Panels & Furniture Asia November/December 2021

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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CLUSTER

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NEW DATE: 2-5 MARCH 2022

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Lot A19, Hung Vuong Street, Hoa Phu Ward,

Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam

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WOOD & WOODWORKING MACHINERY EXHIBITION

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CONTENTS

PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA (ISSUE 6)

November / December 2021

Editor’s Note

News

Market Report

Winding up US hardwoods for 2021

Protecting and defending intellectual property rights

in China

Compass or crystal ball?

Environmental Report

Disrupting the construction industry and improving

sustainability with mass timber

In Person

A new beginning for Scheuch Asia

Product Highlight

Enhancing productivity and reducing operating

costs in spray coating with newer iBotic

Jointing cutters with owl-wing design

achieve noise reduction

Coating solutions to protect kitchen cabinets

Panel

Manufacturing

Raute R3 Series: Veneer and plywood

technology designed for emerging markets

Renewable adhesive solutions

for panel and furniture production

CMC TEXPAN: Celebrating 60 years of

reliability and innovation

Furniture

Manufacturing

Furniture assembling made

as simple as a click

Spray coating line performs

high-quality and efficient door coating

Risks of using pirated software

Innovation: Combining the flexibility and stability

of CNC nesting machine with doubled efficiency

Flooring

Furnishing Hyatt Regency Zurich Airport

The Circle with oak parquet from Bauwerk

Materials

The strength of Québec hardwood

Inspired by space, made with western red cedar

Zero waste: Furnishing homes with recycled

materials

Structural Elements

Verksbyen: sustainable neighbourhood

Columnists

Identifying key traits of Jelutong and Pulai wood

What is the cost of carbon?

Calendar of Events

List of Advertisers

4 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

W O O D & W O O D W O R K I N G

20-22 JANUARY 2021

HANOIWOOD 2022

河内木工机械展

NEW DATE:

26-28 MAY 2022

Venue:

International Centre of Exhibition

(I.C.E ), Hanoi

91 Tran Hung Dao Street, Hoan Kiem

District, Hanoi , Vietnam

QR Code to exhibition

location on Google Map

JOINTLY ORGANISED BY

F A I R

M A C H I N E R Y T R A D E

Pablo Shanghai

Contact: Rain Ma

Mobile: (86) 182 1755 3837

Email: 2229204646@qq.com

BINH DUONG FURNITURE ASSOCIATION

PANELS & FURNITURE GROUP

VIETNAM TIMBER AND

FOREST PRODUCT ASSOCIATION

PLEASE CONTACT:

Pablo Publishing & Exhibition Pte Ltd

3 Ang Mo Kio Street 62 #01-23 Link@AMK

Singapore 569139

Tel: (65) 6266 5512 Mobile: (65) 9621 4283

Email: williampang@pabloasia.com

FROM THE EDITOR

Ending the year

on a positive note

As 2021 comes to a close, the wood and

woodworking industry is starting to recover,

with supply chains gradually returning to prepandemic

productivity and meeting demand

expectations. Judd Johnson, managing editor

of Hardwood Market Report, has summarised

the year’s market situation for US hardwood

and expressed confidence that “the supply grid

will continue its rebound to accommodate the

market’s needs now and in the future” (p.14).

While celebrating the rebound, perhaps we

can also step back and ask ourselves, what

can we do to prepare for another unexpected

collapse in the supply chain? After all, the

COVID-19 pandemic has taught us to anticipate

disruptions and make contingency plans

accordingly. As Malte Herrmann, director

of sales and marketing at APP Timber said:

“The pandemic has added parameters to the

already integral parts of our business field, and

unpredictability stays as a steady companion”

(p.20).

No matter the market challenges, innovation

is still at the heart of many wood processing

enterprises. Cefla Finishing’s newer iBotic

Cartesian comes with a host of upgrades for

spray coating (p.26), and Leuco has developed

a new design for jointing cutters that reduce

noise during panel production (p.28). We also

have HOMAG’s new click furniture, designed for

efficiency and simplicity when manufacturing

furniture (p.40).

With new technologies come the concerns of

intellectual property and piracy. Our interview

with Union Brother (Shanghai) Machinery

sheds light on how intellectual property rights

in China is an ongoing struggle (p.16). Cabinet

Vision South East Asia has touched on the

risks of software piracy, urging design and

manufacturing firms to use genuine software

(p.44).

This year, the industry commemorated

anniversaries and new beginnings. Mirko

Köhler, who became the managing director

for Scheuch Asia earlier in June, shared

with us his plans for the company (p.24).

CMC TEXPAN has just celebrated their 60th

anniversary, a testament to their reliability and

innovativeness in the field (p.38).

Every ending promises a new beginning. With

much to celebrate and reflect on, let us end

2021 on a positive note and welcome 2022 with

renewed energy.

PANG YANRONG | Senior Editor

PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA

PABLO SINGAPORE

Publisher

William Pang • williampang@pabloasia.com

Senior Editor

Pang Yanrong • yanrong@pabloasia.com

Assistant Editor

Yap Shi Quan • shiquan@pabloasia.com

Business Development Manager

Pang YanJun • yanjun@pabloasia.com

Graphic Designer

Goh Meng Yong • mengyong@pabloasia.com

Circulation Manager

Shu Ai Ling • circulation@pabloasia.com

PABLO BEIJING

General Manager

Ellen Gao • pablobeijing@163.com

PABLO SHANGHAI

Editor

Kresly Shen • pabloshanghai@163.net

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6 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

Getting what you need can be complex. We make it feel easy.

Why do so many customers continue do business with us? Because we care. As we’ve seen,

the hardwoods industry can be difficult. When it is we are a rock-solid source

of service and support. We put in the time, make the extra call, do whatever we can

to solve our customers’ problems and meet their needs.

We care, that’s why they do business with us.

northwesthardwoods.com

NEWS

NEW DIGITALISED

THIN-CUTTING BAND

SAW MACHINE

LAUNCHED BY

WINTERSTEIGER

Wintersteiger, an international

machinery and plant engineering

group based in Upper Austria, has

launched the new DSB Twinhead PRO

XM thin-cutting band saw. Equipped

with two saw modules, the band saw is

meant for industrial use where a large

capacity is required.

The predecessor model has been

optimised from various viewpoints, as

Andreas Ramsauer, product manager

of Wintersteiger’s Division Woodtech,

explained: “This development project

was all about incorporating advances

in digitalisation into a tried-and-tested

machine to enhance it and exploit

all available technical options for

our customers. The result is the DSB

Twinhead Pro XM, a futureproof band

saw for high-quality thin-cutting of

wood.”

The basic version can be extended to

three machines in total, all of which

are connected in series. This amounts

to a total of six saw modules in one

system. With the dual design of each

machine, the DSB Twinhead Pro XM is

also a space-saving solution.

This trend was taken up in the machine

development, and the new DSB

Twinhead Pro XM was optimised for

this area of application. Technical

improvements include a powerful

chip extraction, and a faster feed with

speeds of up to 45m/min.

The machine was developed from

the operator’s perspective. The user

interface has been overhauled to make

navigation as intuitive as possible.

The thin-cutting band saw has a

12-inch multi-touch display and an

easily understood menu to guide the

operator through the programme.

Achim Priewasser, an application

engineer involved in the machine

development, commented that it

was important for the machine to be

readily accessible for maintenance and

repair work, and explained: “The new

DSB Twinhead Pro XM has gone even

further when it comes to handling and

cleaning. High precision cutting results

are another major benefit of our

new machine. The easy and intuitive

operation offered by the touch display

is a giant leap forward.”

AUTOMATIC BLOCK WIDTH

MEASUREMENT

The DSB Twinhead Pro XM uses optical

sensors to measure the block width, and

the customer receives information about

throughput, the cut area.

AUTOMATIC BEARING MONITORING

Bearing monitoring documents the

condition of the bearings, and when

sufficient data is available, can anticipate

imminent bearing damage. Once wear is

ascertained, the preventive replacement

of the bearings can be arranged so that it

does not interfere with production times.

DSB Twinhead Pro XM thin-cutting band saw

Digital saw blade

detection

With ample data available for the

cutting process, such as feed speeds

for different kinds of wood, it is

possible to think in terms of saw blade

optimisation. Ramsauer explained:

“The last few years have shown us

that digitalisation has also reached

the woodworking industry. So the

logical next step was to take up this

engineering trend.”

As wood prices rise, high-quality thin

cutting is also becoming increasingly

important in the softwood segment.

The following digital solutions have

been implemented with the DSB

Twinhead Pro XM:

DIGITAL SAW BLADE DETECTION

The machine automatically

detects and identifies the marked

Wintersteiger saw blade at the start,

and provides cutting process data such

as the feed speed. The machine and

tool data are linked, and a simplified

form of tool management can also

be realised. Data no longer has to be

entered manually, apart from wood

type and customer-specific data.

CONNECTION TO MYWINTERSTEIGER

CLOUD

Production output data and tool

management are stored in a structured

way in the myWintersteiger cloud,

and are presented on the dashboard.

This information forms the basis

for continuous optimisation in the

production process. The customer’s

remote maintenance package

automatically includes connection to the

cloud. P

Photos: Wintersteiger

8 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

NEWS

ANDRITZ TO SUPPLY NEW

MDF PRODUCTION LINE

TO KASTAMONU ENTEGRE

From left to right: Haluk Yildiz, CEO of Kastamonu Entegre; A. Yahya

Kigili, chairman of Kastamonu Entegre; and Wolfgang Lashofer, senior

vice-president and division manager of paper, fibre and recycling

division, Andritz (Photo: Andritz)

International technology group Andritz has received the second

order in a row from Kastamonu Entegre to supply a disc chipper

and a pressurised refining system for its medium-density

fibreboard (MDF) production line in Balikesir, Turkey. Start-up of

the new equipment is planned for the end of 2022.

The centrepiece of the new line will be the pressurised refining

system, including a 24-inch plug screw feeder and a highcapacity

S2070M refiner that will process pine, beech and oak as

raw materials. All Andritz pressurised refining systems feature

low consumption of electricity and thermal energy. The scope

of supply also comprises a gravity-fed HQ-Chipper, a chip bin

discharger and a 74-inch digester, as well as supervision of

mechanical installation and start-up.

Kastamonu Entegre, part of Hayat Holding, was established in

1969 and specialises in the production of wood-based panels for

the furniture, interior decoration, and construction industries.

Andritz’s experience with high-quality fibre production

technologies for the panelboard industry and partnership

between both companies were the main reasons for Kastamonu

Entegre awarding the order to Andritz.

Kastamonu Entegre has already been operating an MDF

production plant with pressurised refining system from Andritz in

Russia, and has decided to continue the cooperation with Andritz

in Turkey. With the supply of the new high-capacity pressurised

refining system, Andritz will have supplied 16 installations to

Turkey – eight of them equipped with a S-refiner. P

NEWS

HOMAG GROUP REPORTS SUCCESSFUL

H1 2021 AND ANNOUNCES FUTURE

ENDEAVOURS

HOMAG Group has reported a successful H1

2021 with order intakes at record levels and a

19.2% increase in sales revenue. Additionally,

their incoming orders in Q2 2021 recorded

a 129% increase from Q2 2020, from

€191.5 million to €438.6 million, and their sales

revenue increased 33.1%, from €261.9m to

€348.5m.

The growth is mainly driven by single machines

business rather than businesses that bought

whole production lines or factories, according

to Markus Voge, CSO of HOMAG Group. He

noted that there are still the challenges of

suppliers meeting high order demands, delay

in delivery and production times, as well as the

increasing prices of copper, steel and electronic

parts. However, he was pleased to announce

that COVID-19 is not an issue at production

lines anymore, where workers are back at full

capacity.

INTEGRATION OF KALLESOE MACHINERY

HOMAG Group also announced a new

business venture with Kallesoe Machinery,

a Danish manufacturer of press lines and

system solutions for the solid wood industry.

The integration of Kallesoe Machinery into

HOMAG is described as timely, as solid wood is

experiencing high market demand, especially

for cross-laminated timber (CLT) and gluelaminated

timber (glulam).

According to Jens Kallesoe, sales manager

of Kallesoe Machinery, the integration is

beneficial for both parties as the company will

gain access to global development network,

while HOMAG can leverage on Kallesoe

Machinery’s specialty in system solutions and

new technologies, such as high-frequency

technologies.

FUTURE ENDEAVOURS

Although a majority of the world is still bogged

down by the pandemic with travel restrictions

still in place, HOMAG Group has opportunities

and plans for the foreseeable future.

For instance, HOMAG has participated in

the LIGNA.Innovation Network (LIGNA.IN),

covering all aspects of their target audience,

including furniture and house construction,

digitalisation of assembly, solid wood

production, technologies for window, door, stair

and flooring construction, and more, during the

trade fair in September 2021.

Beyond LIGNA.IN, HOMAG will also host inhouse

events, such as their annual HOMAG Treff

in Holzbronn and Herzebrock, Germany, and

WEINMANN Treff in St Johann, Germany, both of

which will be held in-person and virtually.

The focus for HOMAG Treff will be on furniture,

flooring and construction elements, production

cells and industry solutions, digital applications

and tailored customer solutions for the craft

sector, as well as world premiere of new

products. For WEINMANN Treff, the fair will

present solutions for small and medium-sized

carpentry businesses, solid wood processing

and fully automated and networked production

lines.

Homeier also noted that Live.HOMAG events

and webinars will be held throughout the year,

from training sessions of their equipment to

demonstrations of equipment of software

services and keynote presentations. P

OPENING OF NEW SCM SUBSIDIARY IN TURKEY

SCM, a producer of secondary woodworking

machinery, has strengthened its presence

in the Turkish market with the opening of

SCM Turkey, located in the Istanbul area. The

investment in this new subsidiary, with 100%

Italian capital as of 2021, is aimed at providing

direct, widespread sales and technical

assistance to all the businesses in the industry,

from the artisan right up to major industries,

and at each stage of customer relations from

pre- to after-sales.

The company also intends to add its

service to its product excellence, in line

with the latest market’s requirements. The

opening of SCM Turkey is part of a strategic

commercial plan based on consistent, steady

investments aimed at ensuring a widespread

professional presence worldwide, and further

strengthening its subsidiaries and dealers

network team to ensure the best skills

dedicated to all technologies and software

applications linked to the panel, solid wood

and joinery processes.

SCM has served the Turkish market for many

years, working with distributor companies of

the country to supply a variety of products and

services for all the woodworking application

sectors: furniture industry, windows and doors

production, timber construction and artisan

businesses. The new opening of SCM Turkey

is a step forward in this partnership, and has

been conceived to meet the requirements of

an ever growing and even more specialised

market.

“Local businesses’s demands have

significantly changed in recent years,

and the importance of automation and

innovation has become undeniable,” said

Umut Erkan, country manager of SCM

Turkey. “Woodworking manufacturers, and in

particular local companies in the furnishing

SCM Turkey headquarters

industry, are investing heavily to modernise

their factories and make their processes more

digital, efficient and flexible. In line with these

changes, SCM decided to invest in Turkey

in order to be even closer to customers,

supporting them in their new business

projects with turnkey and state-of-the-art

technologies, and providing an even more

direct after-sales service.” P

10 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

NEWS

INTERNATIONAL

FURNITURE

LEADERSHIP AWARDS

2022 OPEN FOR

NOMINATION

International Furniture Leadership Awards

2022 (FLA International), the 7th edition of

the business awards for the global furniture

industry, is now open for nomination.

Held annually to celebrate excellence in the

global furniture and related industries, FLA

International honours exceptional companies

that are well-run and individuals that display

outstanding leadership. The programme is open

to furniture retailers, manufacturers, traders,

interior designers, interior fit-out companies,

machinery and material suppliers, industry

associations, and fair organisers worldwide.

The 2022 award categories are:

• Brand Excellence Award

• Product Excellence Award

• Rising Star Award

• Outstanding Company Award

• Outstanding Leader Award

• Outstanding Young Leader Award

• Outstanding Woman Leader

Nominees are evaluated via a comprehensive

and scientific assessment system developed

by a professor of business management. The

foundation criteria include considerations of

each nominee or company’s leadership and

strategies, marketing and branding, human

capital and management, business process and

FLA International 2013 award winners.

execution capabilities, and finance and wealth

management.

Similar to the 2021 edition, FLA International

2022 will continue to take into account the

additional challenges brought about by the

COVID-19 pandemic. While companies that

continue to excel will stand out, the judging

panel comprising industry authorities,

management strategists and academics

will also be looking out for companies that

demonstrate resilience and sustainability,

the fundamental tenets of the programme,

especially in view of the current difficult

circumstances the world is facing.

