Panels & Furniture Asia May/June 2022

www.panelsfurnitureasia.com
MAY/JUNE 2022
60 years of
edge banding
1960s
excellence
1970s
2010s
Today
Find more about
HOMAG edge
banding machines
Contact us:
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CONTENTS
CONTENTS
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA (ISSUE 3)
May / June 2022
06
Editor’s Note
08
News
Market Report
16
Markets poised for growth, supply chain disruptions
slowing resurgence
18
French timber market in 2022
20
Pay-per-use: An alternative to the classic machine
purchase
Environmental Report
22
When values add value: Consumer preferences for
sustainable furniture
26
Sourcing sustainable forest fibre in Asia for furniture
and furnishing
In Person
28
Sustainability as competitive advantage for Koda
Panel Manufacturing
30
Kastamonu Entegre eyes top spots in the global
wood-based panel market
34
Improvements to productivity through log x-ray
technology
36
The one-sided liquid extruder gluing: A glue-saving
solution by Raute
Furniture Manufacturing
38
Sixty years of edgebanding quality
42
Planning and automating window and door systems
production
45
The change process: From traditional methods to
automation
46
A one-stop purchasing and intelligent production
solution
Materials
48
Understanding finishing materials for interior door
and moulding
Recycling
50
Wood recycling: From waste to resource
Flooring
54
Modern wood is more than just decoration
57
Structural Elements
57
Timber bridge in Gulou Waterfront
Columnists
60
Poor adhesive force of finger-jointed timber
64
Oil palm trunk: An untapped resource
20
66
Calendar of Events
67
List of Advertisers
26
4 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

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FROM THE EDITOR
Making the best
of what we have
Some parts of the world are celebrating
a return to pre-pandemic normalcy: for
Singapore, the easing of safe distancing
and travel restrictions brings relief and joy,
and for most of the world, the reopening
of borders. But we should not forget that
uncertainty still has a chokehold on a few
parts of the world. Shanghai, China has gone
into lockdown, and the Russia-Ukraine war
spells economic and environmental trouble
across the world.
It certainly puts things into perspective; let
us make the best of what we have, and be
grateful for experiencing normalcy again.
This year, woodworking machinery
manufacturer HOMAG celebrates 60 years
of edgebanding quality. The company takes
a memory trip down the evolution of their
edgebanding machines in this issue, how
they have evolved in breadth, complexity
and performance over the years (p.38).
As Judd Johnson noted in his report, having
just barely recovered from the pandemic,
we are now adding “war to the list of things
that are damaging to the manufacture and
delivery of materials and goods” (p.16). The
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest
Certification (PEFC) has also declared timber
from Belarus and Russia to be “conflict
timber” since the war is destructive to the
environment (p.10).
Technological innovations are also
underway. Nanxing Machinery has
collaborated with FinChinaSoft to
develop one-stop software and hardware
solutions for furniture enterprises to better
respond to market needs (p.46). Tomra
Recycling touts the benefits of intelligent
sorting solutions, such as deep learning
technology, that can sort waste wood
efficiently and precisely (p.50).
Physical exhibitions have finally returned,
and in particular, the BIFA Wood Vietnam
exhibition is set to return in August after a
two-year hiatus (p.8). We welcome everyone
to join us, and we are more than happy
to catch up with everyone on the latest
happenings in the woodworking industry.
YAP SHI QUAN | Assistant Editor
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA
PABLO SINGAPORE
Publisher
William Pang • williampang@pabloasia.com
Senior Editor
Josephine Tan • josephine@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 | May / June 2022

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
BIFA WOOD VIETNAM
TO RETURN IN
AUGUST 2022
In light of border control and quarantine
measures, BIFA Wood Vietnam, a wood and
woodworking exhibition held in Binh Duong,
Vietnam has been postponed to 8-11 Aug
2022.
“Currently, Vietnam borders are still closed
and quarantine is required upon arrival,”
elaborated William Pang, co-organiser of
BIFA Wood Vietnam and publisher of the
Panels & Furniture Group of wood magazines.
“Moving our event to August will give
Vietnam and other borders more time to
establish quarantine-free travel for visitors
BIFA Wood
Vietnam 2018
and exhibitors, and more time for exhibitors to
freight their exhibits or machinery for the show.”
BIFA Wood Vietnam will be held in a new
exhibition hall, the WTC Binh Duong New
City Expo Centre, which was completed in
mid-2021. Visitors can look forward to leading
international woodworking machinery, plus
hardwood, softwood and wood materials for
the manufacturing of panels, flooring, doors
and windows, and other industry trends and
developments.
Prior to that, the 2018 edition treated
4,200 visitors to 183 exhibitors of the latest
technologies and products in the furniture
manufacturing and woodworking sector.
For more information about BIFA Wood
Vietnam, visit www.bifawoodvietnam.com. P
“INTELLIGENT ENGINEERING FOR FUTURE
GENERATIONS”: SIEMPELKAMP REPOSITIONS ITSELF
Siempelkamp has announced that they will be
starting the spring of 2022 with a new claim,
“Intelligent engineering for future generations”,
which stands for the group’s proposition to
strengthen existing expertise with new content.
Engineering is considered to be the core
competence of Siempelkamp, anchoring new
concepts and technologies tailored to current
challenges in the market.
From now on, this core competence
will be flanked by two news features
reflected in Siempelkamp’s claim. First is
“Intelligent engineering”, which integrates
Siempelkamp’s specialty in digitalisation
into the new positioning. Automation for
efficiency and productivity in increasing
processes are the focuses of all business
units.
The digital plant twin, the Prod-IQ MES system,
and new approaches to machine learning are
a few examples of Siempelkamp’s approach
to increasing productivity, designing quality
products, and to also ensure maximum
efficiency in the area of raw material use and
plant design.
The second feature is “Future generations”,
which focuses on the responsibility to shape
industries and society in a sustainable,
modern, and long-lasting way.
Examples of their sustainability concept
include research and development in the area
of alternative raw materials and recycling
to protect scarce resource wood. Also, the
product portfolio, which is geared towards
energy efficiency, supports sustainable
production while reducing its impact on the
environment.
“Our new claim ‘Intelligent engineering
for future generations’ bundles key values
such as responsibility and pioneering spirit,
ambition and sustainability into a coherent
overall concept. This positioning stands
for the energy to align our technological
competence even more strongly with
the future topics of digitalisation and
sustainability,” said Martin Stark, CEO of the
Siempelkamp group. P
8 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

NEWS
GLOBAL SANCTIONS
ON RUSSIA TO AFFECT
VIETNAM’S TIMBER
INDUSTRY
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine along with the sanctions imposed on Russia
by the US, EU and others are poised to have a big impact on the global
wood processing and export industries.
An online seminar in early March by the Vietnam Timber and Forest
Product Association (VIFORES) in coordination with the General
Department of Forestry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development (MARD) spoke about assessing the risks and identifying
solutions relating to mechanisms and policies to help wood enterprises
reduce the negative impacts from the conflict.
Vo Quang Ha, general director of Tan Vinh Cuu Joint Stock Company,
noted that prices have started to rise, and said: “Birch supplies from
Russia must be balanced but we can still have it whether we depend on
Chinese sources or buy it directly.”
According to Vu Hai Bang, chairman of the board of directors of
Woodsland Company, the shortage of wood supply from Russia may
create new demands for alternative types of imports from eastern
European countries. It is possible that Vietnamese wood sourced from
planted forests can become one of the alternative sources of timber.
Therefore, it can be viewed as necessary to devise policies aimed at
supporting businesses in ensuring this supply.
“Fortunately, Vietnamese businesses that have locally grown wood
and relatively stable prices over the years have not had to pay for
shipping. Therefore, the MARD should have support policies to help
wood processing enterprises maintain the domestic wood supply,”
emphasised Vu.
Bui Chinh Nghia, deputy head of the General Department of Forestry,
said that it is impossible to predict how long the conflict will last and
how serious the ultimate impact of it will be. Due to this, it can be viewed
as necessary to adopt timely mechanisms and policies aimed at helping
timber businesses reduce the negative impacts, thereby contributing to
the wood industry’s sustainable development in the future.
Bui also said that it remains essential to have a specific assessment and
be increasingly proactive to get the best adaptations for the local wood
and forest product processing industry.
The General Department of Forestry and the MARD are ready to review
all opinions and then produce a joint report featuring specific proposals
and recommendations regarding adaptation to the emerging supply
issues. P
Source: ITTO
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 9

NEWS
HOMAG AND HEESEMANN PARTNER
TO OFFER SANDING MACHINES
Christoph Giese, managing director of Karl
Heesemann (left), and Frederik Meyer, executive
vice-president, HOMAG business unit CNC
processing (right), agree on a partnership
The HOMAG group reported that to focus
their resources on R&D and production. They
will be discontinuing in-house development
and production of wide belt sanding
machines, and instead, make available Karl
Heesemann solutions.
HOMAG and Heesemann have been working
together for several years, but it is only
recently that the two companies agreed on a
more extensive cooperation.
“Covering the entire process chain and the
associated satisfaction of our customers is
our focus. In Heesemann, we have found
the ideal partner to continue providing our
customers with end-to-end solutions for
sanding and to cover the entire process chain,”
commented Frederik Meyer, executive vicepresident
of CNC processing business unit,
HOMAG.
“We at Heesemann are very excited about
this great prospect for both companies,”
said Christoph Giese, managing director,
Heesemann. “It is an opportunity to take our
long-standing partnership to a new level and
once again demonstrate our expertise and
innovative strength for the benefit of our
customers.”
The overall strategic goal of HOMAG is still
to cover the entire process chain in wood
processing, which includes sanding. To
continue covering the entire process chain,
Heesemann will expand its sanding machine
portfolio and offer end-to-end solutions for
all segments in the future, from entry-level
to high-end solutions. For the entry-level
machines, in particular, Heesemann will be
drawing on HOMAG’s specialty.
The two companies will also be working
closely together in the sales and service
network. HOMAG will continue providing
services, such as a hotline, on-site service and
spare parts, for the sanding machines supplied
under the BÜTFERING and HOMAG brands. For
the sanding machines supplied by Heesemann
in the future, Heesemann will take over the
corresponding service. P
INDONESIA HITS
RECORD FORESTRY
SECTOR EXPORTS
IN 2021
The Association of Indonesian Forest
Concession Holders (APHI) has reported
that forestry sector exports were at a record
RP$193.8 trillion (US$13.5 billion) in 2021.
The chairman of APHI, Indroyono Soesilo, said
that changes in international market demand
due to the adjustments to home-working and a
focus on renovation were mainly responsible for
the export growth.
Based on data from the Indonesian Forestry
Society Communication Forum (FKMPI), timber
production from plantation forests in 2021
reached 46.43 million metric tonnes, an increase
of 1.2% on an annual basis.
Meanwhile, wood products from natural forests
rose 14.4% on an annual basis to 6.013 million
metric tonnes. Last year forestry sector exports
increased by 31% on an annual basis from
US$11.07bn in 2020 to $14.48bn.
The wood chip industry experienced the highest
growth of over 90% from $50.45 million to
$96.24m. The largest contributor to the export
growth was the wood panel industry which
earned $3.97bn, up 83% on an annual basis.
This is followed by the paper and pulp industry
with exports of $3.72bn and $3.19bn. P
Source: ITTO
TIMBER FROM RUSSIA AND BELARUS
CONSIDERED “CONFLICT TIMBER”: PEFC
The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest
Certification (PEFC) has released a statement
that timber from Russia and Belarus is now
classified as conflict timber. This is the PEFC
International board’s response to the Russian
government and President Putin’s “military
aggression” against Ukraine, which is in “direct
opposition” to the PEFC’s values.
Conflict timber is defined by PEFC as “timber
that has been traded at some point in the chain
of custody by armed groups, be they rebel
factions or regular soldiers, or by a civilian
administration involved in armed conflict
or its representatives, either to perpetuate
a conflict or take advantage of conflict
situations for personal gain”.
The categorisation of timber from Russia
and Belarus as conflict timber follows the
adoption of the Resolution on Aggression
against Ukraine by the United Nations
General Assembly, which “deplores in
the strongest terms the aggression by the
Russian Federation against Ukraine […]
[and] the involvement of Belarus”.
The aggression also has an immediate
and long-term destructive impact on the
environment, on forests, and on the many
people that depend on forests for their
livelihoods.
The PEFC International board will
continue to monitor the situation and
consider additional measures when
necessary. P
10 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

US HARDWOODS TO INDIA REACHED US$12.22M IN 2021
NEWS
US hardwood exports to India has reached
a new record high. In an announcement
released by the American Hardwood Export
Council (AHEC), both the value and volume of
hardwood lumber shipped to India last year
were more than double the previous high set
in 2019.
The total value of American hardwood lumber,
logs and veneer exported to India reached
US$12.22 million last year despite global
lumber shortages, uncertainty in freight rates
and availability of containers, and generally
increasing prices across all species.
Aiming to support and sustain this increased
interest in American hardwoods, AHEC has
announced its participation at INDIAWOOD,
which is due to run from 2-6 Jun 2022 at the
Bangalore International Exhibition Centre.
“Limited domestic hardwood supplies,
coupled with strong sustained growth in the
retail furniture, handicraft and hospitality
sectors have driven the demand for new
species, making India an attractive and
long-term prospective market for US
hardwoods,” said Roderick Wiles, regional
director of AHEC. “With India making genuine
progress towards fulfilling its potential as
a major market for US hardwoods, AHEC
is participating at INDIAWOOD with an
American hardwood pavilion, which includes
several US-based hardwood and veneer
exporters. P
Overall exports of both US hardwood
lumber and veneer to India were up year-onyear,
while exports of logs continued their
downward spiral, in line with the general shift
seen in recent years by Indian buyers towards
importing value-added kiln-dried lumber
instead of logs.
The statistics, which have been compiled from
the latest data released by the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA), reveal that
total hardwood lumber shipped from the US to
India increased by 292% in value to $6.5m, up
from $1.66m in 2020, and by 288% in volume
to 11,109m 3 , up from 2,863m 3 in 2020.
At the same time, direct exports of American
hardwood veneers to the market increased by
9% to reach $2.69m. The increases witnessed
last year prove that 2020 was a temporary
dip in an otherwise upward trend. The value
and volume of logs exported to India declined
by 3% to $3.03m and by 18% to 5,411m 3
respectively.
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The top five American hardwood species
exported were hickory ($2.056m and 2,941m 3 ),
white oak ($1.5m and 2,223m 3 ), red alder
($1.012m and 3,028m 3 ), red oak ($815,000 and
1,353m 3 ), and ash ($804,000 and 1,184m 3 ).
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Significant increases were seen in the value
and volume of exports of all species — hickory
with 141% and 115% respectively, white oak
with 454% and 375%, red alder with 4,013%
and 3,548%, red oak with 731% and 696%,
ash with 360% and 293%, walnut with 406%
and 146%, and maple with 183% and 170%.
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 11

