Panels & Furniture Asia July/August 2019

MICA (P) No: 079/05/2019 • ISSN: 0219-5704 • KDN: PPS 1453/11/2012(022879) • www.panelsfurnitureasia.com • JULY/AUGUST 2019

ContiRoll ® Generation 9
Choose the best forming and
press line for your new plant.
Siempelkamp Pte. Ltd.
Phone: +65 622/ 331-68
wood@siempelkamp.com
Shortest startup time: 100 % production readiness within
4 weeks after mechanical completion and electrical checkouts.
Siempelkamp performance at its best.
Leadership in Technology
www.siempelkamp.com
ContiRoll ® Generation 9
unrivalled performance

Contents
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • Panels & Furniture Asia
19
EDITOR'S NOTE: | 6
NEWS | 8
26
MARKET REPORT
Vietnamese growth offsets challenging year
in China for U.S. Hardwoods | 16
U.S. Hardwoods: The Elephant is in
the Room | 18
Malaysian wood-based panels -
a diversity of choice | 19
JAPAN SPECIAL
A retrospective look into the Japanese
woodworking machinery industry | 22
FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
United in Technology | 26
30 32
PANELS MANUFACTURING
Coming onboard Scheuch Asia | 30
Luyuan: The Pioneer in Thin MDF
Board Manufacturing Industry
(Part 1) | 32
MATERIALS
Wood Foam: From Tree to Foam | 36
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
FSC plans to double share in global
timber trade by 2020 | 38
DESIGN
The way to truly Green Dwelling | 42
STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
79&Park: An organic addition to
Sweden's Parkscape | 46

SHOW PREVIEW
Vietnam Wood 2019 | 50
SHOW REVIEW
LIGNA 2019 | 51
38
COLUMNISTS
Wood Clinic: Reducing defects when
making hollow-core doors | 61
MMMA NEWSLETTER: Will India
become the new growth driver for
South East Asian MDF
Producers? | 64
CALENDER OF EVENTS | 67
ADVERTISER'S LIST | 68
46
42

6
EDITOR'S NOTE
PREPARING FOR CHANGE
Every two years, woodworking machinery companies
worldwide arrive at Hanover, Germany, in excitement
and anticipation for LIGNA, the world’s largest
woodworking machinery trade show. The scale of the show
is simply astonishing, with booths from the biggest players
almost occupying an entire hall.
It is also the time for companies to launch their newest
products and spread the word of their latest achievements
and financial results. This year though, there was a general
uncertainty in the air. The major players are continuing to
see growth in 2019, but most have also signalled caution:
do not expect the same level of record results as in 2017.
HIU YAN | Editor One key topic for the Asian market, remains to be the
U.S.- China trade war, and the leaders were upfront and
candid with their answers. At HOMAG’s press conference,
CEO Pekka Passivaara shared that “China is a big question mark. We expect China to
improve next year. We will see what happens. Our expectations for 2021 is stronger
in positive development.”
In our interview to introduce Scheuch Asia’s new managing director, Jan Eike Graeffe
(pg. 28), he saw the trade war’s impact on his company as a “knock-on effect” from
clients who are shifting their production facilities to the regional market.
In the same vein, in the market report “The elephant is in the room” (pg. 17), Judd
Johnson found the term “trade war” to be too harsh. He suggested that “trade dispute”
would be a more apt term as there had been a cooperative spirit between China and
the U.S. to find solutions. However, it is undeniable that the tariffs have impacted U.S.
hardwoods negatively, with curtailment and closures already happening back in the U.S.
While business activities may be slowing down in the U.S. and China, Japan is
quietly becoming a rising market in Asia, said the big players. This is no coincidence,
as the Japanese government is aggressively promoting the use of domestic
timber due to a growing oversupply. Starting from this issue, PFA will be presenting
Japan Special: Wood, Machine and Technology, a three-part report series on Japan’s
wood and woodworking machinery industry, past and present. The first in this series
is a lookback at Japan’s woodworking machinery industry (pg. 22). I hope you will
find the reports insightful.
Singapore MICA (P) No. 079/05/2019
panelsfurnitureasia.com
Editor | Szeto Hiu Yan
hiuyan@pabloasia.com
Editor | Pang Yanrong
yanrong@pabloasia.com
Assistant Editor | Natalie Chew
natalie@pabloasia.com
Editor-in-Chief
(Chinese Edition) | Wendy Wei
pabloshanghai@163.net
Graphic Designer | Edwin De Souza
edwin@pabloasia.com
Business Development & Marketing |
YanJun Pang
yanjun@pabloasia.com
Admin & Circulation Manager | Shu Ai Ling
circulation@pabloasia.com
Associate Publisher | Pamela Buckley
pamela@pabloasia.com
Publisher | William Pang
williampang@pabloasia.com
Panels & Furniture Asia is a member of
3 Ang Mo Kio | Street 62 | #01-23 | Link@AMK
Singapore 569139
Tel: (65) 6266 5512
E-mail: info@pabloasia.com
Company Registration No: 200001473N
All rights reserved. Views of writers do not necessarily refl ect the views of
the Publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form
or by any means, without prior permission in writing from the Publisher
and copyright owner. Whilst every care is taken to ensure accuracy of
the information in this publication, the Publisher accepts no liability for
damages caused by misinterpretation of information, expressed or implied,
within the pages of the magazine. All advertisements are accepted on the
understanding that the Advertiser is authorised to publish the contents of
the advertisements, and in this respect, the Advertiser shall indemnify the
Publisher against all claims or suits for libel, violation of right of privacy and
copyright infringements. Panels & Furniture Asia is a controlled-circulation
bi-monthly magazine. It is mailed free-of-charge to readers who meet a set of
criteria. Paid subscription is available to those who do not fit our terms of control.
Please refer to subscription form provided in the publication for more details.
Printed by Times Printers
let's connect!
@panelsfurnitureasia
Panels & Furniture Asia
is the offi cial publication of
Malaysian MDF Manufacturers Association
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

8 NEWS
GLOBAL TRADE OF SOFTWOOD LUMBER
INCREASE IN 1Q/19
GLOBAL trade of softwood lumber
reached 120 million m 3 in 2018, the
second highest level on record. The
uptick in demand for lumber continued in
early 2019, with most of the major lumber
exporting countries increasing their
shipments as compared to early 2018,
reports the Wood Resource Quarterly
(WRQ).
Out of the top-ten exporting countries,
the largest year-over-year increases
(in %) were in Ukraine, Russia, the U.S.,
Chile and Germany.
NORTH AMERICA MARKET
The free fall of lumber prices in the U.S.
came to a halt in early 2019, when prices
were close to a four-year low. During
spring, prices rose modest in both the
U.S. South and the U.S. West. However,
prices were substantially lower than their
record highs in the 1H/18.
Oversea supply of softwood lumber to the
U.S. has always been a fairly small share
of the total import volume. Canadian
supply has historically accounted for
94 to 97 per cent of total imports, only
declining when U.S. lumber prices have
been high, thus attracting imports from
Europe and Latin America. However, non-
Canadian imports have increased for six
consecutive years and in 2018 reached
their highest level seen in 11 years.
Softwood lumber exports from Canada
were down six per cent year-over-year
in 2018, with the biggest decline being
in shipments to China. Despite efforts by
Canada’s lumber industry to diversify its
export shipments, 80 per cent of total
exports were destined for the U.S. market
in the 3Q/18 - a three-year high. However,
this share fell to 76 per cent in the 1Q/19
when exports to China rose again.
CHINA MARKET
Despite much uncertainty in the near
future for the Chinese economy, lumber
imports rose unexpectedly in the 1Q/19
by as much as 14 per cent, as compared
to the same quarter in 2018. Most of
the increase was due to increases in
shipments from Russia and Canada,
while supply from Europe and Latin
America declined. Import prices took a
substantial hit in the past year, falling
from an average of $335/m 3 in March
2018 to $288/m 3 in March 2019.
RUSSIA MARKET
Russia increased exports of softwood
lumber by 7 per cent from 2017 to 2018
to reach almost 30 million m 3 . This was
the sixth consecutive year that exports
have gone up from the previous year. Its
five largest export markets are China,
Uzbekistan, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Japan.
NORTHERN EUROPE MARKET
For the first time in five years, Swedish
exports of softwood lumber fell yearover-year
in 2018. The biggest declines
from 2017 to 2018 were in exports to Asia
and the MENA region, while shipments to
the European market remained practically
unchanged. The European share of total
exports from Sweden reached 67 per
cent in 2018, the highest level seen since
2011. The MENA region accounted for
just over 18 per cent of total shipments,
the second lowest share in ten years.
Export prices (in US$) have stayed high
during 2018 and actually averaged the
highest level seen since 2014. ℗
NZ AND CHINA SIGN FORESTRY COOPERATION ARRANGEMENT
AN arrangement was signed by New
Zealand and China to pave the way
for future forestry cooperation and
boosting bilateral trade.
The arrangement was signed in
Wellington by Forestry Minister Shane
Jones and Mr Zhang Jianlong, the
Administrator of China’s National Forestry
and Grasslands Administration.
“The updated arrangement supports
and strengthens links between
government, industry and research
institutes in New Zealand and China.
It provides a framework to address
matters such as sustainability, wood
processing and utilisation, and trade and
investment,” Shane Jones said.
“The forestry sector is an important
and growing part of our bilateral trade
with China, with export revenue topping
$3.2 billion in the year ending 2018. Much
of this growth has come from increased
Chinese demand for New Zealand forestry
products, supporting both continued
high prices and record export volumes.”
“A number of Chinese companies
choose to use wood sourced from New
Zealand for their manufacturing, and
I am keen to see how we can grow the
relationship further, especially for our
respective wood processing industries.
Both governments will hold talks in
China later this year, where the New
Zealand industry will be invited to
promote government-to-government and
industry-to-industry collaboration. ℗
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

NEWS 9
RAUTE PRESENTS NEW RANGE OF PRODUCTS SUITED
FOR SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED MILLS IN APAC
RAUTE will be unveiling a series of new
machines catered to the growing market
of small to medium sized plywood and
LVL businesses at IFMAC 2019. The new
range includes a spindleless peeling line,
drying line, as well as patching machines.
This new line of products provides robust,
easy-to-use and high capacity machines
at a hospitable price point, aimed to help
mill owners grow their plywood and LVL
businesses.
Raute is also focusing on developing
solutions for maximum mill-scale
performance in plywood and LVL
production. Many of Raute’s customers
have by now developed their mills and
found success in their field. Raute’s
solutions cover the entire life time of
an investment, which includes helping
with designing, building and starting
a new mill, as well as keeping it in
full production with training, spare
parts and preventive maintenance.
Raute’s digital tools enable easy online
tracking of daily results, for maximum
mill efficiency too.
Optimising existing mills and helping
them erase operational bottlenecks with
upgrades and modernisations are also
part of Raute’s product offering. Raute
delivers new efficient lines to boost mill
capacity and product range expansion,
achieving full efficiency no matter where
the business is.
Group CEO, Mr. Tapani Kiiski said,
“Demand for Raute’s technology and
services continues to be strong. The bulk
of demand is shifting to the emerging
markets, in South America and Asia.
Within the industrialised markets, the
focal point is shifting to a new customer
base, to smaller customers and some
that are new to the industry.” With the
emerging plywood and LVL market,
Raute’s offerings are more relevant in
Asia than ever before. ℗
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

10 NEWS
U.S. FOREST PRODUCTS TO CHINA FELL
SIGNIFICANTLY IN FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2019
CHINA’S imports of U.S. forest products
fell by 430 million dollars in the first
four months of 2019, or down 43 per
cent from the same period in 2018. The
U.S. market share fell by 35 per cent,
while Canadian and Russian exporters
have increased their shares since 2018,
reports the Wood Resource Quarterly.
The flow of lumber, logs and pulp from the
U.S. to China has fallen sharply since the
U.S. government initiated tariffs on Chinese
imports to the U.S. in May of 2018.
The trade war between the U.S. and China
has impacted U.S. exporters of forest
products to China. China’s economy
slowed during 2018 and early 2019,
causing the total value of imported
wood pulp, lumber and logs to decline
by just over 10 per cent from the first
four months of 2018 to the same period
in 2019. Simultaneously, forest product
imports from the U.S. fell by almost
42 per cent in value.
From January to April, 2019, China
imported logs, softwood lumber and
pulp from the U.S. collectively valued at
600 million dollars. This is down from
$1.03 billion dollars’ worth of forest
products imported during the same period
in 2018. The biggest declines in import
value of U.S. forest products from the
1Q/18 to the 1Q/19 have been those of
wood pulp and hardwood logs, falling $220
million and $110 million, respectively.
OTHER COUNTRIES TAKE OVER
U.S. MARKET SHARE IN CHINA
With forest product imports from the
U.S. deteriorating and American wood
product exporters losing market shares
in the Chinese market, imports from other
countries, including Canada and Russia,
have fallen less or even expanded the
past year. While the U.S. market share
for forest products imports has fallen by
35 per cent from the first four month of
2018 to the same period in 2019, Canada’s
and Russia’s shares have gone up by
12 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.
Supply of softwood logs and lumber
from Canada, in particular, has increased
in 2019, with import volumes of logs
increasing 25 per cent year-overyear,
and lumber imports increasing
54 per cent in early 2019 as compared
to early 2018. In addition, there has also
been a rise in shipments of both logs
and lumber from Europe since the trade
conflict started in the summer of 2018.
Even if the trade negotiations between the
U.S. and China result in lower or eliminated
tariffs in the future, the new supply sources
that Chinese forest products importers
have developed during the ongoing trade
dispute will likely remain, permanently
changing historic trade flows to China. ℗
MTC TO OPEN NEW REGIONAL OFFICES IN
HOUSTON AND ROTTERDAM THIS YEAR
MALAYSIAN TIMBER COUNCIL (MTC)
CEO, Richard Yu, announced that MTC
will open regional offices in Houston
and Rotterdam to seek new buyers in
the United States and Europe as well as
to help Malaysian companies source for
raw materials,
He said that the Rotterdam office is set
to open in June and the Houston office in
the second half of the year.
Yu said that the European office will cover
the Middle East and African countries,
adding that the new offices will be
realigned to widen their reach as well
as to open up emerging niche markets.
Yu said its office in Bengaluru, India,
has been rebranded as the South Asia
office to cater to regional areas such as
Pakistan, while its office in Guangzhou
has been expanded to cover East Asian
countries such as South Korea, Taiwan
and Japan.
RM 25 BILLION IN TIMBER AND
TIMBER-RELATED PRODUCTS TO
BE EXPORTED IN 2020
Despite worries surrounding the
US-China trade war and Brexit, the
Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) is
confident that Malaysia can export
RM25 billion (US$6 billion) of timber
and timber-based products by next year.
At present, he said Malaysia’s timber and
timber-based products are exported to
over 160 countries.
Exports of major timber products stood
at RM22.29 billion in 2018, down from
RM23.13 billion in 2017. ℗
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

NEWS 11
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

12 NEWS
OPPORTUNITIES FOR MALAYSIA FROM
U.S.-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE
MALAYSIAN business climate has been
unsettled as ongoing trade dispute
between the U.S. and China left its
impact on Asian exports. Some segments
of the economy, though, are seeking
opportunities from the dispute, reported
the ITTO TTM Report.
Two Malaysian companies are exploring
opportunities stemming from the
escalating U.S.-China trade war. A
Johor-based furniture maker is said to
be in talks with a Chinese company keen
to use its facilities in Malaysia for their
future business.
Malaysian companies are seeing a
growing number of enquiries from
American buyers looking to purchase
South East Asian products which are now
more competitively priced compared to
Chinese products. ℗
MYANMAR GOVERNMENT TO LIFT BAN ON
PLANTATION TEAK EXPORTS
THE Myanmar government will lift the
ban on exportation of raw teak and
timber from state and privately-owned
plantations, Ministry of Natural Resources
and Environmental Conservation deputy
permanent secretary U Kyaw Zaw
announced. However, the ban on raw
teak and timber from natural forests will
remain, reported The Irrawaddy.
With the decision finalised on 31 May,
U Kyaw Zaw said, “Only timber from
private and state-owned plantations will
be allowed for export. We have already
adopted proper verification procedures,
because government leaders are very
concerned that timber from natural
forests could be mistakenly allowed
for export,” he told The Irrawaddy.
Teak exports are still subject to an
approval process by the ministry, which
will grant or deny permission on a
case-by-case basis in response to
requests from companies, he said.
Ultimately, he said that the ministry
decided to reallow teak exports in
order to promote the private sector,
create local job opportunities and
promote forest conservation and
afforestation.
In 2014, the U Thein Sein government
banned the exportation of all raw timber
in an attempt to limit deforestation.
The current National League for
Democracy (NLD) government also
restricted logging beginning in 2016.
In the last ten fiscal years, 300 private
companies have been permitted to plant
251,173.97 acres of teak; as of March
2018, 143,278.26 acres had been planted.
In the same period, 104,890.26 acres of
hardwood had been planted, according
to the Ministry of Natural Resources
and Environmental Conservation.
In fiscal year 2017-18, the ministry’s
Forest Department established 14,970
acres of timber and teak plantations.
More than 143,000 tons of trafficked
timber have been seized by the government
since the current administration took
office, in 2016, according to the Forest
Department. Timber from Myanmar is
mainly smuggled to China.
MYANMAR, PEFC’S 51 ST
MEMBER
THE Myanmar Forest Certification Committee (MFCC) and PEFC
International have announced the conclusion of PEFC membership
for the MFCC. The MFCC is the latest and 51 st national member of
the PEFC Alliance, said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International.
Gunneberg said “It is great to see that the collaboration
with MFCC has been successful and has already led to the
acceptance of Myanmar as a member. We are collaborating
with MFCC on a three-year project to support the country as
it transitions to the sustainable management of its forests."
The project is co-funded by the Prince Albert II of Monaco
Foundation. ℗
INDONESIA GOVERNMENT
OFFERS TO HELP EXPORTERS
SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES IN TRADE
CONFLICT
PRESIDENT Joko Widodo recently met with business leaders
to offer government assistance to local industries trying to
secure opportunities created by the ongoing trade conflict
between the U.S. and China. He told members of the Indonesian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Indonesian
Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) that efforts must be
focused on economic matters now that the election is over.
He called on the business community to offer policy suggestions
which would help the country benefit most as there are opportunities
in the electronics, textile and furniture markets in the U.S.. ℗
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