Winning companies gain an opportunity to

communicate their strengths and successes to

stakeholders such as shareholders, employees,

business partners, customers and prospects.

On top of that, award recipients are entitled

to complimentary membership to the Global

Leaders Network, a community of all past

award winners. Winning companies will also

enjoy publicity via FLA International’s partnerplatforms

worldwide through the official

website, commemorative book, social media

and promotion at China International Furniture

Fair (CIFF).

During the 2021 edition, 18 international

companies and individuals won a total of

22 awards. Awardees come from industry

segments such as furniture retail, wholesale,

manufacturing, interior design, interior fit-out,

trade associations and fair organising. They

represent 14 countries covering Asia-Pacific,

Middle East, Europe and North America.

The timeline of FLA International is as follows:

Nomination Closes: 15 Dec 2021

Judging: December 2021 to January 2022

Results: February 2022

Award Ceremony: 19 Mar 2022

The award presentation ceremony will be held

at Pazhou Exhibition Complex, Guangzhou, in

conjunction with CIFF Guangzhou 2022. P

MALAYSIA WOOD FURNITURE EXPORT

TO EXCEED RM13 BILLION BY 2021

Malaysia’s wood furniture export value is

expected to exceed RM13bn by the end of

2021, an uptick from the RM12.8bn recorded

in 2020, according to the Plantation Industries

and Commodities Ministry (MPIC).

logistical problems such as transportation,

the Movement Control Order and so on, the

furniture industry has remained stable in

terms of export value, so I reckon that it can

exceed RM13bn.

According to Zuraida, the first eight months

of 2021 reached an export value of RM6.6bn

for wood furniture sector, a 5.2% year-on-year

increase: “The export potential is very high,

as the US is the main export market which

accounts for nearly 50%. Although we have

competition from Vietnam, the Americans still

regard Malaysia as the supplier of high-quality

and stylish furniture that suits their taste.”

The figures are achievable and commendable

in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. Datuk

Zuraida Kamaruddin, the Minister of MPIC,

commented: “Even during the pandemic,

when we are facing low supply due to

“The end of the year – October to December

– is the time for them to catch up by seizing

the opportunity to export the available goods

as fast as possible. I am confident their efforts

would bear fruits.”

Johor Bahru city contributed 69% of Malaysia’s

wood furniture export value in 2020, and Muar

alone accounted for 46%. P

Source: Daily Express

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 11

NEWS

VIETNAM: TWO POSSIBLE SCENARIOS FOR WOOD AND WOOD

PRODUCT EXPORTS IN LAST MONTHS OF 2021

In H1 of 2021, exports of wood and wood

products from Vietnam increased, but due to

the pandemic, export earnings declined in the

subsequent months. According to Vietnam’s

Directorate of Customs, exports of wood and

wood products in the first seven months of

2021 reached US$9.26 billion, a 57% increase

compared to the same period in 2020.

However, since July, social distancing and

restrictions on movement in many provinces

and cities in Vietnam have impacted

production. Exports of wood and wood

products in July reached nearly $1.3bn, some

17% down year on year. In the first half of

August export earnings fell 45% compared to

July.

It is possible that COVID-19 restrictions

will be in place for some time and this will

negatively affect production. COVID-19 control

measures affect all sector of the timber

industry, especially companies in the main wood

processing centres like Binh Duong, Dong Nai

Provinces and Ho Chi Minh City.

Some companies are trying to maintain production

at 20-50% of capacity in order to partially

meet orders and maintain jobs for employees.

Workers from plants that have stopped production

are facing an uncertain future.

A survey conducted in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh

Duong Province and Dong Nai Province by three

associations – the Handicraft and Wood Industry

Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA), Binh

Duong Furniture Association (BIFA) and Dong

Nai Wood and Handicraft Association (DOWA)

– revealed some data. By August, 18.5% of

association members halted production, 46% of

members reduced the capacity and applied the

“three on-site” rule. It was estimated that over

80% of workers in the association member plants

had temporarily lost their jobs.

A study conducted jointly by Forest Trends,

Association of Vietnam Timber and Forest Product

(VIFOREST) and the Forest Products Association

of Binh Dinh Province sets out two possible

scenarios for export in the last months of 2021.

In the first scenario, the study assumed the

decline in the first half of August will last to the

end of Q3 2021. By that time the vaccination rollout

will be underway. As a result, export earnings

will begin to recover from Q4, but would only be

around 70% of the first two quarter earnings. If

accurate, the gross wood product earnings for

2021 will be $13.55bn.

In the second scenario, the study assumed the

pandemic will not be controlled, so in this case

the decline in export earnings will continue until

year end, such that 2021 earnings would be only

$12.69bn. P

Source: ITTO

AMERICAN HARDWOOD EXPORT COUNCIL PRESENTS

DISCOVERED, A SHOWCASE IN WOOD DESIGNS

Recollect by Tan Wei Xiang, designed using American

hard maple, red oak. (Photo: Winston Chuang)

In September 2021, the Design Museum in

London hosted a global showcase of the next

generation of design talent, titled Discovered.

Bringing together 20 emerging designers from

16 countries, Discovered presents a group of

young creatives in a showcase of furniture,

objects and sculptural works in wood.

A collaboration between the American

Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and

Wallpaper* magazine, Discovered offers a

series of personal reflections on the pandemic

experience, while providing a platform for new

creatives where they can get their works out in

front of the public and the industry, after a year

in which the usual channels for exposure were

inaccessible.

The designers have worked alongside design

mentors and AHEC’s global manufacturing

partners to each develop a new object

made from their choice of four sustainable

hardwoods: American red oak, cherry, and hard

and soft maple.

“Discovered is a unique opportunity for us,

as we will be joining forces with the other

AHEC regional offices in a creative project

for the first time,” said John Chan, regional

director of AHEC South East Asia and Greater

China. “Together with Wallpaper*, we have

selected an exciting line-up of designers

from 16 different countries — five of whom

are from South East Asia and China. This

project has enabled us to give them a valuable

learning experience on product design and

development with sustainable hardwood.

We are also fortunate to have had input

from Designer Nathan Yong as a mentor

for the South East Asia and Greater China

designers. Added to this has been world-class

manufacturing from Fowseng in Malaysia.”

To develop their concepts, participants were

invited to think about their experience of

living and working in isolation, responding

to themes of touch, reflection and strength,

and to channel their own experiences into a

piece that represents functional and emotional

connections to everyday objects.

The designers have considered ideas such as

identity and cultural heritage, family and social

ritual, the pandemic-induced need to adapt,

and the comfort of touch. This has resulted

in a diverse selection of objects, ranging from

functional furniture such as cabinets, tables

and chairs to more abstract, sculptural works

that inspire reflection. P

12 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

NEWS

ARGOS SOLUTIONS APPOINTS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR

Argos Solutions has welcomed Terje

Haltbakk as their new managing director.

Haltbakk comes from Agility Subsea

Fabrication, where he held the position

as vice-president for sales and tendering.

Prior to this, he spent 20 years in Kongsberg

Automotive, where he held positions as

managing director and vice-president for the

global aftermarket department.

Argos Solutions believes Haltbakk, with

his 20-over years of experience from

various management positions within the

manufacturing industry, will be a great

asset.

“I’m honoured to be a part of Argos Solutions,

a company that has a history of creating

and leading innovation. I’m looking forward

to work with a dedicated team committed

towards innovative technology suited for the

21st century and beyond,” said Haltbakk.

Argos Solutions is a supplier of digital grading

and panel repair systems for the wood panel

and building industry, and has delivered

more than 400 systems worldwide. Their

core business is engineering, design, and

manufacture of surface grading systems and

panel repair systems for the wood panel and

building industry. P

Terje Haltbakk is new managing director

of Argos Solutions

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL:

FIRST ECOSYSTEM SERVICES CERTIFICATION IN PORTUGAL

The process of creating a sustainable and

balanced model to manage forests is constantly

changing. Forest stewards require new

approaches to secure their livelihoods and

protect the health of their forests. 2BForest,

a Portuguese forest management group,

understands the need to implement new tools

that show the full value of their forests and

make their model more sustainable. In working

towards these goals, they became the first

Portuguese organisation to achieve certification

for their Ecosystem Services (ES) impacts.

2BForest implemented the ES procedure with

three group members in Arouca, a region with

forests that are part of the Natura 2000 network.

These forests owners certified the impact of their

activities on biodiversity, carbon storage and

recreational services, showing the benefits these

forest ecosystems generate. The ES Procedure

developed by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

has been a key tool in their transition towards

value-oriented forest management.

2BFOREST MODEL OF FOREST MANAGEMENT

2BForest consists of a large number of forest

managers in Portugal, totalling more than

20,000 hectares and 400 forest owners. They

provide different services to forest owners,

aimed at fostering the best possible practices in

forest management, to protect their forests and

develop a solid business model.

As part of this approach, 2BForest has

developed an online platform called ForestSIM,

where forest owners can find tools that will

help them design and implement a forest

management plan. The combination of

this platform and the ES Procedure is the

mechanism that 2BForest will use to create a

balanced model of forest management for their

group.

THE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROCEDURE

The FSC Ecosystem Services Procedure

consists of seven steps to help forest managers

show positive impacts of forest practices on

ecosystem services. Once an independent

certification body evaluates the process,

each verified impact results in an “ecosystem

services claim”. These impacts measure the

value of management practices, and can be

used by forest managers and their partners

to communicate a verified story. For Susana

Brígido, general director of 2BForest, the

ES certificate “acts as an incentive for the

protection and restoration of forest ecosystem

services, which will allow biodiversity to be

considered as an asset with economic and

social recognition of ecosystems and services

they provide”.

2BForest’s commitment to protecting

ecosystem services has already brought

them visible results. In July 2021, they

secured the first sponsorship of ecosystem

services in Portugal, in a collaboration with

partners committed to the sustainability

of Portuguese forests. This agreement was

reached through a voluntary platform,

designed to leverage contributions to climate

initiatives. This partnership will help 2BForest

continue their mission of conserving of

Portuguese natural heritage, increasing the

resilience of rural territories and improving

the landscape of forest areas.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

This certification is the beginning of the plans

that 2BForest has for their forests. They are

planning on certifying all the forests that

have conservation areas and integrating the

ecosystem services approach with the tools

of ForestSIM. This will help them to improve

the business model of their group members,

while also aligning with national and regional

strategies of nature conservation.

“Understanding ecosystem services is key

to seeing our vulnerability to the effects of

climate change,” said Sofia Ferreira, head

of the Forest Unit at FSC Portugal. She

explained that businesses face increasing

pressure to ensure the sustainability of

their supply chain, and consequently need

tools to channel their support of positive

initiatives. P

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 13

MARKET REPORT

Winding up

US hardwoods

for 2021

By Judd Johnson, managing editor, Hardwood Market

Report Publications

Hardwood Market Report (HMR)

estimations of US hardwood lumber

production indicate that supply is

nearing projected total demand by the

major market sectors. The recovery

process in sawmill output took far

longer than expected based on past

performances. In comparison, it took

about six months for US sawmill

production to regain traction after

bottoming out at the end of the Great

Recession, which was, itself, a historic

event that affected economies and

commerce worldwide. But the Great

Recession was not COVID-19 (Figure 1).

Not surprisingly, the near balance in

total US hardwood lumber supply and

demand does not apply to all market

sectors, all species, or to all thickness,

grade, or species combinations. In

general, inventories have accumulated

particular items popular in the China

and Vietnam markets. The supply

increases are more a function of business

slowdowns in these markets affected by

COVID-19. The closing of ocean ports and

factories had greater impact of reducing

demand than anything US sawmills did

to increase production.

There is one other significant point to

consider about US hardwood supply

gains in H2 2021. The June through

October period is when lumber drying

conditions are seasonally optimal;

this year, lumber drying productivity

outpaced sawmill productivity.

There is no guarantee the opposite will

occur during coming winter and early

spring, because sawmill production

could contract. Log supplies are almost

always in question that time of the

year. Furthermore, there is too much

uncertainty about future outbreaks

of COVID-19 that could disrupt US

hardwood sawmill production. But there

is one thing for certain about lumber

supplies this winter: seasonally cool

temperatures and wet conditions will

slow the lumber drying process.

So the summary to date on US hardwood

lumber supply is that inventories have

improved, and sawmills are producing

more consistently now than in early

2021. Still missing is a substantial

amount of hardwood sawmill production

capacity that is committed to producing

softwoods. Despite reduced softwood

prices, there apparently is greater

financial incentive for many of these

sawmills to continue processing

softwoods and not hardwoods.

Aspen grove in fall

(Photo: JJ Shev)

There also is a matter of log supplies in

some areas. Critically low fibre and log

inventories have forced some paper and

pulp mills to take aggressive measures

to buy more material. This has taken

hardwood logs away from sawmills in two

ways: first, paper mills can pay far more

for logs than hardwood sawmills can

afford to pay; and second, logging crews

are concentrating harvests on softwoods,

as much as possible, to accommodate

paper or pulp mills and maximise logging

production efficiencies. Therefore, some

hardwood mills are processing softwoods

because those are the logs currently

available in their wood market.

14 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

MARKET REPORT

Demand for US hardwoods has

been strong since mid-2020. The

US market, in particular, has been

robust, and business has also been

active in all of North America, the

EU, UK, and even the Middle East

and North Africa. US hardwood

business with Vietnam was also

energised until the resurgence of

COVID-19 disrupted manufacturing

and shipping. Through July, the

latest available data of US exports of

hardwood lumber to Vietnam were

up 4% from the same period in 2020.

China has not performed as well as

other established markets for US

hardwood lumber in terms of growth;

exports through July were down 16%

from a year earlier.

Figure 2:

Source: US Census

Bureau; Graph: HMR

Much has been written about

COVID-19 lockdowns being the

source of the surge in US residential

construction spending. There is no

doubt that the pent-up demand has

been a factor, and that people are

refurbishing and redecorating the

interior of their homes because they

are spending much more time at

home.

But there is a larger force behind

US demand for housing that will

continue to drive business well into

the future – the US population is

becoming younger. Over half of the

population is under the age of 40,

according to the US Census Bureau.

And over half of the 40-and-under

age bracket is at or near home buying

age. There is also increased home

buying activity by Generation X, a

group of 65 million people aged from

over 40 to about 55 years old.

Not only is the US residential

construction market set for

continued expansion, the value

of new housing and amount of

investments made in refurbishing

single-family housing are at record

highs (Figures 2 and 3). The greater

the investment, the more likely

houses will include hardwood

products.

New furnishings are added to

hardwood interior fittings and

components used in construction. The

biggest holdbacks this past year in US

retail furniture sales have been limited

inventories and delayed shipments

from overseas sources.

In closing, if anyone reading this article

is in the business of manufacturing

wood products exported to the

US market, or if they supply such

manufacturers with wood, understand

that the US consumer group is

currently the largest in its history.

Further, the next generation to come of

age is the second largest in US history;

it is aged up to 21 and soon will swell

to the size of the consumer group.

Lastly, understand that the US

hardwood resource is still abundant,

and the supply grid will continue

its rebound to accommodate the

market’s needs now and in the

future. P

Hardwood Market Report (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 HMR

and all other HMR publications are

available online at www.hmr.com.

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 15

MARKET REPORT

Protecting and defending

intellectual property

rights in China

By Kresly Shen

In September 2021, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s

Republic of China (PRC) issued examples of cases regarding antimonopoly

and anti-unfair competition, listing 10 such cases

including disputes over the optimised saw infringement of technical

secrets. It also aims to encourage people to insist on defending their

rights and reject monopolies and unfair competition.

High speed

optimisation

cross-cut saw

and precisioncutting

automation

production line

Union Brother (Shanghai) Machinery, a

manufacturer specialised in optimised

woodworking machineries, won a

high court case against three former

technicians who infringed their

technology after a nine-year court trial.

The company successfully defended its

intellectual property rights (IPR) as one

of the typical top 10 cases in China in

2021, and the infringers were charged

with full legal responsibilities and fined

6 million RMB. To further understand

this case, Panels & Furniture Asia

interviewed Chen Zhenjiang from Union

Brother (Shanghai).

The awareness of IPR in China

generally falls behind most western,

developed countries, and especially

in the woodworking machinery

industry, intellectual property (IP)

infringement is a serious issue. What

do you think are the reasons causing

this situation?

Before we discuss the defending of IPR,

we must first find out the reasons why

infringement happens so often. It is

actually caused by multiple factors, and

on a large scale, it is a microcosm and

reflection of social development.