NEWS
WINTERSTEIGER TARGETS TURNOVER OF €200 MILLION IN 2022
an increase of 38%, and €39m, an
increase of 18%, respectively.
“In 2021 all of our divisions
posted profits despite significant
investments in the future,”
highlighted Harold Kostka, CFO of
Wintersteiger.
Wintersteiger has declared its turnover
target for 2022, aiming for €200 million,
an increase from the manufacturer’s
results in 2021 which was reportedly
€168m.
According to the press release, Florestan
von Boxberg, CEO of Wintersteiger,
is convinced that despite current
procurement problems, Wintersteiger
will overcome the downturn caused
by COVID-19 this year and exceed the
€200m turnover threshold for the first
time.
The company’s sales and profits
were affected by the beginning of the
Harold Kostka, CFO
of Wintersteiger
(left), and Florestan
von Boxberg, CEO of
the company (right)
pandemic in 2020, with a collapse in
turnover of 26%.
But Wintersteiger used the crisis as an
opportunity for company acquisitions
and a product drive. The general
importer for Norway and Sweden
was acquired in 2021. At the start of
2022, a majority stake was acquired in
a mechanical engineering company
for Wintersteiger’s Division Woodtech
near Stuttgart, Germany, along with
a minority stake in an IT company in
Vienna, Austria.
Last year, the divisions Seedmech and
Woodtech also saw growth up to €44m,
In 2022, with turnovers of around
€50m per division, Wintersteiger
will reach a size that allows more
independence. This was the
argument the management board
used when announcing the spin-off
of the four divisions into independent
companies, a production and supply
chain limited company and the
formation of a strategic holding as a
major project for the current year.
“We are delegating decisions to
the areas where they can be made
proficiently and quickly,” said
Boxberg about the restructuring.
“This will allow us to focus even
more on the needs of our customers
in the divisions, and the production
company will be able to further drive
forward the industrialisation of our
products.” P
FSC TO SUSPEND CERTIFICATES IN UKRAINE CONFLICT AREAS
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
has announced that it will suspend
FSC certificates in the invaded regions
of Ukraine, with effect from 4 May
2022.
According to FSC, the reason for
this decision took into account how
government legislation “cannot be
enforced” in Ukraine conflict regions,
and it is “not safe” for auditors to carry
out their work. Such factors increase
the risks of forests not being managed
according to FSC’s standards.
However, FSC remains determined
to continue to support Ukrainian
certificate holders as far as possible
and therefore will allow certification
bodies — the independent auditors of
FSC certificate holders — to continue
their work in areas not affected by war,
for example through remote audits
and extending the time between
audits to over a year, if required.
FSC reported that it has worked closely
with colleagues based in Ukraine to
provide as clear as possible guidance
on where the armed conflict zones are.
For this purpose, FSC has identified
three categories of Ukraine
information sources regarding the
location of conflict zones. First are
public sources, including but not
limited to, the Ministry of Defence
of Ukraine, The Armed Forces of
Ukraine, The State Emergency
Service of Ukraine, and more. The
second is the Ukraine State Forest
Resources Agency, for state-owned
forests, and the third is directly
from local authorities within
Ukraine.
Certificate holders importing FSC
material from Ukraine are required
to amend their supply chain due
diligence to avoid sourcing from
zones of armed conflict. P
12 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

NEWS
CANADA WOOD TO USE
NAIL-LAMINATED TIMBER
IN JAPANESE UNIVERSITY
Canada Wood Group visited a
manufacturing plant in Ishikawa
prefecture, Japan, in March 2022
to view the production of naillaminated
timber (NLT) panel
production.
According to Canada Wood, the
NLT panels are for a new Tokyo
University of the Arts International
Exchange Centre, a Canada Wood
Demonstration Project, which is
currently under construction in the
Ueno Ward of Tokyo.
The five-storey mid-rise structure
is a combination of steel frame and
wooden post and beam elements
with NLT floor diaphragms. The
NLT panels will use approximately
85m 3 of 2×6 SPF J Grade on the
third, fourth and fifth floors of the
structure.
The use of NLT floor panel was
made possible with the joint
Council of Forest Industries (COFI)
and Japan 2×4 Home Builders
Association Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and
Tourism (MLIT) NLT floor assembly
fireproof approval which was
obtained in 2020. The Canada Wood
team has been working with Maeda
Construction, who also visited the
manufacturing plant with Canada
Wood in 2019 to realise this “first
large-scale application” of NLT
construction in Japan, as claimed
by Canada Wood.
Tokyo University of the Arts
International Exchange Centre
is Canada Wood Japan’s newest
demonstration project funded by
the Government of Alberta to display
the use of NLT in large-scale public
buildings.
Canada Wood reported that research
has been conducted before the project
to determine the impacts of humidity
and temperature conditions on the NLT
floor assembly performance to confirm
optimal design parameters suitable for
Japan’s climate conditions. P
Canada Wood
Group visited a
manufacturing
plant in Ishikawa,
Japan, with Maeda
Construction (Image:
Canada Wood)
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 13

NEWS
NEW UNIT BY WEINIG FOR CAPPING AND DRILLING IN ONE PASS
The optimising
crosscut saw with
integrated drilling
unit OptiCut S
50+ Powerdrill
offers a two-in-one
solution to improve
production (Image:
Weinig)
Weinig has launched the new OptiCut
S 50+ Powerdrill, a combination
machine for simple, fast and efficient
capping and drilling in one pass.
The new Powerdrill drilling unit
serves as an addition to the product
portfolio for easy cutting on an
OptiCut S 50+ optimising crosscut
saw.
According to Weinig, both drilling
and cross-cutting can be performed
in a single step. With this technical
change and option, customers have
new possibilities in the design of
their production process and can
maximise their production capacity.
By combining two processing steps
on one machine, efficient production
can be achieved, whereas previously
such production had to be carried
out on two, partly manual,
machines. Via OptiCom, the saw’s
control system, all cross-cuts and
drill holes can be intuitively created
and processed in lists without any
prior computer knowledge. This
is also possible from the office
computer, with faster results.
The drilling unit is integrated
with the machine body in front
of the sawing unit. The unit
is designed with components
for precise positioning in the
workpiece width and height.
In the longitudinal direction
of the workpiece, transport is
through positioning slides. For
clamping the workpiece, a variety
of pressure options can be used
upstream and downstream of the
machining units.
The drilling unit with five-tool
holders is ideal for those who are
looking for combined machining
by a single machine and attach
importance to an optimised
process flow in their production;
for example, in the machining
of wood in the garden such as
fences, screens and decking, of
furniture parts or construction
parts, among others. P
ANDRITZ STARTS UP PRESSURISED REFINING SYSTEM
FOR MDF PRODUCTION
International technology group Andritz
has completed the start-up of a highcapacity,
pressurised refining system at
Guangxi Guoxu Dongteng Wood-Based
Panel in Guangxi province, China.
The pressurised refining system,
featuring a capacity of 45 bone dry
metric tonne per hour and a 64-inch disc
refiner, is designed to achieve greater
fibre properties at low consumption
of electrical and thermal energy. The
system uses a mixture of eucalyptus
and pine wood chips as raw materials to
produce furniture boards.
Li Xiaobo, director and general
manager of Guangxi Forest Industry
Group, said: “Excellent fibre quality is
essential to obtain high-end fibreboard
quality. That’s why we trust in Andritz
Panelboard when it comes to highconsistency
refining. This was our
second collaboration, and again,
we were very satisfied with their
technological solution, service and
support during the entire project
phase.”
Guangxi Guoxu Wood-Based Panel is
part of the Guangxi Forest Industry
Group, a wood-based panel industry
group in China, operating seven
production sites there. P
Andritz refiner, type
S2064M (Photo:
Andritz)
14 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

IN VIETNAM’S
FURNITURE
CLUSTER
www.bifawoodvietnam.com
NEW DATE: 8-11 AUGUST 2022
NEW
VENUE
WTC Binh Duong New City Expo
Lot A19, Hung Vuong Street, Hoa Phu Ward,
Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam
Google Map
QR code
Exhibition Site
WOOD & WOODWORKING MACHINERY EXHIBITION
Enquiries For International Exhibitors
Pablo Publishing & Exhibition Pte Ltd
3 Ang Mo Kio Street 62
#01-23 Link@AMK,
Singapore 569139
Tel: (65) 6266 5512
Email: williampang@pabloasia.com
info@pabloasia.com
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Jointly organised by
• BINH DUONG FURNITURE ASSOCIATION (BIFA) • PANELS & FURNITURE Group
BINH DUONG FURNITURE ASSOCIATION
Photo: elena rouame, helena lopes, guzman barquin/unsplash

MARKET REPORT
Markets poised for growth,
supply chain disruptions
slowing resurgence
By Judd Johnson, managing
editor, Hardwood Market
Report Publications
The recovery in eastern US hardwood
sawmill production has reached a plateau
of approximately 17 million cubic metres.
Importantly, that level of output is not
nearly at capacity. Hardwood Market
Report (HMR) believes that hardwood
sawmill production systems currently in
place could surpass the 20 million cubic
metres mark. Despite prices reaching
record highs these past months for most
primary species and many secondary
species, eastern US hardwood sawmill
production did not respond to the
incentives as expected.
HMR also believes that the underlying
demand for US hardwood lumber is
much higher than the level at which
the marketplace is performing. Before
disruptions from COVID-19, global
consumption of US hardwoods was
averaging nearly 20 million cubic metres
annually. If demand for US hardwood
lumber has fundamentally changed
since then, it is likely increasing, not
decreasing. More on that later.
The fact that higher numbers have been
achieved in the past provides a strong
argument that both the supply and
demand sides of the marketplace can
perform better. But until that happens,
there are not many individual businesses
can do to push things forward (Figs. 1
and 2).
WAITING
Just as one is for their business, the
world is waiting for transportation
snarls to clear: Delayed receipts of
purchased lumber; delayed shipments
of manufactured goods to intended
destinations; and ever-higher spiralling
prices for ocean container and inland
shipping.
These constraints become larger
problems. Delayed deliveries of materials,
parts and goods turn into supply
shortages in downstream markets. These
shortages trigger competitive pricing,
which invites inflation.
Higher prices can be absorbed in the
marketplace to a point. Over time,
elevated prices can change the designs
or scopes of projects. Rapid and rampant
inflation, as seen in the US with softwood
building materials, can bring projects to
a halt – even if temporarily. Unchecked,
inflation can force consumers out of the
marketplace.
Figure 1
26,000,000
24,000,000
22,000,000
20,000,000
18,000,000
16,000,000
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
0
2014-1
2
3
4
2015-1
2
3
4
2016-1
2
Separately, COVID-19 and its variants
are still disruptive forces in the
marketplace. Yes, there have been great
improvements in guarding humans
against the disease, but there is no
comprehensive prevention of the virus.
Therefore, whatever means are taken
to mitigate the spread from areas with
breakout cases, commerce is at risk of
ongoing disruptions.
A recent example is China’s lockdown of
Shanghai to achieve “zero COVID”. A city
of Shanghai’s stature being shut down
even for a few weeks has tremendous
repercussions on global commerce.
Just in terms of population, economic
activity is compressed for this city of
over 26 million people. For comparison,
the country of Canada has 38 million
Quarterly Eastern US Hardwood Sawmill Production
(Annualized - Cubic Meters)
Production averaged
19.6 million M3 from Q1 2014
through Q3 2018
3
4
2017-1
2
3
©2022 HMR
4
2018-1
2
3
4
2019-1
Production averaged
14.9 million M3 from Q1 2020
through Q1 2022
2
Historical record low
quarterly production of 11.2
million M3 meters set in Q3
2020.
3
4
2020-1
2
3
4
2021-1
2
3
4
2022-1
16 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

MARKET REPORT
people. This is not questioning China’s
methods for controlling COVID. It is
pointing out the reality that COVID is
still disrupting business in all industries
around the world.
Figure 2
22,000,000
20,000,000
Hardwood Lumber Consumption by US Industrial
and Grade Lumber Markets
©2022 HMR
ANOTHER BARRIER
The effectiveness of just-in-time
inventory models depends on each
component in the supply chain operating
efficiently and in synchronisation with
adjacent supply chain components.
These systems are scalable and
responsive to market contraction and
expansion. However, supply chains are
not easily adaptable to lasting shocks,
as we have experienced during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Now we can add
war to the list of things that are damaging
to the manufacture and delivery of
materials and goods.
Cubic Meters
18,000,000
16,000,000
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
-
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Industrial lumber Grade lumber - Domestic Grade lumber - Export
The direct economic impact of Russia’s
war on Ukraine sent oil prices higher on
the world market. Transportation costs,
already at record highs, also responded.
Sanctions against Russia have forced
buyers to pursue other sources of
materials and goods, as their respective
government regulations require. There
also are discussions of sanctions against
Russia which are causing the same
effects; buyers are not waiting for these
restrictions to become law before finding
alternative supply sources.
As far as Russian hardwoods are
concerned, the big item for the US
and much of the world is birch — birch
plywood, to be specific. It is a widely used
material for cabinet and door panels
and as a platform for engineered wood
flooring.
It is not that Russian birch plywood
cannot be replaced by plywood
manufacturers in other places from other
species. It can be. Rather, the plywood
manufacturing capacity required to
replace Russian birch is not immediately
available. Transitioning manufacturing
from one source to another is not a lateral
move in this instance, and supplies could
easily be disrupted during this process.
WHILE WE ARE WAITING
Being forced out of the marketplace
from higher prices does not mean
consumer demand is diminished.
Referring to the example mentioned
earlier about US homebuyers, the US
housing market is substantially undersupplied,
and there is a basic human
need for housing. Demand for housing
has not decreased.
Neither is demand decreased by
consumers being held out of the
marketplace. Transactions are delayed
in these circumstances, but the need or
desire for goods, services and human
interaction is still there.
Not only is demand still there, but
changing populations are pressing
demand even higher. One important
example of global manufacturing is
that the US now has the largest adult
population in its history. Furthermore,
the adult population will only get bigger
as the next generation comes of age.
Consider the impacts of a large and
growing US population on demand for
just housing, home furnishings, and
interior finishes.
Pent-up demand is another predictable
development. As conditions and costs
allow, consumer spending becomes
energised when restraints are lifted.
This has been demonstrated globally in
post-recession human behaviour when
consumers have greater confidence in job
opportunities and economic conditions.
It is also something that resulted from
COVID mitigation lockdowns during
these past two years. Once restrictions
eased and consumers could participate
in-person with shopping and dining, they
did so eagerly.
Do not count consumers out. They are
expecting more from the marketplace.
Spending might be delayed for various
reasons. Transactions can be postponed.
But demand for manufactured goods and
services is intact. Supply chains need to
deliver. 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 | May / June 2022 17