NEWS 13
VIETNAM READY TO TRADE LEGAL TIMBER WITH THE EU
FROM 1 June onwards, Vietnam will
be exporting only verified legal timber
products to the European Union (EU)
markets as the Voluntary Partnership
Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement,
Governance and Trade (VPA/FLECT)
officially enters into force, reported Viet
Nam News.
The Delegation of the EU to Vietnam and
Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development announced the completion
of the process of approval and ratification
of VPA/FLECT in May.
Nguyen Quoc Trị, Director of the Vietnam
Administration of Forestry, said that the
implementation of the VPA/FLECT marked
the beginning of a joint commitment of
the EU and Vietnam to work together to
address illegal logging and associated
trade.
To implement the VPA/ FLEGT, Vietnam is
developing a Timber Legality Assurance
System (VNTLAS) to ensure that its
exports of timber and timber products
come from legal sources, including
systems to verify that Vietnamese
businesses are only importing timber that
has been legally harvested and traded in
accordance with the relevant legislation
in the country of harvest.
This meant that illegally harvested
timber, as well as those businesses
trading with it, will not be able to be a part
of supply chains regulated by the timber
legality assurance system that Vietnam
is putting in place.
The two sides also agreed to establish a
Joint Implementation Committee (JIC)
to oversee the implementation of the
agreement.
Ha Cong Tuan, Deputy Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development,
said that “the VPA/FLECT is a strong
indication of Vietnam's and the EU's
commitment towards front loading
the implementation of the 'Trade and
Sustainable Development' Chapter of
the EVFTA, which includes provisions
on sustainable forest management and
trade in forest products.”
Vietnam is the second country in Asia
after Indonesia to sign the VPA/FLECT
with the EU ℗
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

14 NEWS
SCREENING ON A HIGHER LEVEL
DIEFFENBACHER introduces new HCOS
High-Capacity Oscillating Screen for
dry flake screening in particleboard
production
Building on its long experience with
oscillating screens for particle board
production, DIEFFENBACHER has
developed the new HCOS High-Capacity
Oscillating Screen for more throughput
with less investment. Visitors to
Ligna 2019 were the first to see the new
screen.
The HCOS is developed specifically for
producing high volumes. It is available
in three sizes with the largest version
enabling throughput of 260 m³/h. The
HCOS High-Capacity Oscillating Screen
can be equipped with the new Mechanical
Inclination Change (MIC) feature. By
adjusting the screen’s inclination from
8° to 6° or 10°, material flow can be
decreased or increased. This makes
capacities of up to 325 m³/h possible.
The lightweight construction ensures
a long frame life and enables hanging
installation of the screen, eliminating the
need for dedicated foundation blocks.
Meeting ATEX safety standards, the
HCOS is ready for indoor installation.
All new HCOS High-Capacity Oscillating
Screens feature Integrated Flameless
Explosion Relief (IFER). In the event of
a particle explosion in one of the four
screen decks, the IFER ensures flameless
pressure relief. All neighbouring decks
are perfectly protected from explosion
hazard.
The HCOS is configured for four or
five fractions. The screen nets for the
different fractions are self-cleaning
and quickly changeable for minimum
maintenance.
Apart from installations in new plants,
the screen can also easily be integrated
into existing plant structures as a retrofit
due to industry-standard distances
between the infeed and outfeed axes.
The steel structure can simply be placed
on foundation plates. Existing foundation
blocks can remain in their old position
and do not have to be dismantled. ℗
With lightweight frames made of edged
laser-cut profiles and enclosure panels
and doors made of light sandwich panels
with high stiffness, the HCOS weighs
just 60 per cent of comparable screens.
HCOS High-Capacity Oscillating Screen
FIRST CLT PRIMARY SCHOOL TO BE BUILT IN AUSTRALIA
ARCHITECTURAL firm BVN will be
constructing the first CLT/ Glulam school
in Australia as the architectural industry
enters what has been described as the
Built Environment’s ‘Timber Age’.
The timber structure consists of
prefabricated Glulam beams and columns,
CLT walls and Lignotrend CLT slabs. The
structure has been developed closely
with manufacturers and Engineers from
Germany and Switzerland in collaboration
with TTW’s Sydney office.
The Glulam structure has been
specially engineered with Neue Holz
AG in Switzerland to ship including all
connection elements, so minimal work is
required on site. This in combination with
the CLT walls and slabs will reduce the
installation time dramatically, compared
to a traditional concrete or steel structure.
The design of the school exposes all
structural timber beams and columns,
as well as the ceilings to highlight its
beauty. This required an extensive Fire
Engineered solution whereby even the
feature stairs in the atrium, also built
out of exposed CLT, serves as fire egress
stairs.
The design has been developed to
generate a modern and adaptable
learning environment tailored to the
needs of the children and teachers. The
project is due for completion at the end
of 2017 and when complete will provide
facilities for 450 students. ℗
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

NEWS 15
LEUCO RECEIVES GERMAN INNOVATION
AWARD FOR AIRSTREAM SYSTEM
LEUCO received a “WINNER”
award at the German
Innovation Awards for its
"LEUCO AirStream" milling
system for woodworking.
GERMAN INNOVATION
AWARD - THE
PRIZE THAT MAKES
INNOVATIONS VISIBLE
The disposal of chips is
a classic challenge in
woodworking. Constructive solutions to
tools for targeted chip guidance have to
a certain extent been available for some
time in the industry, especially in the
furniture industry. "The AirStream was
inspired by the scoops of sports cars.
Transferring the design to woodworking
tools was an entirely new challenging
which is both tricky and exciting as it has
never before been applied in this way,"
said Benjamin Sitzler, developer of the
Ewald Westfal (left) and Benjamin Sitzler accepted the WINNER award
for the innovative "AirStream"
AirStream system at LEUCO.
Awarded “Winner” in the category of
"Excellence in Business to Business",
under the "Machines & Engineering"
section, the AirStream system solution
won the jury over with its new type
and approach to milling cutter design.
Responding to the win, LEUCO’s head
of technology, Ewald Westfal, added,
"It is important that, for the first time
in history, smaller and
medium-sized companies
also benefit from a design
solution for chip removal
thanks to the AirStream
system, because the tools
are used on machines from
Holzher,".
ANOTHER AWARD
WON
LEUCO's tool innovations
"LEUCO p-System" and "LEUCO nn-
System" were also awarded a German
Innovation in 2018. With over 1,200
employees worldwide, LEUCO is a classic
medium-sized company and has attached
great importance to successful research
and development since its founding in
1954. The innovative AirStream tools
are produced at the Horb am Neckar site.
Modern machinery and highly qualified
specialists ensure the quality of the tools. ℗
VIETNAM IMPORTED ALMOST 10 MILLION
CUBIC METRES OF TIMBER IN 2018
Vietnam is increasing its imports of
primary wood products, especially
hardwoods, from over 100 countries to
meet the demands of its rapidly expanding
processing sector, reported Global Wood.
In 2018, Vietnam’s wood processing
industry imported nearly 10 million m 3 of
timber that provided about 25 per cent of
the total input required by the domestic
industries. The value of this wood raw
material was US$2.34 billion in 2018, up
by 7 per cent compared to 2017.
The soon to be implemented EU-
Vietnam VPA/FLEGT is expected to
generate many export opportunities
for domestic manufacturers, which will
in turn challenge the sourcing of wood
raw materials as Vietnam still depends
on imports from so-called ‘high-risk’
countries in terms of verification of
legality, according to analysts.
Most of Vietnam-made finished wood
products are exported to developed
markets such as the U.S., EU, Japan and
South Korea, therefore needing to meet
the legal and technical requirements in
these countries. This can be achieved
through the use of domestic plantation
material such as acacia, eucalyptus
and rubberwood and importing
verified legal timber raw materials.
Among the top 15 raw wood
supplying countries, seven are high
risk sources in terms of legality and
they currently account for a high
proportion of Vietnam’s timber imports.
The implementation of the VPA will
also impact imports of high value
precious species used mainly for
domestic consumption and imported
from countries with weak forest
management and law enforcement.
SOURCING HIGH VALUE
SPECIES A CHALLENGE
The Vietnamese timber sector is facing
to a serious shortage of logs and sawn
wood due to the domestic logging ban
and also the various restrictions and
regulations on raw material exports by
its neighbours such as Laos, Cambodia
and Myanmar. They were once major
suppliers of tropical timber for Vietnam. ℗
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

16 MARKET REPORT
Trade wars, tariffs, slowing Asian
economies, and even a harsh
winter all led to a challenging
year for U.S. hardwood exports in 2018.
Nevertheless, thanks to a strong start to
the year and growing demand in South
East Asia, 2018 still totalled the 2 nd best
year ever for exports of U.S. hardwood
products.
Last year the China market for American
lumber decreased by 16% in volume
and 13% in value YOY in comparison
to 2017. The trade was impacted by
multiple factors including Chinese
economic deceleration, depreciation
of the RMB, and continued market and
tariff uncertainty among other things.
All species of American hardwood lumber
decreased in trade year over year except
for walnut, birch, and beech. Red oak,
the most popular American species
in China, dropped by 18% in volume.
Ash and tulipwood (also called yellow
poplar) lumber also decreased by over
20% in volume in 2018, and white oak
was down 11%. Figure 1 shows the
trade of U.S. hardwood lumber to China
month by month for 2016-2018. As
you can see, 2018 (in red) started off
strong, but as trade concerns became a
reality in early summer both the US and
Chinese industries were affected. There
was a slight jump in October when a
“tariff delay” was announced, but trade
immediately dropped back down to sub
2016 levels in November and December.
Vietnamese
Growth Offsets
Challenging
Year in China for
U.S. Hardwoods
Tripp Pryor, International Programme Manager, American Hardwood Export Council
359,616m 3 ). This is particularly welcome US$5.5 million in new sales of red oak
news for a U.S. industry pushing for new lumber. The total value of red oak shipped
markets in the face of trade difficulties from the United States to Vietnam
in China. In 2018 Vietnam grew 13% in is now roughly even with walnut at
volume and 17% in value, led by strong $22 million each. Figure 2 shows the
years for red & white oak, walnut, and value growth in USD for several major
western red alder. Red oak in particular species of U.S. hardwoods. In total,
grew by 42% in volume from 2017 the Vietnamese market for U.S.
to 2018. This growth represents over hardwood logs and lumber is valued
US Lumber to China and Hong Kong (m 3 )
Even though the China market for U.S.
hardwoods still posted the second
highest trade totals ever, the reduction
in trade from 2017 has many American
companies looking to new markets
for growth opportunities. The growing
market first and foremost in everyone’s
mind is Vietnam.
Vietnam has continued its dramatic
growth, leading SE Asia and now totalling
a larger volume of U.S. hardwood lumber
imports than all of Europe (500,060m 3 vs
Figure 1
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

MARKET REPORT 17
The American Hardwood Export Council
has planned a full schedule of events
to promote U.S. hardwood products
in 2019. You can meet with AHEC and
the American hardwood industry at
events like our U.S. Hardwood Pavilion
at VietnamWood this September in
Ho Chi Minh. ℗
Figure 2
at over $275 million USD.
Elsewhere in SE Asia, Indonesia
posted a strong year, up 12% by value
(to $25.9 million USD) and 13% by
volume (36,088m 3 ). The Malaysian
market faced difficulties, in part due to
a currency devaluation of 10% from
March to November 2018. This of course,
makes American hardwood products
more expensive. The Malaysian market for
U.S. hardwood lumber decreased by
25% in value (to $16.8 million USD),
and 26% in quantity (to 24,835m 3 ).
Tripp Pryor, International Programme Manager,
American Hardwood Export Council
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

18 MARKET REPORT
U.S. HARDWOODS
THE ELEPHANT IS IN
THE ROOM
By Judd Johnson Editor, Hardwood Market Report
Trade war. It is a harsh term
because it implies bitterness
between customers and their
suppliers. In actuality, nothing could
have been further from the truth for
individual U.S. and Chinese companies
involved in U.S. hardwood lumber
trade. The disagreements are between
governments.
“Trade dispute” seemed like a more
accurate term, because there had been
a cooperative spirit between China and
the U.S. to find solutions. But whatever
phrase is used to describe the differences
between the two countries, the use of
tariffs has negatively affected the U.S.
hardwood industry and, consequently,
each and every business involved with
U.S. hardwoods.
buyers sacrificed deposits paid on
lumber. Some U.S. suppliers faced taxes
and substantial handling and storage
costs for loads that were soon to be
delivered but suddenly had no buyer. A
significant amount of lumber originally
destined to China was rerouted to
Vietnam – so much so that established
price points in that marketplace were
disrupted.
U.S. sales prices declined broadly. In
what has been almost a yearlong impact
from tariffs, competitive pressures
still exist. Now, prices for key species
and grades of lumber have become
prohibitively low for U.S. producers.
Furthermore, the pushback in purchased
volume by China is a problem U.S.
suppliers have not yet resolved.
Curtailments and outright closures have
already occurred at U.S. lumber yard
and sawmill operations. More cutbacks
are likely, if not assured. At risk from
continued structural change to the
production network is the U.S. hardwood
industry’s ability to respond quickly when
market conditions improve.
For those who will remember, market and
economic downturns from 2007 through
2011 damaged the U.S. hardwood
production grid. Limited supplies amid
rebounding global demand beginning in
2012 fueled hyperinflation for certain
lumber items. Upward price pressures
carried through 2014. This was an erratic
and unhealthy consequence that led to
further price volatility until conditions
finally stabilized in 2016.
Ultimately, tariffs have driven U.S.
hardwood lumber costs prohibitively
higher for the Chinese marketplace.
There have been times when buyers
abruptly canceled orders due to tariffs,
in many cases after containers had
departed U.S. ports. Some Chinese
There is no doubt U.S. hardwood lumber
supplies will eventually conform to the
market’s contracted needs. In fact, the
process is under way. But, notably, it
is how supply conforms to the present
business downturn in China that is a point
of concern.
Fast forward to today. Given the level
of disruption caused by tariffs and the
current Chinese market downturn, the
U.S. hardwood supply grid seems headed
toward structural change that potentially
could cause similar erratic and unhealthy
pricing when markets rebound. ℗
HMR is the leading source of pricing and market information for North American hardwoods. It has provided reliable, expert analysis of pricing
and market trends to hardwood companies throughout the world since 1922. Sample copies and subscription services for Hardwood Market
Report ® and all other HMR publications are available online at www.hmr.com.
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

MARKET REPORT 19
MALAYSIAN WOOD-
BASED PANELS -
A DIVERSITY
OF CHOICE
The wood-based panel industry in Malaysia consists of plywood and veneer mills, and plants manufacturing Medium
Density Fibreboard (MDF), particleboard, blockboard and Oriented Strand Board (OSB). Developed over the years,
these mills are capable of providing a consistent supply of wood-based panels for overseas and local markets.
Malaysian plywood, MDF, particleboard, blockboard and OSB are reputed for their consistent quality and durability.
The country has been a leading manufacturer and exporter of high quality panel products for more than 50 years.
Wood-based panels have proven to be efficient and economical, with greater homogeneity and stability across
large surface areas. These panels are widely used for concrete formwork, laminated and engineered flooring,
and furniture manufacturing. They are also used for interior decorations as panelling and partitioning. Specialised panels are
available for external applications.
PLYWOOD – A MULTI-USE
WONDER
The types of plywood produced by Malaysia
include common veneer face plywood,
decorative plywood, overlaid plywood
including printed paper and polyester
plywood, phenolic film-faced plywood,
plywood for concrete formwork and
container flooring, and marine plywood.
The popular Malaysian timbers used for
the production of plywood are Bintangor,
Dark Red Meranti, Kelempayan, Kembang
Semangkok, Keruing, Mengkulang,
Mersawa, Nyatoh, Rubberwood, Sepetir
and Yellow Meranti as well as Oil Palm
(mainly as core veneers).
Plywood
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