From an international perspective,

various industries in China have

developed vigorously in the past 30-40

years since China’s reform and opening

up. However, the standardisation of

laws and regulations has not completely

synchronised with the rapid economic

development, and there are many

16 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

MARKET REPORT

aspects lagging behind. In terms of

social values, the concept of “money

matters most” prevails while the fairness

and integrity of behaviours and social

contributions have gained little attention.

It is also common in many industries

to seek profit in illegal ways, and moral

values are losing their binding force.

Additionally, as a traditional industry

in China, the woodworking machinery

industry has a relatively weak overall

IPR awareness. Especially in the past 10

years, with its rapid development, many

practitioners have weak legal awareness

and no respect for IPR. Therefore,

the industry is also one of the many

industries with the most serious IPR

infringement.

The lack of clear and sound legal

regulations and the moral deterioration

of lawbreakers are the main external

and internal causes of many industry

practitioners infringing IPR.

The origin of the infringement incident

of Union Brother (Shanghai) was

caused by the disclosure of secrets

by the technicians. Can you elaborate

more on this?

In reality, there are high employee

turnover rates in the Chinese

woodworking machinery industry

in recent decades, and the resulting

technology leakage and property rights

disputes are common and difficult to

make a judgment. Such cases are also

complicated during court trials.

This time, Union Brother (Shanghai)

faced a similar situation: the technicians

accessed the company’s commercial

technological secrets as part of their job

responsibility, and started to register for

another external company before leaving

their jobs, using the original drawings

and procedures of our company for

production. Such infringements are

common in the industry, and Union

Brother is only one of the few who

use legal tools to defend our rights.

Although the process of defending

rights is difficult, fortunately, our efforts

paid off. It is also hoped that more of

such successful cases can enhance the

protection of IPR in the industry. A sound

industry order and environment are

crucial in encouraging innovation and

facilitating development.

We should encourage innovative

enterprises, strengthen the corporate

culture of IPR, enhance protection

measures for trade secrets and patented

technologies, seek professional legal

counsel and services, and protect our

IPR by legal means.

What challenges have Union Brother

(Shanghai) encountered during the

nine-year rights defending?

Compared to developed countries, IP

protection still has a long way to go in

China. The status quo is that it is easy for

the infringing party to escape the law,

and it is difficult for the infringed party

to win the lawsuit.

Facing such a situation, there are many

difficulties in the process of defending

rights, which are mainly reflected in two

places:

I. The difficulty of obtaining

evidence

According to current IP laws in

China, almost all the burden of proof

lies with the plaintiff. It is difficult

to obtain evidence that needs to

be complete, from production to

sales, since the other party is often

prepared for the disclosure in

advance, destroying and concealing

relevant production evidence.

It is also difficult to obtain the

sales evidence from the buyer

of the other party because

many traditional and extensive

enterprises in the industry cannot

fully verify candidate sellers before

purchasing equipment. Some

companies also do not fully verify

the equipment at the initial stage of

purchase, and they benefit nothing

but cheap price from buying these

infringing and illegal products.

Even if they knew the risks of

bringing disputes over property

rights, they would still choose to

take a chance and buy them. After

the purchase, although the quality

and performance are far from what

was promised, threatened by the

future technical-control service

from the supplier, the end user

would even protect and conceal the

manufacturer’s illegal behaviour.

Plus, such buyers are often

ashamed to speak up after knowing

they have been cheated, unwilling

to provide relevant contracts and

using site. These reasons make the

entire process of obtaining evidence

difficult.

It is also worth reminding users

and buyers in the industry to raise

their legal awareness to prevent

themselves from breaking the

law due to purchase of infringing

products. Such uninformed

purchase does not directly

constitute a violation of the law,

but if the buyers help the infringer

hide evidence or cause litigation

difficulty, it becomes illegal. In

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 17

MARKET REPORT

our case, one user was not liable for the

infringement and breach of contract by

the plaintiff. However, they were subject

to administrative penalties because they

did not cooperate with the court during

the litigation process by concealing and

changing the infringing equipment.

II. The long and complicated litigation

process

Relevant laws and regulations are not

yet complete in China. In particular, the

litigation process for IP infringements

is complicated and has a long cycle.

This hinders the establishment of order

in a timely manner, causing many

lawbreakers and violators of intention to

try to take a chance to break the law.

IP disputes are endless. What advice does

Union Brother (Shanghai) have for other

innovative companies in the industry?

As mentioned above, relevant laws and

regulations still need to be improved in China,

and detailed laws and regulations will help

reduce infringement incidents to a certain

extent. The public also pays less attention

to IPR, and the awareness still needs to be

continuously improved. From a cultural

perspective, “copinism” and infringers are

undesirable.

copyrights is relatively weak, and they often

lack the awareness of paying for things. With

the development of the Internet, people

habitually look for free resources when they

go online to watch movies, listen to music,

download various softwares, etc. Many

platforms in China have begun to pay attention

to copyright issues, but it is often difficult for

people to understand.

The Supreme People’s Court is also constantly

strengthening the legal framework of IPR. A

sound IPR law protection environment and

market order are the cornerstone of innovation.

Quality innovation cannot be realised unless

it complies with and is protected by the law,

and companies and countries need to rely on

originality to pursue innovations deserving of

respect. We look forward to a more complete

legal framework.

Reference:

1. The Supreme People’s Court of The People’s Republic of China.

Typical cases of anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition.

From an enterprise level, it is important to

actively learn IP-related knowledge. Take the

Union Brother as an example: the reason why

we are able to win the lawsuit lies in clear

elements, such as technical core, patents,

etc., in addition to legal awareness. The

enterprise has valuable business secrets and

it gained patent protection or confidentiality

agreements. Through these methods, the

enterprise can ensure that it has taken

corporate-level confidentiality measures. This

is one of the important prerequisite elements

in court trials.

Once infringement facts occur and are

discovered, obtaining evidence is critical.

The enterprise needs to obtain a complete

chain of evidence and seek legal aid to protect

themselves.

In recent years, the awareness of IPR has been

increasing, but it still needs to be improved.

Presently, people’s awareness of patents and

HOW INNOVATION AND PATENTED TECHNOLOGY

BRINGS PRODUCTIVITY TO ENTERPRISES

Continuous innovation and patented

technologies are sources of development

of an innovative enterprise. The following is

one of Union Brother’s latest patents of the

high-speed optimised cross-cut saw series:

Utility model patent: Timber sawing

correction device and optimised saw

Patent No: ZL 2020 2 1453546.X

The high-speed optimised cross-cut saw

is a sawing system that can automatically

correct cross-cut wood defects through

computer, and optimise fixed-length

specifications and dimensions.

The Union Brother precision sawing device

Sensit 005 adopts a servo high-precision

industrial camera to follow and measure

the length of specification material without

contact, which ensures the sawing accuracy.

When the finished cutting length is 2.5m,

the accuracy is upgraded by an order of

magnitude to ±0.25mm, while traditional

saws only achieve accuracy tolerance at

±2mm. When processing multiple products, it

can be directly used as fine-cutting precision,

without the need for secondary processing,

and it is easy to operate, with no need for

additional manual setting and operation.

Sensit 005 is suitable for fixed-size optimised

sawing and specification combination of

sofas, doors and windows, wooden doors,

etc. It is also suitable for producing cabinet

doors and frames of furniture portfolios,

where precision requirements can be met by

direct sawing. P

18 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

Try Canadian Wood

Hãy Dùng Thử Gỗ Canada

www.canadianwood.com.vn

MARKET REPORT

Compass or crystal ball?

By Malte Herrmann

While many parts of the world are well on their way

to a post-COVID-19 life, South East Asia still suffers from

related restrictions and accompanying circumstances.

into their order books per market segment

and report the direction of demand in the

past month. However, the preview part is

significantly more challenging. Particularly,

after months of reduced or no face-to-face

customer meetings, the exchange of marketand

trend-relevant information over a cup

of coffee which, under normal conditions, is

always at the core of the communication.

The past has proven that our colour scale,

from green over amber to red and grey arrows

signalling continuity or no change over the

previous month, helps to get a quick orientation

of what we expect of the various markets,

segments and species.

Month by month, the APP Timber Group has

been publishing a compacted report in the form

of a simplified trend indicator among our supply

partners. This report comprises condensed

information focusing on South East Asia’s

core wooden materials markets, particularly

imported sawn timber, veneer and panels.

Therefore, it has a subjective view with a timber

importer’s and solution provider’s eyes on the

related industries and product groups. Running

this country-by-country market information

collection for several years provides information

and sentiments on the management level and,

as suppliers’ feedback confirms, to our trading

partners.

The challenge of distributing imported timber

materials throughout South East Asia is not

about bridging the time gap between various

countries of origin and the final destination

of goods alone. The influencing factors

along this simple timeline is abundant and

inexhaustive, and entirely out of our control.

It starts with the four seasons limiting timber

harvesting. This is followed by insufficient

kiln drying capacities, inland transportation

disruptions due to adverse weather conditions,

a continuous lack of truck drivers, strikes,

limited container availability, unreliable vessel

connections, congestions at an arrival port due

to the pandemic, and the ever-present buyer’s

challenged cash flow, as the above challenges

apply to them in reverse order.

What sounds like a complaint is nothing but

our daily business of bringing the right product

at the right time to the right place — and we all

have our compasses to stay on track.

And here, the metaphorical crystal ball comes

into play: Pushy buyers and filled order books,

as well as raw material lead times of 12 to 20 or

more weeks require an extraordinary amount of

planning, not only on the material but also on

the financial side.

Let’s return to our trend indicator. The review

is an easy task. Our country managers look

In general, our October preview is almost to the

point, and correctly represents the directions

of the first two weeks into the actual month.

While the furniture, door and packaging

industries in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand

show increased demand, Vietnam still suffers

from an ongoing lockdown. The latter, at

this moment, does not allow any particular

predictions beyond the business that is taking

place.

Across all markets, the domestic sectors,

represented in the trend indicator as Interior

Decoration, are still going slow. Improvements

in demand for more project-driven materials,

like higher quality or exotic veneers, will not

come back before Q1 2022, assuming that ‘living

with the virus’ will gain acceptance across South

East Asia as it does in Europe and the US.

What is interesting to observe are softwood

demand trends. While tripled raw material

prices have deterred Indonesia’s furniture

manufacturers, they have nearly stopped

all new purchases from overseas sources,

regardless of species like Taeda pine, Radiata

pine, or pine from other proveniences.

20 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

MARKET REPORT

turnaround and payments. Europe’s softwood

mills tend to play an increasingly important role

to support this demand shift at the expense of

Asia’s low-cost manufacturers, now forced to

cover their ongoing demands from spot offers.

Demand and supply challenges aside, the most

significant shifts in our target industries and

markets are triggered and reinforced by actual

sea freight rates. Unthinkable price levels 18

months back have now reached new heights,

where bigger players become vessel owners or

reconstruct their supply chains. Even though

some furniture manufacturers have started to

file lawsuits against shipping lines, we might see

an end of the spiking, but not an immediate drop

to easier, digestible rates.

We cannot change the origins of the raw

materials. Consequently, some manufacturers

have started relocating to countries where they

can significantly cut costs in reducing the travel

distances and lead times of timber and final

goods, namely Eastern Europe or, as recently

reported, Turkey.

In conclusion, we note that the pandemic has

added parameters to the already integral parts of

our business field, and unpredictability stays as

a steady companion. Besides reviews, previews

and the ongoing dialogue with our business

partners, the crystal ball will continue to overrule

the compass in the months to come. P

Alternatively, many buyers turned to locally

available and lower-priced Merkusii pine

from Northern Sumatra for the time being.

They are not in the same range of quality as

supplies from New Zealand, South America and

Scandinavia, but good enough to meet the final

buyers’s demand for low and lower prices.

Temporary switches to local species did not

only happen in Indonesia. Thailand has seen

similar movements on the hardwood side. But

in recent weeks, with the industry gradually

opening towards more normal production

levels, we can see the traditional demand for

oak and ash returning.

Vietnam’s factories in the manufacturing hubs

Bin Duong, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City

are held back by a drastic lockdown for over

three months. They are now slowly finding

their way back to increased production levels.

The larger companies can afford to continue

sticking to their purchasing programmes, even

at significantly higher buying prices than pre-

COVID-19. In contrast, others cover their adhoc

demand from well-stocked local traders at

below-replenishment prices. This can only be a

short game. Market developments, particularly

the demand and supply situation for softwoods,

will force price buyers to rethink their approach

or product composition.

For more than a year now, softwood purchases

for programme orders became impossible,

meaning regular supply at relatively stable

prices for ongoing furniture orders. Along with

the US’s insatiable demand for lumber for new

houses, furniture and home improvement,

the required volumes and prices will be on the

rise. Understandably, South American sawmills

prefer deliveries northbound over westbound

— shorter distances translate into faster

Malte Herrmann, director of sales and

marketing at APP Timber Group, Malaysia,

has worked in the veneer and timber

industry for over 40 years, gaining

experience in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the

US.

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 21

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT

Disrupting the construction

industry and improving

sustainability with

mass timber

Annie Perkins, senior director, green building

and supply chain, Sustainable Forestry Initiative

the value of using SFI-certified wood

because it provides supply chain

assurance, mitigates risk, and aligns with

the values these companies associate

with sustainable forest management.

SFI is also implementing a new

climate-smart forestry objective that

will require SFI-certified organisations

to ensure forest management activities

address climate change adaptation and

mitigation measures. The construction

sector is responsible for 40% of global

CO2 emissions and a host of other

environmental impacts, according to

Bauhaus der Erde, a German non-profit

organisation with the objective to

transform the built environment.

The construction industry is ripe for

some creative disruption. Sustainable

forestry is at the heart of innovative

wood-based green building solutions,

known collectively as mass timber, that

are growing in popularity and reshaping

the way buildings are designed and

built.

and technical support related to wood

buildings in the US, as of June 2021,

1,169 mass timber projects had been

constructed or were in design across

the US, in the multi-family, commercial

or institutional categories. This total

includes modern mass timber and postand-beam

structures built since 2013.

Certified wood and mass timber

products are tools to help mitigate

climate change. Trees absorb CO2

from the atmosphere as they grow,

sequestering and storing carbon

while producing oxygen. This reduces

greenhouse gases and improves air

quality. Forest products, like mass

timber, can also sequester carbon for

generations.

A report entitled The next normal in

construction: How disruption is reshaping

the world’s largest ecosystem from

McKinsey & Company consultants

cited cross-laminated timber (CLT) as

one example of mass timber offering

advanced new materials that are

disrupting the construction sector.

According to WoodWorks, a non-profit

organisation that provides education

THE SUSTAINABILITY OF CERTIFIED

WOOD

Using wood certified to the Sustainable

Forestry Initiative (SFI) increases

environmental benefits of mass timber,

because the forest where the wood

was sourced from managed to address

critical global sustainability issues

such as climate change. SmartLam and

Structurlam, both SFI-certified mass

timber manufacturers, understand

OFFSITE PREFABRICATED

CONSTRUCTION

Mass timber panels arrive onsite almost

like a kit. The panels are arranged for

efficient placement and assembly.

Other factors that speed up mass

timber projects include relying on 3D

modeling to revise designs precisely

and efficiently. This means mass timber

can be fit together with precision, which

leads to enhanced strength.

22 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT

Offsite prefabrication also means the building

spends less time being exposed to the effects

of bad weather. Construction seasons are also

expanded because offsite prefabrication can

take place during winter months when working

outdoors is challenging.

preserves or improves the well-being of

people and ecosystems. A focus on the entire

lifecycle of products and maximising the use

of renewable resources make the circular

economy an important part of achieving longterm

sustainability goals.

in rural areas. According to the Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,

implementing sustainable forest management

reduces inequality, promotes the development

of locally owned and operated businesses, and

improves working conditions.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH BENEFITS

In addition to the climate change benefits

associated with forests and forest products, the

advantages of building with wood also include

conserving water, enhancing biodiversity,

improving health and addressing well-being and

stress levels.

In the US, people spend 90% of time indoors

and have become increasingly disconnected

from nature. Building with wood addresses

biophilia — humans’ innate draw and affinity for

nature — and has been linked to reducing stress,

improving cognitive function and creativity,

accelerating healing and fostering an overall

sense of well-being. By increasing people’s

connectivity to the natural environment,

biophilic design helps connect them to nature in

the buildings they live and work in.

Additionally, schools that use biophilic design

report better test scores, and there is evidence

that hospital patients have quicker recovery

rates. Wood also compares favourably to other

materials when it comes to indoor air quality.