MARKET REPORT
French timber
market in 2022
By Thibaud Le Moign, export development manager at French Timber
As an association created by the French
wood federation about two decades
ago, French Timber promotes French
lumber products in foreign markets
and offers several different products
including softwood, hardwood and
sawn lumber, as well as finished
products like flooring, treated wood
for garden and landscaping, or gluelaminated
(glulam) products. Its role
is to help its members export their
productions while providing them with
regular and reliable information on the
different key markets.
French lumber products are sold
everywhere in the world. Depending
on the product, French Timber’s
customers are mainly based in Europe,
but the association is also active in
the Middle East, Asia and the US. We
aim to accompany more companies in
export markets, particularly smaller
companies who have not exported
yet or are not comfortable with
the necessities of developing trade
relations abroad.
One of French Timber’s goals is
also to find new markets for its
companies and help them to diversify
their customer base. This year, for
example, we are focusing on new
markets such as Egypt, South Africa
and northern Europe. We are also
very eager to return to Asia and
resume our promotional activities
there when the travel restrictions are
lifted. Fortunately, with our office in
Shanghai, China, we were able to stay
in close contact with the market and
still exhibit at major Chinese trade
fairs.
18 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

MARKET REPORT
The global market has been incredible
this year, with demand levels rising
to unprecedented levels all over the
world. All the different types of wood
products are in very high demand,
both in the softwood and hardwood
industries. In consequence, after
several months of high activity, the
sawmills are reaching their maximum
production capacity, and many of
them need to reduce orders, increase
delays, and even sometimes refuse
new customers as they have no extra
volume available.
demand from Asian manufacturers
who also struggle to keep up with their
orders.
Furthermore, the political situation and
the drastic logistic issues in two regions,
which are known as major lumber
suppliers, are also aggravating factors,
putting more stress on an already very
tense market. The outlook for this
year is uncertain, to say the least, and
depends on a combination of factors,
several of them which are not in the
industry’s hands.
We can only hope that the situation
stabilises and trust that all the actors
in the industry will continue to do their
best to serve their customers with quality
products while keeping in mind the longterm
interest of our industry. P
Legend
1 Sawmills have been in maximum
production capacity
2 Increased demand for decorative and
joinery products has impacted demand for
furniture and flooring
3 All types of wood products are in high
demand, both in the softwood and
hardwood industries
This situation is now standard for all
the different species of hardwood
lumber. Other semi-finished or
engineered products are also
concerned as the availability of the
raw material is impacted by such high
levels of demand. The prices of all
lumber products have risen sharply,
and this should remain the same in
the coming months until the situation
cools down.
For the moment, we do not expect
to see any signs of the market
slowing considerably. In Europe
and the US, the construction and
home improvement markets are on
record levels, boosting demand for
decorative and joinery products. This
also impacts the demand for furniture
and flooring, hence the increase in
1
2 3
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 19

MARKET REPORT
Pay-per-use:
An alternative to the
classic machine purchase
By Yap Shi Quan
the event of market and economic
fluctuations and access to the latest
technologies. It provides services,
maintenance and software updates to
be integrated with various versions and
packages.
As a start, Weinig’s goal is to develop
a billing model that takes all these
parameters into account, Geiselhardt
explained to Panels & Furniture Asia, and
the company has been working closely
with a pilot customer to integrate as
many scenarios as possible into the
model. He said: “In the first step, we will
focus on one machine type in the area of
planing and profiling and already develop
a transferability for other machines.
Our idea is that the Woodworking-as-a-
Service structure can then be used for
many machines and services.”
MODERN AND FLEXIBLE ALTERNATIVE
What has worked for a long time does
not mean it will work forever — if
there is anything the pandemic has
taught, it is this. Flexibility is key to
navigating through an era where
economic uncertainties and supply
disruptions are frequent, and the
classic business model of one-time
purchases is, perhaps, not up to the
task of reaping stable and greater
profits for the woodworking industry
anymore.
What, then, are the alternatives?
Customer-centric business models are
one such alternative, one of which is
the pay-per-use (PPU) business model,
which Weinig will be transitioning into
over the next two years.
Under the Woodworking-as-a-Service
model, the machine is no longer in the
foreground of a business model but
rather its performance, output and
availability and the service that ensures
all of this. The German provider of solid
wood and panel processing solutions
will bill their customers at regular
intervals based on actual use of the
machine instead of a traditional onetime
purchase of the machine.
“Weinig is developing a completely
new business model and, in a sense,
disrupting conventional machine
sales,” declared Julian Geiselhardt,
innovation manager of New Business
and Innovation at Weinig Group.
Woodworking-as-a-Service is designed
in response to more flexibility in
CUSTOMER CENTRICITY
The PPU model, while new to the
woodworking industry, has been around
in other industries for decades. One
example is British aerospace engine
manufacturer Rolls-Royce which has been
using the PPU model since the 1960s.
Termed by them as “power-by the-hour”,
Rolls-Royce charges its customers by the
number of hours used on the engine,
together with the cost of installations,
check-ups and maintenances.
The value of PPU, according to
Geiselhardt, is that customers will be
“relieved of a lot of work” and can
concentrate on their actual production.
The burden of maintenance and servicing
no longer falls on the customer but rather
on Weinig, who is still the proprietor
20 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

MARKET REPORT
of the machines. Additionally, since
payment is based on the running meter
of the machines, customers can claim
costs directly and gain better control
of their capital expenditure. The high
degree of liquidity of PPU is one of the
timelier benefits in a world fraught
with fluctuations from COVID-19.
Geiselhardt added: “Machines in
Woodworking-as-a-Service are
equipped with the latest technology.
Therefore, they work energy-efficiently
and sustainably. The customer also
has the option of making their
production more efficient through
various analyses, thus saving material
and costs. In addition, we can control
our service in a better and more
targeted way. What’s more, we want
to give each machine a ‘second life’
by overhauling it at the end of the
contract period and selling it on the
secondary market.”
models have already been adopted in
many other industries.
He concluded: “This is also because
customers are focusing on holistic
processes and workflows, and the
machine is merely one part of this
construct. To follow this trend, we
can then offer a good option with
Woodworking-as-a-Service.”
Indeed, the goal of PPU, as with
any business model, remains the
same — to make a successful business
case for both the supplier and
customer. Perhaps the bigger question
the industry should ask itself is this:
How can we improve our businesses
and services such that every party
comes out stronger and more resilient
towards future crises? P
Weinig presented
an overview of the
Woodworking-asa-Service
concept
at Solid Wood
Summit, a virtual
woodworking
showcase
Although Weinig is still in the
midst of exploring all the stages
of Woodworking-as-a-Service,
Geiselhardt is confident that it will
establish itself “as an alternative to
the classic machine purchase” as such
Woodworking-as-a-Service will first focus on one machine type in the area of planing and profiling, to ultimately cover
all woodworking machines and services
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 21

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
When values add value:
Consumer preferences for
sustainable furniture
The demand for sustainably sourced
wooden furniture is booming. According
to PwC’s Global consumer insights pulse
survey 1 published in December 2021,
51% of global respondents indicate
that when considering a purchase,
they factor in whether the product
was produced with a traceable and
transparent origin. Another consumer
preference survey 2 conducted by the
Sustainable Furnishings Council in 2021
found that 67% of respondents felt that
making products sustainably was the
right thing to do.
This is a trend that is years in the
making, driven by rising disposable
income and heightened environmental
awareness among consumers,
particularly in developed economies.
Understanding this trend, and taking
the appropriate steps to adapt, will be
important for anyone hoping to have
success in an increasingly sustainable
furniture industry.
DRIVING THE SHIFT IN CONSUMER
PREFERENCES
The expanding awareness of climate
change and the key role that forests play
in storing carbon has long been well
understood among conservationists,
foresters and policymakers. More
recently, the importance of forests has
also become commonly understood
by the general public. Extensive
coverage 3 of the COP26, and public
interaction with news content about
the conference, is just one indicator of
this. Consumers are re-examining the
relationship between the wood in their
homes and its environmental impact.
In a similar fashion to the paper and
packaging industries, the furnishings
industry is undergoing a shift in
consumer behaviour.
The onset of COVID-19 has only
amplified these considerations. In 2020,
the public spent much more time at
home, and many purchased furniture
to convert their living spaces into
home offices. This is likely to continue
in a post-COVID world. As businesses
realise the benefits of allowing more
employees to work from home, many
consumers expect to increase their
purchase of furniture after the pandemic
ends 4 .
In addition, millennials and younger
homebuyers, normally assumed
to be especially sensitive to issues
surrounding sustainability, are entering
the housing market and influencing
furniture manufacturers and retailers
to consider the responsible sourcing
of timber. This is a buyer-driven value
chain, and the buyers have spoken.
VALUE IN SUSTAINABLE APPROACH
Producers, manufacturers and retailers
recognise that getting a certification
— such as the Programme for the
Enforcement of Forest Certification
(PEFC) chain-of-custody (CoC)
22 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
certification 5 — is more than just
a value-driven decision, but also a
competitive advantage.
Sustainable practices promote
responsible forest management
and regeneration and can help to
maintain the productivity of forest
lands for generations. Many firms have
a direct interest in sustainable forest
management, as the forests remain
economically viable. Producers and
manufacturers who get certified are
well-placed to operate within the
present and future legal frameworks,
such as the European Union Timber
Regulation.
These are just some benefits of
certification. A business case study 6
from Preferred by Nature found that
Malaysian timber companies reported
a range of benefits to certification. First,
it increases market access; 77% of the
companies interviewed said that they
increased market access, particularly
in countries that had legislation
prohibiting illegal timber. Second, it
can increase price premiums; 61% of
the companies interviewed said that
they could sell their certified products
at a premium. Third, it can improve
brand image; half of the companies
interviewed said that getting certified
helped strengthen their brand and
boosted the confidence of buyers.
And lastly, producers, suppliers and
manufacturers are catching on that
sustainability is no longer a niche
marketing strategy. Rather, it can form
the focal point of a brand’s identity and
approach.
LEARNING FROM THOSE WHO CAME
BEFORE
Bunnings Warehouse, a home
improvement retailer in Australia,
is an example of how retailers can
successfully respond to the shifting
demands of consumers. In 2001, the
company set out to eliminate the risk of
illegally harvested timber from entering
its supply chain. It highlighted timber
from tropical hardwoods in South
East Asia, which were used in its wood
furniture products.
Realising that failing to act could be
a long-term threat to the continuity
of supply, Bunnings introduced its
Sustainable
practices promote
responsible forest
management and
regeneration and
can help to maintain
the productivity
of forest lands for
generations
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 23