20 MARKET REPORT
MDF
MEDIUM DENSITY FIBREBOARD
– EXCEPTIONALLY USER-
FRIENDLY
MDF is generally denser than plywood
with a typical density of 750kg per m 3
or greater. The continuity and homogenous
nature of the MDF panel lends itself very
well to the mass production of furniture,
doors, picture frames, profiled strips
and construction components. The
MDF panels can also be made moisture
resistant, fire retardant and fungal
resistance by combining various additives.
Consumers purchasing MFD from
Malaysia have the choice of panels
made from either 100 per cent
Rubberwood (plantation species) or
mixed tropical wood (often certified by
PEFC). Rubberwood MDF will be lighter
in colour, while mixed tropical wood MDF
will be 100 per cent free from latex spots.
These quality engineered wood panels
are available in the raw form or overlaid
with laminates of natural wood veneer,
paper or synthetics such as melamine,
PU and PVC.
PARTICLEBOARD – IT’S RESOURCE-EFFICIENT
Particleboard, also known as Chipboard, is an engineered wood
product similar to MDF but is manufactured from wood chips,
sawmill shavings/off cuts, and sawdust without the need for
a defibrator. Unlike MDF, particleboard is made from three
layers (a fine top and bottom layer, and a coarser core layer).
The wood particles are then combined with a resin and other
additives, which are then compressed under high temperatures
and pressure to form the Chipboard wood panel.
Particleboard does not have the same homogeneity as MDF, so
it cannot be shaped and profiled as MDF, but it is more costcompetitive.
This makes it an ideal raw material for the mass
production of panel-based furniture. Like MDF, particleboards
can be made more attractive by laminating with wood veneers
or synthetic overlays such as melamine and PVC.
Particleboard
ORIENTED STRAND BOARD – A
SOUND CHOICE FOR PRACTICAL
PROJECTS
OSB is efficiently manufactured with
wood derived from smaller logs and fastgrowing
tree species. OSB is designed
to perform in a variety of applications
such as in construction, furniture and
DIY products.
Malaysian OSB is the first in the world
to be manufactured using tropical
hardwood, hence, ensuring even better
strength and durability. ℗
All images are credited to MTC.
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA
OSB

MARKET REPORT 21
Panel
Product
Common Sizes Thickness Adhesives Standards
Plywood
• 1220mm x 2440mm
(4’ x 8’)
• 915mm x 2135mm
(3’ x 7’)
• 915mm x 1830mm
(3’ x 6’)
Common
thickness
ranges
from 3mm
to 25mm in
3 to13 plies
• Urea
Formaldehyde
(UF) for Moisture
Resistant (MR)
grade.
• Phenol
Formaldehyde
(PF) or Phenol
Resorcinol
Formaldehyde
(PRF) for Water
and Boil Proof
(WBP) grade.
• Low
concentrations of
formaldehyde
formulations
ensure compliance
with emission level
requirements such
as E0 and E1.
Malaysian plywood
is produced in
compliance with
internationally
recognised
standards such as
ISO, JAS, BS,
CARB and EN.
Medium
Density
Fibreboard
• 1220mm x 1830mm
(4’ x 6’)
• 1220mm x 2440mm
(4’ x 8’)
• 1830mm x 2440mm
(6’ x 8’)
• Door skin sizes
1.5mm to
32mm
• Urea
Formaldehyde
(UF) and Moisture
Resistant (MR)
adhesives.
• Most MDF panels
produced have low
formaldehyde
emission levels in
compliance with
the European, JIS,
EPA and CARB
standards.
JANZ, EN, JIS,
BS, EMB, CARB,
EPA and other
internationally
recognised
standards.
Particleboard
• 1220mm x 1830mm
(4’ x 6’)
• 1220mm x 2440mm
(4’ x 8’)
• 1830mm x 2440mm
(6’ x 8’)
6mm to
36mm
• Urea
Formaldehyde
(UF) and Moisture
Resistant (MR)
adhesives.
• Boards with
low formaldehyde
emission in
compliance with
European, JIS,
EPA and CARB
standards.
ISO, JIS, BS, DIN,
EN, EPA, CARB and
others in compliance
with internationally
recognised
standards.
Oriented
Strand Board
Can be manufactured
to over 16 feet.
9mm to
36mm in
3-5 layers
• p-MDI resin (Non-
Formaldehyde
Add) which is safe
for the
environment.
• Resistance to
water and
moisture.
Malaysian OSBs
meet the stringent
regulations for use
as those required by
European and
Japanese standards
such as ISO, JAS,
BS and EN.
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

22 JAPAN SPECIAL
A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK
INTO THE JAPANESE
WOODWORKING
MACHINERY INDUSTRY
(PART 1)
By Szeto Hiu Yan
In the next few months, PFA will be presenting the JAPAN SPECIAL: Wood, Machinery and
Technology – a three-part report series on Japan’s woodworking industry.
Our first interview is with the Japan Woodworking Machinery Association. Taiki Amano,
manager of Japan Woodworking Machinery Association, together with Masanori Imoto,
a respected member who is also the President of IIDA Kogyo Co., Ltd, will share a brief
history as well as the latest developments in Japan’s woodworking machinery industry.
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

JAPAN SPECIAL 23
This report will examine Japan’s woodworking machinery
industry through three different lenses: the decline
in trade shows since 1980s, recent developments in
Japan’s domestic market as well as the future rise of prefabricated
wood and plywood manufacturing.
The Japan Woodworking Machinery Association has a history
of 70 years. It currently has 67 members from all over Japan.
1985: THE WATERSHED YEAR
A retrospective glance at the rise and fall of Japan’s woodworking
machinery industry, from the association’s perspective, returned
repeatedly to a pivotal point in time: the year 1985. It was the
start of the dollar's dramatic slide against the yen from 240 yen to
79.75 yen within a decade.
While the Japanese economy recovered quickly after the world
recession in the early 1980s, it entered a period of “unparalleled
prosperity” between 1985 to 1990 1 . The economy overexpanded
due to an exuberantly optimistic outlook, driving up
land and stocks prices relentlessly until the asset price bubble
burst in the early 1990s.
The value of yen paralleled the strong economy and large trade
surpluses, strengthening continuously till 1995. Figure 1 shows
the key movements in the value of the yen from 1985 to 1995.
JAPAN’S WOODWORKING MACHINERY TRADE
SHOWS, PAST AND PRESENT
Japan’s woodworking machinery trade shows were at their largest,
both in quantity and scale, in the early 1980s, according to Imoto.
“ The biggest exhibition could easily occupy all three buildings
at Port Messe Nagoya, Nagoya’s exhibition centre, spilling over
to large temporary tents next to the buildings. Trade shows back
then were huge. At its peak, there were as many as two to three
exhibitions held annually,” recalled Imoto.
Imoto believes that the robustness of the woodworking
machinery industry and its exports was closely interlinked with
the value of the yen.
In the early 1980s, Japan’s export market was at its peak;
about 70 per cent of the plywood machines and 30 per cent of
sawmill machines, all manufactured in Japan, were exported.
Japan’s export markets consisted of mostly developing South
East Asian countries – the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.
“But from 1985 onwards, the yen started strengthening, again
when the bubble economy burst in 1991. The Lehman Brother
crisis in 2008 was the last blow to our industry’s export markets.
The prices of Japanese exports had gone up by almost double.
There was no way to sell our products overseas,” said Imoto.
Figure 1
Sources: 1. Reuters 2
2. https://www.macrotrends.net/2550/dollar-yen-exchange-rate-historical-chart
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

24 JAPAN SPECIAL
POST 2008: AFTER THE
LEHMAN BROTHERS CRISIS
In mid-1980s, Japan’s woodworking
machinery companies also started to
face stiffer competition from European
woodworking machinery companies
like Weinig, which caught up and took
over Japan’s market share. Cheaper
Taiwanese machines soon entered the
market as well and took the remaining
share.
After 2008, the woodworking machinery
industry in Japan shrank once more and
retreated to the domestic market for
good, said Imoto.
Besides the strong currency, Imoto also
pointed to a weakened domestic furniture
industry which saw the influx of cheaper
imported furniture as well as many local
manufacturers shifting their factories to
more cost competitive countries such as
Malaysia and Thailand, in turn lowering
demand for Japanese machinery.
This view was reiterated by Michael
Buckley, managing director of
Turnstone Singapore, who had close
business relationships with Japanese
wood and woodworking companies
in the 1980s. He recounted that
while Japan is one of the world’s
highest consumers (per capita) of
wood and the woodworking machinery
industry developed high quality and
innovative machinery even back
then, the industry faced threats from
Taiwanese woodworking machinery
companies which “copied and undercut”
Japanese machinery.
“The high value of the Japanese Yen
and labour costs in Japan rendered
the industry uncompetitive, unless the
overriding factor is machine accuracy
and quality,” added Buckley.
DECLINING NUMBER OF TRADE
SHOWS
In 2009, there were still four trade
shows held in Osaka, Hiroshima, Tokyo
Taiki Amano, manager of Japan Woodworking Machinery Association, with Masanori Imoto, a respected
member who is also the President of IIDA Kogyo Co., Ltd
and Shizuoka. However, the past decade
saw a rapid decline in the remaining
trade shows. The last trade show in
Osaka was held 10 years ago, while
the last trade show in Tokyo was held
three or four years ago.
Today, there is only one woodworking
machinery show left in Japan, namely
the Japan Woodworking Machinery Fair.
It is held in Nagoya every two years and
organised by the Japan Woodworking
Machinery Association.
All hope is not lost though. The number of
booths for this year’s show is estimated
to reach 1000, up from 850 booths two
years ago. Amano attributed the increase
in booths to more adhesive and biomass
companies participating in the show as
exhibitors.
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

JAPAN SPECIAL 25
Some of the prominent players currently
in the Japanese woodworking machinery
companies are:
• HEIAN, manufacturer of CNC routers
and Pre-cut machine
• SHODA, manufacturer of CNC router,
which has diversified into the plastic
and aluminium business. 40 per cent
of its businesses are still in
woodworking machinery
• IIDA, manufactuer of moulders,
finger joint machines, planers, wood
grading systems, moisture meters,
wood laser cutter and pressing
machines for glulam. It has also
diversified into the car airbag
business.
HOW ARE JAPAN’S
WOODWORKING MACHINERY
DIFFERENT?
As Japanese woodworking machinery
companies focused on the domestic
market, machines were mainly designed
to cater to the local builders and furniture
manufacturers.
Japanese woodworking techniques,
whether in housing, furniture or special
architecture like shrines and temples,
are world renowned to be top-notch.
Craftsmen and builders demand for
machines that can produce delicate and
highly precise parts; finishing is also of
very high quality. “Japanese housing are
special buildings. We need to use our own
technology to build Japanese wooden
houses. Even our doors and windows are
slightly different. The quality is different
and very precise. Everything needs to be
very accurate,” said Imoto.
UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS FOR
WOODWORKING MACHINERY IN
THE DOMESTIC MARKET
Even as Japanese builders and
manufacturers have come to accept
cheaper machinery such as those
from Taiwan, they will need the machines
to be modified using additional parts in
Japan.
“At IIDA for example, original machines
from Taiwan need to be modified with
additional parts that are only found
in Japan in order to process wood
specifically for our clients’ needs. We will
then provide servicing for these parts.
If we order moulding machines, we will
usually modify the automatic positioning
device, or replace it with those made
by Japanese companies, as we need
to change the software’s language to
Japanese; also, some of the sensors,
calculation systems and screws need
to be changed in order to process wood
with higher accuracy, as required by our
clients,” explained Imoto.
“However, not all woodworking customers
are looking at such technologies anymore,
some just want cheap machines,” said
Imoto.
In part two of PFA’s interview with Japan
Woodworking Machinery Association, we
will provide deeper insights into Japan’s
growing mass engineered timber and
plywood manufacturing sectors. ℗
♦
1 Eric Johnston. “Japan’s Bubble Economy:
Lessons from when the bubble burst”.
Japan Times, 6 Jan. 2009, www.japantimes.
co.jp/news/2009/01/06/reference/
lessons-from-when-the-bubble-burst/#.
XQiGzvkzY2y
2 “TIMELINE: Milestones in the yen’s history”.
Reuters, 27 Oct.2008, https://www.reuters.
com/article/us-yen/timeline-milestonesin-the-yenshistoryidUSTRE49Q1
AN20081027
♦
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

26 FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
UNITED IN
TECHNOLOGY
Not only are Germany and India far apart (6,600 km), their climate, culture and way of life are
vastly different. The same is true for their end-users’ demands for shapes and designs when it
comes to furniture, structural elements like doors and stairs, or interior design. Where Indians
favour more colorful and elegant designs, simplicity and modernity characterise the European.
However, both cultures also have their similarities.
The drive for progress and advancement is certainly
one aspect and so is the need to set high standards
for the quality of their end-products, the same can be said
for their outstanding surfaces. Coincidentally, in 2018, two
manufacturers – one from Germany and the other from India,
were both looking for solutions to facilitate their production.
FROM GERMANY TO INDIA
German interior designer, trendPANEL, manufactures individual
acoustic panel solutions, customised shop fitting and door leafs,
exhibition stand constructions as well as special surfaces for
kitchens and bathrooms. The company was founded in 1998 by
Eckard Stallmann in Löhne, East Westphalia.
Together with his son, Fabian, they run the family
business and employ 15 people who take care of administration,
design and manufacturing. “We are quite flexible when it comes
to design, material and dimensions, flexible in batch sizes and
flexible in delivery times,” said Fabian Stallmann, a wood
engineer. Flexibility, he believes, is their most valuable
competitive advantage.
Padam Interiors, on the other hand, is located in the largest city
of India’s west coast Mumbai. The three directors – Kanaram
Kularia, Shankar Kularia and Dharam Kularia – are the second
generation owners running their family business and the
company became a big player with over 2,000 employees
under their leadership. Padam Interiors is a manufacturer of
interior design elements in houses. It also offers a range of
comprehensive services for turnkey interior design projects.
Elite clients include Hyatt, Google and Porsche.
The new SPRAYTEQ S-100 at trendPanel
The size and the business model of the two companies differ
greatly. Padam is able to act as general contractor and covers
a whole range of services and products, and even electrical
installation and plumbing works. TrendPANEL fills a niche and
stay flexible even with a steadily growing order intake and
machine park. Still, both companies offer very individualistic and
high quality interior design solutions to a demanding client base.
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

Both companies also
have one huge similar
in their furniture
design – they paint
their wooden design
work pieces. Painted
surfaces are still
considered to require
high standard of
craftsmanship and
therefore perceived as
high quality products.
While they started with
manual spraying like
most manufacturers,
they faced several
challenges after
some time.
One major challenge
is that only skilled
employees can
do the job and even these employees
were not able to produce consistent
quality over time. At the same time, the
amount of parts to be coated continued
to increase, leading to tighter delivery
times. They soon realised they needed
the quality of their output to be more
consistent, at increased capacity yet
without losing their advantage of flexibility.
Luckily, both companies already have
their trusted partner at hand. TrendPANEL
operates a panel saw from HOMAG
and Padam Interiors is equipped with
several HOMAG CNC machines, panel
saws and edgebender. HOMAG was able
to consult and offer the right solution for
their demand – the SPRAYTEQ S-100.
Occupying a space of only 14m 2 , the
SPRAYTEQ S-100 creates consistent
quality with a reciprocating arm, which is
equipped with four spray guns.
The integrated PLC and touch panel makes the SPRAYTEQ convenient to operate.
Here with the Factory Manager Mr. Akhilesh Jangid of Padam Interior.
More complex and highly individual parts are coated with ease by Padam Interior.
The three directors of PADAM Kanaram Kularia, Shankar Kularia
and Dharam Kularia

28 FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
The SPRAYTEQ at work.
(All images are credited to HOMAG)
Proud of their newest investment: Eckard and Fabian Stallmann
A month’s
capacity
can now be
completed in
10 days.
DID THE INVESTMENT PAY OFF?
Today, more than half a year after the installation, the Stallmanns
are very positive that the decision was the right one. “Today we
save 60 per cent in production time when it comes to coating.”
Fabian Stallmann said, “ A month’s worth of capacity can now be
completed in 10 days.” Eckard Stallmann, the senior principal,
added that the quality of the coated surfaces has increased
in general and it is now more consistent. Fabian Stallmann is
impressed by the efficiency, “We also save around 10 to 12
per cent of paint.” The operator can work on an intuitive touch
screen with pre-set programs, which simplifies the operation of
the machine tremendously. The wood engineer is convinced that
SPRAYTEQ can help smaller workshops enhance their production
without forfeiting their flexibility. They still can paint in various
colors and shapes, thanks to the quick colour change and the
machine’s working width of 1,300 mm.
One of trendPanels focus products are acoustic panels
Padam can also look back to a successful and smooth transition
from manual spraying to SPRAYTEQ. Together with the
technicians from HOMAG and DÜRR, who supplied the spraying
equipment – the pumps and guns – the operators received
training and familiarise themselves with the machine. The
directors know that “European machinery helps us to maintain
the highest standards and consistency in quality” and so the
SPRAYTEQ does. Today, the overspray is kept away from the
employees and dust from the factory does not reach the panels
during the spraying process due to the pre-filtered air and the
protected spray booth of the SPRAYTEQ, ensuring the health and
safety of employees as well as products’ quality.
In the end, the automatised spraying solution SPRAYTEQ S-100
helped both companies to improve their production in regards
to quality as well as capacity and still allow for high flexiblility
while meeting the stringent demands of their customers. Manuel
Sikeler Product Manager of HOMAG Asia made sure of that.
“These are nice examples of how you maintain and increase
your competitive advantage in a saturated market as well as in
a rapidly growing one,” he shared. ℗
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