LIFECYCLE ASSESSMENTS AND CIRCULAR

ECONOMY

Lifecycle assessments (LCA) demonstrate the

advantages of wood in terms of embodied

energy, air and water pollution, and carbon

footprint, according to WoodWorks. An LCA

measures the environmental impact of things

like construction materials or even an entire

building over its lifetime. The process of

conducting an LCA begins with tracking raw

materials from extraction or harvesting through

manufacturing, transportation, installation,

use, maintenance, and end of life disposal or

recycling. Data resulting from an LCA allows

architects, builders and owners to make

better informed choices based on a product’s

environmental impact.

Forests have the potential to play a central role

in the circular economy by providing renewable

raw materials. According to the UN Economic

Commission for Europe, a more coordinated

approach to tapping into the forest sector could

turn it into one of the key pillars of the circular

economy. Sourcing products from SFI-certified

forests is a great way to support the circular

economy and conserve our planet’s precious

resources.

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY

Environmental, social and governance

(ESG) principles and the UN Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs) are becoming

synonymous with corporate sustainability. SFI

standards contribute directly to SDG indicators

through landscape-level conservation that

help conserve biodiversity, and through the

new SFI climate-smart forestry objective. ESG

principles are embodied in sustainable forest

practices and the products they produce. The

construction industry is well-positioned to

accelerate the acceptance of certified mass

timber, and along with it the recognition of the

ESG and SDG benefits it delivers.

SUSTAINABLE JOBS IN RURAL AREAS

Sustainable forest management is at the heart

of forest certification programmes. Fairness

is an important element of sustainable

forest management, especially because it

promotes sharing the benefits of forests

GREEN BUILDING PROGRAMMES

There are many green building rating systems

that recognise the value of multiple forest

certification standards, and offer credits for

products certified to these forest certification

standards, including SFI. The US Green Building

Council recognises SFI-certified wood. This

means using SFI certified wood can earn points

in Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design (LEED) projects. LEED is a widely used

green building rating system across the world.

GREEN AND BEAUTIFUL MASS TIMBER

BUILDINGS

With a curving roofline that blends with the hills

overlooking the University of Idaho’s Moscow

campus, the Idaho Central Credit Union Arena is

hitting new artistic heights for mass timber. The

62,000sqft, 4,000-capacity facility is home to

the University of Idaho’s basketball teams, and

also offers a welcoming space for community

events.

This architectural marvel of biophilic design

is a testament to how building with certified

mass timber can produce beautiful structures

that are also showcases for sustainability. The

arena is just one of a burgeoning number of

spectacular structures that are changing the

face of the construction industry. P

This article was first published on the Business View

Magazine’s website (www.businessviewmagazine.

com) and is reproduced here with permission.

A circular economy creates systems that

minimise the depletion of non-renewable

resources by sustainably managing and

regenerating renewable resources. This

Idaho Central Credit Union Arena

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 23

IN PERSON

A new beginning

for Scheuch Asia

Joining Scheuch Asia as its new managing director, Mirko Köhler’s

primary goal is to be closer to customers, and this includes further

expansion of Scheuch’s services and after-sales departments.

Panels & Furniture Asia speaks to him to find out his plans for

Scheuch Asia, especially in the time of the

COVID-19 pandemic.

By Yap Shi Quan

As a solutions provider of air and environmental

technology, Austria-based Scheuch has expanded its

operations worldwide and across various industries such

as metals, industrial minerals and wood-based panel

industries, among others. In June this year, the Scheuch

Asia subsidiary welcomed Mirko Köhler to the role of

managing director, succeeding Jan Eike Graeff who has

been in the post since 2019.

In his new role, Köhler is responsible for the expansion of

Scheuch Asia’s sales and partner network. Outlining his

strategies in strengthening the company’s presence in the

region, Köhler highlighted that one of the key initiatives for

the next 12-18 months is to establish a service hub for South

East Asia with fully trained commissioning and mechanical

supervision for its clients directly on the spot.

Mirko Köhler,

managing director

of Scheuch Asia

He told Panels & Furniture Asia: “We aim to greatly extend

our after-sales and service offering to our customers in

the region. Our focus will be on offering shorter delivery

times for critical spare parts as well as the introduction of

service packages tailored to the individual needs of our

customers.

“We are also aiming to localise a part of the engineering

and supply chain to bring down cost and delivery times

for our clients whilst offering more capabilities to

manage projects with increased local content.”

NAVIGATING THROUGH PANDEMIC DIFFICULTIES

The wood and woodworking industry is faced

with multiple issues across the world due to the

COVID-19 pandemic, and Scheuch Asia is no

different. Köhler said that the travel restrictions

made customer meetings, service staff delegations

24 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

IN PERSON

and participation in exhibitions timeand

cost-intensive, if not impossible.

“Beyond that, the increasing raw

material prices and transportation

costs represent uncertainties and put

a great strain on our customers and

their budget planning,” he added.

Köhler also faced such restrictions

as he settled into his new role.

He was subjected to a mandatory

14-day quarantine when moving

from Singapore to Bangkok, where

Scheuch Asia’s headquarters is

located. However, the restrictions did

not dampen his interactions with his

customers, partners and colleagues.

He shared: “Following a few weeks

filled with introductory video calls

with our customers and partners

in South East Asia, I flew off to our

headquarters in Austria, where I

met many of my colleagues for the

first time and had the chance to

familiarise myself with the different

business units and departments. For

the next couple of weeks, I hope to

be able to meet as many customers

as possible face-to-face, and look

forward to working towards our goals

with my team of Scheuch Asia.”

said that the same development

is not seen in South East Asia.

He cited an example where the

standards for fine dust emittance in

South East Asia “are not stringent

enough”, thus impacting the

opportunities for the company to

offer the Scheuch LIGNO product

line. Scheuch LIGNO is the sister

company of Scheuch Asia, and it

offers a range of air and exhaust

gas cleaning products involved in

the wood processing industry and

furniture production.

Even so, Köhler emphasised

that Scheuch Asia’s strengths

lie in their extensive product

portfolio, the technical knowhows

and high-quality standards,

as he concluded: “Throughout

the years, we have established

ourselves as a provider of high

performing, reliable solutions

that are ‘Made in Austria’. This

is the result of a high degree of

in-house manufacturing and a

focus on product innovation and

continuous improvement.” P

Beyond his plans for Scheuch Asia as the new managing

director, find out more about Mirko Köhler — his

qualifications, hobbies and roots.

Having

is equipped with a Master of Science (MSc)

and a Master of Business Administration (MBA)

degrees, and during his studies he focused on

water and wastewater treatment and flue gas

cleaning. He is also well-versed in the industrial

minerals and paper industries, and in the

introduction of complex European technologies

into Asian industrial processes.

is born in Germany but has been based in Asia

since 2006, with his career in international sales

leading him from Singapore to Hong Kong, then

back to Singapore. Now, he is based in Bangkok,

where he and his wife enjoy exploring their new

home.

lived in South East Asia for 16 years, he

feels it has become his second home: “I feel

very connected to the people and the different

cultures. I would like to use this connection to

further expand the sales and partner network of

Scheuch Asia.”

enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking,

trekking, cycling and golf. Besides physical

activities, he enjoys watching theatres and

musicals.

OPPORTUNITIES IN SE ASIA

With regards to wood processing and

wood-based panel opportunities

in South East Asia, Köhler said that

Scheuch Asia sees such opportunities

present mostly in Thailand and

Vietnam, where there is a “healthy

pipeline” of new investments.

He continued: “In the medium

term, we are also looking at tighter

environmental regulations which will

create opportunities for our latest

flue gas cleaning products, such

as our two-stage wet electrostatic

precipitator with condensation

module, the Scheuch seka.”

Despite seeing a “very positive

development” in the wood

processing industry in Europe, Köhler

Scheuch seka at Green River (Thailand)

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 25

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Enhancing productivity

and reducing operating

costs in spray coating

with newer iBotic

Fifteen years after its introduction,

Cefla Finishing’s iBotic Cartesian

underwent a transformation to

now include a range of new options

designed to avoid downtime for

colour changeovers, and an energy

recovery device to reduce costs and

improve sustainability.

ZERO DOWNTIME FOR COLOUR

CHANGEOVERS WITH TIMESKIP

Colour changeovers on a spraying

robot incurs downtime at times. Cefla

Finishing has therefore developed

a system which enables iBotic to

continue coating with one set of guns

while the second arm undergoes

automatic colour changeover.

For instance, if there are 20 days with

single eight-hour shifts in a month of

operation, the additional uptime can

reach 30 hours, according to Cefla

Finishing’s conservative estimate. This

then translates to financial savings

and speeds up return of investment.

Moreover, the cleaning procedures

performed by the Timeskip device

reduces solvent consumption and cut

back on lacquer wastage.

REDUCING ENERGY COSTS WITH

POWERBACK

On improving sustainability, it is

Integrated into the equipment, this

device recovers energy from the

decelerating spray arms and exploits

it to power the outlet fan. This lowers

operating costs and increases the degree

of sustainability, both environmentally

and economically.

26 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

KEEPING AN EYE ON PRODUCTION

FROM WITHIN

A third optional feature is an

internal camera, which enables

any connected device to transmit

an internal view of the machine

to monitor operating conditions.

This allows the operator to monitor

production while loading workpieces

ai15821874497_EN_PFA_IMEAS_2020.pdf 1 20/02/20 09:30

onto the line. It requires a large

screen that is not supplied with

the equipment. Cefla Finishing

provides a variety of service options

which include remote assistance,

so an internal camera helps to

facilitate remote servicing and

troubleshooting in case of identified

faults.

GREATER FLEXIBILITY AND

PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY

Available with one or two arms, iBotic

features a new human machine interface

(HMI) with intuitive commands, userfriendly

graphics, and a software

integration to help operators manage

the equipment. Minimal training is

required for operators to be familiar

with the interface, and the software

includes diagnostic tools, information to

support maintenance requirements, and

production data which can be consulted

directly or fed into the company

enterprise resource planning for further

analysis.

Addressing the need for greater flexibility,

the newer iBotic has been able to sustain

significant production volumes while

achieving improved cost efficiency with

Timeskip and Powerback, two optional

devices, plus a HMI to support operators

and optimise the production process. P

CMY

The new EvoL

sanding machines from Imeas are the

result of more than 50 years of know-how and evolution

and offer State-of-the-Art technologies for sanding of wood-based

panels such as MDF and ParticleBoard. EvoL sanders feature Minimal Costs, Excellent

Calibration, High Speed, Flexibility, Superior Quality, and Full Automation.

IMEAS S.p.A. via Pacinotti, 36 - 20020 VILLA CORTESE (MI) ITALY | Tel. +39.0331.463011 | Fax +39.0331.432311 | imeas@imeas.it | www.imeas.it

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 27

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Jointing cutters

with owl-wing design

achieve noise reduction

Recognising the advantages of an owl’s wing structure, Leuco

implements this concept into the design of its new generation of

jointing cutters. The Leuco airFace surface is featured on the entire

tool body of the jointing cutter, and allows the principal effect of the

gullet with the “owl wing edge” to canalise the air.

The owl is an animal that has much to

offer. Its feathers allow the animal a

near-silent flight so that its preys are not

startled. Most of the noise is generated

by turbulences at the rear edge of the

wing. Applying this concept into its

jointing cutters, Leuco developed the

airFace surface as an example to achieve

further effects in noise reduction, and

design more aerodynamic sizing tools.

Particularly on the aerodynamic

design principle, Leuco has switched to

manufacturing the body with defined

threads for balancing screws and for

keeping the tools’ concentricity tolerance,

in order to avoid the negative influence of

balancing bores on the airFace surface.

The Leuco airFace surface is available on

a programme of diamond-tipped milling

cutters:

LEUCO DIAREX AIRFACE

With noise reduction up to 2dBA, the

Leuco DIAREX airFace features a shear

angle of 48º and resharpening area of

3mm for chip-free jointing of a range of

standard and wide range of solid wood

and wood-based panels. The jointing

cutter is an all-around tool to process

panels like abrasive coatings, antifingerprint

materials, and fire protection

layers. Jointing quality is suitable for

zero-joint technology.

LEUCO DIAMAX AIRFACE

The Leuco DIAMAX airFace features a

noise reduction of up to 1dB, which can

From left to right:

Leuco SmartJointer

airFace, Leuco

DIAMAX airFace,

and Leuco DIAREX

airFace

28 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Leuco DIAREX

airFace (left) and

Leuco SmartJointer

airFace (right)

be reached at idle speed. It has a shear

angle of 35º and resharpening area of

1.5mm for tear-free jointing of a regular

range of solid wood and wood-based

panels.

LEUCO SMARTJOINTER AIRFACE

The Leuco SmartJointer airFace milling

cutter brings high flexibility to the

production sites. Featuring shear angle

of 35º and resharpening area of 1.5mm,

the Leuco SmartJointer airFace is

designed for jump-milling units for quiet

and tear-free jointing of a regular range

of solid wood and wood-based panels.

The diamond-tipped knives can be

exchanged by the user. Because

of the high diameter consistency,

readjustment of the machine after the

replacement is not required. Only one

tool or one set of tools per machine is

required, as there is no outage of an

extern service centre. Additionally, the

tool is available on site. And with the

precisely defined fixation, no balancing

is required. P

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 29

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Coating solutions to

protect kitchen cabinets

Ever wondered why a coffee stain cannot be

completely wiped away, or a simple knock or

scratch on the kitchen cabinet can result in

permanent damages? Or experienced seeing

white kitchen cabinets turning yellow? These

are common coating challenges that many

kitchen cabinet manufacturers, carpenters and

painters face.

Kitchen cabinets are an important part of every

kitchen, and cabinets with these issues can

be undesirable for any end users. Thus, it is

important for manufacturers or end users to

understand how the problems originate, and

how these can be better prevented with the right

coating solutions.

Yellowing is a common phenomenon in lightcoloured

in kitchen cabinets, furniture or

bedroom sets. Its appearance generally does

not happen overnight, but rather accumulates

overtime, and by the time the end user notices

it, the impact is usually irreversible. Yellowing

of white opaque cabinet piece is typically due

to overtime oxidation of the coated film. With

additional exposures to sunlight and large

differential in temperature, the oxidation

process could be accelerated, leading to the

coated film turning yellow.

Stain resistance is defined as the paint’s ability

to withstand discolouration from foreign

substances such as water, detergents, ketchup,

mustard, coffee, curry, etc. Coating kitchen

cabinets with low-quality paints that do not

provide such stain resistance will eventually

lead to a dirty kitchen look, and frequent

maintenance or a replacement will be required

at some point. When selecting the right

30 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

solution, it is crucial to understand the stain

resistance performance results from the paint

or coating supplier.

Good hardness and adhesion are essential

criteria to consider when selecting the right

paints for kitchen cabinets. Apart from the

hardness of the wood substrate, coatings

developed for kitchen cabinets provide

additional protection with good hardness

to the piece of cabinet to resist any kind of

impact, from slamming the cabinet doors

to dropping kitchen utensils on a surface.

Moreover, kitchen areas are commonly known

to be wet and humid. Hence, paints must be

able to tolerate and adhere securely to the

wood substrate, no matter the change in

environment.

The opaqueness of a paint is its hiding power

and coverage that can help to eliminate

transparency and colour of a wood substrate.

The level of opaqueness in a coating system

for kitchen cabinets can be achieved by the

quantity of white pigments and application

layers. However, in both cases, using regular

paints with additional pigments or adding more

application layers can lead to negative effects

such as uncured UV lacquer, rigid or rough

film formation leading to cracks and adhesion

failure. Choosing the suitable paint will improve

the coating process.

material pairings, and has been a mainstay of

homes for centuries now. Some may debate

that due to the nature of wood, such materials

are more vulnerable to water, discoloration over

time, and susceptible to scratches or damage

by sharp objects and removal of tough grease

and stains, which will reduce the lifespan of the

furniture.

However, these challenges can be resolved

with Teknos’s solutions for kitchen cabinets.

Teknos waterborne (WB), UV curable and Hydro

UV (WBUV) range of products are developed

with no harmful solvents, such as toluene,

xylene, acetone and ethyl acetate, the company

claimed, making them a better choice for

health and environment. They are available in

different product types – primers, stains, fillers

and sealers, and topcoats.

Teknos’s solutions eliminate monomer bleeding

in the process of manufacturing of wood

furniture, doors, flooring and kitchen cabinets,

and provide optimal levelling while exhibiting

toughness and yellowing resistance. The lessyellowing

topcoat is offered in different gloss

range to fulfil market requirements. Lastly, the

benefits of a UV curable coating system include

an increase in speed of curing, waste reduction,

lower emissions and energy costs, and space

savings.