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
1 2
commitment to sustainable timber
procurement in 2003. The company
adjusted its strategy to focus on
building established, long-term
relationships of trust with suppliers.
Rather than ‘pull the chain’, Bunnings
worked with suppliers to educate
them about complex CoC, to help
them understand that unsustainable
practices would not benefit either
supplier or retailer. The company
believed that building resilience and
integrity in its supply chain was more
valuable in the longer term. The
company shifted from the previous
policy of relying on ad-hoc shipments
of timber, which suppliers often
offered at massive discounts.
This coincided with growing public
awareness among consumers in
Australia regarding the sustainability
and sourcing of wood. The Australian
government passed the Illegal
Logging Prohibition Bill, which
banned all illegally sourced timber
imports into Australia in 2012. In 2018,
Bunnings revised its responsible
timber sourcing policy to include a
commitment 7 that all-natural forest
products be certified.
In Australia, the consumer has
spoken, and Bunnings has noticed
and responded to these concerns.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Becoming certified is the first
step in the right direction. Savvy
consumers are sensitive to the
lifecycle of wood products in their
homes and are looking for a sign that
they are making environmentally
sound choices. The PEFC label is
therefore a powerful symbol that
inspires confidence in buyers that
the purchases they make are socially
responsible and committed to
sustainability.
MEETING CONSUMER DEMANDS
FOR SUSTAINABILITY
PEFC has worked with furniture
manufacturers and retailers of all
sizes to certify their supply chains
and finished products. That makes
the PEFC logo on a piece of furniture
meaningful proof that it was
harvested in a way that both keeps
forests standing, and uplifts the
livelihoods of independent foresters,
giving them a financial incentive to
protect these ecologically important
habitats.
The market has spoken, and
it is increasingly demanding
sustainability. When furniture
companies listen, they will protect
their bottom lines and forests at the
same time. P
References:
1. PwC. A time for hope: Consumers’ outlook brightens
despite headwinds.
7. Bunnings. About Us: Sustainability.
Legend
1 Bunnings has
worked with
suppliers to
educate them
about complex
CoC
2 Furniture
manufacturers
and retailers are
recognising that
certification,
such as PEFC’s
CoC certificate,
is a competitive
advantage
24 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
Sourcing sustainable
forest fibre in Asia
for furniture
resort buildings, low-cost housing,
as well as floating homes 1 , it got me
thinking that we could do much more
with many of the plantation sources of
fibre in South East Asia and wood that
would otherwise go to waste.
and furnishing
Wood is everywhere
when it is reclaimed
and fashioned by
Harith the carpenter
By Ken Hickson
Look at what Asia Pacific Rayon (APR)
is doing in Indonesia with what is now
becoming a major industry — taking
forest fibre and turning it into viscose,
primarily as a textile for the fashion
industry.
But viscose is also ideal for home
furnishings such as curtains, drapes and
upholstery, for example.
I was reading the other day what the
Yorkshire Fabric Shop, an online shop
based in the UK that sells fabrics, has
to say about it: “When it comes to
upholstery furnishings, the viscose
is considered one of the best choices
because of its absorbency, comfort, and
it’s economical.” 2
The Yorkshire Fabric Shop explains
that viscose is a semi-synthetic type of
rayon fabric produced from wood pulp
from beech, pine, eucalyptus, and even
bamboo.
The Green Factory
turns boxes and
racks into useful
wooden furniture
items
When I talk to my timber friend Kevin
Hill, as you would expect, he cannot
stop singing the praises of wood. In all
shapes and sizes. On land and water.
Inside and out. Not only for built
structures but panels and furniture too,
of course.
Lately, he has been putting even more
stress on fibre, which he says is the
future. Forest fibre, naturally.
And just as Kevin’s company Venturer
Timberwork is now looking to use
timber from Indian forests for tourist
APR produces 100% natural and
biodegradable viscose rayon used in
textile products. Made from renewable
wood cellulose, APR is committed to
“sustainable sourcing and efficient
manufacturing, producing top-quality
products that address customer
needs while touching the lives of the
communities around our areas of
operations” 3 .
So, let us see what more we can do
with a locally available resource — from
sustainably managed forests — and use
much more viscose for home furnishings.
Another readily available resource
in South East Asia is rubber and
26 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
rubberwood. In fact, 92% of the world’s
supply of rubber, according to the
United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD), is produced
in ASEAN, mainly Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia and Vietnam.
Along with its global furniture campaign
launched last year, the Programme for
the Enforcement of Forest Certification
(PEFC) made a big play for sustainable
rubber and rubberwood.
One strong supporter of sustainably
sourced timber supply chains in
Malaysia is Harith Ridzuan, the Green
Carpenter. He has been championing
green manufacturing and sustainable
woodworking for more than a decade
and has said that a good alternative
to forest-harvested timber is wood
gathered from plantation areas.
An example of plantation wood is
Malaysia’s popular rubberwood, a byproduct
of the rubber industry.
He calls his place The Green Factory, and
besides using certified plantation wood,
including rubberwood, he makes very
good use of reclaimed wood — that is,
timber pieces that would otherwise be
scrapped, turned into woodchips and/or
burned, if he did not rescue them.
He knows these so-called scraps
are usually from old-growth forests,
wood which cannot be purchased or
cut down anymore. He is getting the
highest quality wood but doing it in an
environmentally friendly way.
Harith pointed to a local study that
found almost 70% of construction waste
in Malaysia consists of wood waste 4 . He
can take waste wood, such as shipping
pallets, crates and other wood debris
and repurpose them using innovative
methods. Even timber from old wooden
houses that are taken down can be
salvaged for further use.
is important furniture is safe for
people and the planet throughout its
manufacturing process.
There is no doubt that Harith the
carpenter is setting a fine example for
others to follow. Creating furniture
with the environment in mind but also
considering its carbon footprint, as
well as the sustainability of materials
and processes. He also considers the
conservation of resources like water,
energy, and land.
His work in Malaysia reminds me of
how an ancient wood in New Zealand
is recovered from swamps and old
buildings and then turned into
impressive and valuable furniture.
Recovered native Kauri trees are among
the most ancient and largest trees
in the world. They appeared during
the Jurassic period, between 135-190
million years ago.
Swamp Kauri is found only on the North
Island of New Zealand — north of 38° —
and has been buried and preserved in
peat swamps for up to 50,000 years.
Any size slab can be made into a custom
table to fit, using the wood’s natural
edges or milled to a specific geometric
specified size.
Karin Venator of Kauri Vault, a furniture
manufacturer based in Opua, New
Zealand, tells us that these ancient
timbers are then transformed into
bespoke pieces of furniture. There are
various designs and materials that
complement the beauty of the ancient
Kauri 5 .
We know now that nearly all types of
solid wood can be reused. Wood can be
salvaged from old buildings, bridges and
wharfs and used again in modern décor,
from furniture to flooring.
particleboard and other composite
products 6 .
Better sorting of waste, technological
advances in recycled fibres, smart
product design, enabling reuse and
recycling, as well as responsible
consumer choices can all contribute to
making less resource-intensive products.
What is most important in all this is that
the consumer must have the assurance
from the retailer that the wood or
fibre used to produce these fine pieces
of furniture or furnishings has been
responsibly sourced and its supply chain
is sustainably managed.
Whether it is the protected ancient Kauri
wood in New Zealand or the forest fibre
viscose used in fashion and furnishings
in the UK or Indonesia, we need to be
certain of the species and the source.
We need more furniture makers and
suppliers like Harith, who not only turns
waste wood into “green furniture”, but
also makes sure it is safe for people and
the planet throughout its manufacturing
and supply chain process. P
References:
1. Venturer Timberwork. Floating homes rising sea.
2. Yorkshire Fabric Shop. Is viscose a good fabric for
upholstery?
3. Asia Pacific Rayon. About us.
4. The Green Factory. Sustainability.
5. Kauri Vault. Our story.
6. Forest Solutions Platform. Reuse and recycling.
Venturer Timberwork
shows how wood
plays a dominant role
inside and out in a
new retail concept at
Amanpuri Resort on
Phuket’s Andaman
coastline
The Green Factory turns waste wood
into “green furniture”, which must
be free of toxins when they reach
the consumer. Harith says that it
The World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF)
Forest Solutions Platform reminds us
that smaller, less valuable wood scraps
can be collected and used to make
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 27

IN PERSON
Sustainability as
a competitive
advantage
for Koda
Ernie Koh, Executive Director
of Sales and Marketing,
Koda (Image: Koda)
Sustainability is no longer just an
ESG goal but increasingly a market
force that businesses have to embrace
to attract potential consumers.
Ernie Koh, executive director of sales
and marketing from Koda, an original
design manufacturer of furniture,
shares how the company turns
sustainability into a competitive
advantage.
By Yap Shi Quan
EMBRACING “WHAT THE MARKET WANTS”
Sustainability is increasingly becoming indispensable in a
company’s branding or business strategy. Market research studies
by various organisations, including World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF) and First Insight, have revealed that consumers want their
products to be certified sustainable, with a sizeable amount of
them willing to pay more.
Ernie Koh, executive director of sales and marketing for Koda,
noticed this phenomenon in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific,
which are also the markets Koda serves. He explained: “I think
these countries, being more progressive and industrialised in their
markets, are embracing sustainability seriously where they have
to consider sustainability as part of their purchasing decision — so
much so that many of our customers started coming to us a couple
of years ago wanting that. And you have to embrace what the
market wants.”
Koda began in 1972 as a woodworking workshop and an
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of furniture, before
transitioning into an original design manufacturer (ODM)
currently. The manufacturer also has a lifestyle- and
design-driven retail brand called Commune Lifestyle that
sells globally, and has approximately 80 shops in China.
During the period of the pandemic when lockdowns
and factory shutdowns were still the norms,
28 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

IN PERSON
Koda fared relatively well due to the boom in
demand for home furnishing. Koda’s Commune
warehouses got empty as there was widespread
buying by customers, but ultimately, the
company faced logistic issues, such as the
increase in freight costs and manpower
shortage, particularly for their factories in
Vietnam and Malaysia.
Now, as borders are opening up, Koh expressed
that at least in the lifestyle aspect, the world
will not return to the pre-pandemic state,
having experienced what he calls “suburban
urbanisation”, where urban people will
experience a more suburban living, and the
suburban people will experience a more
urbanised lifestyle. This has an impact on
the furniture and home furnishing industry,
in particular, suburban malls and shopping
centres in the city, and the living and working
space which have become close to each other.
The business implications of these excites Koh.
Even so, he is still cautious about how the postpandemic
world will turn out.
He explained to Panels & Furniture Asia that as
an ODM, Koda’s main marketing force is the
quality and delivery of furniture design, on
top of reasonable pricing. Under their motto
of ‘Redefining Lifestyle’, they follow what the
market is trending with regards to materials. For
instance, while Scandinavian, New Zealand or
Australian pine was trending in the past, today
oak and walnut are trending. And in recent
years, the market is trending toward the use of
natural materials and fibres, rattan, weaving
and ropes, recycled materials, and so on.
However, with their competitors catching up,
Koda felt that sustainability is an area that they
can use to gain a competitive edge. Speaking
in a panel discussion at the Singapore Apex
Business Summit which took place from 22-25
Mar 2022 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore,
Koh asserted that sustainability should be a
“competitive advantage” which companies can
use in their businesses.
Koh reiterated: “For the past few years, we have
been accommodating our customer’s requests
and requirements on sustainability. It is
therefore natural to use sustainability as one of
our corporate policies moving forward, which is
not difficult because we have been doing it. It is
just to package it so that we know our roadmap,
“Dealing with
sustainability
individually or as a
compartment of just our
company is not dynamic
enough unless you bring
in your entire value
chain.”
Ernie Koh
Executive Director of Sales
and Marketing, Koda
where we are going, how we are doing it, and
what is the result of it.”
This is aligned with Koda’s overall aim of
balancing aesthetics with the environment,
by infusing ‘Green’ in the materials they use,
processes they engage, and products they
develop. According to Koh, the company is
looking into whether they can use water-based
finishing surface coating and whether they can
use lower formaldehyde glue for consumer
health and safety. Instead of using plywood or
medium-density fibreboard (MDF), they are
considering using alternative wood materials
like strawboard.
In addition, the manufacturer does not lose
sight of what is trending, balancing what the
market wants with what is sustainable: “Now it
is trending to use certified timber — if you are
not going into certified timber, you are not in
the market. We have been using certified timber
since years ago, and when our customers
wanted it, our factories were certified by Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC).”
THE SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY
That is not to say that Koda commits to
sustainability purely for profit’s sake. Koh
stated that Koda will not use sustainability to
heavily brand their company. He also believed
that it should not be a company’s main
marketing tool, but embraced as a corporate
strategy or DNA — that is to say, integrated
into the company’s business or manufacturing
processes.
For example, Koda sells their wood chips from
processing timber to other businesses that
Image: Singapore
Business Federation
require them, such as farming, effectively
repurposing them. Koh suggested that
businesses who are new to sustainability
practices can start with the “low-hanging”
fruits, such as cutting electricity and
water usage in manufacturing processes
by using solar panels or harvesting water,
cutting down on paper usage in day-today
operations and shifting to virtual
environments, or switching off the airconditioner
when leaving the room.
When working with customers on cradleto-grave
furniture designs, Koda tries to
use fewer materials and standardised
measurements, and will be developing a
buyback policy such that it can get back the
furniture items to be torn down and recycled.
Koh elaborated: “The dynamics involve
building a value chain where we work together
with our local customers, overseas customers,
and their consumers. This is a long-term
strategy where we’re hoping that the cradleto-grave
furniture will be jointly developed
[among all of us], because a lot of times when
we put certain materials into products, they
are no longer considered recyclable.”
He concluded: “Dealing with sustainability
individually or as a compartment of just our
company is not dynamic enough unless you
bring in your entire value chain. Our customers
are asking us to do a lot since it is part of their
value chain. Going upstream is an obligation
and we feel that we need to go to our suppliers
and subcontractors to slowly educate them
on sustainability so that the dynamics of the
whole sustainability journey and is taken care
of rather than working in isolation.” P
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 29

PANEL MANUFACTURING
Kastamonu Entegre
eyes top spots in the global
wood-based panel market
Kastamonu Entegre’s
plant in Italy
Founded 53 years ago, Kastamonu
Entegre raises the bar to strive and
become one of the top manufacturers
in the global wood-based panel market.
Having launched an investment drive
over the past two years, the company
will improve the manufacturing capacity
of its facilities in Turkey and abroad, such
as Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia
and Italy, to expand its market share.
Haluk Yıldız, CEO of Kastamonu Entegre,
affirmed the following on the new
investments: “We focused on Turkey in
our 2021 investments and concluded
a €150 million facility investment in
the city of Balıkesir. The facility will
commence operations by the end of
2022 and will increase our mediumdensity
fibreboard (MDF) manufacturing
capacity by 550,000 cubic metres. Our
total annual production will thus be near
7 million cubic metres.
“We also concluded an additional
€35m investment in melamine press
and impregnation in all our facilities
in Turkey. By 2022, we will further
accelerate our global investments. As the
largest Turkish investor in Italy, we are
augmenting our value-added product
capacity with our €20m new melamine
press investment.”
KASTAMONU ENTEGRE IN ITS
OEPRATING MARKETS
Kastamonu Entegre claimed it has a
30% market share in particleboard
manufacturing in Romania and is the
“third largest” global manufacturer for
door panel manufacturing. It also has a
40% market share in the particleboard
manufacturing market in Bulgaria, while
in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it is the “largest
Kraft paper manufacturer” in the region,
as claimed by the company. In Russia,
Kastamonu Entegre has a 30% market
share in MDF and floorboard product
groups. The Pomposa facility, which
manufactures particleboard from 100%
recycled materials, will soon reach a 15%
market share in Italy.
With a €70m investment completed
during Q1 2021 in the city of Samsun,
Turkey, Kastamonu Entegre inaugurated
its new continuous particleboard
30 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