30 PANELS MANUFACTURING
COMING ONBOARD
SCHEUCH ASIA
Jan Eike Graeff has
recently joined
Scheuch Asia as
its new managing
director, taking
over Andreas Köck,
who paved the way
when the Scheuch
Asia subsidiary was
first established in
Bangkok in 2015.
Köck will be returning
to Austria to manage
international sales
at the Scheuch
headquarter.
By Szeto Hiu Yan
Jan Eike Graeff (left), the new
managing director of Scheuch Asia
shaking hands with Andreas Köck, the
outgoing managing director who has led
Scheuch Asia since its establishment in 2015
(Image to be credited to Scheuch Asia)
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

PANELS MANUFACTURING 31
PFA had a quick chat to get to know Graeff as well as his plans for Scheuch Asia.
For a start, here are five things to know about Jan Eike Graeff, Scheuch Asia’s
new managing director:
1
2
3to improve local sales, engineering, production and project
4
5
He is a global citizen with roots in Hamburg, Germany. He has been
living in Asia since 2008, having worked in China before moving to
Thailand in 2012.
He has been trained as a mechanical engineer and project
manager for EPC projects and has a wealth of experience in
building and servicing flue gas cleaning, biomass, waste and wind
facilities as well as managing turnkey engineering companies of
energy facilities in several European countries, China, Taiwan,
Thailand and other South East Asian countries.
He has managed teams from five to 350 staffs, leading them
management capabilities at the various European and local
companies which he has worked for.
The 50-year-old truly enjoys living in Asia. “When I am not
working, I enjoy the energy of the megacity Bangkok, spend time
on beautiful golf courses, do some biking or running.”
He first encountered Scheuch when he was representing a client
of Scheuch to close a contract to supply a flue gas cleaning
system for a new RDF waste to energy power plant in Phichit,
Thailand, which is now under construction.
for existing plants, such as the Wet
ESP system to remove emissions and
additional depluming function.
He also sees an uptick in enquiries for waste
and biomass to energy projects, which he views
as an opportunity for Scheuch Asia.
MORE COMPANIES ADOPTING
ENVIRONMENTALLY
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
PRE-EMPTIVELY
In terms of environmentally sustainable
solutions, the South East Asian region has
always been deemed to need some catching up.
Graeff, however, is confident that companies
are coming around to accepting and investing
in environmentally sustainable solutions.
“We have recently visited and talked to
some of the existing clients in several Asian
countries. The feedback we got about the
performance of the Scheuch equipment
has been really positive throughout, which
makes me very confident to represent the
brand with my full personal commitment.
We also have several enquiries in house
for upgrades of existing facilities, aiming
to meet future strict emissions regulations
pre-emptively. This is a strong indication of
our clients’ intention to run environmentally
sustainable solutions,” shared Graeff.
PRIORITIES IN THE COMING YEAR
Taking the helm of Scheuch Asia, Graeff
is all set for his new role and has set
a few priorities, “The new aspects we
will focus on in the coming months
are to further strengthen our position
in energy projects, namely waste to
energy and biomass energy power plants.
We are also aiming to localise a part
of the engineering and supply chain,
aiming to bring down cost and delivery
times for our clients whilst offering
more capabilities to manage projects
with increased local content. Besides
new build projects, we see potential to
upgrade existing exhaust gas cleaning
systems when the governments in Asia
will adapt emission regulations for better
protection of health and the environment.”
Rounding up Scheuch Asia’s achievements
in the first years, Graeff said that the
company has been quite successful in
further strengthening the branding and
sales of products to the wood-based
panel industry, with projects completed in
Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.
A major ESP to Bag House Filter conversion
project has also been completed in
the Thai cement industry for SCG.
Currently, Scheuch has already established
its local service hub with fully trained
commissioning and mechanical supervision
available for its clients in the region.
SLOWER REGIONAL MARKET
While the market situation in the woodbased
panel industry has been very
positive with many new build projects
in the last few years, Graeff noted that
the market appears to be slowing down
now. However, the company continued
to receive enquiries for upgrades
STRATEGIC PLANS
On Scheuch Asia’s strategic plans in the
near future, Graeff has already marked
out the path, “We will further strengthen
our local capabilities, improve our offering
for clients in the region that will lower
costs as well as shorten delivery times.
In addition to projects in the wood-based
panel industry, we will also focus on
the energy and cement sectors.”
With the economy facing more uncertainties
in the past year, Graeff is hoping for stability
and peace in the region, with increasing
awareness for the environment which will in
turn boost the markets for clean air solutions.
As for the U.S. – China trade war, Graeff
only sees its impact on Scheuch Asia’s
business as a “knock-on effect” from clients,
who are shifting their production facilities
and sales markets to a stronger focus on
regional markets in South East Asia. ℗
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

LUYUAN:
THE PIONEER IN THIN MDF
BOARD MANUFACTURING
INDUSTRY (PART I)
32 PANELS MANUFACTURING
By Wendy Wei
Since 2007, Siempelkamp’s seventh generation continuous press production line has been in use at the Yangjiang Luyuan factory
2,117,000 cubic metres – the total output of thin medium density fibreboards produced by
Luyuan in Yangjiang from 2008 to 2017 was far beyond the designated annual capacity of
136,000 cubic metres when the factory was being constructed.
330 million yuan was the total amount of taxes contributed by Yangjiang Luyuan from
2008 to 2017, accounting for almost 3 per cent of the annual fiscal revenue of Yangdong District.
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

PANELS MANUFACTURING 33
According to statistics published
in Yangjiang Daily in July 2018,
the fiscal revenue of Yangdong
District in the first half of the year was
700 million yuan, with an increase of
7 per cent, compared to the same period
in 2017.
The achievements represented by these
figures should not be only attributed
to the successful management and
operation of Yangjiang Luyuan, but also
to Siempelkamp, its German equipment
supplier.
EXCELLENT FACILITIES FIRST
In 2003, the Yangjiang site was chosen
by the Luyuan Group to start a thin
MDF production line and multi-layer
press equipment was purchased. After
spending three years to lay down its
foundation, the Luyuan Group was
certain that local government policies,
land, resources and markets were in line
with the requirements for expanding
reproduction. In 2006, Yangjiang Luyuan
Wood-based Panels Co., Ltd. decided
to bring in the seventh generation
of Siempelkamp’s continuous press
production line. The press, with a running
speed of 1.3 m/s and produces MDF with
thickness ranging from 2.0 to 9.0 mm,
was put into trial operation in September
2007.
Speaking about the reasons for choosing
Siempelkamp, Mr. Lu Xiaoming, general
manager of Yangjiang Luyuan said,
“In terms of equipment design, from
the paving of fibre, preloading to hot
pressure, sawing and stacking, the
standalone units proved to be highly
reliable. The hardware of the whole
system is complete and without defects.”
“In terms of process design, the oil and
gas pipelines are well-arranged and
do not clog up; The controls matched
perfectly with the equipment and ran
smoothly.”
The press runs at speed of
1.3 m/s and produces medium
density fiberboards with
thickness ranging from 2.0 to
9.0 mm
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

34 PANELS MANUFACTURING
Mr. Lu Xiaoming,
general manager of Yangjiang Luyuan
"Take the rollers under the steel strip
for example, there are more than 5,000
of these rollers on the whole line for
moving and insulation. Almost none of
them have been replaced for qualityrelated
problems in the past ten years.”
Although small in size, these rollers play
an important role. If any single piece
of roller dislocates, the damage to the
hot-pressed plate and steel strip will
be fatalistic. Once the production line is
suspended, the surge in power and heat
consumption as well as the inevitable lag
in production will cause huge losses to
the company.
“We plan to complete a full update of
parts and steel strips on the production
line within these two years so that the line
will be just like new!”
AN AGGRESSIVE BUT BROAD-
MINDED APPROACH
As my car approached the Yangjiang
Luyuan Factory, I caught sight of a red
text scrolling on a display screen at the
entrance. It showed real-time emission
data of the factory even before I reached
the Siempelkamp production line. At a
time when the woodworking industry
is extremely jumpy on the subject of
environmental protection, such a “frank”
greeting is truly uncommon.
Since the introduction of China's
“strictest environmental protection
law” two years ago, factories which
failed to meet emission standards were
closed down; the paper and traditional
packaging manufacturers were especially
badly hit. As a result, the whole packaging
industry was forced to switch to greener
operations with reduced emissions. The
wood-based panel became the next best
alternative that was also more costefficient.
In particular, the 2mm thick
MDF boards produced by Yangjiang
Luyuan has become the new favorite in
the furniture packaging industry
overnight.
July y/
August t2019
• Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE URE
ASIA

PANELS MANUFACTURING 35
Even though Yangjiang Luyuan’s
environmental protection index has
always been above standard, the
company still spent more than 10 million
yuan in 2018 on an additional set of localmade
secondary dust removal facilities,
just to let the people living nearby have
a peace of mind.
In using a portion of its profits to
invest on environmental solutions
and taking on social responsibility,
Yangjiang Luyuan showed that this is
definitely a possible step companies
can take towards creating a virtuous
circle in manufacturing. “Opportunities
are for those who are prepared,”
GM Lu said. As the pressure to provide
environmental measures continues to
escalate, keeping one step ahead is
how they stay ahead of policies. Only by
passing down their belief in sustainable
development can the younger generation
of managers truly inherit and live up to the
legacy of the predecessors of Luyuan.
BALANCING GROWTH AND
STABILITY
Despite its broad-minded approach
towards environmental protection,
Luyuan is very meticulous when it comes
to choosing its suppliers. Poor quality,
low cost performance, technology and
services that are not up to standard are
simply unacceptable.
But such stringent requirements is
understandable: procurement costs,
which ranged from purchase of equipment
to raw materials, account for 80 per
cent of the factory’s overall operation
and maintenance costs. Equipment is
the most important part, as it directly
determines the output and revenue of
the company, subsequently affecting the
efficiency of procuring raw materials. The
fast-growing trees around the factory are
directly linked to the livelihood of local
farmers, who would rather cut prices in
the off-season than accept late payment.
Stable purchasers who trade in cash on
the spot, like Luyuan, are naturally their
first choice.
Siempelkamp’s machines were chosen because of its superior and reliable equipment and process design
In all areas where Luyuan can exercise Comprehensive production management
control, be it in updating their equipment, system - establishment of wage
or purchasing raw materials, the company assessment, work attendance checking
has set an exemplary example for the rest system, reward and punishment system
of the industry. Only the market is beyond etc. The company should draw up
their control.
reasonable systems according to its given
conditions, create more unit capacity
In the past two to three years, on the premise of ensuring quality, and
overcapacity in the wood-based panel synchronise employees’ income growth
industry has led to a sharp drop in with the company’s profit growth.
product prices. The average price of MDF
boards has dropped from 1,800 yuan Ultimately, the core of both strategies
per cubic metre to 1,400 yuan or even lies in quality, and Siempelkamp's
1,300 yuan, squeezing profit margins to contribution to the quality of Luyuan’s
the maximum. Many factories could not products is undeniable. This is
survive and had to shut down.
especially so for the thin panels used for
packaging, their consistently uniform
“We are the best when the market thickness with small tolerance has
is good, we are still doing fine when long won the trust of customers.
the market is bad. To secure a small
amount of profit at a time when peers After ten years of hard work, the
are generally losing money is the goal depreciation expense of this medium
we have been practising for a decade.” density production line of Siempelkamp
GM Lu said confidently.
today is near zero. While it is still as tough
as before, it is time for an "overhaul".
Such is a goal that many companies GM Lu said with a quick laugh, the
have tried to reach, but never touch. chairman of Luyuan Group ever mentioned
on a visit to Yangjiang Luyuan Factory: you
To attain this goal, GM Lu listed two all should continue doing what you have
strategies:
been doing and sustain this current level
of achievement for the next 10 to 15 years!
Consistent product quality - quality
is the life of the company and the It may seem like a tall order, but with
foundation of a company. Insisting on Siempelkamp as their “sidekick”, it does
quality helps customers identify with not even seem that difficult. ℗
Luyuan’s products, establishing a good
reputation externally.
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

36 MATERIALS
WOOD FOAM:
FROM TREE
TO FOAM
Wood foam developed at Fraunhofer
WKI consists of 100 per cent
renewable resources
(Image to be credited to WKI)
Foams are usually made of
petrochemical-based polymers.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer
Institute for Wood Research WKI in
Braunschweig (Brunswick) have developed
a new recyclable, climate-friendly foam
material consisting of 100 per cent
renewable resources. In the long term,
wood foams could replace conventional
petroleum oil-based foams, whether
for thermal insulation, as packaging
material or in lightweight construction.
Researchers at WKI are working on
methods for manufacturing foam out of
wood particles. In order to create this
foam, the wood is first grounded with
a high water content to fine particles
until a fibre suspension is obtained.
This suspension can be chemically or
physically foamed using internal or
external gas producers such as CO 2
. The
foamed suspension is then hardened
into a drying chamber. The strength of
the foam is caused by the wood´s own
bonding forces, so that no synthetic
adhesives are necessary and any possible
health risks due to emissions from
adhesive are excluded.
The result of the processing is a light
base material with a porous, open-cell
structure and low bulk density. Foams
made of beech wood can, for example,
be manufactured in a density range of 40
kg/m³ and 250 kg/m³. The material can
be further processed as hard foam boards
or as elastic foam, and can be machined
like wood materials, producing little to
no dust. Furthermore, the wood foam is
odour-neutral.
Wood foams are applicable as building
insulation material. Insulation material
made of wood does already exist but
it has the disadvantage of being less
dimensionally stable than insulation
material made of polymers. The foam
products have already been tested
according to current standards for
insulating products. Promising results
were achieved with the thermal insulation
as well as with the physical-technological
properties.
Depending on the density, the
compressive strength for 10 per cent
compression amounted from 20 kPa up
to 600 kPa. The thermal conductivities
are also dependent on the density
and the values are below 0.04 W/mK,
which are comparable with the values
of polystyrene and wood fibre insulation
panels. The thickness swelling is < 1 per
cent after 24 hours of water storage and
the foams remain dimensionally stable.
The fire behaviour is similar to that of
natural fibre insulation materials. They
burn and glow, and the flame partially
extinguishes itself. Additives necessary
for flame protection can be easily and
efficiently mixed into the fibre materials
during the manufacturing process.
Furthermore, recycling of the wood foam
is easily feasible and can be disposed
as waste paper after being used as
packaging material.
The process technology is currently being
optimised, and the application of other
lignocellulosic materials is undergoing
examination. In just a few years the
large-scale industrial manufacture of
wood products made of wood foam
should be possible and be established
in the market.
The great potential of this innovative
material is evidenced by the awards
wood foam has already received.
The development was nominated in
2014 for the German Raw Materials
Efficiency Prize, and in 2015 won both
the Interzum Award "Best of the Best"
and the GreenTec Award in the category
of "Building and Housing". ℗
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

38 ENVIRONMENT
FSC PLANS TO
DOUBLE SHARE IN
GLOBAL TIMBER
TRADE BY 2020
By Danii Farniev
Lesnaya Industriya Journal
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

ENVIRONMENT 39
Since its establishment in 1993, the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC) has issued 33, 000
certificates for timber companies in 120 countries.
Kim Carstensen, director general of FSC, shares
in an interview with Lesnaya Industriya Journal
how the organisation plans to double its share
in the global timber trade by the year 2020.
THIS YEAR THE FSC CELEBRATES ITS 25 TH
ANNIVERSARY. HOW AND WHY WAS THE COMPANY
CREATED?
KC: Back in the late 80s and early 90s, there was lot of
international focus on forest crises, with big discussions about
the destruction of tropical forests in Malaysia and countries in
South America. There was a big hope that the forest issue would
also be resolved by the joint efforts of governments, as part of
the general focus on sustainable development.
environmental values of the world's forests.
WHO PERSONALLY OWNS THE IDEA OF
CREATING THE FSC?
KC: It doesn’t belong to one person; from the beginning it
was a completely international organisation. There were many
meetings which involved organisations like WWF, Greenpeace,
various Indigenous Peoples Organisations, trade unions and
companies.
At the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992,
there was an agreement on a climate change convention and a
convention on biological diversity, as well as a convention to combat
desertification. There were many hopes that governments would
come together to resolve the forest crisis, but nothing worked out.
Then, people decided that another tool was needed if
governments were unwilling or unable to come together
internationally to make rules on how to manage and protect
forests. Different organisations set up the FSC as a marketbased
tool to protect and maintain the world’s forests for the
future, and to use a market tool to save economic, social and
So, a group of people with different interests came together
and then began to develop the idea of having social, environmental
and economic interests connected to responsible forestry.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN RESULTS OF THE
ORGANISATION IN THESE 25 YEARS?
KC: FSC has actually become a success in the market, with
over 33,000 certificates in our chain of custody for companies
which want to sell or process FSC-certified products and
offer them to the market. These certificates are spread over
120 countries around the world - it is a very good reach with
a wide market access.
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