TEKNOS 100% UV SOLUTIONS

Teknos 100% UV solutions are designed to

provide industrial solutions to kitchen cabinet

manufacturers. Compared to traditional

solvent base solutions, Teknos’s latest UV

solution for kitchen cabinets delivers optimum

performance.

TEKNOS HYDRO-UV SOLUTION

Today, kitchen cabinets come in different

designs with textured curves and grooves

that are visually appealing to end customers.

But this increases the difficulty level for

manufacturers to apply paint, due to the

amplified number of dead spots where paint

is unreachable using industrial roller. Thus,

spraying is an application method for kitchen

cabinets. Teknos offers the latest 100% spray

kitchen cabinet solution to overcome these

challenges. P

Due to advancement in material technology,

end users have been pampered by the number

of material selections available to them today.

The selection of material for kitchen cabinets

is important, as it will not only affect the

durability of a set of kitchen cabinets, but also

the aesthetic appearance of any kitchen. Woodbased

kitchen cabinet is still the most preferred

type of material owing to its aesthetically

appealing natural finish. It is also versatile in

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 31

PANEL MANUFACTURING

Raute R3 Series:

Veneer and plywood

technology designed

for emerging markets

Raute has introduced a new series of

machinery for veneer and plywood

producers in emerging markets,

especially in South East Asia. Called R3

Series, the new production lines support

flexible production requirements, while

ensuring quality in both the hardware

and end-product. Additionally, the

off-the-shelf R3 lines are plug-and-play,

so their commissioning takes minimum

time.

Founded in 1908, Finland-based Raute

has been developing new machinery

and solutions for their customers’

changing needs. Below are some of their

current roster of R3 production lines and

machines.

VENEER PEELING LINE R3: HIGH

RUNNING EFFICIENCY FOR SMALL

DIAMETER BLOCKS

The 100% electrically operated

spindleless line peels veneers from the

32 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

PANEL MANUFACTURING

start to the core, allowing customers to

make the most of small-diameter logs.

The line is suitable for both hardwood

and softwood. Raute’s Optimal Peeling

Geometry (OPG) technology also

peels veneer with good capacity and a

high thickness tolerance compared to

conventional spindleless lathes.

VENEER DRYING LINE R3: EASILY

INSTALLED AND OPERATED DRYER

Available in a six-deck option, the

drying capacity of the line is higher

than the four-decks standard in

traditional roller dryers, Raute

claimed. The line is capable of

handling hardwood and softwood

when producing veneer sheets. It

can be installed on the flat floor on

rails, giving significant savings since

no special foundation is needed.

Industrial veneer drying requires

80% fewer operators for the job, yet

ensures a more efficient production.

The dryer handles full-sized veneer

sheets and gives 15% more yield,

compared to natural drying processes.

PLYWOOD LAY-UP LINE R3:

PRODUCTION WITH LOW POWER

NEED

The R3 Series Plywood Lay-up Line

addresses smaller production needs.

The one-sided liquid extruder glueing

method (LEG) provides efficient glue

spread, and is gentle on the veneer

sheets. It enables paired ply numbers,

allowing operators to use thicker

sheets inside the plywood structure,

reducing the need for excess glueing

and thus saving glue consumption.

VENEER PATCHER R3: SMALL

IN SIZE, HIGH IN CAPACITY AND

QUALITY

With the Veneer Patcher R3, defects

can be patched quickly with the

high patching speed featured in the

machine, which requires only one

second per patch. The die that is

made in Finland produces high patch

retention. With the integrated thermobond

taping unit, loose composed

joints and veneer edge splits can be

fixed, adding more recovery. P

Legend

1 Veneer Peeling Line R3

2 Veneer Drying Line R3

3 Plywood Lay-up Line R3

4 Veneer Patcher R3

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 33

PANEL MANUFACTURING

Renewable

adhesive solutions

for panel and furniture

production

By Dr Ralf Schelbach, vice president of Asia Pacific Jowat Group; Sebastian Schaefers, general director of Jowat Vietnam;

and Andreas Weymann, Tim Rosenthal, and Marius Misch, product managers of Jowat SE

The ongoing pandemic and changes

in consumer behavior have created

many challenges for panel and

furniture manufacturers around

the globe. The demand for funiture

products is still high, along with the

evergrowing demand for sustainable

products. Many countries have

taken actions and launched stimulus

packages to promote “green growth”.

This is further spearheaded by

retailers who strive to stand out

by offering sustainable products

to their consumers. Consequently,

manufacturers need to classify and

establish their supply chains, which

ensure the highest possible amount of

renewable and recycled materials in

their products in line with that demand.

As an adhesive manufacturer with

focus in the panel and furniture

segment, Jowat has been researching

and developing solutions to meet the

targets for renewable and recycled

materials, while ensuring there is no

compromise in product performance

and suitability for efficient industrial

processes.

The global adhesive demand is

estimated to about US$37 billion

in 2021. The fastest growing region

is Asia-Pacific, led by China as the

world’s largest adhesive market. The

furniture and panel industry is a small,

34 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

PANEL MANUFACTURING

highly specialised sub-segment. Of

the approximately 10 million metric

tonnes of adhesives used annually in

Asia-Pacific alone, less than 2% are used

in this market segment. Nevertheless,

products based on renewable raw

materials will play a significant role in

the future.

THE CHEMISTRY OF RENEWABLE

ADHESIVES

Plant-based oleochemistry, which

converts renewable raw materials such

as natural resins, vegetable oils and

fats directly into base chemicals for

everyday products, has been around for

decades. The best known and by far the

highest conversion rate is in biofuel or

the detergent industry, based on such

converted tensides.

For instance, vernonia oil can be

extracted from the vernonia galamensis

plant, or Ironweed, which can be

converted to vernolic acid, of which

epoxy resin can be manufactured. This

technology is constantly expanding,

and is useful and competitive for many

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 35

PANEL MANUFACTURING

industries. However, direct conversion

of plants has limitations in terms of

continuous availability, for instance

during droughts, and possible

impurities, usually based on the

environmental growing conditions.

That means the price and quality will

fluctuate.

Therefore, more options have been

developed to transform petrochemical

processes by incorporating renewable

and even recycled feedstock such as

biomass.

UNDERSTANDING THE APPROACH

Ultimately, adhesives consist of

carbon building blocks, and these

carbons can come from a variety of

sources, such as natural oil or gas, or

renewable or recycled biomass. These

carbon atoms are indistinguisable

from one another. These sources

are then fed into a steam cracker

and refined into base chemicals. A

mathematical calculation can be

used to determine how much of the

different feedstock has been fed

into this process, and how high the

proportion of renewable or recycled

raw material is.

Jowat has shortlisted three main

applications in panel and furniture

production to demonstrate the usability

of sustainable products:

• Edgebanding

For the joining of decor edges

with boards, Jowat developed a

hot melt adhesive which contains

16% of carbon from renewable

sources. Those substances are

obtained from crude sulphate

turpentine (CST), a byproduct of

paper production, which can be

converted into a terpene resin via

purification and polymerisation.

As such, the raw material used is

100% renewable, and does not

compete with the food industry.

If the mass balance approach is

applied, a higher proportion of

renewable raw materials of up to

30% is already within the realm of

possibility today.

• 3D lamination of foils

Polyurethane dispersions (PUDs)

are used for the lamination of 3D

furniture fronts with thermoplastic

foils. Jowat supplies a portfolio of

one- and two-component PUDs

for this application. With this

development, Jowat is able to

produce PUDs based on renewable

resources that can reach up to

50-60% of bio-based content.

Polyester polyols from biogenic

sources based on dicarboxylic

acids, succinic acid, sabacic acid

and adipic acid serve as building

blocks for PUDs from renewable

resources.

• Packaging of furniture products

To properly package and ship

finished furniture goods, hotmelts

are required to seal the carton

boxes. Jowat offers such packaging

processes and products. In 2019,

Jowat launched the bio-based

Jowatherm GROW packing

products. These products are

based on pine resins and have a

renewable content of up to 50%,

and they are characterised by clean

processing characteristics and

low maintenance, and are thus an

efficient use of materials. P

36 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

PANEL MANUFACTURING

CMC TEXPAN:

Celebrating 60 years

of reliability and innovation

Left: LYNX detects

contaminants and

removes them from

the milled particle

flow used to produce

wood-based panels

CMC TEXPAN, or Carpenterie Metalliche

di Colzate, was established in 1962 as a

manufacturer of metal structural elements for

the textile and mechanical industry. It then

shifted its attention to the nascent industry of

wood composites, focusing on the fabrication

of woodworking machinery for particleboard,

medium-density fibreboard (MDF) and oriented

strand board (OSB). The company commenced a

cooperation with Siempelkamp, and throughout

the years, the relationship got more consolidated

until CMC TEXPAN became a wholly-owned

subsidiary of the German enterprise, a member

of the Siempelkamp Group.

Its product portfolio encompasses a

spectrum of machinery and equipment

dedicated to different stages of woodbased

panel production: storage silos

and extraction systems such as moving

floors, hydraulic extractors, and rotating

screw extractors; cleaning and classifying

equipment such as magnetic separators;

dry chip cleaners; gravimetric separators;

oscillating screening machines; disc and

roller separators; low- and high-speed glue

blenders; multiple-head forming stations

for particleboard; and dosing and weighing

equipment.

Now, CMC TEXPAN provides complete solutions

for the wood-based products industry, ranging

from the design, engineering, manufacture,

erection, commissioning and start-up of

new production plants to the revamping,

modernisation and optimisation of existing lines

and machines.

Members of the Siempelkamp Group work

closely, especially in the development

of new, complete production plants,

starting from the wood yard. Along with

projects managed inside the Siempelkamp

Group, CMC TEXPAN also operates direct

business activities related to machinery

Gravimetric separators by CMC TEXPAN

38 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

PANEL MANUFACTURING

and equipment for particle preparation and

mat-forming area. The company’s machinery

has been installed in over 50 countries all over

the world.

Marco Granzotto, sales manager at CMC

TEXPAN, said: “We are a versatile and dynamic

company that is constantly evolving, and

we strive for excellence in what we do.

Rather than just a supplier, we want to be

a competent partner, capable of turning

our customers’s ideas into successful,

cost-effective and sustainable realities.

Customers can rely on the expertise and skills

of our engineers, while data derived from

experience are continuously and thoroughly

analysed by our R&D Department to introduce

enhancements and innovations.”

CMC TEXPAN also focuses on environmental

issues, particularly the need for cascade

use of wood. In recent times, recycled wood

has become more widely adopted in the

production of composite panels, to the benefit

of sustainability and circularity. Nonetheless,

recycled materials must meet the same

quality requirements as first-hand materials,

so as to preserve the quality of end products

as well.

The material to obtain recycled wood chips

contains contaminants of different nature. Due

to its heterogeneous composition, recycled

wood can be affected by different types of

contaminants which must be removed to the

greatest extent possible to comply with strict

cleanliness requirements of standards issued

by panel manufacturer associations. This

process usually involves different dedicated

technologies and techniques.

As such, CMC TEXPAN has enriched its product

portfolio by introducing LYNX, a solution

for the detection of contaminants and their

removal from the milled particle flow used to

produce wood-based panels. The machine

is based on short-wave infrared (SWIR)

spectroscopy — which is an evolution of nearinfrared

(NIR) system — and it is designed for

the removal of contaminants such as plastics,

foam, silicone and polystyrene. It may be

equipped with optional accessories to detect

particles according to their colour, or with an

X-ray system to improve the efficiency of the

machine and to detect and remove materials

with higher density, such as ferrous and

non-ferrous metals, aluminium, copper, lead,

various alloys, etc. These features make the

LYNX equipment suitable for applications in

sectors other than woodworking.

The different machines and devices dedicated

to the removal of unwanted pollutants

may be combined into cleaning towers for

recycled materials: a versatile, compact and

tailored solution to enhance efficiency in the

entire cleaning process. Cleaning towers may

be equipped with several different systems,

depending on the type of contaminants

affecting the processed material.

“The architecture of the system is versatile,

and can be adapted to fit any individual

requirements,” explained Granzotto. “For

example, wood chips coming from the

storage silo may first pass through an

overbelt magnet and a drum magnet, located

in the upper section of the tower, to separate

ferrous contaminants. After that, the material

flow will be classified into fractions through

a roller separator: the finer fraction will be

conveyed to a gravimetric separator for

further cleaning, while micro and macro chips

will be sent to the LYNX. Cleaned chips will

first be milled by the innovative shock waves

refiner EcoPulser, and then the gravimetric

separator will provide for final cleaning of

the milled wood particles. In this way, it is

possible to go beyond mere sustainability,

achieving quality, reliability, and thus

profitability.” P

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 39

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING

Furniture assembling

made as simple as a click

By Yap Shi Quan

Applying the concept of click flooring into

furniture production, HOMAG developed the

machines to produce furniture with click

technology. This enables furniture makers

to embrace flat-pack furniture production,

which, in turn, simplifies processes from

packaging to logistics.

It was the expertise and knowledge

HOMAG has had in making click

solutions more efficient for furniture

manufacturers that drove the company

to develop corresponding machines to

produce click furniture.

THE MECHANISM BEHIND CLICK

FURNITURE

The click technology for the furniture is

applicable to all the main components

– from the drawer to the standard

cabinets and shelves. Some companies

utilise a fibre-glass locking element

that is integrated into the board. When

assembling, the locking element bends

inwards, allowing users to push the

board through; it then bends outwards

and connects two boards together.

The locking element can be unlocked

with a simple tool to disassemble

the furniture. Additionally, it is

automatically inserted during the

profiling of the panels through HOMAG’s

machines, thus minimising additional

steps needed and reducing the set-up

time.

Click furniture is an “aspiring

technology” that allows furniture

production to be carried out in a

simple manner. It does away with

bags of tools, screws, dowels and

fittings, allowing users to assemble

or disassemble the click furniture

easily.

This concept came from the flooring

sector where click systems have long

been established. For more than 25

years, HOMAG has been developing

and constructing machines in several

performance classes for floor-click

and wall panels profiles, and working

with the licensors of click profiles.

Goh Kun Wha, HOMAG Asia area

product manager for flooring and

click technology, explained that the

fibreglass-reinforced locking element,

combined with the precisely-fitted

grooves and springs, provides “a high

level of stability” in the click furniture.

The precision of HOMAG’s machines

ensures optimal accuracy during

the panel profiling, thus giving click

furniture its stability. Even after multiple

assemblies and disassemblies, the click

furniture is able to retain its stability.

MANUFACTURING CLICK FURNITURE

With the click technology, the

advantages of flat-pack furniture

production is maximised. From a

40 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING

furniture producer’s perspective,

flat-pack furniture requires less space

for big projects. This, according to

Goh, eliminates the need for extensive

logistics and minimises the damage

of furniture during transportation and

assembly.

Furthermore, the system allows for

the easy assembly and disassembly of

the cabinets, compared to other joint

solutions that are based on glue. This

gives manufacturers more flexibility

and alternatives in furniture selection.

It also provides additional furniture

options for more customers types in

the end-user market, thus opening new

business opportunities for the furniture

manufacturers.

Goh assured that furniture

manufacturers can use their existing

edgebanding and drilling machines

for click furniture. To fully adopt

click furniture production, furniture

manufacturers will have to add

either a CENTATEQ 5-axis machine,

or a TENONTEQ double-end profiler

machine.

Designed for high-capacity production,

the TENONTEQ D-500 is equipped

with joining and groove trimming

units, as well as the inserter, a unit

which inserts the plastic springs of

the click system into the grooves. It

profiles and grooves the individual

furniture elements — floors, side walls,

tops and rear walls which are already

formatted and have edges — providing

them with notches, and incorporates

the plastic springs. The elements can

subsequently be connected together,

locked using the plastic springs and

held together for stability. If necessary,

the furniture can be dismantled just

as easily.

The CENTATEQ P-110, P-210 and P-310

are HOMAG’s range of CNC processing

centre. Designed for lower-capacity,

smaller batch production, all the

systems can be equipped with a 4-

or 5-axis electrospindle to mill the

panel according to click technology

profile. P

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 41

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING

Spray coating line

performs high-quality

and efficient door

coating

Robert Bürkle has completed the installation

of a fully automatic spray coating line for

Jeld-Wen’s plant in Penrith, UK. The latter,

headquartered in the US, is a manufacturer

of doors and windows with more than 120

production facilities spanned across 20

countries, primarily in North America, Europe

and Australia.