PANEL MANUFACTURING
manufacturing facility of 500,000 cubic metres per year. The investments
collectively created a wood-based panel production capacity of 6.5
million cubic metres per year.
“TO HAVE ONE OF THE BEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS”
Kastamonu Entegre announced its brand purpose, “Bridging Nature and
Life”, during a launch event with employees participating from all over
the world. Speaking at the event, Yıldız underlined that a good company
needs more than good figures.
He added: “We have achieved our goals in figures and became the
world’s fifth-largest company in our industry. But a company’s vision
cannot be to become the largest in the world. Our purpose is to have one
of the best management systems. Because sustainable success is only
possible through people. At Kastamonu Entegre, we prioritise people and
build our sustainability approach around people and environment.”
MINIMISING ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND WASTE
Aware of all the environmental consequences of the manufacturing
processes, Kastamonu Entegre maintains international standards and
expands sustainability efforts within the scope of its “Bridging Nature
and Life” vision. The company aims to establish solar power plants
in six manufacturing facilities by 2030 in addition to the currently
operating one in the city of Adana, Turkey. The wastewater treatment
activities recycle wastewater worth the annual consumption of almost
5,000 people. The biomass power plant in the Turkish district of Gebze
transforms the waste previously unsuitable for manufacturing or
recycling processes into environmentally friendly electrical energy or
heat.
Kastamonu Entegre was awarded the TSE-approved “Food-Grade” certificate for its
various panel products
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 31

PANEL MANUFACTURING
Aspiring to invest in new biomass
power plants in other facilities as
well, Kastamonu Entegre schedules to
complete 30% of this investment by the
end of 2022 with a €50m budget, and
the rest within the following decade.
Through these investments, Kastamonu
Entegre highlighted that it will be able
to generate electrical energy equal to
the annual consumption of one million
people, while also eliminating 400,000
tonnes per year of carbon emissions.
Kastamonu Entegre is a shareholder
of ENAT, an organisation in Turkey
operating in industrial forestry and
sustainable forest management, and
the two companies are cooperating
on afforestation activities. Kastamonu
Entegre carried out afforestation
activities on an area the size of almost
2,100 soccer fields since 2016 and will
maintain its sustainable developmentoriented
growth through its “Bridging
Nature and Life” vision.
AESTHETIC AND HYGIENIC LIVING
SPACES
Kastamonu Entegre prioritises
consumer expectations and needs in
manufacturing while continuing its
R&D activities. It has been expanding its
hygienic product ranges, the importance
of which has been made clear since
the breakout of the pandemic. The
Hygiene Plus laminate flooring and
panel collections by Kastamonu Entegre
minimise the growth of harmful microorganisms
carried in by shoes, pets or
other mediums, while the Safe Surface
technology is 99.9% effective against
viruses and bacteria, and is activated
within 24 hours. Melamine panels
with Safe Surface coating address
the increasing demand for hygienic
environments.
Kastamonu Entegre was awarded the
TSE-approved “Food-Grade” certificate
for its GlossmaxPro, MattPlus, Medelam
and Teknolam panel products.
Early this year, the company
introduced the Vision 2022 panel
collection. The collection comes
in 12 new decorations including
shades of wood, fantasy designs
and solid colours to add different
styles and eras of colours to different
environments, from walls to
furniture.
Welcoming 2022 with new product
lines, Kastamonu Entegre introduced
the Prime collection in its laminate
flooring range, which breathes new
life into the environment with its
new impact surface and joints on all
four sides. The hygienic flooring is
manufactured in an environmentally
friendly manner, according to the
company. Inspired by the world’s
most spectacular bridges, the eight
different decorations of Prime bring
a fresh and spacious look to the
indoors, including homes, offices
and stores. P
The Vision 2022
panel collection
comes in 12
new decorations
for different
environments, from
walls to furniture
32 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

NEWS
Panels & Furniture Asia | March / April 2022 33

PANEL MANUFACTURING
Improvements to
productivity through
log x-ray technology
With the help of log x-ray technology, it is possible to get less
waste and more profit with a constant quality. Behind the log
measurement systems produced by Finnish company Finnos,
there is an artificial intelligence that combines the data
acquired from the measuring devices.
WHAT IS LOG X-RAY SCANNING?
Scanning is about log x-ray technology. In
short, it is a scanning instrument system
to be installed at a sawmill. Finnos, a
Finnish company specialising in log x-ray
scanning, develops scanning technology
and provides the service globally. The
log x-ray service includes technology
design, device manufacture, software
development and end-user support.
Log x-ray technology includes software
that analyses scanned data and
integrates with production controls and
other information systems. The system
includes 3D and x-ray modules that can
be installed in stages or simultaneously.
For example, the Fusion log scanner
system combines laser and x-ray
measurement technologies into one
compact device.
The log and board measurement
systems use artificial intelligence
34 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

PANEL MANUFACTURING
(AI) technology. With AI, Finnos
developed a software in which,
with the help of defect detection
and image processing, has been
programmed to detect various
defects, such as knots, from logs that
affect the sawing and quality of the
log.
Finnos’s strategy is to develop
measuring equipment to support the
entire sawmill process. At its best,
the set of measuring equipment
and software serves as a source of
information and the ideal place for
the user to see how the whole sawmill
process is doing in real time.
It is important to get different
scanners to communicate with
each other. In log x-rays and board
scanners, measurement accuracy is
especially valued.
WHERE CAN THIS BE USED?
Scanning technology has long been
a well-known method in Europe. The
measurement systems were originally
designed for log sorting to scanning
logs. In addition, the scanners are
utilised on saw lines. The installation
of the measuring equipment is
typically adapted locally to the needs
of the sawmill.
In Finland, log x-ray technology has
been developed for a long time.
The developers of these systems at
Finnos understand where scanning
at the sawmill is used and can ensure
the best possible outcome from the
customer’s perspective. As described
by Jyri Smagin, CSO of Finnos: “The
engineers have not closed into the
booth to think about the features of
the device, but the design started
to meet the practical needs of the
customer.”
An example is Finnos’s Optimiser
system, which optimises the
positioning and orientation of logs
and rotates them to the correct
position. The rotation utilises the
internal quality and geometry of
the log. Combining software and
measurement system enables the
use of fingerprint technology which
can be used for identifying and
removing production bottlenecks
and making the sawmill’s processes
more efficient.
In addition to logs and saw lines,
the x-ray equipment is also suited
for scanning wood raw material at
pulp and paper mills. The pulp and
energy industry will benefit from
the woodchip analyser. The system
is based on several measurement
technologies offering an alternative
to traditional methods that require
sampling. The system is an innovative
approach to improve energy
production and pulp manufacturing.
Precision measurement technology is
also utilised in the plywood industry.
Finnos has developed a system
that enables bucking optimisation
for plywood industry needs, also
considering the volume of the
produced log. This system is modular
and expandable, for instance,
with x-ray technology to adapt to
developing needs.
BENEFITS OF SCANNING
From the point of view of cost and
efficiency, it is fundamental that
the sawmill gets the right sorting
result for the logs that arrives at
the sawmill. It is therefore worth
scanning logs as a raw material.
Scanning technology has been
developed to improve operational
efficiency and profitability. Log x-ray
solutions can ensure an increase
in efficiency when compared to
traditional technology. The payback
period for investment, even for
smaller mills, will be short when
scanning technology is deployed.
It is important that the information
generated by the scanner allows
payment to be paid on a quality basis.
Fair compensation for a forest owner
who sells logs is in the interests of
both parties and supports profitable
long-term customer relationships.
With the use of measurement
technology, the production of a
sawmill can be controlled against the
order backlog optimally. In terms of
efficiency and capacity, this helps to
develop operations without slowing
down or costly downtime.
From the employee’s point of view,
the advantage is a more pleasant and
functional work environment at log
sorting. The faster and more efficient
the support from supplier to operator,
the better operators will be in solving
problems and preventing wastage or
production interruptions. P
1
2
Legend
1 AI is used to scan
for defects in logs,
such as knots
2 Finnos’s Optimiser
system
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 35

PANEL MANUFACTURING
The one-sided liquid
extruder gluing: A gluesaving
solution by Raute
Plywood lay-up is a crucial process in plywood
production, which is often reflected in the
final quality of the end panel. It can also be
one of the most expensive steps in plywood
production, especially with the increase in
glue prices.
A profitable production awaits if glue usage
and veneer handling in plywood production
is managed well. It is, however, easier said
than done. Producers often find themselves
spending vast amounts of money to buy
more glue when they do not need to. For
instance, the cost of glue wastage can go up
to US$500,000 a year for a mill with an annual
production of 60,000m 3 .
As such, Raute developed a one-sided liquid
extruder gluing (LEG) solution that eliminates
veneer setting prior to gluing and lay-up, thus
saving labour hours and reducing the risk of
recovery loss due to excessive manual veneer
handling.
TECHNOLOGY TO CURB GLUE WASTAGE,
VENEER BREAKAGES AND LABOUR COST
All Raute Plywood Lay-up lines use a technology
that utilises a one-sided LEG method to spread
glue evenly and accurately on veneers, ensuring
gentle veneer handling and optimal glue usage.
According to Raute, the one-sided LEG solution
results in an average of 20% glue savings
compared to conventional roller spreaders
by evenly and accurately spreading the glue.
A maximum of two operators are required to
operate the entire lay-up line, and no veneer
setting is required.
The one-sided LEG solution is reportedly
compatible with any wood species, veneer
thicknesses or grain directions, and it enables
36 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

PANEL MANUFACTURING
easy plywood construction set-up in
the control panel human machine
interface (HMI), suited for any product
mix requirements. It is also composed
veneer friendly.
1 2
With up to doubled capacity of roller
spreader, it has high capacity and the
automatic veneer feeding increases
productivity and capacity compared
to manual handling. Minimal
mechanical contact is required with
the glue applicator, thus reducing the
risk of breakage, especially with wavy
and brittle veneers. Additionally, it
reduces manual veneer handling and
risks of breakage by operators.
The one-sided LEG solution also has
easy visual quality control with onesided
gluing. Veneers with thickness
variation and roughness use the same
glue spread, thus reducing the risk of
panel delamination.
2
Last year, Raute has sold 10 units of
Plywood Lay-up Lines around the
world and more orders are in the
pipeline. P
Legend
1 The one-sided LEG technology can be
found in all Raute Plywood Lay-up Lines
2 Plywood lay-up is a crucial process in
plywood production
3 Even glue spread on veneers which
results in an average of 20% in glue
savings
4 Easy operational control and monitoring
with integrated HMI on the Plywood
Lay-up lines
3 4
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 37

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
Sixty years of
edgebanding quality
Furniture manufacturers today are arguably
familiar with HOMAG’s EDGETEQ series of
edgebanding machines, but it is the history
of the manufacturer’s innovation that has
helped accelerate the group’s reputation as
a specialist in this segment. This year, as
HOMAG celebrates 60 years of edgebanding
excellence, witness how their edgebanding
technology has evolved and improved in
breadth, complexity and performance.
Sixty years ago, HOMAG launched its
first throughfeed edgebanding machine
using the hot-cold application process.
The machine was well received by the
industry, and what followed over the
years was a series of innovations and
further developments.
HITTING MILESTONES FROM THE
BEGINNING
In 1962, two years after the company
was founded, HOMAG registered a
patent for what was reportedly the
first automatic edgebanding machine,
the KH 2/18, a series machine with a
veneer strip magazine, gluing unit,
pressure zone and flush trimming
unit. This technology was to become
the starting point for almost all
further developments by HOMAG in
this segment. In the same year, at the
Hanover trade fair, HOMAG launched
a new type of edgebanding machine
that utilised the hot-cold application
process. In comparison to competitors,
this machine allowed edges to be glued
faster and more economically.
From then on, HOMAG concentrated
on the production and further
development of this gluing technology,
and the process was further driven
in particular by an innovative glue
technology: hot-melt glue.
IMA Schelling’s
fully automatic tape
handling system
The laserTec
In 1965, HOMAG launched a doublesided
edgebanding machine with a
new base frame- and width-adjustment
device. Two years later, they developed
the first single-sided edgebanding
machine: the KH 12.
Another milestone in furniture
production was reached with the KF
series, as it was the first combined
sizing and edgebanding machine, as
claimed by HOMAG. The KF 60 also
38 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
incorporated snipping and sanding
units in addition to edgebanding
and flush trimming. Today, up to 15
units are installed on these types of
machines, allowing workpieces to be
processed in a way that makes them
ready for installation.
To offer smaller furniture companies a
suitable edgebanding machine, HOMAG
launched the KH 10-13 series in 1973.
These machines were offered with two
different gluing stations to allow coil
material, solid edges and pre-coated
edges to be processed.
1
Legend
1 HOMAG’s firstever
edgebanding
machine for
the hot-cold
application
process
2 The KF 60
3 The powerLine
series
4 The Ambition
series
At the 1975 LIGNA trade fair, HOMAG
presented the cold-glue activation
process to the industry for the first time
— a technology for edge gluing using
polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) glue.
The following year, a majority stake
was acquired in Heinrich Brandt, later
BRANDT. This move strengthened
HOMAG’s position in the woodworking
sector.
2
In 1982, a new generation of
edgebanding machines, the KL 70, was
shown at a trade fair for woodcraft
in Munich, Germany. Fundamental
innovations in construction, versatility
and work safety were implemented
in these machines, particularly
the mechanical air-supported chip
removal, which was integrated into
the stand and reduced required
suction power by 70%. The machine
was further developed to become, for
example, the KL 70 Optimat in 1995.
3
In 1999, HOMAG launched its
powerLine series, a range of doublesided
machines designed for series
production. According to HOMAG, they
offered a 50% increase in performance
at just 30% additional cost, achieved
with higher feed speeds, shorter gaps
and changeover times, and longer
availability.
Small series production and individual
production became more and more
important in the following years.
4
In 2001, HOMAG presented a new
automated generation of the powerLine
series for batch-size-one production.
In 2004, HOMAG responded to the
growing use of lightweight panels and
began offering machines and systems
not only for the production but also for
the further processing and edging of
these panels.
HOMAG was again able to celebrate a
world premiere at LIGNA 2009, through
the launch of the Ambition series of
edgebanding machines in the form of
six series from BRANDT and HOMAG.
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 39