40 ENVIRONMENT
Another achievement was the development of our principles
and criteria - there are 10 different principles in terms
of how we should manage forests with different criteria.
What was unique was how the principles were agreed upon –
FSC brought together different stakeholders with various
social and economic interests into one room where they
had to agree on what responsible forest management is,
and everyone had to agree. This is the principal way we
still work.
FCS USES A MARKET-BASED CERTIFICATION
MECHANISM WHERE COMPANIES HAVE TO PAY
FOR AN AUDIT, AND CAN SELL THEIR PRODUCTS
AT A HIGHER PRICE ONLY AFTER THEY RECEIVE
THE CERTIFICATE. WHY DOES FSC CALL ITSELF A
NON-PROFIT ORGANISATION?
KC: It’s true that some of our operations are commercial, in
the sense that we sell services to companies which want to
get a certificate. But we are a democratic organisation which
is owned by its members. We have over a thousand members
globally; they are decision makers in the organisation. They need
to come together democratically and nothing can be decided
unless all groups agree.
HOW DOES THE FSC EARN MONEY?
KC: We have a system of fees. There is a service fee that
companies pay to us for being certified, but that is independent
to certification.
We have about 40 independent certification bodies which
work around the world. If a company wants to be certified, it
contacts a certification body, which will then look at the forest
and operations of the company, and form a decision about the
certification. This is how we ensure independent verification
outside of the FSC.
voluntary tool for others who want to document that they are
meeting all requirements.
DOES FSC INTERACT WITH THE STATES IN WHICH
IT IS REPRESENTED?
KC: Public state companies can be FSC members but
governments themselves cannot. However, we work closely
with them, and accept and respect what the law says. In many
countries, we have dialogues with governments or many certified
state-managed forests.
HOW HAS ILLEGAL LOGGING IN THE WORLD
CHANGED OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS?
KC: We don't have any influence on the areas that are not
certified, and we see many countries where illegal logging is
still an issue. Unfortunately, certified operations often have to
compete with companies that carry out illegal logging and it’s
difficult for them because they are making an effort to comply and
improve their performance with added costs. What’s good is that
governments are beginning to take more action in this matter.
BY 2020, THE COMPANY PLANS TO INCREASE ITS
SHARE IN THE GLOBAL TIMBER TRADE TO 20 PER
CENT, WHICH IS ALMOST TWICE THE CURRENT
SHARE. WHAT SPECIFIC MEASURES WILL YOU
TAKE TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL?
KC: We want to increase the use of FSC certification among
some groups, in particular what we call "smallholders" or small
forest owners. They’re often families and people who have
relatively limited areas of forest and small operations. This is
very important in Asia, West Europe and Latin America. Another
big area is tropical forests – because of governance difficulties,
illegal logging and the resulting problems with competition,
certification needs more support to reach the level we would
like to see.
IS THE MARKET CERTIFICATION MECHANISM
COMPETITIVE AND EFFICIENT IN ENSURING
RESPONSIBLE USE OF FORESTS MORE EFFECTIVE
IN COMPARISON WITH STATE REGULATION?
KC: Both are very complimentary of each other. Certification
is a voluntary tool for businesses. It can document the
performance - environmental or social - to the market. This
is important because consumers worldwide are increasingly
seeking some kind of documentation for the environmental and
social performance of the products they buy.
Governments work another way: they can set regulations that
are applicable for everybody, and that’s also important. Both
complement each other. Functioning state regulations are the
strongest measure we can have, but it’s important to have a
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA
According to our analysis the volume of commercially-sold
forest products coming from FSC-certified forests around the
world right now is somewhere around 15 per cent of global
production, going up to 20 per cent. In other words, we’re not
too far from our goal for 2020.
We don’t influence
governments, but we
collaborate with them...
We’re trying to work with
the government to help
companies with certified
operations
"
"

ENVIRONMENT 41
IN WHICH REGIONS OF THE WORLD HAS FSC
CERTIFICATION BECOME MOST POPULAR IN
THESE 25 YEARS?
KC: The largest certified area is Canada, where we have
54 million hectares of certified forest, followed by Russia with
46 million hectares. In some other countries with smaller
territories like Belarus or Poland, certified forest areas are
proportionally bigger. We've seen a lot of success in these
countries. Overall, we have certified forests in 85 countries
around the world, driven by a global market. Companies like IKEA
and Tetrapak source FSC-certified products all over the world.
pressure while guaranteeing itself a source of stable income.
We are also working with governments in Africa. In the Congo
basin we have six to seven million hectares of certified forests. We
have a lot of collaboration and discussions with the governments
of the Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Cameroon about how we
can work together to ensure that there will be sustainable forest
management in these countries. ℗
This article was first published in Lesnaya Industriya Journal.
(Image to be credited to Forest Stewardship Council )
IN WHICH REGIONS IS THE
FSC PROGRESSING AT A
SLOW PACE?
KC: In regions where governance
is limited. For instance, in parts
of Africa, or the Amazon - in
such regions, certification is
more difficult to achieve due to
illegality, corruption and other bad
government's practices. Such areas
are also difficult with obtaining
smaller operations to be certified.
Certification requires that you put
in effort, and that you document
it. A company with a big operation
can document certification much
easier than a company with a
smaller operation. However, we are
working on solving these problems
by increasing our efforts in Africa,
Amazon and other regions.
CAN THE FСS INFLUENCE
THE GOVERNMENTS IN
THESE COUNTRIES?
KC: We don’t influence governments,
but we collaborate with them, for
instance, in Peru. We’re trying to
work with the government to help
companies with certified operations,
and the government is decreasing
taxes that it claims from certified
operations. Governments do not
obtain any income in the form of
taxes from illegal operations, but
they can ensure a level of income
from legal operations, so it is an
incentive for these companies when
the government reduces fiscal
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

42 DESIGN
Siritip Harntaweewongsa,
co-founder of GreenDwell
The way
to truly
Green
Dwelling
By Szeto Hiu yan
While architects have been more
mindful about designing sustainably,
GreenDwell, an architectural studio from
Thailand, stands out because it places
sustainability as their top priority, going
to the extent of devising its own “green
research-integrated design”(g.r.i.d)
methodology to holistically integrate
green solutions with architectural design
through the use of building performance
simulations . PFA speaks to GreenDwell's
co-founder, Siritip Harntaweewongsa, to
find out more.
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

DESIGN 43
GreenDwell was recently awarded
“Emerging Architecture of the
Year 2019” by the Association
of Siamese Architects.
Created by its two founders Siritip and
Raksak Sukontatarm, g.r.i.d is utilised as
early as the conceptualisation stage and
is able to hypothesise how comfortable
people feel after entering buildings,
in order to assess the effectiveness of
green designs.
After all, a green building is only truly
green if people do not have to turn back
to high energy consumption means to
stay comfortable while living inside these
buildings.
In 2009, Siritip started GreenDwell
with Raksak to provide design and
consultancy services for buildings with
sustainable design intents. The company
was founded to fill a gap in sustainable
architecture – to tighten the integration
of green strategies in designs.
Raksak is an architect who has worked
for several international firms overseas.
Siritip herself holds a masters in
sustainable building technology. Her
work focuses on integrating green design
right from conceptualisation and using
simulation tools to verify green concepts,
especially for a hot and humid climate.
Both are LEED AP BD+C certified.
Both of them recalled working in firms
where green design meant to simply
hire a green design consultant, either
external or in-house, and they found the
results to be not as integrated as they
expected.
“To make a building green, it is necessary
to run building performance simulation at
different stages of the design, preferably
right from the conceptualising stage to
make sure the green designs really work.
Green strategies are not one-size-fits-all
solutions. When we were still working at
other firms, we noticed that by the time
the simulations were completed, the
design had already evolved to another
point, and the results were not as useful
to inform design decision-making. With
this, we felt that if we were to have
our own firm, integration is key,”
shared Siritip.
“We want to conduct simulations which
would benefit design decision-making.
This can only happen when it is weaved
within the design process itself. And
not only environmental simulations,
but detailed research of the climate,
context and environment which is specific
to each design brief is needed.
We believe such a process will lead
to better designs that are better for
people and the environment,” Siritip
elaborated.
USING ENVIRONMENTAL
SIMULATIONS TO ASSESS BOTH
GREEN STRATEGIES AND DESIGN
PERFORMANCE
During design stages, the only way to
assess green strategies will be through
environmental simulations. Incidentally,
environmental simulations can also be
used to assess design performance.
Siritip believes that only when designers
are informed of the different performance
of the available options, can they make
informed design decisions. Even if they
may end up not choosing the best option
due to other factors such as function or
aesthetics, they at least have access to
all layers of information required to make
a well-grounded decision.
“We had a project where the site is
long and narrow. The annual wind in
Bangkok is mostly from the South but
at that site, the wind was coming from
a totally different direction due to lot
of obstructions. We would not have
been able provide an effectively green
design if we only relied on intuition and
not data.”
STRENGTHENING THE G.R.I.D
METHODOLOGY
For the past 10 years, Siritip and her
team had initially focused on devising the
environmental simulation methodology.
But eventually, their methodology has
evolved to encompass other research
aspects such as climate, contexts and
people.
“We are studying in detail the space
usage and behavioural patterns
specifically for each project brief.
Simulation helps us to assess the
building in various ways before it is
getting built. The more important
thing is to also assess the building once
it is built to check whether your
simulation results have led you in
the right direction. We would visit
completed buildings after occupancy
to check whether the strategies
we proposed have worked. Energywise,
we sometimes even ask the
owner about their utility bills. We
also interviewed people who live or
work in our designs to see if they lived
or worked comfortably there, or if t
here are any issues so that we could
improve for the next building,”
said Siritip.
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

44 DESIGN
ADVICE FOR YOUNGER DESIGNERS
Siritip has been a judge for a few runs of the Asia Young Designer Awards organised
by Nippon Paint. On the advice she would offer to young designers today, she said,
“Designers are mostly focused on the design and construction phase of green
design, even though this may only contribute to less than 10 per cent of the
building’s whole life-cycle. I think that there is a big gap between green design
and construction, and how users react to the green design infrastructure, which
needs to be bridged.
A building can only be truly sustainable if the occupants utilise the building
as per the intent of the design. Communication with end users ought not be
left out when handing over a project.”
WOOD IN DESIGN
It is also not hard to notice that wood is used frequently in Green Dwell’s
designs. “Wood is a very special material. Its look, touch, and feel
could make an architecture or space feel friendlier and more natural.
We prefer not to use wood unless they are sustainably harvested. As
wood materials are quite hard to procure in Thailand, we use mostly
composite wood which still provides the natural look and is easier
to maintain for a hot and humid climate.”
THE
PIBULSONGKRAM
HOUSE
Siritip usually uses wood for vertical or horizontal
architectural shading. She feels that the texture of
wood often helps to soften the looks of the tropical
modern exterior, and when used repetitively as
smaller shading elements, it creates a shadow
pattern which is unobtrusive and allows daylight to
enter the interior space.
Over the years, Siritip has come to believe that the
primary reason for architecture is for people to live
comfortably and delightfully.
“An architect plays the vital role in balancing human
needs and protecting the environment,” said Siritip.
“It is our responsibility.” ℗
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

DESIGN 45
Image 1&2: The Pibulsongkram House
1
The Pibulsongkram House is designed as a dwelling for an extended family who
decided to live together after retirement. A single-story house in a garden with
natural ventilation is preferred. Passive design strategies suitable for tropical climate were
checked during pre-design stage, mainly focusing on shading and natural ventilation.
At 1050 square metres, the site is located in the residential area of Nonthaburi, Thailand.
Shading was not as challenging as natural ventilation, as the single-story house could
be shaded from trees. Ventilation simulations were conducted to check wind access
direction; results have shown that the wind would access the house from the back side
and exit towards the front.
2
The house consists of a main living unit and
a cluster of smaller living units, each placed
with some gap distance to allow wind into the
courtyard, and into the shared living area at the
front. Each unit was also raised at slightly varying
height to allow wind access from underneath.
Hardscape is limited in the front area of the
house to allow for more green or permeable
areas. The garden area with large trees could
provide overhead shades. Water feature was
placed at windward side to enhance evaporative
cooling into the main living space.
The main living unit has shared functions for
the entire family such as living and dining area.
Therefore, it is the only unit in the house with
one and a half storeys. Long projecting overhang
with large semi indoor-outdoor area connected
to the pool help to enhance comfortable living
in a tropical climate. Another layer of operable
shading was proposed to control wind access
and privacy for each small living unit.
Siritip shared that composite wood was used
for a horizontal louvered shading panel and the
decking floor. “For the louver, which provides
privacy and shading, we adapted the Thai
vernacular called ‘fa-lai’ or the sliding panel,
where one can control the amount of openness
by sliding the panel.”
Green features
• Landscape for shade
• Shaded semi indoor area
• Solar shading
• Water feature strategically placed to
enhance evaporative cooling
All images are credited to GreenDwell

46 STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
79&Park is built with staggered levels that give the building dynamism
(All images are credited to Bjarke Ingels Group)
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS 47
Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group
(BIG), 79&Park is described as “a
residential building that gives new
oxygen to Stockholm’s and Sweden’s
modern architecture, and offers a living
environment that is urban dynamic and
at the same time nature-oriented”.
Located on the edge of Gärdet, a
treasured national park, Kullen makes
conscious decisions to provide a
sensitive, respectful form while allowing
the same choices to simultaneously
manifest as exceptional residences with
spectacular views.
The cedar-cladded building rises gently
from the ground like a sloping wooden
hill. BIG stacked 196 apartments (called
“pixels”) on top of each other in a
terrace layout, leaving room for outdoor
green roofs that help the building
blend into its park surroundings. The
cubic scheme is similar to a recent
prefabricated affordable housing
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

48 STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
project BIG completed in Copenhagen.
In further deference to Gärdet, the
massing is visually reduced through a
language of pixels, scaled to the human
form. This manipulation not only allows
for a more organic expression, perfectly
reflecting the surrounding landscape,
but also provides a way to accomplish
the building topography in a controlled
and inexpensive way through the use of
prefabricated units of standardised sizes.
79&Park is seen as an extension of
Gärdet and seeks to give homeowners
the experience of living in the middle of
greenery, with private balconies and roof
terraces, as well as outdoor areas that are
open to the public. ℗
BIG stacked 196 apartments (called “pixels”)
on top of each other in a terrace layout, leaving
room for outdoor green roofs that help the
building blend into its park surroundings.
Architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
Design Consultants: Acad
International, Andersson Jönsson
Landskapsarkitekter, BIG IDEAS, De
Brand Sverige, Dry-IT, HJR Projekt-
El, Konkret, Metator, Projit, Tengbom,
HB Trapper
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

50 SHOW PREVIEW
VIETNAMWOOD -
AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR ANYONE IN
WOODWORKING INDUSTRY!
VietnamWood2019, Record Breaking Exhibition
Scale, Staged on 18-21 Sept.
The 13 th Vietnam International Woodworking Industry Fair
(VietnamWood2019) is the most iconic biennial exhibition
regarding to wood processing industry.
In response of the markedly rising demand across the entire
supply chain of furniture production and woodworking industry,
VietnamWood will bring the unprecedented scale this year on
September 18 th to 21 st . At its 13 th edition this year, organised
by Ministry of Industry & Trade, Vietnam National Trade Fair &
Advertising Company (VINEXAD) and Yorkers Trade & Marketing
Service Co., Ltd., are incorporating concerted efforts by the coorganisers,
Handicraft and Wood Industry Association (HAWA), as
well as relevant government agencies and industry associations.
VietnamWood will see more than 450 exhibitors from 28 countries
and regions and record exhibition space of over 25,000 square
metres. Exclusively endorsed by Eumabois or the European
Committee of Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers, the
show has proved a highly professional and fruitful platform for
business exchanges between exhibitors and trade visitors in the
woodworking sector.
One-stop Display from Wood Primary Processing
to Finishing Technology
VietnamWood presents a wealth of innovations and applications
for the entire wood industry this year. By gathering a wide
range of latest innovated machines and industrial information,
the exhibits in VietnamWood showcases from upstream to
downstream, spanning across the entire woodworking and
furniture manufacturing production chain, such as wood
primary processing, manufacturing equipment, woodworking
materials and consumables and related tools. The wide variety of
showcase attracts decision making buyers over the world, which
makes VietnamWood the meeting hub for the exhibitors and the
woodworking-industry businessman to network and dialogue.
Endorsement from international woodworking
associations
The great reputation of VietnamWood today is not only the
result of the organisers and exhibitors, but the support and
endorsement from international woodworking associations
such as Binh Duong Furniture Association (BIFA), Forest
Products Association of Binh Dinh (FPA Binhdinh), Vietnam
Timber and Forest Product Association (VIETFOREST)
and Vietnam Association of Mechanical Industry (VAMI).
This shows the professionalism of VietnamWood and it is certified
by the world’s leading wood processing industry agencies.
Enjoy a rewarding visit to the show
As one of the most well-known woodworking exhibition in Asia,
VietnamWood is definitely the best meet-up point for wood
processing industry professionals regardless of where your
operation is.
Come join us from September 18 th to 21 st , at Saigon Exhibition &
Convention Center (SECC) for a beneficial business interaction!
For interest to visit, register online at: www.chanchao.com.tw/
vietnamwood/
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

