in Industry on
Dow Jones Sustainability Index

AkzoNobel was recently listed first in the “Chemicals” industrial group on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the fifth time in six years. The DJSI World Index, an independent sustainability ranking system, benchmarks the sustainability performance of leading companies based on environmental, social and economic performance, including forward-looking indicators. It assesses various criteria, including supply chain management, operational eco-efficiency, product stewardship, human capital development, integrity and people, process and product safety. AkzoNobel has been featured in the top 10 for 12 consecutive years, underlining AkzoNobel’s commitment to working with customers to develop sustainable solutions that make a positive impact on the whole value chain, the company said in a press release.

Globe Machine Celebrates 100th Year

Tacoma, Washington-based Globe Machine Manufacturing Company celebrated 100 years in business in September with a party at the Maritime Museum in Tacoma. Globe was developed in 1917 as an engineering and manufacturing company supplying machinery for the door and plywood industry. As the composite wood panel industry developed in the 1960s and 1970s, Globe was involved in producing lines for some of the early particleboard, MDF and wafer board plants. Later, Globe was influential in the development of the North American OSB and engineered wood industry. Globe’s history includes leading the development of process technology areas such as plywood manufacturing; wood I-joists and other engineered wood products; panel finishing and coating; and integrated automated storage and retrieval. Globe Machine today employs 130 people.
Globe Centennial

Hexion Completes Expansion of R&D Facility

Hexion Inc. recently completed an expansion of its technology center at its forest products complex in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The expanded research and development facility is focused on developing next generation resin chemistry for panel production that will complement the company’s existing EcoBind lower emitting resin technology and build on the inherent flame, smoke and toxicity retardant properties of the company’s current resin systems.

Brunette Machinery Lauds
Employee’s 40 Years of Service

Brunette Machinery Company recently celebrated the work anniversary of a long-time employee. Sonia Marchesini recently celebrated 40 years with Brunette. She started working for the company on Sept. 8, 1977 as a temporary worker, and held many jobs at Brunette. She is currently employed as the parts manager and service department manager.

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AROUND THE INDUSTRY

APA Past President Receives
Bronson J. Lewis Award

Past APA President Dennis Hardman was the 2017 recipient of the Bronson J. Lewis Award at APA’s Annual Meeting in Huntington Beach, California, Oct. 28–30. The award recognizes individuals for their leadership and outstanding contribution to the engineered wood industry. It is dedicated to the late Bronson Lewis, who served for 24 years as secretary and then executive vice president of APA. Hardman joined APA as advertising and public relations manager in 1981, moving to the position of director of the association’s Information Services Division (now Marketing Communications) in 1984. He became APA president in 2005 and retired from APA in 2013.

2019 Forest Products Expo Dates Announced

The Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA) has announced that its 35th Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Exposition—Expo 2019—will be held June 26–28, 2019 at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center. Sponsored and conducted by SFPA every two years since 1950, this event has traditionally included many of the biggest names in the business displaying everything from sawmill machinery to materials handling equipment, attracting key representatives from the nation’s largest wood products manufacturers. Expo 2017 featured 183 exhibitors, with a total attendance of just over 2,000. An online sales kit and exhibit space application will be available in mid-May. For more information contact SFPA’s Eric Gee.

Registration Ongoing for
Online OSU Short Course

Registration is open for the online, self-paced Wood-Based Composite Science Short Course series through Oregon State University. The course, developed in partnership with the Oregon Wood Innovation Center and the Wood-Based Composites Center, provides mill operators as well as career professionals with a fundamental knowledge of wood as an engineering material in the manufacturing of wood-based composites. Those who successfully complete the course may be eligible for a Certificate of Completion and will be able to improve manufacturing efficiency and product performance, troubleshoot processing problems and enhance your value as an employee. Visit the course’s website for registration information.

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RESOURCES

EWTA /// www.engineeredwood.org
APA /// www.apawood.org
EWTA MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY /// www.engineeredwood.org
APA MANUFACTURER DIRECTORY /// www.apawood.org/manufacturer-directory
APA HELP DESK /// www.apawood.org/help
ENGINEERED WOOD JOURNAL /// www.engineeredwood.org

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SPONSORS

PLATINUM SPONSORS
Thank you to the following sponsors. Click the logos below to visit each sponsor's website.

November 2017 Connections