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
1
2
2016, the airTec unit has been available
with a rotation air heater, making it
quieter and more powerful. In 2017,
the process was established in door
production, allowing the manufacturing
of optical zero joints with ABS or PP edge
material.
THE EDGETEQ ERA
After the consolidation of HOMAG Group
and its companies in 2017 into a single
HOMAG brand, the group launched a
whole series of new machine generations
that covered the entire process chain
and combined new functional designs.
From then on, HOMAG’s edgebanding
machines bore the name EDGETEQ and
the technology has continued to develop
to meet changing market needs.
The entry-level EDGETEQ S-200 machine,
model 1130 FC, was launched in 2018,
followed by the new EDGETEQ S-500
and EDGETEQ S-800 series. In 2021, the
company kept up with the market shift
toward autonomous and automated
production systems by introducing
two cell solutions with edgebanding
machines: an EDGETEQ S-380 with
LOOPTEQ O-300 return conveyor, ideal for
the production of construction elements,
and an EDGETEQ S-500 with LOOPTEQ
O-600 return conveyor and a new
workpiece infeed system for workpieces
requiring a particular sizing accuracy.
Legend
1 The EDGETEQ S-200
2 The
woodCommander
5 with Edge Data
Plugin on the
EDGETEQ S-500
edgebanding
machines
3 Ashton Chan
from Sen Wan
Group, testifying
to HOMAG’s
edgebanding
machine’s quality
4 Dongsheng Cabinets
& Wardrobes uses
HOMAG’s EDGETEQ
S-500
The basic version of the series covered
over 90% of all applications required in
woodworking factories, and in 2014, the
next generation of the Ambition series
followed, featuring new unit technology
and models in various performance
classes.
A NEW AGE IN EDGE PROCESSING
The introduction of the laserTec process
in 2009 heralded a new age in edge
application. Using a laser beam to melt
the surface to be glued and then pressing
it directly onto the workpiece, the
laserTec process ensured a consistently
high processing quality with almost no
joints. It could also process all standard
edge types, including polyvinyl chloride
(PVC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
(ABS), polypropylene (PP), polymethyl
methacrylate (PMMA), veneer and
melamine. Introduced in 2017, the
laserTec Next Generation was available in
two performance classes and offered the
industry zero-joint edge quality in both
batch-size-one and series production.
In 2013, airTec was launched for the
processing of invisible joints using
hot air, for special edges with both
decorative and functional layers. Melted
at a constant temperature and volume
flow, the functional layer can be securely
connected to narrow surfaces. Since
To be at the forefront of further
digitalising manufacturing in
woodworking, HOMAG has emphasised
ensuring that software and machinery
are integrated for better data generation,
management and utilisation, as well as
diagnostic capabilities.
The current milestone in the software
sector for the EDGETEQ was marked
in 2022 by woodCommander 5 with
Edge Data Plugin on the EDGETEQ
S-500 edgebanding machines. This
enables quick selection of processing
programmes and edge materials, as
well as the recording of production
parameters and the workpiece-oriented
creation of machine programmes. In
addition, it forms the direct connection
40 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
between the machine and the materialAssist
application, which manages the edging
material.
PARTNERING GROWTH IN THE INDUSTRY
In edge processing, the range of services offered
by HOMAG today extends from individual
machines in the entry-level, medium- or
high-end segment, through the engineering
and installation of complex production lines
and systems, to complete industry solutions,
including consulting and software. With this
machine and service range, the group continues
to offer a product range with customer benefits.
Meicha Furniture, a Taiwanese do-it-yourself
furniture manufacturing company since 1973,
has been using the same HOMAG edgebanding
machine acquired in 1987 to create its softforming
edges, alongside newer units.
“We are impressed by the quality, durability
and stability of HOMAG’s machines. As a trusted
brand, HOMAG is always the first we consult
whenever we have needs for edgebanding
machines,” said Bing Chen, factory manager at
Meicha.
Meicha Furniture has since acquired other
HOMAG models over the years, including
the EDGETEQ D-610, EDGETEQ S-500 and
TENONTEQ D-500, among others, to optimise
production and increase efficiency for their
larger honeycomb panels.
“The high-quality edgebanding machines,
combined with our special panels, increase
our productivity and give us high-quality
edges that are recognised, appraised and
trusted by customers worldwide — even by
our European customers who have many
more options in their region,” added Chen.
“We would like to emphasise the smooth
production and high productivity for serial
or small-batch production, especially larger
honeycomb panels; high quality and precision
can be achieved thanks to the double-sided
edgebander.”
Singapore-based Sen Wan Group, a plywood
and wood panel supplier, echoed HOMAG’s
consistency in producing high-quality edging
amid a high production volume of 1,000 parts
per shift for furniture parts and 3,000 boards
per shift for lamination.
“Because we deal with all types of plywood
surfaces, one of the most important features
of HOMAG’s edgebanding machines is the
automated calibration to suit each batch of
incoming materials,” explained Ashton Chan,
group executive director of Sen Wan Group.
“Even if you have 100 very skilled carpenters
to do edging, typically there would still be
inconsistent quality and all of them would
need to know how to manually calibrate
the machine according to the material,”
continued Claudia Eio, director of innovation
at Sen Wan Group. “HOMAG’s machine
calibration is automated and saves time and
skilled manpower. It allows production to be
seamless, saves a lot of time and increases the
consistency of the quality.”
Besides the high-quality edgebanding process
offered by the HOMAG KDF 110 and HOMAG
KDF 650 edgebanding machines purchased in
3 4
2016, Sen Wan has also experienced optimal
after-sales service from the HOMAG team.
“For so many years, we have never felt that if
something goes wrong with production or the
machine, we would be left in the lurch. Once,
there was a software system issue that needed
attention and the engineers were even able
to connect to the machine from Germany to
conduct diagnostics and resolve the issue on
the spot,” commented Chan.
For Dongsheng Cabinets & Wardrobes in
Taiwan, which retails systems furniture
for residential homes, the EDGETEQ S-500
edgebanding machines purchased in 2018
and 2021 are stable, straightforward and userfriendly.
They are also flexible and adaptable,
producing high-quality edges to meet the
diverse and changing demands of customers.
“With increasing levels of demand and
sophistication, customers are starting to pay
attention to details such as perfect edges
and drilling. With more demand comes more
choices, ultimately giving consumers better
ability to select only the best among a wide
variety of options,” expressed Lo Yu-Ming,
owner of Dongsheng Cabinets & Wardrobes.
“The highly stable and high-yield HOMAG
machines produce these quality parts and
furniture that build trust and confidence
among end-users.”
HOMAG declared that it will continue to be
a partner to manufacturers of all sizes as
the industry progresses and evolves to meet
ever-growing customer needs and quality
demands. P
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 41

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
Planning
and automating
window and door
systems production
in construction. Consequently,
insulating window systems made
of the renewable, sustainable
frame material wood are becoming
increasingly popular.
Weather extremes are reportedly
occurring more frequently, which is
why demands on window systems
are increasing. In the future, futureoriented
window and door systems
will have to fulfil the highest technical
properties, such as resistance to wind
load, impermeability to driving rain,
air permeability or optimal thermal
values — all these with the highest
ease of use, maximum safety and long
material durability.
ProfilCut Q tool
family by Leitz
Hardly any other sector within
the wood and plastics processing
industries is currently exposed to
such strong changes as the window
and door sector. The market for
construction elements has grown
with the increasing construction
boom in recent years, and the
demand for window and door
systems remains high. However, a
variety of factors, such as advancing
climate change, the increased use of
natural resources, rising construction
costs, security concerns, design
trends and functionality are
impacting the demands that end
consumers are making on their
future living space. But what is the
benefit of a building built according
to the most modern aspects if the
windows or doors available on the
market are not as modern?
Two main trends are apparent
here and thus set the trend that
manufacturing companies will
have to take into account in the
future with regard to their product
range:
CLIMATE PROTECTION
The goal of replacing fossil fuels,
reducing energy consumption
at home and increasing the
use of natural raw materials
have particularly important
roles to windows and doors
COMPACT AND COMFORTABLE
LIVING SPACE
The trend towards space-saving
construction can currently be seen
all over the world. Reasons for this
trend are manifold: rising land
and building costs, population
concentration, alternative life
planning or the low availability
of building materials. The fact is,
however, the minimised use of space
simultaneously places demands
on the functionality of windows
and doors. For example, systems
that do not additionally restrict the
limited living space are required;
variable and flexible window and
door systems, designed as sliding
elements or as outward-opening
constructions, or systems with
large glass clearances are not only
popular for this trend.
Increasingly, window and door
manufacturers are asking themselves
how expectations of the market
can be translated into suitable
products and, even more importantly,
into entrepreneurially successful
production concepts. Apart from
financial risks, it is primarily economic
framework conditions, such as the
situation on the labour market or
scarce material resources, that make
the path to change difficult to identify
and challenging for people.
42 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
SOLUTION APPROACH 2:
AUTOMATION
The many different requirements
for windows and doors can result
in quite a large number of different
systems. Implementing these
successfully and economically
within a production process is a
challenge, especially with smaller
batch sizes. The key to success in
this regard is provided by highperformance
machine concepts
with a high degree of automation.
The performance and production
capacity of companies are thus
ensured for years to come and
processes become leaner or less
personnel-intensive. In times of
shortage of skilled workers, this
can be a competitive advantage for
manufacturing companies.
However, such modern machine
concepts also require tools to
ensure a highly efficient overall
package. After all, it is the tool
that contributes to the efficiency
of the machine on the material.
Therefore, the more powerful
the tool, the higher the economic
success. Leitz provides the
solution in this area with its
ProfilCut Q system series — it
is not only a fast tool system in
terms of productivity, resource
conservation and sustainability
were also taken into account
during development. For example,
the tools are equipped with
specially coated knives that keep
cutting-material wear as low
as possible and extend the tool
lifespan. With the ProfilCut Q PLUS
and ProfilCut Q Diamond systems,
Leitz also provides re-sharpenable,
constant-diameter and constantprofile
tools that make tool
changes even more cost- and
Climate protection through sustainable and environmentally conscious building, such
as highly insulating window and door systems made from sustainable raw materials
SOLUTION APPROACH 1:
WINDOW SYSTEM SOLUTION
Raw material, cost and price
developments, skilled labour,
control technology, and machine
and tool technologies represent
factors that influence a production
plant. However, if several factors
come into action at the same time,
for example in a product portfolio
change, entrepreneurial success
will be at risk. One approach to
a solution is therefore the use
of tested systems. In the course
of their development, all these
factors have already been taken
into account and, with a view to
the long-term development of
construction trends, such products
last longer on the market.
For example, to take into
account the rising prices of raw
materials and ensure sustainable,
cost-secure production, it is a
question of the raw material
for the customer product — the
window and door systems on one
hand, and the materials required
to manufacture it on the other.
Systems that allow for small face
widths and thus manage with
small material dimensions, such
as the ClimaTrend Style window
system from Leitz, therefore offer
advantages. In addition, this
system meets requirements such as
high burglar resistance, maximum
insulation and impermeability.
ClimaTrend Style can be produced
in various construction depths and
as a timber and timber-aluminium
system. Its modular design — the
same basic profiles are used for
timber and timber-aluminium
constructions — ensures more
efficiency and thus less time and
costs in production.
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 43

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
time-saving. Leitz also provides a
range of coated solid carbide drills and
routers which are also characterised by
durability and ideal machining quality.
SOLUTION APPROACH 3: PLANNING
When investing in modern production,
the concrete planning of the products
to be manufactured is often completely
underestimated. Questions such as
“Who are my customers and what are
their requirements?” are asked, but
some producers ignore the fact that
this also includes the definition of
the profile systems required in each
case, including determining which are
the main systems and which window
systems are needed to complement the
programme. In addition, the concrete
sections including the presentation of
all required profile variants must be
planned and considered. Confusion
and questions then arise about the
frequency of these variants. The
principle “less is more” should come
into use here, but how much less and
more makes sense in the end may
overwhelm planners again.
Planning as precisely as possible will
help personnel rarely experience
the unpleasant surprises during
implementation and commissioning
that cost time, nerves and additional
money. Since in the rarest of cases there
is an expert for mechanical engineering,
software, tool technology and process
engineering in every company, it
makes sense to work together with
partners. Ideally, these should have a
corresponding professional network
from all production-relevant areas
and also have knowledge about the
interaction of all functional areas. These
networks of experienced partners can
ensure joint project success and troublefree
implementation of new production
systems. Delays or even production
downtimes can result in economic or
even existential problems.
Leitz, with its network of technical
consultants and years of international
know-how, provides support in
such decisive pre-project phases.
Another cornerstone of Leitz’s
consulting specialty is the exchange
with suppliers from the window
and door industry, such as machine
manufacturers, software houses, system
houses or fittings, seals and lacquer
manufacturers. In addition, reliability is
important not only during the project
phase, but also afterwards, and Leitz
can provide a network of technical
consultants and manufacturer-quality
service.
Ensuring the long-term success of a
company is therefore based on the
choice of future-proof window and door
systems in the product portfolio, and
on cost-effective production, even with
small batch sizes, which can be achieved
through automation. P
Images: Leitz
ClimaTrend Style
from Leitz
44 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
The change process:
From traditional
methods to automation
Automating the manufacturing process
and adapting to new technology are no
easy tasks, and there is no best time to
make the change.
However, for furniture manufacturer
Globexo to remain competitive, they
knew they needed to make a change
and invest in automation.
“Every end of the year, we will face
a hard time on clearing orders,”
a spokesperson from Globexo
said. “We were over-relying on the
human power.” This is not caused by
transportation or busy traffic on the
streets. The workers work hard but
are inefficient, causing high wastage
on material usage, missing parts,
incomplete operation on parts, missed
handling of the material and wrong
size cutting. It has cost Globexo not
just the money, but also time and
reputation.
1
The company then made the
decision after attending a Cabinet
Vision presentation, declaring that
Cabinet Vision will “revolutionise”
their business. Two weeks after the
completion of Cabinet Vision training
with products libraries and databases,
they started cutting cabinets parts that
includes borings and grooves using
a computer numerical control (CNC)
nesting machine that was powered by
Cabinet Vision and S2M. They followed
the workflow provided by Cabinet
Vision, simplified the process, and
increased productivity.
“Cabinet Vision SEA (CVSEA) provides
us with a complete solution. We have
2
not just learnt software, but also the
knowledge of the machinery and
tools,” the spokesperson added.
CVSEA will analyse the suitability
of the machine and tools to avoid
spending extra costs on the wrong
machine and tools.
Cabinet Vision provides users with
a fully modular software package
that allows users to go from design
to manufacturing in moments,
with the flexibility to make changes
to meet customers’ demands
today without causing production
nightmares as it automatically
updates the manufacturing
operations as a design is modified.
Using a flexible system, a business
can adapt to new technology, offering
greater options for customers while
reducing the labour requirement
in the factory and office through
automation, which has become
important during the COVID-19
pandemic. P
Legend
1 CNC machines
powered by
Cabinet Vision
and S2M software
2 Cabinet Vision
provides users
with a modular
software package
that allows
them to go from
furniture design to
manufacturing in
moments
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 45