SHOW REVIEW 51
The five-day LIGNA 2019 closed on an impressive note. The world’s leading trade fair for woodworking
and wood processing plant, machinery and tools gave a considerable boost to the wood industry, paving
the way for future investment. Smart, futureproof solutions were at the top of the agenda, and LIGNA
2019 made it amply clear that technology users are now “getting smart” with regard to digitisation and
automation. Major emphasis was placed on integrated solutions enabling companies of all sizes – from
niche woodworking firms to large-scale manufacturers – to meet current market demands and prepare
for future challenges. And digitisation featured prominently for the primary wood industry, as well.
More than 90,000 visitors from over 100 countries
came to Hannover to check out the industry’s latest
advances and find exactly the right technologies and
approaches to help them stay competitive and grow their
businesses. Well over 40,000 trade visitors came from abroad
– an indication of the show’s international appeal, and an
achievement unmatched by any competing tradeshow worldwide.
LIGNA is also particularly pleased to note increases in the
number of attendees from North America and Southeast Asia.
Over 50 per cent of LIGNA visitors rated the importance of Industry
4.0 as being high to very high. Some 40 per cent of them were either
upgrading their existing machinery or considering the purchase
of new machines to reap the benefits of Industry 4.0 technology.
“LIGNA 2019 demonstrated that we have taken a big leap
forward in the direction of digital wood processing, and that
interest in advanced technology is running high throughout
the world,” commented Pekka Paasivaara, President of the
German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association,
CEO of HOMAG Group AG and member of the Board of
Management of Dürr AG. “It is truly amazing to meet up
with so many customers from around the world interested
in making specific capital investments. The new solutions
on display are relevant to small firms and large industrial
processors, alike. This gives us all good cause for optimism.”
5,000 M² FULL OF INNOVATIONS:
HOMAG RELIES ON THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS
AT LIGNA 2019, HOMAG once again
completely filled hall 14 with machines,
software and technical innovations
for wood processing – all live in
action.
As part of the HOMAG claim “YOUR
SOLUTION”, HOMAG showcased a wide
HOMAG also showcased solutions for
a range of requirements: Two new,
integrated workshop concepts, specially
designed for carpenters and joiners with
easy digital assistants and features;
A fully networked, automated and
completely autonomous concept for
SMEs; A solution for high-performance
furniture production at high-speed.
A STRONG PERFORMANCE:
HOMAG STRUCK A CHORD
WITH VISITORS
HOMAG is extremely pleased with
the visitor numbers, qualified leads
and the order intake generated at the
(All images are credited to
their respective companies.)
range of solutions across 5,000 m², all
of which help companies large or small
to meet the market requirements of
today along with the trends of tomorrow.
For those who produce construction
elements, this year’s new products were
presented on an extra large solid wood
platform – complemented by everything
to do with automation solutions for
pre-fabricated housing construction.
WEINMANN also exhibited the latest
machine technology for house building
in Hall 13.
1
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

52 SHOW REVIEW
2 3
Photos 1-3:
HOMAG at
LIGNA
LIGNA trade fair. There was a significant
amount of interest in interior fittings
and industrial furniture production,
particularly in solutions for kitchen
and household furniture production. In
regard to digital products, visitors were
extremely interested in the ServiceBoard
and MachineBoard (tapio), in particular.
VISITORSHIP
In total, over 90,000 people from more
than 100 countries visited the LIGNA
in Hannover. Of those that visited the
HOMAG stand, around 61 per cent were
international visitors. Austria, Italy and
Switzerland accounted for the highest
visitor numbers. Numerous groups of
visitors from countries such as Spain,
France, Poland, Australia and New
Zealand, the U.S. or Asia (most notably
India, Thailand, South Korea) also called
in at Hall 14 to see HOMAG as they made
their way around the trade fair. The
quality of the inquiries at the HOMAG
stand rose – with visitors spending on
average longer there and holding more
in-depth conversations compared to
previous years.
Simply put, LIGNA, the leading trade
fair, was an outstanding success which
thoroughly impressed visitors.
WORKSHOP CONCEPTS FOR
CARPENTERS/JOINERS
At our stand in Hall 14, HOMAG addressed
the central issues affecting woodworking
shops and medium-sized businesses
by exhibiting clever aids that simplify
working life and support work processes
using just a few simple steps. There is
no need to invest in an entire system;
instead, the user can opt for individual
machines, smart hardware, software and
digital assistants that communicate with
each other and integrate these into the
business in a way that will benefit most.
TEQTOURS AND LIVE DEMOS: A
COMPLETE SUCCESS
HOMAG ran a range of TEQtours, which
presented the new, integrated concepts
live. The tours took place 12 times each
day and were almost completely booked
out – in total around 1,500 people took
part in the TEQtours, further confirming
visitors’ interest in digitalisation and
networked and automated production
for SMEs.
NEW FEATURES ACROSS THE
BOARD: SURFACE FINISHING
EXPERTISE AT LIGNA
Technological developments for surface
processing are ongoing at HOMAG. This
was also evident at LIGNA 2019: Surface
solutions took up a large proportion of the
exhibition space at the Hanover trade fair.
In addition, HOMAG was represented at
the Makor stand – HOMAG has cultivated
a close and creative partnership with the
coating system specialists from Italy for
2 years.
LAUNCHING THE DIGITAL
PRINTING ASSOCIATION DIPA
Surface design has an increasing
importance for interior fitting-, furniture-,
flooring- and related industries, as the
demand for individual and premium
surfaces is steadily growing. Innovative
manufacturers and users of the industry
now want to offer solutions for this by
launching the Digital Printing Association
(DIPA). Besides HOMAG, the founding
members of the new association are: MB
Digitalprint GmbH & Co. KG, Li&Co AG,
Durst Phototechnik AG and Adler-Werk
Lackfabrik Johann Berghofer GmbH &
Co KG. The main goal of DIPA is to make
digital printing as an innovative process
available to manufacturers of the abovementioned
industries.
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

SHOW REVIEW 53
WEINIG SATISFIED WITH LIGNA 2019
THE Weinig Group achieved a good result
at the world’s leading trade fair for the
sector in Hanover. A total of 273 machines
and systems of the two brands Weinig
and Holz-Her were sold. The ambitious
order inflow targets were exceeded.
Compared to LIGNA 2017, an increase
of around 20 per cent was achieved.
The Weinig Group received orders from
29 countries. At the 5,000 m 2 stand of
the leading technology provider for solid
wood and panel processing, experts from
92 countries informed themselves about
the complete range during the five-day
event.
The many new products were very well
received by the professional audience.
Weinig set an exclamation mark in the
area of systems engineering. At LIGNA, a
complex plant could be seen live in action,
illustrating the competence across the
entire value chain of solid wood processing.
In addition to the traditional magnets
namely planing, profiling and cutting,
Weinig recorded a remarkable demand
in the jointing technology segment. The
solutions in timber construction also met
with great interest. The Concept business
unit registered a number of high-calibre
enquiries in the CLT area. In the Forum, the
Weinig Group concentrated on the trends
of today, tomorrow and the day after
tomorrow. Central topics were digitisation,
automation and networking. Here Weinig
was able to convince interested parties with
its customer-oriented range of solutions
tailored to the individual requirements.
Weinig underlined its social commitment
at LIGNA with the campaign “Running for
a good cause”. Many visitors to the stand
took the opportunity to cover running
meters and covert them into euros on a
specially provided treadmill. The proceeds
will go to the institutions of SOS Children’s
Villages.
The Weinig Group was a real magnet: The 5.000 m 2 stand was a “must” for professional visitors at LIGNA.
The Weinig press conference on the
first day of the fair was attended by 75
journalists from all over the world. CEO
Gregor Baumbusch presented good
figures. Contrary to the rather weak
trend in the industry, the Weinig Group
achieved the best first quarterly result
in the company’s history in the LIGNA
year. Compared to the same period of the
previous year, order inflow increased by
5.9 per cent and sales by 8.7per cent. “The
outlook for this year has been very positive
to date,” said the CEO.
SCM CELEBRATES 60 YEARS AT LIGNA
WITH A SPECIAL EDITION
THE 2019 edition of the trade fair in
Hanover in which SCM has been taking
part for 60 years, was, as expected, a great
success. Thousands of business clients
and visitors from more than 100 Countries,
filled SCM's elegant, bright stand with more
than 4,000 square metres of exhibition
space and more than 60 technological
solutions made available to the entire
industry for the second processing of
wood, with outstanding opportunities
across all the key international markets.
The Smart&Human Factory generated a
huge amount of interest with its flexible
and modular automated cells, integrated
with industrial and collaborative robots,
unmanned shuttles and state of the art
IoT digital services and software.
The return in terms of orders, deals and
contacts on all product types was very high,
including the new integrated solutions for
surface treatments, proof of how the
sector remains dynamic and strongly
attracted to the most advanced madein-Italy
technology. Great feedback were
received in Germany too from all levels of
the market, from the individual craftsman
to large industries. SCM was also honoured
by a visit from the German Secretary of
State at the Food and Agricultural Ministry,
Hans-Joachim Fuchtel. Welcomed by
Giovanni Gemmani, the Chairman, Luigi
De Vito, SCM's Division Manager and
Gian Luca Fariselli, Communications
Manager, the Secretary praised the vast
range of technological solutions on
display, unique at international level.
It has also been an exceptionally good
year for SCM and the entire Italian
Group, world leader in technologies for
machining a wide range of materials and
industrial components.
As Gemmani and De Vito reminded us at
the press conference held on 28 May at the
stand, the SCM Group's turnover at the end
of 2018 was more than 700 million Euro
and more than 70 per cent of that referred
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

54 SHOW REVIEW
exclusively to the wood division with a
growth rate in double figures compared
to the previous years. In 2018, the Italian
Group acquired the American company
Dms, specialising in machining plastic
materials and composites. This was only
a little over a year after the deal sealed
with the German company HG Grimme.
In the first quarter of 2019, SCM
recorded a sales increase both in
Europe and other continents. On the
subject of which, De Vito reminded us
of the recent opening of the Branch in
Austria and the new headquarters in
Switzerland, further confirming their
firm hold on the European market.
At the press conference: Gian Luca Fariselli, Scm Group Communications Director, Christopher
Moore, SCM Germany Commercial Director, Giovanni Gemmani, Scm Group President,
Luigi De Vito, SCM Division Director, and Uwe Kosok, SCM Germany Managing Director.
The framework for the German market
outlined by Uwe Kosok, SCM Germany
Manager is also highly positive. During
a press conference, he highlighted the
increase in turnover (+24 per cent at the
end of 2018) as well as staff appointed
to deal with after sales assistance (+20
per cent). SCM's will to act first and
foremost as a partner before being a
manufacturer is proving increasingly
more decisive in this market, as well
as the desire to supply automated and
turnkey solutions with the support of a
specific SCM Engineering Team.
SCM's stand was one of the busiest at
the entire event. The vast exhibiting
space was also rendered unique by the
presence of a magnificent 12 metre
table in ancient kauri wood, from an
outstanding manufacturer like Riva1920,
designed by Renzo and Matteo Piano and
the cornerstone of the stand. A symbolic
choice that aimed to render the exhibiting
area a place for meeting and dealing.
LIGNA rounded up with more than 90 000
visitors. The next edition is scheduled to
be held from 10 to 14 May 2021.
BIESSE AT LIGNA 2019:
A SPECIAL EDITION FOR THE COMPANY'S
50TH ANNIVERSARY
90,000 visitors from 100 countries
showed great interest in Biesse as
they participated in the five days of the
important trade show.
The 6,000 square metre stand earned
the appreciation of customers, partners
and the press, a gratifying response to
the company's investment in increasingly
efficient services, innovative products
and an even greater local presence to
the benefit of customers. “We showed
those visiting LIGNA that we will stand by
them for the creation of factories that are
not only smarter and more efficient, but
also a better place to live, environments
where a person's actions are valorised
and activities produce greater results.
Our customers understand this and have
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

SHOW REVIEW 55
taken up the challenge, turning to us
for significant investments - amounting
to 40 Million Euros in incoming orders
to be confirmed,” stated Federico
Broccoli, Wood Division Director/Sales
& Subsidiaries Division Director, at the
close of the 2019 edition of LIGNA.
Stefano Porcellini, Managing Director of
the Group, added, “Studies in the sector
(Acimall, VDMA, Ucimu) have shown a
significant decline in demand over the
first 5 months of 2019, after an extremely
positive 5-year cycle (2014-2018). But
Biesse's performance at LIGNA confirms
that our ability to innovate and stand
by our customers, with a localised
distribution network and an excellent
portfolio of services, guarantees success
even in less favourable political and
economic environments. This means we
can protect investments in products,
services and the markets where we
operate, being certain that we are on
the right track to keep consolidating our
leadership around the world”.
Several important announcements
were made: the inauguration of the
new Campus in Moscow with over
2,100 square metres, as well as a
renewed invitation to participate in the
Grand Opening for the new Campus in
Ulm, set for 24 to 26 October 2019.
Biesse announced a new partnership
with LIDTECH, a further demonstration
of its attention to the Russian
market.
Other presentations at LIGNA included
the official announcement of the “P&W,
Plug & Work” project, which is based on
“OPC UA” (Open Platform Communication
Unified Architecture) standards and
stems from collaboration with Eumabois
and VDMA. The project is backed by the
OPC Foundation as it aims to establish
a standard semantic architecture for the
wood sector.
In order to strengthen the perfect
synchrony of man and machine, Biesse
launched a new institutional campaign at
LIGNA Ready, it’s tomorrow, whose goal is
to accompany customers in a search where
a language, known as ALPHABYTE, is the
absolute star and the symbol of the perfect
harmony of technology and ingenuity.
BULL MARKET – AND BULL MOOSE –
DRIVE RECORD LIGNA FOR IPCO
PRESS belt manufacturer IPCO
enjoyed its best ever LIGNA,
thanks to unexpected market
optimism and the enduring appeal
of its crowd pulling mascot,
a taxidermy moose from the
company’s home country, Sweden.
Making its LIGNA debut under the
new IPCO brand, the company –
formerly Sandvik Process Systems
– achieved a record number of
leads over the course of the five-day fair,
with interest coming from all key market
regions.
“We were a little uncertain of what to
expect ahead of the fair,” says Sascha
Porst, Global Product Manager Press
Belts, “but quickly realised that the
market mood was extremely positive.
Virtually all of our major market areas
are operating at full capacity and this
was reflected in a stream of concrete
enquiries and productive meetings.”
As well as highlighting the ability to
produce press belts 1.2 - 3.5 mm thick,
The IPCO moose, a fair favourite
and up to 4,620 mm wide, IPCO focused
strongly on its global service and repair
offering. This includes the QuickDisc
Plus 500 tool, a self-contained cutting
and welding system that can remove and
replace damaged areas up to 480 mm
in diameter on steel press belts. Other
exhibits included the new QuickBench,
purpose-designed to support training
of customers’ own technicians, and a
comprehensive range of installation,
maintenance and repair tools.
IPCO also used LIGNA to introduce
visitors to a new application for its belts,
digital printing. The flatness and stability
of a steel belt enables faster, more
accurate printing and ensures
straight, vibration-free running.
Belts can be supplied perforated
to accommodate a vacuum system
for even greater stability.
The star of the show however, was
undoubtedly the IPCO moose, a fair
favourite that has been drawing
the crowds for many, many years
and has now become a ‘must’ for
selfies.
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

56 SHOW REVIEW
WOOD-MIZER PRESENTED A WIDE RANGE
OF NEW MACHINERY AT LIGNA 2019
AT LIGNA 2019, Wood-Mizer strengthened
its reputation as a leading manufacturer
offering machines for both small
workshops and industrial enterprises for
primary and secondary wood processing.
Wood-Mizer equipment gives every
company the opportunity to benefit in
difficult competitive markets, to find new
niche markets while saving valuable wood
and energy.
For the first time at LIGNA a wide range
of planer/moulders were presented. The
machines are dedicated for small-tomedium
workshops and allow sawmillers
to take a further step by adding a moulding
operation for converting boards into final
wood products.
The Wood-Mizer planer / moulder range
demonstrated at LIGNA included the
MP160 Planer and Thicknesser that both
planes and surfaces boards; the MP200
Planer/Moulder capable to plane and
mould timber on two sides in a single
pass; the versatile MP260 and MP360
Four-Sided Planer/Moulders, the MF130
Multifunctional Vertical Spindle Moulder
with a tilting range of 270 degrees and the
MS300 precision table saw with a large rip
capacity and 45-degree blade tilt angle.
Wood-Mizer also presented the new 90 cm
log diameter capacity LT15WIDE sawmill
and the entry-level LX50 for sawmillers
who want to start business with minimal
investment in the equipment.
Several years ago, Wood-Mizer introduced
the new TITAN line by producing industrial
high-volume sawmilling equipment.
During this year’s LIGNA fair, the TITAN
line was presented by three units: the
WB2000 wideband sawmill, which features
heavy-duty construction, low maintenance
requirements, and efficient operation; the
EA3000 optimising board edger, whose
sensors allow the edger to scan boards
and make the most out of slabs of varying
widths; and a high capacity EG800 multirip
edger, a robust machine that edges
material up to 100 mm thick.
LIGNA visitors were also presented with
Wood-Mizer’s line of wood cutting blades
and knives which includes multirip,
ripsaw, crosscut and frame saw blades,
planing and moulding knives as well as
narrowband and wideband bandsaw
blades.
ALTENDORF'S "ASA" SAFETY ASSISTANT
CAPTIVATES USERS AND THE SPECIALIST
PRESS AT LIGNA.
NOTHING drew a crowd to the new
Altendorf Group's LIGNA stand like the
demonstrations of the latest development
for the Altendorf sliding table saw.
Experts from all the over the world caught
their breath as a member of the Altendorf
Group's development team moved a hand
towards the saw blade at the speed of
a normal feed rate – and suffered not
so much as a scratch. The saw blade,
a 400 mm disk spinning at about
5000 rpm, simply disappeared – all in
a fraction of a second.
The demonstrations at LIGNA left
everyone who witnessed them thoroughly
impressed: users, dealers and the
international specialist press all left
the stand confident that "ASA" (the
working title of this ground-breaking
safety development) just will not permit
accidents at the sliding table saw. A
three-stage system using a number of
technical solutions ensures that caution
and prevention prevail.
EARLY HAZARD DETECTION IS
CRITICAL
The Altendorf Group's system relies on
being able to detect the hazard at a
very early stage. Various defined
situations are recognised as parameters
and classified using a number of
cameras to gather data and a powerful
computer to synchronise and interpret
it.
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