The Penrith facility is aimed at supporting

Jeld-Wen’s customers from the construction

industry, and produces doors in large

quantities and batches. These are honeycomb

doors with various embossed surfaces, coated

with water-based coatings.

The first talks about a new line between

Jeld-Wen and Robert Bürkle took place in May

2017. In the further course, different concepts

were considered and planned, and the final

project of the fully automated spray coating line

was finally decided last July.

OPTION FOR OUTPUT DOUBLING, NEW

ROBOT CONTROL SYSTEM

A coating line of 5,000 door sides per week

was implemented, with the option to

expand reserves for 5,000 per week. For this

project, Bürkle delivered a complete line that

encompasses all items of the automation,

coating and drying systems. Only the sanding

machine was provided by Jeld-Wen.

In the course of project coordination and

realisation, teams from Bürkle and Jeld-Wen

held several meetings to discuss and plan the

implementation of Jeld-Wen’s requirements. In

addition to the production capacities, Jeld-Wen

wanted to achieve the shortest drying times

and the best possible arrangement of the

system in the existing space conditions. Hence,

Bürkle’s air conditioning was included in the

system concept to effectively reduce overspray

and lacquer consumption.

Patrick Ade, sales manager finishing at

Bürkle, emphasised: “Especially with our air

conditioning combined with the rotation unit of

the spray coating machine, we offer, in my view,

the most powerful and at the same time most

efficient spray coating system in the high-end

area of spray coating.”

Before the new coating line was installed,

the doors produced in Penrith had to be

transferred to the sister plant in Sheffield for

coating. In Penrith, only a roller coating line

was previously available for the corresponding

surface finishing, geared towards veneered

doors, which are also part of the production

range.

Andrew Douglas, key account director at

Jeld-Wen, commented: “Our Penrith facility

supplies our largest and most important

customer, and the investment in this

coating line is part of a long-term strategic

partnership.”

42 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING

Another practice-oriented solution is the use

of robotic cells for loading and destacking. The

limited space available at the Penrith plant

ruled out common solutions, and opened the

way for the newly-developed robotic control

concept for integrating robots into the existing

Bürkle control system.

Using Yaskawa robots reduces the space

required compared to conventional gantry

systems, and ensures a high degree of

automation. In addition to loading and

destacking, the flexibility of the robots enables

the doors to be turned, making it possible

to expand the capacity of the systems to

five completely coated doors per minute. If

required, a second leg can be integrated into

the line; the “destacking robot” is then used as

a flipper and transfer unit.

Cycle rates and the positioning of the robots

were simulated in advance at Bürkle. The new

line was connected to existing internal logistics

at the site via two transverse transfer units.

ROTARY SPRAYING UNIT AND NEW AIR

CONDITIONING SYSTEM

The installed spray coating line has an

automatic return line to prepare the doors for

the second pass. One technical highlight of the

spray coating machine is the rotary spraying

method, which provides a high-quality surface

finish with simultaneous high feed rate of

13m/min and lower lacquer consumption.

Another feature is the air cleaning and

humidification in the spray booth. The line

run – currently only single for the door sides

– starts with the provision of doors with preprimed

door skins from Jeld-Wen production.

These are loaded, pre-sanded, coated, dried

in a three-stage drying concept, flipped and

stacked. The return line then transports these

stacks back to the system infeed, and the

second side is coated.

Bürkle tested the process parameters of the

coating system beforehand at the Technology

Centre in Freudenstadt together with the

coating material supplier. There, sample doors

were coated and subsequently made available

to Jeld-Wen. The preliminary tests were also

necessary because of the “very sporty” drying

process, which, however, proved to be “realistic

and feasible” due to the Bürkle drying systems.

“The Penrith facility is a very efficient door

manufacturing operation. It was important to

us that the system supplier comprehensively

fulfils the demanding Jeld-Wen standards.

Due to the high efficiency of the spray

coating and drying technology, as well as the

confirmation of our standards, our decision

finally fell on Bürkle,” Douglas explained.

The installation of the system on-site in

Penrith was a challenge for all parties

involved, in addition to the complicated

structural conditions of the production hall.

To address this, a suitable opening had to

be cut into the wall of the production hall

to transport the Bürkle machines to the

installation sites.

The detailed schedule, including the project

kick-off at the customer’s site, facilitated the

close, constructive coordination between

the two project managers from Bürkle and

Jeld-Wen. The installation was a success

with two service technicians from Bürkle,

and with support from specialist experts

from Germany for the respective detailed

tasks. The total installation time from floor

slab loadable to wet commissioning was

about three months. For the start-up curve

from the first unlacquered door to the first

finished door, the parties involved needed

only two weeks.

ENGINEERING COMPETENCE

Concluding this door line project, Bürkle was

able to realise a spray coating line for the first

time that uses the independently developed

robotics control concept of Freudenstadtbased

machine and system manufacturer.

This means that no robotics programming

knowledge is required and the Yaskawa robots

can be completely controlled via Bürkle touch

panels.

At the heart of the system is Bürkle’s

ROBUSpro. Equipped with the air conditioning

unit, the industrial spray coating machine is

able to achieve optimum coating results at

a production speed of 13m/min and lacquer

consumption is reduced. The air conditioning

unit, together with the lacquer recovery and

reduced overspray, have a positive effect on

the lacquer consumption.

“Considering not only the high technical

requirements but also the restricted travel

circumstances, the project is a very special one

for me and will remain in my memory for a long

time,” Ade concluded.

Positive impressions were also heard

throughout from Great Britain. “You have to

commend all the partners for making this

project possible at such a difficult time,” said

Douglas about the project’s progress. P

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 43

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING

Risks of using

pirated software

By Graham Rutter, international business development,

Cabinet Vision South East Asia.

Software piracy is not a new issue, and has been

around for a long time. However, the risks for end

users are greatly increasing for several reasons.

When using counterfeit software, one of these

risks includes breaking the law, as it is the user’s

responsibility to ensure genuine software is used.

Another risk is that the initial savings of using

pirated software can be obliterated in a single

security breach or incident, leading to loss of

production or requiring expensive remedies.

Furthermore, there is also a risk of exposing the

user’s computer and other computers in the

network to potential viruses. Pirated software

is usually tweaked for the software to function.

These changes can affect the computer system

and other genuine software programmes on

their computer, leading to serious damage to its

motherboard and hard drive — not to mention

the loss of data, information and productivity

while repairs are being completed, and files

being recovered on the infected systems.

In the woodworking industry, users risk

damaging their computer numerical control

(CNC) machine if they use computer-aided

manufacturing (CAM) features of pirated

software which has not been configured for

the CNC machine and tooling information. This

damage can be costly to fix, not including the

machine downtime and lost production output.

Back up support, training and the latest

software updates are just a few of the benefits

users will miss out on if they choose to use

pirated software in their business. The benefits

of implementing genuine software can only be

realised to their full potential through proper

training and implementation. Cabinet Vision

South East Asia, a distributor of software

products for the woodworking industry, offers

computer-aided design (CAD)/CAM softwares,

particularly CABINET VISION and ALPHACAM,

which can be customised and have different

ways of achieving results.

Businesses must be aware of their responsibility

in this to ensure they are not using pirated

software. Software companies are investing

more and more to combat software piracy for

the protection of customers and intellectual

property, to strengthen economies, protect

jobs and stimulate technological advancement.

CABINET VISION and ALPHACAM, as part of

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, use

technical protective measures (TPM) to identify

illegal uses of the software. This approach has

detected numerous breaches of the software

licences around the world, making businesses

become compliant with genuine software. P

References:

1. Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence. About Software Privacy,

44 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

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21-24 September 2022

JIEXPO Kemayoran Jakarta Indonesia

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FURNITURE MANUFACTURING

Innovation: Combining the

flexibility and stability

of CNC nesting machine

with doubled efficiency

With the aesthetic standards and consumption

levels of customers rising, the requirements

for their living environment are also getting

increasingly stricter. Consequently, traditional

furnishing is progressively getting replaced

by high-end furniture customisation; the

furniture industry has begun to transform and

upgrade from mass to high-end customisation.

In addition to the aesthetic appearance, high

quality is the basis and premise for high-end

custom furniture. To meet the requirement of

flexible batch size one production of custom

furniture, especially high-end custom furniture

that meets product quality, the CNC nesting

machining centre is an optimal solution for

sizing.

As its name suggests, CNC nesting is the

process in which the entire panel is placed on

the table with a vacuum absorption function

to adsorb the panel on the working table.

In this way, the drilling block and spindle

equipped on the machining centre will change

the tools automatically in accordance with

the machining files issued by the furniture

design software, to complete the drilling,

grooving, shaping and cutting processes — all

of which will be completed in one positioning,

more precisely and flexibly. The utilisation

rate of off-cuts from nesting is higher than a

traditional sizing machine.

The industry mean time for drilling and

cutting a 7x9ft panel with a CNC nesting

machining centre is around eight minutes

in general. In order to make a breakthrough

in the machining efficiency and meet the

increasing demands in the furniture industry

for quality in machining speed and accuracy,

panel utilisation and degree of automation,

Nanxing Machinery has introduced the twingantry

CNC Nesting Line NCG3021L-PLUS,

which is equipped with automatic labelling,

loading, twin-gantry machining and automatic

unloading functions. During actual tests,

processing one sheet of 7x9ft panel takes

around four minutes at 25m/min processing

speed, due to the upgrade of machine

hardware and software and optimising

algorithm.

DOUBLING EFFICIENCY, FLEXIBILITY

AND STABILITY

In additional to one added gantry based

on traditional CNC nesting machine, the

algorithm of FCC optimising software which

is developed for this machine can not only

harmonise the twin gantries, but also optimise

the drilling, shaping and sizing path to

maximise the efficiency. When the processing

speed is 25m/min, the efficiency can be

doubled.

The configuration of each machining unit is

also more reliable with each gantry beam

installed with a 12kW Italian HITECO automatic

tool change spindle with air blower. With a

HSK63F tool coupling type, the main spindle’s

maximum rotating speed can reach up to

24,000 revolutions per minute. With the 12-

slot automatic disc type tool magazine, the

complex machining can be finished in one go.

As for drilling, with the upgraded version of 21

verticle drill bits drilling block, multiple drill

bits can drop at the same time to finish the

clapboard’s drilling at one go to save time.

46 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING

To ensure that the panel is adsorbed

firmly on the table during the

twin-gantry machining, NCG3021L-

PLUS also uses the double-layer

high pressure table panel used in

Nanxing Machinery’s industrial-level

CNC nesting machining centre. The

chamber that is evenly distributed

between the two layers allows the

vacuum to be evenly distributed across

every part of the table. Coordinated

with the double oil-cooled vacuum

pumps that have stronger vacuum

pressure and lower noise compared to

a common air-cooled vacuum pump,

even small boards will not move during

processing. Previous extreme tests

have shown that the panel did not

move even when the processing speed

is increased to 50m/min. Moreover, the

programme will automatically control

the opening and closing of vacuum

zones according to the size of the

processed panel, so as to concentrate

the vacuum in the area with a panel,

to reduce unnecessary vacuum loss as

much as possible.

1 2 3

In addition to the hardware, the

machine is also equipped with a

BECKHOFF control system which

can provide smoother signal

communication and precise tool

cutting path action.

5 6

HIGHER ACCURACY AND

PROCESSING QUALITY

In conventional processing, the cutting

and drilling are performed by different

devices, which can affect the drilling

precision due to manual intervention

and multiple positioning. But with CNC

nesting machining centre, the sizing,

drilling, grooving and shaping can be

finished in one positioning. The drilling,

grooving and shaping processes are

conducted first on the whole panel,

then cut with no displacement, manual

intervention and repositioning,

resulting in higher precision.

With a traditional cutting machine,

the panel will be pressed with a high

degree of pressure beam, and when

cut with a saw blade, “banana effect”

will occur due to internal stress of the

panel itself, which has to be removed

in subsequent processing to square.

However, with CNC nesting machining

centre, each sheet will be cut out with

the router along the path of “drawing”

a square during cutting, unlike a

traditional machine which cuts to end.

“Drawing” a square can ensure that

the sheet being cut out is aligned, with

the internal stress around the edge

eliminated to ensure the square.

Legend

1 12kW-powerful main spindle

2 BECKHOFF Controller

3 PPTools Spindle tool

4 FCC Optimising Software

5 21 verticle drill bits drilling block

6 12-slot automatic tool changer

Through repeated comparisons and

tests, the router from the Australia

brand PPTools is chosen by Nanxing

Machinery for NCG3021L-PLUS. The

integrated structure is processed by

five-axis machining centre at one time,

such that the non-welding structure has

higher hardness, 3+3 share angled teeth

with better milling angle of tool, and

fast speeds that can reach 25m/min - all

while giving a high-quality finish on

both edges of the panel. P

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 47

Asia’s

Leading

Event

FLOORING

Furnishing Hyatt Regency

Zurich Airport The Circle

with oak parquet

from Bauwerk

Villapark True Colours Edition, Oak-smoked

Regency Zürich Airport The Circle

Built near Zurich Airport, Switzerland’s first Hyatt Regency

located at The Circle relies on parquet flooring from

Bauwerk Parkett to furnish its rooms. Across a total area

of 6,150m 2 – covering rooms and suites, as well as the

fitness room, bar and club lounge – has been laid with

oak parquet from the Formpark Mini, Formpark Quadrato,

Villapark and Casapark product ranges.

50 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

FLOORING

Villapark Oak Avorio

in the fitness centre

Zürich Airport The

Circle

The Hyatt Regency was opened in April

this year as the first of two Hyatt hotels

in the new quarter at Zurich Airport.

The hotel comprises a total of 255

rooms, including 18 suites, a fitness

centre with sauna and relaxation area,

and various gastronomic offerings. The

rooms, president suite, fitness room, bar

and the Regency Club Lounge – these

are areas where guests spend most of

their time during the stay. The personal

well-being as well as the robustness

and longevity of the floor are therefore

key when it comes to the selection of

flooring.

and fitness area of the Hyatt Regency in

Zurich for several reasons. For instance,

Formpark Mini is made of ecological

and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®)-

certified oak wood from Europe, and

bear the Cradle-to-Cradle® Bronze

seal for sustainable circular economy,

among others.

Both Formpark Mini and Villapark

are based on high-density fibreboard

(HDF) technology, and have a resourcesaving

wear layer, which ensures the

longevity of the parquet floor. The

surface treatment of the parquet is also

free of harmful emissions and ensure a

healthy indoor climate. In this case, the

geographical proximity of the producer

to the customer also enables short

distances in terms of delivery, personal

advice and customer service.

RETHINKING PARQUET WITH THE

FORMPARK FAMILY

Formpark enables the composition of

individual room moods. Depending

on the installation and the incidence

of light, different patterns emerge that

Exterior view of The

Zürich AG

The choice of flooring for these areas

fell on wood parquet from Bauwerk,

as the company’s parquet is designed

to be resistant in this respect while

contributing to a warm and calm

atmosphere in the rooms. Athanasios

Ntinas, project manager of Kalfopoulos

Architects, explained: “Wood is still

one of the most important ‘tools’ for

our architecture, as it brings tradition,

security and aesthetics all into one.”

MARRYING QUALITY AND

HEALTHY LIVING

Parquet flooring from Bauwerk fits the

rooms as well as the club lounge, bar

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 51

FLOORING

Formpark Quadrato

Oak-smoked parquet

in the presidential

suite © Hyatt

Regency Zürich

Airport The Circle

Zürich Airport The

Circle

lend exclusivity to every room. Ntinas

elaborated: “The product ranges used

from Bauwerk Parkett offers a wide

selection of different materials and

formats, and thus optimally support

our varied colours and material

concepts in the Hyatt Regency Zurich

Airport The Circle.”

Formpark consists of two plank formats

that can be used to compose numerous

room atmospheres. The proportions

have been chosen in such a way that the

parquet planks can be laid both parallel

and at right angles to each other, which

allows different laying patterns. In

the hotel rooms, Formpark Mini in the

colour Oak Avorio was laid parallel to

each other — the straight lines of the

pattern bring a certain tranquillity to the

rooms on one hand, and a modern look

on the other. In the presidential suite,

the smoked oak parquet –

a more environmentally-friendly

alternative to exclusive tropical woods

– in Formpark Quadrato format was laid

in a herringbone pattern, adding further

exclusivity to the rooms alongside the

furniture.