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
A one-stop
purchasing
and intelligent
production solution
FinDesign
software can be
used for wholehouse
furniture
customisation
Through the digital transformation
of custom furniture manufacturers,
informatisation is combined with
lean production to help enterprises
lower costs and increase efficiency
with current conditions. This
involves two key factors: software
and hardware. With regards to the
software, it is necessary to establish
an order connection hub between the
enterprise stores and the factory by
integrating software and hardware
resources and optimising configuration
and production management. A
complete closed-loop from sales to
production can be formed through
close cooperation with an enterprise
management system. First, the
sales places the order received by
the factory; second, the factory
makes production schedule and
order splitting and arranges process
management, production and
warehousing till on-site installation
for customers. Based on the “device
and software, online and offline”
production and marketing model,
allocation of resources can be
optimised and information silos
can be broken down. The hardware
devices can be flexibly connected to
enterprises’ production management
systems through the computer, so that
enterprises can realise digitisation,
intelligent code scanning and
processing, and conduct man-machine
integration to achieve intelligent
production, thus maximising
production capacity under limited
conditions.
Nanxing Machinery and FinChinaSoft,
a provider of automation products,
have cooperated to provide custom
furniture enterprises with a one-stop
intelligent production solution for
service chain aspects in terms of
software and hardware, including
design and order splitting,
production, quality checking (QC),
logistics, installation and after-sale
services.
DESIGN SOFTWARE PROCESS:
FINDESIGN SOFTWARE
Used by over 700 factories for 12 years,
FinDesign Software is a design and
order splitting software developed
by FinChinaSoft that integrates
scenario design and cupboard design,
supporting 3D scheme design and
connecting the front- and rear-ends
together. The cloud-sharing product,
house-type and product libraries can
be used for fast design and the do-ityourself
(DIY) method for professional
design. After design, orders will be split
automatically, and product drawing,
quotation and production data will
be generated with one click — which,
after the manufacturing execution
system (MES) and advanced planning
and scheduling (APS) orders are
scheduled, will be transmitted to all
devices. Subsequently, the generated
processing data will be printed on
label stickers by the production line
to automatically label the boards
before cutting. The labels of each
board can facilitate the subsequent
procedure in which the codes will
be scanned automatically to acquire
the corresponding data for board
processing.
Taking Nanxing devices as an example,
customers can perform automatic
labelling, feeding, top drilling, slotting
and board cutting on the doublegantry
NCG3021L-PLUS production
line. After which, codes of labelled
boards will be scanned by the
NB7PCGM-PC edgebander. The edge
tapes and glue colours will be changed
automatically before edgebanding.
After edgebanding, codes will be
scanned at the CNC six-sided drilling
or the side drilling and dowel insertion
NDC011D1, and processing data will be
acquired according to the information
on the boards for drilling.
46 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
According to Nanxing, FinDesign
Software has been used in wholehouse
furniture customisation,
production of cupboards and
bathrooms, office, recreational vehicle
and yacht furniture, and engineering
original equipment manufacturer
(OEM), among others.
ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
SOFTWARE
The enterprise management
system software includes order
management system (OMS), APS,
MES, and warehouse management
system (WMS), all of which can help
enterprises realise informatisation
management in the customer order,
raw material management, material
planning, production scheduling,
order schedule follow-up, product
delivery and installation. This achieves
cost reduction, improves production
and management efficiency, and
lowers the error rate.
FinChinaSoft OMS can help home
furnishing enterprises to build
an order management platform
and realise the informatisation
management in-store customer
management, order process approval,
progress inquiry and decision
analysis. Orders can be visible, placed
in diverse manners and connected
to other front-end design software,
supporting multi-factory management
and automatic quotation, as well as a
status query from the mobile terminal.
resources using intelligent algorithms.
This can improve the production
efficiency, and complete the kit rate of
orders and utilisation rate of boards.
FinChinaSoft MES provides workshop
tasks allocation, production
optimisation, production dispatch,
production monitoring, order
sorting and packaging functions.
It enables all stages of production
to be interconnected smoothly for
accurate delivery of the information
and efficient real-time control
of workshop production, thus
meeting requirements for product
management, QC, device integration
and management, problem tracking
and analysis, and real-time data
acquisition in the production
workshop. It also helps managers to
implement integrated management
during all processes and for every
staff in the workshop. Therefore, the
workshop production can be managed
in a more efficient and real-time
manner.
Combining the features of the custom
furniture industry, FinChinaSoft WMS
provides a warehouse management
function for raw material and
finished product warehouses for the
fine management of warehouses.
In addition, it can provide the
warehousing department with
real-time and accurate management
support by making close cooperation
with the production department,
making warehouse management
easier, more accurate and more
efficient.
With Nanxing Machinery and
FinChinaSoft’s one-stop solutions,
furniture enterprises can therefore
respond to the market needs
more quickly and efficiently,
thus enhancing their overall
competitiveness. Solutions from
design and order splitting software,
and enterprise management systems
to intelligent production lines are
cost-effective choices for furniture
enterprises to upgrade from standalone
production or simple automatic
production lines to intelligent
production so that they can maximise
the production capacity under
limited conditions. P
The process from
FinDesign software
to production
FinChinaSoft APS provides advanced
scheduling and advanced production
scheduling functions. It can
automatically generate relatively
optimised scheduling schemes and
production batch schemes during
the production process with multiple
tasks and numerous restraints, in
combination with the enterprises’
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 47

MATERIALS
Understanding
finishing materials
for interior door
and moulding
of the door industry — an optimised
system with an attractive costperformance
ratio.
Unfinished wood doors should
not be left exposed to the natural
elements but preserved and
protected to last longer. All
surfaces should be finished using
one or a combination of wood
coatings to provide the desirable
characteristics and performance,
including but not limited to
enhancing the appearance and
increasing resistance to moisture
and other environmental agents.
Stained surfaces
can be sealed and
top-coated in various
ways, with different
coatings and
systems
Doors have been an essential
component for all buildings, with
the primary function of providing
privacy or security, and also
providing insulation, soundproofing
and in some instances fire-retardant
purposes. Apart from selecting the
preferred interior door for its desired
function, the type, design and
durable finishing on the door are also
equally important. Timber used for
wooden doors has remained popular
over the years as it can complement
any interior style of décor, with each
wooden door coming in its natural
colour and grains. No two pieces of
wood are alike, and this results in a
beautiful, natural-looking door that
is suited for different functions and
locations.
Teknos has shared some pointers
and examples to help door
manufacturers, buyers and
end customers have a deeper
understanding of the finishing
materials and finished wooden door
products to ensure their durability
and performance. A good coating
system forms a foundation for
final lacquering that satisfies the
technical and physical requirements
Waterborne coating for primed
doors is a good choice for those
concerned about the environment
due to its low or zero volatile
organic compound (VOC) content.
It is an optimal foundation for
finishing coats on wood, mediumdensity
fibreboard (MDF), highdensity
fibreboard (HDF) or
plywood. Easily top-coated with
other waterborne, ultraviolet (UV)
and/or solvent finishes, good
adhesion and waterborne primer
sands with minimum effort,
without clogging the sandpaper.
The waterborne coating system
is used for primed flat doors,
particularly with waterborne
putty or filler (if necessary and
depending on the surface and type
of substrate), waterborne primer,
waterborne basecoat or sealer, and
finally waterborne topcoat. The
system is also for primed profiled
or textured doors with waterborne
primer.
The UV coating on the other hand
is a surface treatment that either
48 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

MATERIALS
is cured by UV radiation or has much
higher chemical resistance. There are
three options: 100% UV, Hydro-UV, and
Solvent-UV.
A combination of UV and waterborne
coatings is also possible — a hybrid
coating system to suit the application
and finishing requirements. However,
the application method is dependent
on the substrate used, the desired
finished quality and the production rate
that finishing must be able to achieve.
The application of 100% UV coating
is also easier, requiring less time with
immediate curing at the production
line, and eliminating labour monitoring
as well as application problems due
to evaporation of the viscosity control
chemicals used in waterborne or
solvent-based coatings.
Whether it is a transparent or opaque
door finishing is largely a matter of taste
or a question of style and appearance.
People often want to use a translucent
finish to retain the solid timber feel of
a door, and opaque colours in white to
achieve a contemporary appearance.
Pigmented wood finishes are available
in a variety of formulations and colour
options, including full-hiding opaque
colours. Waterborne filler or primer can
be matched to any colour either by a
master colour sample or international
colour charts like RAL, NCS or Pantone
colour spectrum. Then, a clear sealer
and topcoat are applied to finish the
coating system. Again, these can be
either used with waterborne or UV
coatings.
When the door’s natural colour
does not match the other colours or
wood tones in a home, staining can
change the colour while also helping
to enhance the natural colour of the
wood by highlighting different grains
and textures. Compared to oil-based
stains, waterborne stains have less
odour, dry faster, require only soap
and water for cleaning, and come in a
wider range of vibrant stain colours.
The stained surface can be sealed and
APPLICATION RECOMMENDATION
(Pigmented white door)
3
UV Sandable Sealer
2
WB Filler
1
WB Filler
5
WB Basecoat
4
WB Basecoat
Primed hybrid system by industrial
roller application on MDF
top-coated in various ways with
different coatings and systems.
Roller coating and spraying are
the most common application
methods. However, vacuum coating
is also becoming a popular method,
applying single-colour waterborne
and UV coatings to linear materials
such as wood mouldings, skirting
boards, architraves, and door frames.
Vacuum coaters are like a black
box and the substrate can be a flat
surface or 3D shape, a system that
was installed, including a UV-curing
oven, such as a multiple-UV-lampcuring
chamber.
Substrates are conveyed through
an application chamber where the
coating in vapour form is physically
deposited in layers onto the solid
surface. It can coat all sides of a
substrate at a uniform film thickness,
around 0.8-4mm, at high speeds
for high production needs. Uniform
film thickness is achieved as the
substrates exit, the vacuum strips the
coating off to the desired thickness
by using a template or profile of the
substrate on the inlet and outlet
sides of the vacuum coater. The
template is designed such that
APPLICATION RECOMMENDATION
(Clear coated door)
3
UV Sealer
2
UV Sealer
1
UV Filler
the tolerance between the substrate
and the template is less than 0.125
inches. This gap is used to control the
film thickness. The vacuum serves
to remove excess uncured material
prior to UV exposure. Not only does it
deposit both thick and thin coatings of
materials that cannot be deposited by
other means, but it also does so at a low
temperature and with little atmospheric
or water pollution. Most importantly,
vacuum coating allows for large
quantities of wood to be processed in a
small amount of time, while freeing up
resources for other important tasks.
Performance may be an important
aspect of specifying wood doors where
use is heavy and frequent, moderate
or low, which then requires different
performance standards.
Unlike floors, there are no dedicated
test standards and methods for
wood door finishes. Everyone might
be using different performance
specifications and care must be taken
when evaluating these products.
Therefore, standards and regulatory
considerations may not be clear but
there are exceptions such as the
performance and durability of door
finishing. P
5
4
UV Topcoat Transparent
Full UV system by industrial roller
application on veneer surface
Extra heavy duty Heavy duty Standard duty
Classroom Big office – interior passage Wardrobe or closet
Public restroom Hotel room entry Private bathroom
Gymnasium room or locker Condominium or apartment entry Small, low usage office
Table listing examples of different frequencies of using doors
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 49

RECYCLING
Wood recycling:
From waste to resource
Traditional or modern?
An overview of wood
sorting systems
Waste generation shows to be at a
constant high, and waste wood is no
exception. In Germany, 8 million tonnes
of waste wood are produced every
year 1 . Its primary source is construction,
demolition and municipal solid waste, as
well as the wood processing industry. Of
the 8 million tonnes, about 80% is used
for energy production, whereas despite
the increasing demand for recycled wood
and the high prices of fresh wood, only
20% is processed and recycled to be used
in particleboard production. Given the
current push for more circularity, greater
resource productivity, and the industry’s
quest to operate profitably while meeting
market demands, we should make it
our goal to recover as many recyclable
materials from waste wood as possible
and leave only the lower-grade fractions
for energy production.
With over 15 years of experience
in wood-based solutions and
production, Jose Matas joined
Tomra Recycling as segment
manager in 2021 to advance
the material recycling and
circularity of waste wood for
the panelboard industry. His
international experience with some
of the world’s largest wood-based
producers offers insights into
the challenges and future of the
industry.
Waste wood is very complex in
composition but contains many materials
that, once recovered from the stream, can
be used as secondary raw materials to
manufacture new products, extending the
lifecycle of wood. It consists of processed
wood and non-processed fractions,
the latter of which is of particular
interest for recyclers and particleboard
manufacturers. Non-processed wood
fractions come with the necessary
composition and quality requirements to
be used in the production of high-quality
particleboards, but processed wood also
contains material that plant operators can
flexibly target, recover or remove, such
50 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