SHOW REVIEW 57
THE OPTICAL SYSTEM ALSO
DETECTS WORK GLOVES
Keeping our operators safe is an absolute
priority for the Altendorf Group's
development engineers, so it should come
as no surprise to learn that they were
concerned from the outset to ensure the
system was not fooled by work gloves. It
soon became clear that optical detection
techniques were more promising in this
regard than sensor-based solutions.
NO MATERIAL-BASED
RESTRICTIONS
The system copes readily with damp
wood and conductive materials and
coatings too. As Schröder explains,
"At Altendorf, we know that the great
majority of saw operators across the
more than 130 countries in which our
products are installed have no real
specialist training. Our system can
protect all of these people from
injury, which is obviously good for
them and their employers and also
helps to eliminate both machine
downtime and working time lost
due to accidents."
How soon the system will be
ready to go into full production
depends on the many extensive
national and international
certification processes mandated
by statutory accident insurers and
governmental authorities. The
Altendorf Group has no intention
of cutting corners on approval:
operators deserve no less. The
patent applications have been
filed and the process is under
way, which means realistically the
system will not be available to buy
before 2020.
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

58 SHOW REVIEW
JOSTING A CUT ABOVE THE REST
MACHINE manufacturer Josting
from Enger, Germany, enjoyed record
attendance and filled order books at LIGNA
2019. The proportion of international
trade visitors interested in the cutting
machine range from East Westphalia was
above average at around 65 per cent.
Goals achieved. New goals set. This is how
the Josting Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co.
KG's performance at the newly designed
exhibition stand in Hanover can best be
summed up.
THINGS ARE LOOKING GOOD!
AND RUNNING SMOOTHLY
The Josting team presented the RollCut-
Master R 1500 film rip-cutter, the MultiCut
CSC cross cutter for fast and tear-free
cutting of material packages and the
MultiCut DC two-knife cutting machine.
And how better to demonstrate this
extremely precise machine at LIGNA
than with a small but delicious treat. The
MultiCut DC showed that it really can
cut everything effortlessly: even fresh
baguettes. The amused visitors grasped
the opportunity, enjoyed the savoury
salami sandwiches and were all too happy
to have the advantages of the stack cutting
machine for veneers and other materials
explained to them.
SMART, SMARTER, JOSTING!
Josting also serves the increasing demand
for innovative system and automation
solutions, presenting the Siemens S7
PLC control as an option for all MultiCut
machines. Again, this went down well.
The control makes it possible to integrate
machines in a single line, which is essential
for automated production processes in
state-of-the-art companies. The Josting
unloading station for the MultiCut was thus
also in great demand, with orders to match.
The unloading station ideally complements
the MultiCut series. With a depth of 2.60
m, the size of the removal station is
precisely adapted to the width of the
respective machine type. It removes the
finished cut material for forwarding to the
next processing area. Up to 5 packages a
minute: Productivity boost included.
JOWAT: SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT
LAUNCHES AT LIGNA
THE adhesives manufacturer from Detmold
again impressed customers and prospects
alike with its latest and innovative product
highlights at his year’s leading global
trade fairs LIGNA and Interzum. The
spotlight was on non-hazardous PUR
hot melt adhesives, a fully certified
product family for load-bearing glulam,
as well as on new dispersion adhesives
with low formaldehyde emissions.
Like in previous years, Jowat again
set up several contact points at the
2019 trade shows – three booths
at LIGNA and one central booth at
Interzum – to provide visitors with
specific, specialised information on the
different adhesive applications. The
conclusion has been extremely positive.
took centre stage at LIGNA with
acomprehensive portfolio of monomerreduced
and therefore non-hazardous
reactive polyurethane (PUR) hot melts
for the wood and furniture industry
from the Jowatherm-Reaktant ® MR
series, once more demonstrating the
enterprise’s innovative capacity and
competence in PUR technology.
The new Jowapur ® product family for loadbearing
glulam also proved a major success.
The adhesives manufacturer from
Detmold also celebrated another
technological first at LIGNA with
established dispersion adhesives from
the Jowacoll ® series.
For 100 years, the Jowat brand has been
renowned for its impressive product
diversity, deep understanding of the
industries as well as close customer contact .
The adhesives specialist from Detmold
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

SHOW REVIEW 59
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

60 SHOW REVIEW
WINTERSTEIGER PRESENTED A
FIREWORK OF INNOVATIONS
THE Austrian manufacturer presented:
• two new systems from the field
of wood surface repair and cosmetic
processing, as well as a new thincutting
saw machine combination
(stand F60 in hall 27)
• Automation solution for stacking
lamellas
• A new generation of thin-cutting band
saw blades – DSB Prime ST
• New products from the field of band
saw blades for sawmills (stand E69 in
hall 25)
• Mobile and stationary sawmills from
the Wintersteiger group company
SERRA GmbH (stand N25 in hall 25 and
outdoor stand FG K52)
surface repair and cosmetic processing
from the Wintersteiger group company
VAP Gruber Automations GmbH, the
thin-cutting saw specialist from Upper
Austria also demonstrated its passion for
innovation with its range of automated
solutions, band saw blades and even a
new machine combination. The machine
manufacturer SERRA from Rimsting am
Chiemsee, Germany, has been part of the
Wintersteiger group since January 2019
and complements the product range with
its machinery for mobile and stationary
sawmills.
Wintersteiger AG arrived at LIGNA with
a whole host of product innovations
and optimisations in tow. Along with
two new systems from the field of wood
IMAL-PAL GROUP A LIGNA 2019:
A GREAT SUCCESS!
THE Imal-Pal group saw great success at
the latest LIGNA 2019.
The group was present at the show with
its Panel Alliance partners in an exhibition
area of almost 1500 m 2 showcasing a wide
range of innovative solutions for complete
plants and individual technological
solutions.
Visitors showed a keen interest in the
“Show room” where a wide range of
equipment was showcased, like the new
gauge MMW for the on-line control of mat
weight distribution, which operates with
millimetre wave technology.
Numerous solutions for online quality
control and laboratory equipment were
also on show and in operation. From the
FBC200, full board blister control, the
only system in the world that can detect
blisters or blown areas over the entire
surface of the board to the new all-in-one
4.0 “smartlab” laboratory concept.
The latest version of the SMC100, Sand,
Mark & Cut, which automatically cuts,
sands and marks the samples with a
QR code and which is incorporated in
the “smartlab” was also the centre of
attention.
Although they are not newcomers, the
Dynasteam, mat steam injection system,
107 systems of which have already
been sold worldwide and the Hi-Jet high
pressure resination system for MDF, PB
and OSB still attract a keen interest.
Showcased for the first time the ASR
Automatic Sharpening Room, a unique
fully automatic knife sharpening system
for knife ring flakers, equipped with a
6-axis robot that is able to carry out all the
sharpening operations within 60 minutes.
Other equipment on show included
the Dynapelletpress, able to process
12 t/h with soft wood and the SDG30.300
Strander Disc equipped with latest
technological features adapted to produce
not only OSB board.
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

WOOD CLINIC 61
Hello, Mr. Shen!
I am a reader of Panels & Furniture Asia. I am now in charge of a
company that manufacture wood doors, cabinets, stair railings and
the like. When making hollow-core doors, we often find the wooden
door has archedhed rather than right-angled edges or fluffed edges
when trimming with a double-end tenoner, which adds to our manual
repair work. These defects lead to increased production costs and
lower profit margins. Blocked and rough ends are often encountered
Mr Shim (Shen Yuxin) in the production of wood lines with four-sided planer. If the defective
part is cut, the length of wood line will be insufficient, but too many
joints are unacceptable to customers. We hope you help us analyse the above problems and
provide suggestions for improvement.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Wu
REDUCING DEFECTS WHEN MAKING
HOLLOW-CORE DOORS
Hi Mr. Wu, thank you very much for your letter. According to the
information you provided, the analysis and suggestions regarding
the quality problems of the hollow-core door trimming with
Double End Tenoner and production of wood lines with four-sided
planer are listed below:
Fig. 1 Diagram of operating the plywood hollow-core door trimming with
Double End Tenoner
(I) Double End Tenoner is the most commonly used machine
in a carpenter's shop, specially used for finishing two ends
and trimming with high efficiency. Its high machining
accuracy tolerance is between 0.07 mm and 0.1 mm with
stable quality. Trimming process of plywood hollow-core
doors on Double End Tenoner and common downsides are
further listed below.
Operation of hollow-core door trimming with Double End Tenoner
is as shown in Figure 1
• As the feeding chain of Double End Tenoner is very short,
an auxiliary roller feed table must be added and the
positioning baffle of Double End Tenoner should be
appropriately extended to the auxiliary feed table. Confirm
that the positioning baffle is set parallel to the feeding chain.
The positioning baffle can adjust the thickness of trimming
randomly.
• Set the width of the door, place the plywood hollow-core
door to be trimmed on the auxiliary feed table and close to
the positioning baffle. Upon positioning, the door is then
fed into the feed chain, with the front end of the door close
to the feed chain lug. As the wood door moves forward in
1. scoring saw,
2. edge saw,
3. 4. tenon cutter,
5. shape cutter,
6. upper pressure
chain,
7. feed chain,
8. positioning baffle
9. feed chain lug
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

62 WOOD CLINIC
the feed chain, the upper pressure chains (rubber feed belts)
press the wooden door and move forward at the same speed
as the feed chain, a pair of scoring saws are then formed
on the bottom surface of the door, with the saw kerf spacing
being the door width. The hollow-core door is then sized
by trimming with off cut saw. Similarly, set the height of the
plywood hollow-core door for trimming of the door end,
thus finishing the trimming process of the hollow-core door.
1. Common operation downsides in using Double End Tenoner
Fig. 2 Wear of the feed table and thread rollers on the worktable after
long use of four-sided planer may lead to frequent feed jams
■ Main causes for hollow wood door not straight in trimming
and presence of arched edge after trimming:
(a) Due to insufficient pressure of the upper pressure chains
or rubber feed belts on both sides of Double End Tenoner,
the displacement produced in trimming leads to arched
edges. It is recommended to send the hollow-core door
to the middle of the upper and lower conveyor chains before
mounting the saw blade, and pull hard on the wood door
to ensure the pressure of the chain on the left and right
sides is in place.
(b) The upper pressure chains (rubber feed belts) and the
feed chain on both sides of Double End Tenoner are
damaged. While pressing the wood door and feeding
forward, the speed of the upper and lower chains is not
uniform, resulting in the arched edge of the hollow-core
door after trimming. Thorough inspection and maintenance
are recommended to ensure upper pressure chains press
tightly on the wood door and run at the same speed as the
feed chain, so that there is no displacement of the wood
door. Assign the same few skilled staff to operate and check
the plywood hollow-core door from time to time, to ensure
straight trimming.
■ Main causes for non right-angled trimming on both ends of
the hollow-core door:
(a) The pressure of the upper pressure chains on both sides
of Double End Tenoner is aligned properly, resulting in the
displacement and leading to non-right angled trimming on
both ends of the plywood hollow-core door. It can also be
due to staff operating the machine wrongly, by failing to place
the door against the feed chain lug at the time of feeding.
(b) Another reason may be due to the feed chain lugs on both
sides of the Double End Tenoner being damaged or not rightly
set in place, with the off cut saws not placed at right angles to
the feed chain lugs. It is recommended to re-examine and
ensure that each pair of feed chain lugs is at a right angle
to the off cut saw, and assign the same skilled staff to check
the diagonals of the trimmed hollow-core door from time to
time to confirm that the trimmed hollow-core door is right
angled.
■ Causes of fluffy edges after trimming plywood hollow-core doors:
(a) The pressure of the upper pressure chains on both sides of
Double End Tenoner not in place, causes fluffing. It is required
to check and reset the pressure, and making sure that the
pressure of the upper pressure chains on both sides is in
place.
(b) The heartwood moisture content is too high. It is recommended
that the wood moisture content is controlled at 10 per cent
± 2 per cent.
(c) The saw blade is damaged, the saw blade is covered with
resin after long use, the grinding quality of saw teeth
is unstable, and the saw teeth are not sharp enough. It is
recommended to ensure that the quality of saw blades is in
place and replace the saw blades regularly. Make sure that
the blade is clean, the saw tooth grinding is correct and sharp
when trimming.
(d) In case of fluffing in trimming due to out-of-place setting of
the scoring saw, it is required to stop the machine to check
and reset the position of the saw kerf, making sure that it fits
in with the edge saw to avoid fluffiness.
(II) Cause analysis and reference for proposed improvement in
the case of insufficient length of wood lines due to blocked or
rough ends when producing wood lines using four-sided planer.
1. Unstable wood quality
Sawmills generally use leftover materials to make raw logs of
wood lines. If the raw log has too large a tolerance, processing
on the four-sided planer will often lead to blockage and
hindered production as well as other defects such as knife
jumping, pinching hazard or hit miss. It is recommended
to normalise raw logs of wood lines using the band-saw
machine with auto-feed carriage first. The screened raw
logs can improve the production efficiency and quality of the
processing by four-sided planer, and the undersize raw logs
can be used to make finer wood lines.
2. Insufficient pressure of upper rolling wheels
Insufficient pressure of upper rolling wheels of the foursided
planer will lead to feed jams. There should be one or
two rolling wheels on both left and right sides of each cutter
shaft of the four-sided planer. Causes of insufficient pressure
of upper rolling wheels:
• Unstable air pressure: the air pressure pipeline leaks
and the pressure is not in place, leading to regular feed
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

WOOD CLINIC 63
Fig 3. Too wide spacing between the chip ring of the second spindle tool
holder and the sliding baffle of the middle section may lead to dents
jams. It is recommended to check the air pressure pipelines
to ensure they are in good conditions with no leakage.
• Cylinder piston leakage: due to wear in cylinder piston
rubber ring or air leakage in other parts, the pressure is not in
place, resulting in regular feed jams. The damaged parts
should be replaced to ensure that each cylinder pressure and
carriage pressure is in place.
• Upper rolling wheel wear: the damage to upper feed rubber
rollers and steel rollers, or non-uniform pressure of the rolling
wheels will lead to feed jams, the rolling wheels should be
replaced to ensure that pressure is in place.
• Auxiliary rolling wheel: when planing very thin or wide boards
with the four-sided planer, it is required to use an additional
auxiliary rolling wheel beside the spindle tool holder to run
the feed more smoothly, and ensure the board is smooth and
lies flat on the worktable to avoid the defects due to nonuniform
thickness.
3. Feed table and thread roller wear
When four-sided planer has been used for a long time, the
feed table and the thread rollers on work table can become
worn out (Fig. 2), the raw logs and the conveying roller in
poor contact, and the pressure is out of place, resulting in
regular feed jams. It is recommended to replace the thread
roller, maintain the worn worktable, replace the work table
roller, adjust the roller to 0.2 mm higher than the worktable
and remain in that position in order for the pressure to be in
place and improve the problem of feed jams.
4. Work table rollers not set in place
Besides ensuring that the rollers on the feed table of the
four-sided planer is adjusted to 0.2mm above the work table,
other rollers on the back section of the feed table also need
to be adjusted accordingly as any tilt or wear in bearing will
also lead to hindered operation. It can help improve feed
jamming problems.
5. The feed table baffle benchmark is not in place
The feed table baffle is used to set the depth of wood planing.
If the baffle of the feed table or middle section is tilted, it
will lead to blockage, less precision when planing wood or
frequent non-uniform width at both ends of the wood. It is
recommended to check and confirm that when the baffle of
the feed table returns to zero, it is parallel to the fixed baffle
(coaming) of the back section, and the baffle of the middle
section is also parallel to the fixed baffle of the back section
when returned to zero.
6. The outward facing baffle is not set in place
The outward facing rolling wheel and spring between the
horizontal cutter shaft and the spindle tool holder on the
reference side are damaged and cannot work, or the outward
facing baffle of the middle section has too strong a pressure
setting, or is tilted, or the air exhaust equipment is not in
place, resulting in board blockage when wood chips jam
up. It is recommended to check and repair the side rolling
wheel, remove the residual wood chips on the work table
regularly, upgrade the dust collection equipment, and reset
the pressure of the outward facing baffle to a correct setting.
7. The spacing is too wide between the inner sliding baffle
and the planing tool tip
The spacing is too wide between the chip ring of the second
spindle tool holder and the sliding baffle of the middle section
(Fig. 3), leading to dent defects. The spacing should be set
to 5 mm to solve the problem.
8. The spacing is too wide between the sliding table and the
planing tool tip
When the spacing is too wide between the sliding table and
the planing tool tip, leading to dents on the bottom of the
board. It is recommended to reset the spacing between the
sliding table and the chip ring of the planing tool tip to 5mm
to solve the problem.
9. The chip breaker is not set in place
The pressure of the chip breaker is set too tight and the
spring load loses its tension, or the chip breaker baffle wears
resulting in unevenness and thicker raw logs cannot pass
through it, thus leading to blockage. It is recommended to
reset the chip breaker baffle, so that the correct pressure is
applied to stabilise the raw logs close to the table and it can
shift up and down according to the thickness tolerance of the
raw logs, thus solving the problem of the board blocking. It is
recommended to reset the spacing between the chip breaker
and the chip ring of the planing tool tip within 5 to 10 mm to
solve the problem of dents.
10. Upper pressure seat not set in place
If the pressure of the upper pressure seat (upper pressure
plate) is set too strong, the spring will lose its proper function,
the air exhaust equipment will not be in place, and if in
addition, the wood chips are not cleaned up in time, it will
lead to board blockage. The spacing of 5 mm between the
upper pressure seat and the chip ring of the planing tool tip
can solve the problem of dent defects.
I hope that the above simple description and suggestions can help
you improve the quality of plywood hollow-core door trimming
with Double End Tenoner, and solve the problem of blockage and
rough ends often encountered in the production of wood lines
with four-sided planer. ℗
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 4 • July / August 2019