A RELAXING HOTEL STAY

In addition to their healthy living

properties, the Formpark, Villapark and

Casapark from Bauwerk combine other

aspects that ensures the well-being

of guests at the Hyatt Regency Zurich

Airport The Circle.

The brushed and textured surface

of Formpark Mini and Formpark

Quadrato creates a natural look and

feel. This creates a pleasant, warm

and tranquil atmosphere which

promotes relaxation and invites

guests to linger. Furthermore, the

oak parquet has an optimal degree

of hardness, which creates a relaxed

feeling when stepping on it.

Especially in hotels which host a large

number of guests each year, a robust

and resilient floor that remains good

after long and intensive use is of key

importance. The wood texture and

natural oiled surface structure of the

Formpark Mini allow for easy cleaning

and refreshing of the parquet. If

signs of wear become apparent,

individual planks can be replaced. The

combination of comfort, durability

and healthy living therefore makes

Formpark Mini a strong choice of

flooring for the Hyatt Regency Zurich

Airport The Circle. P

52 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

MATERIALS

The strength of

Québec hardwood

By Vincent Montpetit, hardwood manager, Québec, Canada; and

Noah Li, manager, Shanghai, China, of Quebec Wood Export Bureau.

With an aim to put forth the know-how and notoriety

of Québec’s hardwood industry, Quebec Wood Export

Bureau (QWEB), a non-profit organisation established

in 1996, represents wood product manufacturers

offering species that are diversified and comes from a

sustainable Canadian industry.

Mainly from the Northeast of North America, the hardwood

lumber from Québec is subject to intense temperature

variations in a harsh climate all year. This allows for wood

to be of high density with bending strength and durability.

Tough, sustainable and versatile, the hardwoods from

Québec are poised to unleash creativity in different

projects.

With 16 manufacturers of lumber, components and veneers,

the QWEB hardwood sector is able to adapt its products

accordingly to requests. In Québec sawmills, there are no

less than 13 hardwood species available. From making toys,

tools, mouldings, doors, or furniture and flooring, Québec

manufacturers are capable of meeting the strictest criteria.

Export of Québec hardwood to Asia has recorded strong

growth over the last 10 years, from CA$39.5 million in 2011

to $116.8 million in 2020. Some hardwood species that are

more commonly used include Hard Maple, which is used

to build the flooring Donguri Anne Public Library in Japan,

and Yellow Birch. Both species have good machining

properties. P

Vincent Montpetit (left) and Noah Li (right)

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 53

MATERIALS

Inspired by space, made

with western red cedar

Located at the edge of an open valley,

the Lone Pine compound was made

to maximise views of the mountain

ranges. In addition to fostering a

connection to all the surrounding

nature by way of site placement, one

of the main goals for the design team

at CLB, the architects behind Lone

Pine, was to create depth. They did

this by managing natural light and

arrangement of forms which included

a transparent connector between the

two main ranch-style structures.

Sam Ankeny, American Institute of

America (AIA), project manager of CLB,

explained: “For further emphasis, the

architecture contrasts its dark, textured

cedar shell with a light, smooth cedar

underbelly. The siding transitions from a

solid shell to a gapped screen, lightening

the visual mass of the structures, adding

texture, and creating interest with

patterns of light and shadow.”

VERSATILE MATERIAL REQUIRED

With his expertise in wood design,

Ankeny knows that western red cedar

is pitch- and resin-free, which means

it accepts and holds a broad spectrum

of finishes. Western red cedar also

comes in a wide range of grades and

profiles, making it an ideal material

for light and dark interplay.

However, there are more reasons

for Ankeny’s choice of cedar for

this project, as he elaborated: “We

chose to use cedar siding for this

project because of its long history of

54 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

MATERIALS

150x210mm--CORRECTED copy.pdf 1 24/8/21 10:27 AM

performance in harsh environments. We

specifically chose a rough-sawn character

grade and applied it as a rainscreen for

the outermost siding because it is the

most exposed to the elements, and we

wanted something that would mimic

western agrarian aesthetic.”

BEAUTIFUL CEDAR INTERIOR

Lone Pine’s rich material palette carries

through to the interior spaces. Here, CLB

did not necessarily need a material that

could stand up to the elements, but the

team still went ahead and chose longlasting,

durable western red cedar for its

beauty and versatility.

“For the inner, more protected siding, we

wanted to create contrast and showcase

the range of textures available in cedar,”

said Ankeny. “So we chose smoothsurfaced

clear vertical grain (CVG) in a

tight layup.” P

Photography: Matthew Millman

This article was first published on Real Cedar’s website

(https://www.realcedar.com) and is reproduced here with

permission.

CMY

MATERIALS

Zero waste:

Furnishing

homes with

recycled

materials

By Ken Hickson

In my dream, a talented young lady

designed a useful item of furniture —

ideal for study, work or dining at home

— and she exhibited it at the London

Design Festival.

When I woke up, I recalled what she

came up with and started to pull

together the dreamy design. She

had based it on the look and feel of

a wooden school desk, which I was

familiar with in my youth. But what she

had designed and produced was also an

all-in-one, practical table and seating

unit, made as an easy-to-assemble

kitset. There was a two-seater and a

four-seater model. What made it special

to me was that it was purposely made

from discarded or second-hand wood,

and any other recycled material she

could lay her hands on.

Of course, this was all a figment of my

fertile imagination, no doubt fostered by

the fact that I have been doing a lot of

reporting on and writing about timber,

furniture and wood in architecture over

the last couple of years. And admittedly

I was also directly involved in a project,

albeit virtually, at the same London

Design Festival in September 2021.

It was probably also the result of

being cooped up at home for months

on end, turning my marble-topped

coffee table into a work station, as

well as platform for dozens of digital

zoom conference calls. Forget about

meal service!

So that got me thinking about

furniture designers and artists, many

of whom definitely show a preference

for wood. Many are also leading the

trend towards capitalising on what

might otherwise go to waste. Call it

recycling or repurposing — discarded

pieces of wood and also bio waste and

plastic are being put to good use.

Coming down to earth from designer

dreamland, I came up with a few

examples of this — some local and

some from far away:

FINE FURNITURE FROM THE LOCAL

TREE PROJECT

Roger&Sons started a Local Tree

Project a few years back and now

produces furniture and fittings in

all shapes and sizes from discarded

timber. They collect suitable logs from

a local sawmill which come from trees

that had fallen or had to be cut down

for good reason, and with Singapore’s

National Parks Board approval.

They call this “an ethical furniture

initiative” as it salvages trees

that have been felled for urban

development. It rehabilitates these

abandoned logs by turning them into

durable, future-proof objects and

furniture.

MAKING TABLES WITH UPCYCLED

PLASTIC MILK BOTTLES

Kaia, now called Semula, came up

with the idea to convert plastic waste

into something to admire and use.

The first ones I saw looked like small

and colourful ceramic tiles.

Now they have expanded this and

can produce larger objects, like a

Muybridge Plover

by Australian artist

Dave Hickson

56 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

MATERIALS

coffee table top made using plastic upcycled empty

milk bottles. It is incorporated into a table and stools

by Roger&Sons, and featured at Foreword Coffee,

an environmentally friendly coffee shop based in

Singapore.

Sam Boolsambatra, director of Semula, explained:

“Semula reimagines waste, such as plastic, and gives

it new value to minimise the need to use valuable new

resources. As change leaders, we look at problems

affecting our environment and find simple, locally

sourced innovative solutions for them.”

FROM PALM OIL WASTE TO PLYWOOD

Earlier this year, we heard about OPLY, a new material

developed in Malaysia that uses oil palm biomass — or

empty fruit bunch (EFB) — as a resource to make ‘wood

from no wood’, to produce a direct replacement for

conventional plywood.

As the palm oil industry produces an estimated 8

million tonnes of waste annually, this seems like a

much better way to turn lignocellulose fibre from

plants into something of material use for panels and

furniture.

Right: OPLY made

in Malaysia from oil

palm biomass

Below: Coffee table

top made with

plastic upcycled

empty milk bottles

by Semula

FIRE-RETARDANT COFFEE BIO-COMPOSITE

MATERIAL

Working with Singapore’s Nanyang Polytechnic School

of Chemical and Life Sciences, A1 Environment created

a fire-retardant material with over 50% of its mass in

coffee grounds. This means that less raw material is

used in the production, saving resources while making

full use of a material that was previously only a waste

stream.

This material can also be recovered, broken down and

put back into the process of making new material,

making this an infinitely recyclable material. How can

it be used? For furniture, of course. A1 Environment’s

innovation was a recipient of the inaugural Food

Resource Valorisation Awards given out by the National

Environment Agency of Singapore in September 2021.

CREATING A HOME FOR NATURE AND WASTE WOOD

Art can become a finishing touch for a home, whether

displayed on the wall or on table tops. When it utilises

discarded wood and brings nature inside, that’s even

better.

One Australian artist I know, Dave Hickson, collects

offcuts of western red cedar from a company that

makes bee hives, or picks up pieces off the floor of a

local furniture maker, and manages to turn them into

“Art in Wood”. Many of his creative constructions in

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 57

MATERIALS

discarded wood from many sources. On

their website, it states categorically that

they “only work with salvaged wood

or material from globally recognised

green-certified timber mills, to support

environmental best practices”.

The Table Guy specialises in solid wood

furniture making or craft carpentry and

bespoke product design accessible

in Singapore, to create durable solid

wood furniture “that is great for the

environment and perfect” for their

consumers.

THE ART OF WOOD CRAFTSMANSHIP

This all goes to prove that we are seeing

trends in furniture making and buying:

a preference for solid wood; and a

desire to care for the environment and

not see something of value go to waste,

with a heavy emphasis on what we call

“the art of wood craftsmanship”.

2 3

We saw this recently in many of

the exhibits at the London Design

Festival, as well as those previewed

for the subsequent London Craft

Week, most notably in the work of

Jan Hendzel, who said that “finding

green and sustainable ways of making

has been central to the evolution

of our practice. We have been

creating furniture for a long time,

and we will never stop improving our

sustainability efforts.”

Legend

1 Bowater desk by Jan Hendzel

2 Table by A1 Environment

3 Original items by The Table Guy

4 A vintage double desk by Smithers of

Stamford in the UK

wood represent the birds he sees in his

neighbourhood.

He described his latest construction,

the Muybridge’s Plover, as such: “The

Plover sits for many weeks on a nest

in open ground — squawking and

bristling at any suspicion of danger.

This one is delicately resting on a shape

reminiscent of a Matisse cut-out, as

this seemed to give the bird a sense of

time passing, kind of like a Muybridge

time-lapse.”

WOOD FOR GOOD INITIATIVE FROM

THE TABLE GUY

The Table Guy, a Singapore-based

furniture maker, also draws on

So let’s end where we started around

the “dream design” of a table or desk

and chair set which serves multiple

functions. In case you want to revert

to the original all-in-one school desk,

we found the ideal vintage item at

Smithers of Stamford in the UK. This

vintage double desk comes with a

flip-up lid and plenty of storage space

below. It is handmade from recycled

teak wood too.

If your dream is to provide an ideal spot

to give your children a place to study,

and even for you to conduct work from

home, maybe this is the answer. Unless

you can find my mythical designer to

come up with something better. P

58 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

Build

Sustainably

Build

with Wood

Every two minutes

U.S. forests grow

700 cubic meters

enough to build a

12-story building

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

Verksbyen: sustainable

neighbourhood

Location: Fredrikstad, Norway

The whole Verksbyen area in Norway

presents the future of sustainable living,

and Kerto laminated veneer lumber (LVL)

from Metsä Wood is part of the story. The

developer, Arca Nova Bolig, is building a

total of five five-storey apartment buildings

incorporating Kerto LVL Q-panels and

S-beams in the wall and floor elements.

The buildings are situated in the Capjon

Park area in Verksbyen, close to a lake

called Sorgenfridammen.

Architect: Frogner Arkitektkontor,

architect Mats Bjørklund

Structural Design: Sweco

Client: Arca Nova Bolig AS

Building Year: 2019

Text and Photos: Metsä Wood

Fredrikstad’s new green neighbourhood,

Verksbyen, will become home for 5,000 people

within the next 10 years. It aims to be Norway’s

most innovative housing project. In the long

run, Arca Nova Bolig, part of the Arca Nova

Group, has plans to change the housing market

in the same way as Tesla has transformed the

car industry — they strongly believe in growing

demand for sustainable building, which is the

backbone of Arca Nova’s Future Living concept.

“We have managed to reduce CO2 emissions

in a variety of ways. The houses are built

60 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

with timber elements according to

the passive house standard, and

electricity is produced with solar

energy, heating with solar thermal

energy. Smart house technology with

voice control adds an extra touch to

all of this. As a result, the inhabitants

will not only live sustainably, but

enjoy reduced living costs too,” said

Ruben D. Hansen, CEO of Arca Nova

Bolig.

FAST, LIGHT AND GREEN

CONSTRUCTION

Not only is it environmentally friendly

and sustainable to build now and in

the future with sustainably sourced

wood, Hansen highlighted the

lightness and load bearing capacity of

the Kerto LVL products: “Constructing

with prefabricated elements using

Kerto LVL products, we reduce both

building time and CO2 emissions

quite substantially compared to the

traditional way of building with steel

and concrete. Also, the dimensional

accuracy of Kerto LVL is a benefit, as

the materials do not shrink during

construction.”

Additionally, thanks to the

prefabricated elements, Arca Nova

Entreprenør is building at a fast pace

in Capjon Park: one floor a week. That

is five weeks for a building.

The wall elements for the first

building were produced by

manufacturer company, Punkaharjun

Puutaito in Finland, and the floor

elements have been produced by a

Finnish company, VVR Wood. For the

next buildings, Arca Nova Entreprenør

will carry out part of the element

production at its own factory in

Estonia.

LOAD BEARING STRUCTURE

In the first three floors, the load

bearing structure consists of wall

elements which are made with

67mm-thick Kerto LVL Q-panels. In

addition, Kerto LVL S-beams have

been glued and screwed on the

outside of the elements to stiffen and

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 61

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

stabilise the construction. The S-beams

are also used for installing an insulation

layer. In the two top floors, there is a

traditional timber frame construction

reinforced with cross-laminated timber

plates to take up the loads.

“We have a stiff, yet elegant and slim

structure, which transfers the heavy

wind, snow and seismic loads to the

foundation made of concrete,” Hansen

pointed out.

The intermediate floor consists of

elements which form a stiff plate to

transfer the loads to the end walls and the

walls in between the apartments. Each

element consists of Kerto LVL Q-panels

on the top and Kerto LVL S-beams as ribs

and bottom flange. This structure allows

floors of up to 9m in open span.

STRONG CONNECTIONS

Various steel plates and parts, bolts,

screws and glued-in rods are used

together with the floor and wall elements

to create a stiff, stable and massive

construction.

The wall elements of these multi-storey

buildings are connected with bolts to steel

plates on the bottom, and the beams are

assembled in between the elements with

strong steel angles. The frame is connected

to the floor elements with adjacent steel

parts and massive bolts.

FIRE-RESISTANT MATERIALS

The multi-storey apartment buildings

are built according to strict firesafety

regulations, with a sprinkler

system installed. The exterior walls

are constructed as R90 walls, and

the intermediate floor elements are

constructed as REI60 floors.

Part of the fire concept is the massive

use of Kerto LVL, which has 60 minutes

fire resistance. It is also combined with

gypsum boards to provide fire protection

layer in the floors.

LONG-TERM COOPERATION

Arca Nova wanted to develop its own

construction concept to build tall timber

apartment buildings and was impressed

with Metsä Wood’s Kerto-Ripa design

system.

Hansen said: “They have supported our

learning with their help and knowledge.

It was great to visit Metsä Wood’s mill

and see showcase buildings in Finland.

Our cooperation has been vital for our

success to create a new design system

for the Norwegian housing market.” P

This article was first published on Metsä Wood’s official

website (https://www.metsawood.com/global/Pages/

default.aspx) and is reproduced here with permission.

62 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

WOOD CLINIC

Hello Mr Shen,

I sell woodworking adhesives in an adhesive

supplying company. Thank you for the knowledge

on mahogany you provided previously. It has

benefited me a lot. Presently, I have a customer

who uses Pulai and Jelutong wood to produce

products such as photo frames, but I have little

knowledge of these woods. Could you please

provide information about these two types of wood?