NEWSLETTER
JULY/AUGUST 2019
THE MALAYSIAN MDF MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION (MMMA)
WILL INDIA BECOME THE NEW
GROWTH DRIVER FOR SOUTH EAST ASIAN
MDF PRODUCERS?
By Peter Fitch MMMA Newsletter for PFA Jul/Aug 2019
As an MDF producer, we are
constantly looking for new
markets and opportunities for
growth. This task has become
even more critical in recent years
due to the current challenges
the industry faces which include; Over
Capacity, Raw Material Shortages, US vs
China Trade Dispute, Middle East Conflicts
and Trade Protectionism. My main focus as
ever, will be with the specific challenges
faced by South East Asian producers of
MDF.
In recent years we have faced three main
challenges: -
Raw material shortages. This will continue
to be a problem as the commercial viability
of plantation Rubber Trees becomes less
profitable than other agricultural cash
crops such as Oil Palm. The overall
decline in the planted area of Rubber
Trees especially in Malaysia, will result
in the short supply of our traditional
source of raw materials. This will result in
increasing costs in the manufacture of MDF.
Trade Protectionism. An increasingly
worrying trend even before the trade
dispute between the US and China. The
South Koreans started anti-dumping on
MDF decades ago and have more recently
applied dumping duties on plywood. India
followed with dumping duties on MDF.
More recently Vietnam has indicated its
intention of instigating an Anti-Dumping
Petition against Thai and Malaysian MDF.
Trade disputes like these only distort
the market and protect a favoured few
industrialists with powerful lobbies. The
ultimate losers are the consumers that
pay higher prices. At best, protectionist
duties will only delay the inevitable demise
of inefficient industries.
Over Capacity. The subject of my article
published in the Mar/Apr 2019 edition of
this magazine. In summary, it is estimated
that the production capacity of MDF in
South East Asia is approximately 6.5 million
cubic metres per annum, consumption
within this region is estimated as being
less than 3 million cubic metres. Even as
more furniture production relocates from
China to Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia,
the rate of increase in consumption will
take many years to attain the volumes
of the current capacity. This means
South East Asian producers continue
to be dependent on the export market.
Traditionally, South East Asian producers
relied on the Middle East export market
including Iran. Recently, we have seen
the demand in this key market dropping
due to geopolitical issues.
I personally have been fascinated by the
diverse, exotic, resourceful and ‘Incredible
India’ since childhood and as a company,
we have been fortunate enough to have
been doing business in this country for
very many years. As a businessman, I
am often amazed but at the same time,
frustrated and disappointed with this
market. As traditional export markets
become more challenging, I, like other
entrepreneurs, are looking for the ‘next
growth’ market, and India should in theory
fit that criteria. With this in mind, I decided
to probe a bit deeper and to start to
64

NEWSLETTER
THE MALAYSIAN MDF MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION (MMMA)
JULY/AUGUST 2019
analyse the wood panel business in India.
Key Indian statistics include: -
• The 3 rd largest economy by
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).
• The 7 th largest economy by nominal
Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
• The fastest growing major economy
with reported GDP growth of 7%,
surpassing even China.
• Population of 1.34 billion people still
growing at 1.13% annually.
• Demographically more than 50% of
the population is below the age of 25.
Based on the above figures one would
be forgiven to think that the Indian MDF
market would be equally impressive.
I, for one, was very intrigued to find
out the facts. It was very challenging
to extract accurate data and the most
recent figures I could find were for
2017.
To my absolute surprise, the annual
consumption of MDF for the whole
of India reported in 2017 was only
868,000 cubic metres.
This, compared to the annual
consumption of MDF in China for the
comparable period of 2017, being 55
million cubic metres, the latter is a
staggering sixty-three times more.
My next task was to try and ascertain
why there was such a huge difference
in the usage of MDF in China and India
where both countries have very large
populations and a rapidly developing
Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
I am not an economic expert and the
opinions expressed here are purely my
personal observations on this matter.
When analysing the details, I found the
following indications; -
• Prior to the imposition of Anti-
Dumping duties, the growth of MDF
consumption was averaging about
30% per annum and the market
share was equally held between
domestic producers and imported
MDF. Once Anti-Dumping duties were
imposed the growth in consumption
dropped to about 5% per annum and
the market share of domestic
suppliers increased to 70% and the
imported MDF share dropped to 30%.
• More surprisingly, if we analyse the
Market Value of MDF during this same
period, prior to the Anti-Dumping, the
revenue increased year on year by
27% which is very close to the
volume growth. After the duties were
imposed, this USD value dropped to
only a 1.4% increase year on year.
This demonstrated a far lower increase
in the value of MDF traded than the
growth in volume.
• From the data source, the reported
Actual Production of domestic
MDF in India has only increased by
approximately 100,000 cubic metres
in the years between 2013 and 2017.
As new capacity greater than this
was installed during this period, it
would indicate that ‘other’ factors are
limiting actual production. Those
other limiting factors could include
issues associated with infrastructure
65

NEWSLETTER
JULY/AUGUST 2019
THE MALAYSIAN MDF MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION (MMMA)
(electricity) and raw material
availability. The author also notes
that significant ‘new’ capacities have
been installed since 2017 and
continues to be installed by MDF
producers in India. It would be
interesting to know how Actual
Production compares to Installed
Capacity for Indian manufacturers
of MDF?
India has other challenges and its
economy is essentially an inward looking
economy epitomised by the “Make In
India” slogan. The new government
has many challenges that need to be
addressed. I think on a whole it has
made huge strides in making those
improvements, but still has some way to
go. For example; -
• Per capita GDP is only USD7,874
which is ranked 119 th globally.
• Literacy rates are only 74% with
agriculture employing 59% of the
workforce and manufacturing only
22%. The unemployment rate is still
considered high.
• Only 61% of the registered roads are
paved leading to inefficiencies and
high logistical costs.
• India’s balance of payment is
Negative with the largest imports
being Crude Oil 37%, Electronics 7%
and Gold 6%.
• A recent Harvard University study
has claimed that India’s GDP has
been miscalculated and real GDP
growth has only been about 4% p.a.
If we analyse the current (2013 to 2017)
imports of MDF into India, we see that
Vietnam dominates at 53% which is
probably not surprising as until recently,
it was excluded from the Anti-Dumping
duties. Other major importers included
Thailand 17%, Indonesia 15%, Malaysia
9% and Sri Lanka 6%. Indian exports of
MDF were not significant but included Sri
Lanka, Iran, Nepal and Tanzania.
In conclusion, India will not become
the new growth market for South East
Asian MDF producers in the short
term. Demand for construction and
consumer items will ultimately depend
on how successfully India will implement
its “Housing For All” initiative which
includes the planning for 100 Smart
Cities and allowing Foreign Direct
Investment for township development.
India will ultimately need much
more MDF and Particleboard. The
production and procurement of raw
materials for the traditionally preferred
Plywood will become more and more
challenging and costly both in dollar
terms and in terms of environmental
degradation. It is estimated that the
current plywood consumption which
accounts for 90% of the wooden panel
market, could be further threatened by
new regulations as the tax structure is
squeezing out the ‘unorganised players’
that account for a significant production
volume. When furniture giants such as
Ikea and Pepperfry enter the Indian
retail space – does India want to import
expensive furniture? Or does it want
to develop its furniture industry and
become an efficient producer in its
own right? The creation of a vibrant
furniture industry would be far more
valuable than any protectionism on
Indian panel imports. I still believe
that the Indian market for MDF could
be significantly larger than the current
market allows – just look at the usage
comparison between India and China! To
realise India’s potential, it must abandon
its protectionist and closed market
policies. India will need to abolish its
Anti-Dumping duties, reduce its general
import duties for intermediate products
such as MDF. The Indian economy will only
benefit by allowing Indian manufacturers
and businesses to concentrate on value
addition production of products like
furniture, joinery and construction
materials. If this is allowed to happen
within a short period of time, business
efficiencies will improve and manufacturers
will become globally competitive, which
would bode very well for a positive
balance of payments in the future.
About the Author
Peter Fitch is the founder of Segamat Panel
Boards (Malaysia) and is currently chairman
of the Malaysian MDF Manufacturers
Association (MMMA) and executive
committee member of the Malaysian Panel
Manufacturers Association
(MPMA). Prior to working
in Malaysia he worked
for Plantation Timber
Products (China)
and Takeuchi MDF
(Malaysia). Peter
has been based
in Asia for more
than 25 years and
in the wood panel
business for more
than 20 years.
66

2019 EVENTS
CALENDAR
JANUARY
MARCH
DOMOTEX 2019
11 to 14 January
Hannover, Germany
http://www.domotex.de/home
imm COLOGNE 2019
14 to 20 January
Cologne, Germany
www.imm-cologne.com
ARCHITECTURE +
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
5 to 9 March
Tokyo, Japan
https://messe.nikkei.co.jp/en/ac
BUILD + DÉCOR 2019
8 to 11 MARCH
Beijing, China
http://www.build-decor.net
INTERNATIONAL FURNITURE FAIR
SINGAPORE 2019 (IFFS)
9 to 12 MARCH
Singapore
https://www.iffs.com.sg
CHINA (GUANGZHOU) DOOR
INDUSTRY EXPOSITION
10 to 12 MARCH
Guangzhou, China
http://www.cndoorexpogz.com
DUBAI WOOD SHOW
12 to 14 MARCH
Dubai, UAE
http://dubaiwoodshow.com/en
APRIL
SHENZHEN CREATIVE WEEK
19 to 22 March
Shenzhen, China
https://www.szcreativeweek.com
INDOBUILD TECH JAKARTA 2019
20 to 24 March
Jakarta, Indonesia
http://www.indobuildtech.com/Home
DOMOTEX ASIA/CHINAFLOOR 2019
26 to 28 March
Shanghai, China
https://www.domotexasiachinafl oor.com
CIFM/ INTERZUM GUANGZHOU
28 to 31 MARCH
Guangzhou, China
http://www.interzum-guangzhou.com
INAGREENTECH 2019
4 to 6 APRIL
Jakarta, Indonesia
http://www.inagreentech-exhibition.net
SALONE DEL MOBILE MILANO
9 to 14 APRIL
Milan, Italy
http://www.salonemilano.it/en
GULF CONSTRUCTION EXPO 2019
23 to 25 APRIL
Bahrain
http://www.gulfconstructionexpo.com
JUNE
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
AHEC 24 TH SOUTHEAST ASIA &
GREATER CHINA CONVENTION
AND MINI-TRADE SHOW
21 June
Ningbo, China
BUILDERS MYANMAR
1 to 3 AUGUST
Yangon, Myanmar
http://www.buildmyanmar.com
SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL
FURNITURE & WOODWORKING
MACHINERY FAIR
8 to 11 SEPTEMBER
Shanghai, China
https://www.woodworkfair.com
FMC CHINA 2019
9 to 12 SEPTEMBER
Shanghai, China
http://www.furniture-china.cn/zh-cn/fmc
VIETNAMWOOD 2019
18 to 21 September
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
https://www.vietnamwoodexpo.com
BEX ASIA
4 to 6 September
Singapore
www.bex-asia.com
DELHI WOOD
13 to 16 MARCH
Delhi, India
http://www.delhi-wood.com
MEGABUILD INDONESIA
14 to 17 MARCH
Jakarta, Indonesia
https://www.megabuild.co.id/en-gb.html
CIDE 2019
15 to 18 MARCH
Beijing, China
http://www.door-expo.com/en-us/index.jsp
CIFF
18 to 21 MARCH AND
28 to 31 MARCH
Guangzhou, China
http://www.ciff-gz.com/index.php?s=/Pc/
Index/index/sid/1.html
ECOBUILD SOUTHEAST ASIA
19 to 21 MARCH
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
https://www.ecobuildsea.com
MAY
THE 11 TH GUANGZHOU INTERNATIONAL
WOODEN HOUSE & WOODEN
STRUCTURE FAIR
15 to 17 MAY
Guangzhou, China
http://www.muwuz.com
QINGDAO INTERNATIONAL
FURNITURE FAIR
16 to 19 MAY
Qingdao, China
http://www.qiff.net
INTERZUM COLOGNE
21 to 24 MAY
Cologne, Germany
http://www.interzum.com/interzum/
index-2.php
LIGNA
27 to 31 MAY
Hannover, Germany
http://www.ligna.de/home
CARREFOUR INTERNATIONAL DU BOIS
30 May to 1 June
Nantes, France
https://www.timbershow.com
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
ARCHXPO 2019
1 to 3 OCTOBER
Singapore
www.archxpo.com.sg
NHLA CONVENTION 2019
2 to 4 OCTOBER
New Orleans, USA
https://nhla.com/networking/details.
aspx?aid=1369
IFMAC
9 to 12 October
Jakarta, Indonesia
www.ifmac.net
MALAYSIAN WOOD EXPO 2019
19 to 21 November
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
http://malaysianwoodexpo.com.my
VIETNAM INTERNATIONAL
FURNITURE FAIR 2019
27 to 30 November
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

ADVERTISERS’
INDEX
July / August 2019 • Issue 4 • PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA
Heavy Duty Helical Planer Cutter
Heads with Changeable Knives
Knife:
14 x 14 x 2 x 30º
14 x 14 x 2 x 37º
COMPANY
AHEC
PAGE
OBC
Baillie Lumber 9
Heavy Duty Helical Planer Cutter
Heads with Changeable Knives
Knife:
30 x 12 x 1.5 x 35º
Cabinet Vision South East Asia 17
Dieffenbacher GmbH 7
Homag Asia Pte Ltd
FC
Helical Planer Cutter Heads
with Changeable Knives
Knife:
15 x 15 x 2.5 x 30º
15 x 15 x 2.5 x 37º
IMEAS spa 13
Jiangsu Baolong Electromechanical Mfg Co Ltd
IBC
Adjustable Planer Cutter Heads
with HSS or TCT Knives
Safety Corrugate Cutter Heads
with HSS Knives
Kuang Yung Machinery Co Ltd 41
Lesnaya Industriya 59
Malaysian Wood Expo 2019 1
Spindle Shaper Planer Cutter
Heads with Changeable Knives
Knife:
30 x 12 x 1.5 x 35º
50 x 12 x 1.5 x 35º
60 x 12 x 1.5 x 35º
Northwest Hardwoods 11
Siempelkamp Maschinen-und Anlagenbau GmbH
IFC
Shijiazhuang Cangao High Frequency Machinery Co., Ltd 57
Changeable Knives
-TCT
Technik Associates Ind Co Ltd 37
Tong Fong Cuers Co Ltd 68
Single/Double Surface Planers Helical Planer
Cutter Heads with Changeable Knives
Knife: 14 x 14 x 2.0 x 30º
15 x 15 x 2.5 x 30º
15 x 15 x 2.5 x 37º
30 x 12 x 1.5 x 35º
30 x 12 x 2.5 x 35º
14.6 x 14.6 x 2.5 x 30º
Vietnam Internaonal Furniture Fair 2019 29
Vietnam Wood 2019 49
Zhuzhou New Times Conveyer Machinery Co Ltd 3
Zhuzhou NTE-EWK Enviromental Protecon Techonolgy Co Ltd 2