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Mr Chen

Identifying key traits of

Jelutong and Pulai wood

Shim Yee Shin is a specialist

consultant in the woodworking

and panel industry, with more than

four decades of experience in the

field. He graduated from Taiwan’s

National Chun-Hsing University

with a major in forestry in 1973, and

has since accumulated a wealth

of experience through his work in

various countries across South East

Asia and Greater China. Mr Shim

now runs his own consultancy

firm providing ad-hoc consultancy

services and bespoke training

workshops. Prior to this, he was

Henkel’s Woodworking Adhesives

technical service director for the

Asia Pacific region.

Mr Chen, thank you for your letter. The

main points of distinguishing Jelutong

and Pulai are described as follow:

I. Jelutong is known as Lobular

oleander, with a scientific name of

Dyera costulata (Miq) Hook.f; and

leafy oleander has a scientific name

of Dyera polyphylla (Miq) v. Steenis.

Below are brief descriptions on

identifying Jelutong, which belongs to

the Apocynaceae family:

Origin: Jelutong is produced in the

tropical or subtropical regions of South

East Asia and often grows on hillsides,

while Pulai wood is often grown in lowlying

swamps.

Morphological characteristics: As

evergreen trees, they can reach up to

60m high. The trunks are mostly round

and straight, and the diameter at breast

height (DBH) can reach 2.4m. There are

six to seven whorled leaves; each leaf is

about 7-18cm long and 4-7cm wide. The

leaves are shiny and elliptical (Figure

1). The midrib of the leaves and the

side veins on both sides are misaligned,

clearly and distinctly (Figure 2). The bark

is light brown, and white latex overflows

from the rubber tube hole (Figure 3).

The extracted white latex can be used to

make chewing gum.

Wood appearance: The heartwood

and sapwood are not clearly

distinguishable. The wood is white or

light creamy yellow, and there is no

change in the colour of the heartwood.

It is also diffuse-porous, and the annual

rings are not obvious. The dressed

timber is shiny with delicate wood

muscle and straight texture. There are

long and narrow rubber tube holes, also

known as latex canals, visible to the

naked eye on the wooden lines, but the

ducts are not obvious (Figure 4). The

wood has a smell after drying, and is

prone to blue stain.

Wood density: The air-dry density of

the wood is 0.46g/cm 3 , and it is light

hardwood.

Drying: The wood can be air-dried

quickly and easily. It is easy to dry

manually without incurring serious

defects.

Dry shrinkage rate: The air-dry moisture

content of the wood can be reduced

to 15%. The dry shrinkage rates of the

diameter-cut and string-cut lumber

are 0.8% and 2% respectively. After

drying in an oven, the moisture content

can be reduced to 12%, the shrinkage

rates of the diameter-cut and stringcut

materials are 1.3% and 3.6%

respectively.

64 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

WOOD CLINIC

Corrosion resistance: It is water intolerant

and perishable, and it is prone to damage

caused by ambrosia borers, termites and

longhorn beetles. The wood can be treated

with chromated copper arsenate (CCA)

preservatives to improve the resistance to

decay and insect pests.

Processing properties: It is easy to carry

out fine processing and dye coating, with

sound adhesion performance. However, the

high content of wood latex may lead to poor

adhesion. If nailed, it will not break easily,

but the nail strength will be weak.

Uses: It can be used to produce wooden

boxes, matchsticks, templates, blackboards,

toys, heels of shoes, plywood, pencils, photo

frames and many more.

II. Pulai wood, also known as the split leaf

duck foot tree, has a scientific name of

Alstonia angustiloba.

What is often called Pulai in the market

is a light hardwood and belongs to the

Apocynaceae family. There are five main

species, with their scientific names being A.

angustiloba Miq., A. macrophylla Wallich, A.

pneumatophora Backer, A. spatulata Blume

and A. scholaris (L.) R.Br.

Here are brief descriptions on identifying

Pulai wood:

Origin: It is produced in the tropical or

subtropical areas of South East Asia. Pulai

is suitable for growing in various soils and

often grows in swamps. It is also planted

along the roads of Singapore and Thailand.

Morphological characteristics: As evergreen

trees, they are 25m high and have a DBH of

up to 0.8m. Trunks commonly seen in round

log farms are not large, with an average

diameter of 60cm. There are four to eight

whorled leaves, and each leaf is about

6-14cm long and 2.5-6.5cm wide. The leaves

are shiny and oblanceolate (Figure 5). The

veins are thinner than that of Jelutong, and

the lateral veins on both sides of the leaves

are perpendicular to the midrib and slightly

misaligned (Figure 6). The bark is dark gray

with no longitudinal cracks and no white

latex overflow.

4 5

Legend

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Jelutong leaves are shiny, oval and

leathery

Clear veins on the front and back of

Jelutong leaves

The bark is black-brown, with white latex

overflowing from the rubber tube hole

Figure 4

Figure 5

When used as three-ply plywood panel, it takes

time to fill up the rubber tube holes with mud

Pulai leaves. They have yellow

bloom from June to August and pods grow.

The seeds that split apart have thin wings

and are spread by wind

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 65

WOOD CLINIC

Wood appearance: The wood is

diffuse-porous. The heartwood is

not clearly distinguishable from the

sapwood, and its sapwood is milkwhite

or slightly yellowish-brown. The

wood is prone to blue stain. The wood

texture is straight or staggered, and

there are pipes visible to the naked eye

on the surface of the planed board.

Under a magnifying glass, the wooden

lines can be clearly seen, and there are

long and narrow rubber tube holes, or

latex traces, visible to the naked eye

on the wooden lines of the string-cut

wood (Figure 7).

Wood density: The air-dry density of

the wood is 0.35-0.46g/cm 3 , and it is

light hardwood. The high-density Pulai

species Alstonia angustifolia Wallich ex A.

DC. and Alstonia spectabilis R.Br. have an

air-dry density of 0.67-0.8g/cm 3 .

Drying: Timber is easy to dry, and there

are no shortcomings to manually drying.

However, drying too fast will sometimes

cause a little cracking or other minor

defects.

Dry shrinkage rate: The air-dry moisture

content can be reduced to 15%. The

dry shrinkage rates of the diameter-cut

materials and the string-cut section are

2.3% and 2.8% respectively. After drying

in the oven, the shrinkage rate of the

diameter-cut material is 3.1-3.4%, and

the string-cut section 4.9-6.1%.

Corrosion resistance: It is perishable,

and it is prone to damage caused by

bacterium, ambrosia borers, termites

and longhorn beetles. When the wood

is treated with vacuum preservative,

the preservative easily penetrates the

heart and sapwood.

Processing properties: It is easy to carry

out fine processing and dye coating,

with sound adhesion performance. If

nailed, it will not break easily, but the

nail strength will be weak. However, the

high content of wood latex may lead to

poor adhesion.

Uses: It can be used to produce wooden

boxes, photo frames, heart boards,

blackboards, toys, shoe heels, plywood,

pencils, and others.

I hope that the abovementioned

identification points of Jelutong and

Pulai can help you.

Sincerely,

Shim Yee Shin P

References:

1. A Practical Encyclopedia of Wood Industry Timber

Roll, published by China Forestry Publishing

House

2. PROSEA: Plant Resources of South East Asia, Vol.

5/1 and 5/2, published by Backhuys

3. Trees of Our Garden City: A Guide to the Common

Trees of Singapore, published by Draco Pub

Legend

Figure 6

Figure 7

The front and back of Pulai

leaves

Pulai wood after it is planed.

When used as a three-ply

plywood panel, it takes time

to fill up the rubber tube holes

with mud

66 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

SUSTAINABILITY

What is the

cost of carbon?

Inspiring the next “material

revolution” by creating sustainable

and high-performance materials

from oil palm waste, Peter Fitch

together with IOI have set up IOI

Palm Wood to commercialise this

untapped potential.

The short answer: the Obama

administration introduced the

first estimated ‘social cost of

carbon (SCC)’ and it was US$43 a

tonne. The Trump administration’s

estimate was $3–5 a tonne, and

the Biden administration’s current

estimate is around $51 a tonne.

The SCC is arguably the single

most important concept in the

economics of climate change. It

represents the marginal social

damage from emitting one metric

tonne of carbon dioxide-equivalent

at a certain point in time. According

to standard economic theory, it

represents the price that should be

put on CO2 to reduce emissions to

socially optimal levels along the

optimal emissions trajectory. The SCC

has been highly influential in forming

climate policy.

Global carbon emissions must

drop 7.6% year-on-year from 2020

to 2030 to keep temperatures

from exceeding 1.5°C. This was

the declaration made by leaders

at the Paris Climate Accord. At the

time of going to press we are not

aware of the commitments made

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 67

SUSTAINABILITY

at the COP26 Conference in Glasgow.

However, recent reports claim that

currently we are heading for a 3°C

global rise in temperatures, if the

reduction in carbon emissions cannot

be accelerated.

If we focus on what Japan is doing to

cut their carbon emissions, we may

gain clues as to what other Asian

countries can do going forward. Key

to any climate change policy is the

reduction in the use of fossil fuels. In

Japan, almost 56% of the electricity

generated still uses fossil fuels such

as coal and oil. This will need to be

reduced to near zero by 2030 if targets

are to be met. The renewable energy

theme is dominated by hydro, wind,

solar, biomass and geothermal. What

interests us here is the use of biomass

as a fuel.

Biomass fuel is a renewable energy

source made from biologically derived

organic raw materials such as wood,

plants, branches, leaves and the

by-products from agricultural waste.

Biomass fuel can be defined as a

‘carbon-neutral’ fuel because the CO2

captured during the photosynthesis

growth offsets the CO2 discharged

when the fuel is being burnt.

emerged as the favourite choice of

biomass-based power plants. This is

because PKS was one of the cheapest

biomass fuels and is available in large

quantities across South East Asia.

PKS, a biomass waste generated by

palm oil mills, can be found in plentiful

quantities in Indonesia, Malaysia and

Thailand. Some of the advantages

of using PKS are that it has a high

calorific value of 3,500-3,800 kcal/kg,

low moisture content and can be easily

stored. We have seen a rapid increase in

PKS imports to Japan between 2014 and

2017. Since 2017, the growth of imports

of PKS to Japan has slowed significantly

to between 1.2 and 1.4 million metric

tonnes per annum (Figure 1).

The sourcing of additional volumes

of PKS to fuel the rapid growth of

biomass generation in Japan could

prove challenging, and will become

increasingly costly for investors. The

cost of PKS at the point of use ranged

between $1,250 and $1,500 per metric

tonne in 2021, which is sharply up from

the price of $500-800 per metric tonne

in 2019. This will push end users to look

for alternative biomass sources, and I

predict this will drive the demand for

wood pellets (WP) and other biomass

fuels.

already uses WP, and if we look at the

importation figures from 2017 to 2020,

we see that the importation volume

has increased significantly from 38,000

metric tonnes to 1,900,000 metric tonnes,

already exceeding the overall volume

of PKS (Figure 2). This is no coincidence

and is directly related to the difficulty

in securing additional PKS supply. WP

have a similar calorific value to PKS but

have addition costs associated with their

usage such as the need for size reduction,

drying and covered storage. There are

other biomass fuel alternatives such as

mesocarp fibre, empty fruit bunches,

palm fronds and oil palm trunks. All these

alternatives have unique challenges such

as harvesting, drying, high ash content,

sizing, handling, and storage. So, in the

near future WP will remain the next best

option to using PKS.

Since 2020, Japan’s Ministry of Economy,

Trade and Industry has approved nearly

eight gigawatts of biomass electrical

Palm kernel shell

(top) and wood

pellets (bottom)

Biomass is being increasingly used

in power plants in Japan as a source

of fuel. Palm kernel shell (PKS) has

Japanese biomass demands continue

to grow, and upcoming policy changes

will only accelerate this growth. Japan

68 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

SUSTAINABILITY

Source: Hawkins Write Research

generation capacity under the

Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) scheme. Not all

of the 70-plus projects may make it

to generation, but even conservative

figures estimate that Japan will need to

increase imports of biomass material

by 20% per annum to keep up with

this increasing demand. Currently,

Vietnam, followed by Canada, supplies

the majority of wood chip to Japan.

Many questions can be asked as to how

sustainable this business model is. And

where will the additional sources of

biomass fuel come from? Many believe

this is a prelude to Japan restarting

and investing in new nuclear energy

plants. At this point we can only

speculate.

We will see in Asia a competition

developing between wood-based

biomass fibre users. Traditionally, the

users of this material have been those

companies producing engineered

panels such as particleboards,

medium-density fibreboard (MDF) and

oriented strand board (OSB). The ‘new

kids on the block’ will be the operators

of biomass energy plants, or as they

like to call themselves, renewable

energy generators. We have seen a

similar scenario play out in Europe,

over the past 10 years. Japan will be

a case in point for the future direction

of renewable power generation in Asia

and the need for more biomass-based

fuels. Initial demand will come from the

more developed countries like Korea

and Taiwan and then spread to other

Asian nations as they struggle to meet

their carbon reduction targets. Future

sourcing from Canada or New Zealand,

for example, could become increasingly

costly as the logistical costs increase.

Demand will require new sources of

material, and attention will turn to

nearby Asian countries such as Malaysia,

Thailand and Indonesia to supplement

the supply from Vietnam.

The takeaway from this article is that

the cost of carbon increases as we

move from fossil fuels and are forced

to use more ‘renewables’. Biomass

(timber) will form an important

component of these renewables, and

as a result will significantly increase in

value. Competition for this resource

will intensify between the renewable

energy producers and bio-composite

manufacturers. This is one of the

reasons we need to intensify the

commercialisation of alternative sources

of timber and biofuels. P

Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021 69

EVENTS CALENDAR

Events Calendar 2021–2022

2021

DECEMBER, 09 – 12

MARCH, 15 – 17 JUNE, 01 – 03

Dubai WoodShow

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Carrefour International du Bois

Nantes, France

JUNE, 27 – 29

China International Furniture Fair

(Shanghai) 2021

Shanghai, China

FMC China 2021

Shanghai, China

DOMOTEX 2022

Hannover, Germany

Cairo WoodShow 2021

Cairo, Egypt

DECEMBER, 11 – 14

DECEMBER, 28 – 31

2022

JANUARY, 13 – 16

Photo: Osama Elsayed / Unsplash

MARCH, 18 – 21

China International Furniture

Fair (Guangzhou) 2022, Phase 1

Guangzhou, China

MARCH, 28 – 31

China International Furniture

Fair (Guangzhou) 2022, Phase 2

Guangzhou, China

Holz-Handwerk 2022

Nuremberg, Germany

MARCH 29 – APRIL 01

APRIL, 28 – MAY, 01

Photo: Nathan John / Unsplash

Sylva Wood 2022

Shanghai, China

SEPTEMBER, 21 – 23

125th NHLA Annual Convention

& Exhibit Showcase

Ohio, United States

SEPTEMBER, 21 – 24

IFMAC & WOODMAC 2021

Jakarta, Indonesia

OCTOBER, 12 – 15

33.BI-MU / XYLEXPO

Milan, Italy

Photo: the shestarters guide / Unsplash

JANUARY, 17 – 23

WOOD TAIWAN 2022

Taipei, Taiwan

imm Cologne 2022

Cologne, Germany

MARCH, 02 – 05

Photo: marco czollmann / Unsplash

Photo: Thomas Tucker / Unsplash

MAY, 25 – 27 OCTOBER 18 – 21

DOMOTEX Asia / CHINAFLOOR 2022

Shanghai, China

VietnamWood 2022

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Photo: Nusa Urbancek / Unsplash

MAY, 26 – 28

NOVEMBER, 20 – 22

BIFA Wood Vietnam 2022

Binh Duong, Vietnam

MARCH, 08 – 11

Malaysia International Furniture Fair 2022

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hanoi Wood 2022

Hanoi, Vietnam

Photo: tron le / Unsplash

Malaysian Wood Expo 2022

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Photo: Azlan Baharudin / Unsplash

70 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2021

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • November / December 2021

COMPANY PAGE COMPANY PAGE

American Hardwood Export Council

IFC

Kuang Yung Machinery Co Ltd 55

Baillie Lumber 9

Lensaya Industriya Journal 63

BIFA Wood Vietnam

Nanxing Machinery Co., Ltd 2-3

Cabinet Vision South East Asia 29

FLA International 48

Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd 19

Northwest Hardwoods 7

Panels & Furniture Asia 71

Softwood Export Council 59

Hanoi Wood Vietnam 5

Technik Associates, Inc

IBC

Ifmac & Woodmac 2022 45

Teknos (M) Sdn Bhd 1

IMEAS spa 27

Interzum Guangzhou 49

Jiangsu Baolong Electromechanical Mfg Co., Ltd 37

Union Brother (China) Ltd

OBC

Koocut Cutting Technology (Sichuan) Co., Ltd 72

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