RECYCLING
same density as wood go undetected,
like compound wood materials such
as wood chips with nails, coatings, or
metallic pieces. For small plants, air
separators may be a more favourable
option, both economically and due to
fewer maintenance requirements.
Sorting waste
wood by material
type with optical
sorters and
deep learning
technologies
as medium-density fibreboard (MDF),
plywood, oriented-strand board (OSB),
or coated materials.
Recyclers and particleboard
manufacturers can reap numerous
operational benefits when diverting
recyclable wood from waste streams
that would end up being burnt,
therefore reducing atmospheric carbon.
To do so, they require innovative
sorting solutions capable of detecting
impurities of all types and sizes, even
by wood types. High-precision sorting
processes are decisive for the quality
of the end product and the amount of
recycled content new products contain.
The market is saturated with solutions
to separate non-processed wood from
waste. Particleboard manufacturers
and recyclers face the challenge of
finding solutions and equipment that
are suitable for their requirements and
within their capital expenditure budget.
CONVENTIONAL SORTING METHODS
Many particleboard manufacturers
producing at an industrial scale rely on
a multitude of systems to effectively
sort wood — some requiring large-scale
investment and vast amounts of space.
Multiple-stage cleaning systems:
Multiple-stage cleaning systems are
one method to sort the waste wood
after it has been collected and cut into
smaller pieces. With heights reaching
up to 40m, such systems combine
numerous techniques working top-down
and removing contaminants such as
metals, inert material, heavy metals,
and many more from the infeed stream.
While it is possible to process up to
50 metric tonnes of waste wood per
hour, multiple-stage cleaning systems
only remove larger impurity fractions.
To remove the remaining impurities,
operators must often add additional
systems such as air separators or optical
sorters at the end of the processing line
for further purification.
Air separators: Air separators can be
used to clean wood chips using blasts
of air as materials are transported on
a conveyor belt. Lighter wood chips
targeted by the airstream continue
for processing, while heavier fractions
are collected in a separate chamber.
Although a vast number of contaminants
can be removed with air separators, the
level of precision and purity achievable
is limited. Impure materials with the
Water separators: Another solution
processors have tried is using water
separators based on a sink-float
method. Wood chips are fed into
a water tank, where the forces of
gravity cause lighter fractions to float
and heavier materials such as stone,
metals and glass to sink. The lighter
fractions are then transported by a
conveyor belt for further processing.
For small-scale production, this is a
reliable method that requires simple
construction and little maintenance.
It is, however, very limited in
functionality and performance. Like
air separators, the system can only
separate light wood fractions and is
not capable of sorting processed from
non-processed wood materials.
INTELLIGENT SORTING SOLUTIONS
In the face of the current market
demand to manufacture high-quality
particleboards with up to 100%
recycled content, conventional
sorting methods are not up to scale.
Advanced sorting technologies are
needed to remove more impurities
and sort wood chips by type.
Innovative, intelligent sorting systems
are the solution to this challenge and
support operators in their pursuit of
greater efficiencies and better product
qualities.
X-ray technology: To achieve higher
purity levels, the first step is to extract
metals, glass, and inert materials of
all sizes from waste wood. Sorting
units working with x-ray transmission
technology provide an alternative
to multiple-stage cleaning systems
and conventional methods. They
accurately sort materials based on
their atomic density and create a highpurity
pre-sorted wood chip fraction
suitable for further purification.
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 51

RECYCLING
SORTING METHODS CONSTRUCTION MAINTENANCE ENERGY
CONSUMPTION
THROUGHPUT PURITY LEVELS SORTING BY
WOOD TYPE
INVESTMENT
Air Separators Simple Low Middle Limited Low Impossible Low
Water Separators Simple Low Low Limited Low Impossible Low
Multiple-stage
Complex High High High Middle Impossible High
Cleaning Systems
Optical Sorters Simple High Low Middle High Impossible Middle
Deep learning-based
Technologies
Simple Low Low Middle High Possible Middle
X-ray Sorters Simple High Middle High High Impossible Middle
Multiple Technology
Machines
Comparison of different sorting methods
Complex High Middle Limited High Impossible Middle
Optical sorters: Once waste wood is presorted,
optical sorters come into play.
These sorting units use near infrared (NIR)
technology to distinguish materials based
on their spectral information. Combined
with additional technologies, such as colour
sensors and illumination units, optical sorters
can separate wood A and wood B and remove
impurities such as plastics to bring the quality
of recyclable wood to a new level.
Multiple technology machine: Today, there
are machines that combine x-ray and optical
sensor technology that are ideal for small
plants. While all-in-one machines are optimal
for restricted spaces, there is a significant
compromise on throughput and performance
levels.
Optical sorters with deep learning:
Considered a groundbreaking innovation for
previously hard-to-solve sorting tasks, optical
sorters with deep learning technology enable
the separation of different types of wood.
It utilises the power of its artificial neural
networks that hold a pool of object information
based on which the system identifies and sorts
wood by material type, such as non-processed
and processed wood, including MDF.
DEVELOPING THE RIGHT RECIPE
Deep learning technologies are becoming a
decisive element in the entire recycling sector.
To date, this technology is still in its infancy
but provides greater flexibility to waste wood
processors who can go beyond recovering
non-processed wood from processed wood.
Another sorting task that will increasingly gain
importance is the recovery and subsequent
recycling of MDF. The sorting options and
material combinations that deep learning offers
are endless.
Today, an extensive product portfolio of sorting
equipment and technologies already exists
to meet future demands. Operators that use
deep learning technology gain more control
over their sorting tasks and can develop the
ideal recipe for their business. We advise plant
operators to identify their goals and define
the right equipment needs for the respective
application. Together, we weigh the pros
against the cons of the systems available,
including the overall environmental footprint,
which unconditionally impacts the plant’s
Valerio Sama, vice-president and head of product
management, Tomra Recycling
Tomra has provided wood sorting solutions
since 2012. Relying on our speciality and
with an investment of 8% of our revenues
in R&D, we continuously develop and
optimise our wood sorting solutions to
support our partners and customers in
meeting their recycling goals.
sustainability. To close, I encourage the industry
to keep a close eye on the latest innovations
— it is worth considering these technologies
since they are key to increasing profits and
optimising operations.
In the next issue, we will look at the new buzz
and promising technology of deep learning. P
References:
1. German Waste Wood Association.
With today’s dynamic and demanding
market, Tomra have expanded its portfolio
to offer a wood sorting solution to bring
waste wood full circle, particularly with the
X-TRACT sorting system for more than 10
years. X-TRACT is a sorting unit that sorts
materials by their atomic density even at a
high throughput of up to 30 metric tonnes
per hour, regardless of material thickness.
It removes impurities down to 5mm in size,
preparing wood chips for further processing.
While the system excels at creating highpurity
fractions of waste wood for energy
recovery, an additional technology is
required to sort recycled wood materials
by type for the wood-based panel industry.
Therefore, our in-house team of software
engineers and application specialists have
developed our new deep learning-based
application for wood. GAIN, an add-on for
our AUTOSORT units, uses artificial neural
networks trained with thousands of images
to separate non-processed and processed
wood. It also enables plant operators to
define different combinations of materials
they want to sort, giving them more flexibility
and a future-forward solution.
52 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

AMERICAN AMERICAN HARDWOOD
HARDWOOD
Kitchen accessory
Kitchen accessory
Instruments
Instruments
Staircases
Staircases
Furniture
Furniture
Veneer
Veneer
Floorings
Floorings
Wooden toys
Wooden toys
THE MANY USES OF AMERICAN HARDWOOD
THE MANY USES OF AMERICAN HARDWOOD
If you manufacture quality elements in wood, we are the supplier to rely
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Per Friis Knudsen
pfk@globaltimber.dk +60 111 429 7073
pfk@globaltimber.dk +60 111 429 7073
www.asia.globaltimber.net
www.asia.globaltimber.net

FLOORING
Modern wood
is more than
just decoration
By Graham Harvey, global group director, Microban International
LIMITATIONS OF TRADITIONAL
CLEANING
Microbes are tiny living organisms that
are too small to see with the naked
eye, but they can be found all around
us. These unseen co-inhabitants can
multiply very quickly and are often
hard to get rid of, especially in moist
warm environments like kitchens
and bathrooms, or in countries
with naturally high humidity and
temperature. The growth of moulds
and mildews will make surfaces dirty,
creating stains and bad odours, and
reduce the longevity of the products
due to contamination or degradation.
Wood and wood-effect materials —
in the form of furniture, flooring or
panels — are an elegant and versatile
way to accent the home or workplace.
Oak, birch or cherry are just a few of
the many choices that must be made
regarding the interior design, as the
appearance of wood can be achieved
using many different materials ranging
from hardwoods and softwoods to
laminate or even wood-effect luxury
vinyl tiles (LVTs). However, whichever
material is selected, indoor surfaces
can be subject to a whole host of
contaminants as a result of foot traffic,
pets, food residues or cleaning lapses.
This will lead to microbial growth that
can cause odours and staining, as well
as shortening the lifetime of wood
products.
This article discusses the benefits of
built-in antimicrobial technologies for
wood finishes and describes how they
can be used in different materials to
reduce the growth of microbes without
affecting the characteristics of the
product.
Conventional cleaning methods
using disinfectants can only offer a
short-term solution, as they provide
limited residual activity against
microbes, which can grow and build
up again as soon as the surface is
touched or comes in contact with
something dirty. In addition, some
materials are harder to clean than
others. For example, disinfecting
hardwood or engineered wood floors
and furniture is challenging, since
excessive water or harsh cleaning
chemicals can alter the finish. Finding
the right balance between maintaining
a high standard of cleanliness and
reducing the wear caused by vigorous
cleaning is, therefore, an important
goal. However, there is a solution.
Prolonged cleanliness can be achieved
if a product has built-in antimicrobial
chemistries or is treated with a
protective coating to support regular
cleaning protocols.
ENHANCED CLEANLINESS AROUND
THE CLOCK
Antimicrobial additives work 24/7,
interacting with microbial cells that
come into contact with the treated
surface to prevent their reproduction.
This type of technology can be
incorporated into the products at
the manufacturing stage or can be
added in the form of a permanent
coating that adheres to surfaces,
effectively acting as a barrier to
reduce the microbial population.
54 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

FLOORING
Independent of the method, the
antimicrobial properties become
an integral part of the material, and
cannot be washed off or worn away,
making this approach the ideal
complementary solution to cleaning in
household and commercial settings.
However, it is important to remember
that different types of material require
different solutions.
1
Solid hardwood: Even if solid
hardwood floors, panels and furniture
are associated with a high-end finish,
they can still become victims of bacterial
infestation. Disinfecting hardwood is
tricky, as moisture and harsh chemicals
are not recommended. Similarly,
options for built-in product protection
are challenging, as the boards are
made from a natural material. Instead,
a thin urethane top film infused
with antimicrobial properties can be
applied to the surface, adding a layer of
protection without affecting the quality
or appearance of the wood.
2
Engineered wood: Engineered wood
has come a long way in the past
decades, and today it can be hard
to tell apart from the real deal. In
addition, engineered woods can be
more versatile for specific situations,
for example where there is underfloor
heating, or in areas that experience
fluctuations in heat and humidity, such
as conservatories. The other advantage
is price, as this material is usually a
more affordable option compared to the
solid wood counterpart. However, as
the top wear layer is made from natural
wood, the same restrictions for cleaning
solid wood apply. Again, adding an
antimicrobial layer as a coating to the
outer wood surface is an ideal solution
for engineered wood features.
Vinyl sheets: Wood-effect vinyl décor
combines the look of real wood with the
durability, flexibility and water-resistant
features of vinyl. Unfortunately, it can be
particularly susceptible to staining from
the growth of moulds and mildews,
especially as it is often used in areas
that are frequently exposed to spills
3
Legend
1 Laminates are
regularly used
for flooring in
places such
as healthcare,
consumer and
commercial
environments
2 Selecting products
with built-in
antimicrobial
technology
puts builders,
architects and
designers at the
cutting edge of
innovation in
cleaning
3 Excessive water
or harsh cleaning
chemicals can
alter the finish
of wood flooring,
thus antimicrobial
coating is ideal
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 55

FLOORING
and higher humidity, such as kitchens,
bathrooms and laundry rooms.
Antimicrobial chemistries can be
infused into all three layers of the vinyl
sheeting — the foam, vinyl, and surface
topcoat — before extrusion, calendaring
or coating. This will provide long-lasting
product protection and help reduce
microbial growth.
Wood-effect LVTs: LVTs that mimic
wood are a lower-cost alternative
to traditional wood materials while
offering similar durability. However,
spills and dirt can fall through the
seams between tiles, becoming trapped
underneath. Antimicrobial technologies
can be incorporated into both the
surface wear layer and the pre-attached
underlay of LVTs, helping to prevent
staining, odours and premature
degradation caused by the growth of
bacteria, moulds and mildews.
Laminate: Laminates are regularly
used for flooring in places where
hygiene is of utmost importance,
such as healthcare, consumer and
commercial environments. Laminates
are also a popular choice for tiles
and vinyl in homes, and can even
be used for panelling and furniture.
Selecting a laminate with a wood-grain
effect gives the illusion of wood, but
is easier to maintain. Antimicrobial
technologies can be easily and costeffectively
implemented by laminate
manufacturers. High-pressure laminates
(HPLs) are thermosetting materials
that naturally have a certain degree of
resistance to microbial proliferation, but
these properties have a limited lifespan
and will eventually wear off. Permanent
antimicrobial laminate protection can
be introduced into HPL during the final
resin bath of the impregnation process.
The result is a laminate surface that is
protected from microbial growth for
the product’s lifespan, complementing
existing cleaning practices to reduce the
risk of contamination.
SOLID FOUNDATION
Underlay is a key factor for a wood
floor’s finish. It not only improves the
stability of the floor but, in addition,
provides insulation, noise reduction
and moisture protection. Antimicrobial
additives can be added to the underlay
during the manufacturing process,
providing continual protection from
the growth of stain and odour causing
bacteria, moulds and mildews,
prolonging the product’s lifetime.
This protection is important for wood
flooring applications, as premature
degradation of the underlay can only be
fixed by replacing the entire floor.
A FINISHING TOUCH
Selecting an option with built-in
antimicrobial technology offers an ideal
solution when fitting a new floor, or for
creating durable panels and furniture.
However, it is also possible to add
protection to old décor, as antimicrobial
product protection can be added to
surface finishes such as varnishes,
waxes and oils applied during routine
maintenance.
CONCLUSION
Antimicrobial experts can incorporate
product protection into a range of
materials and finishes for a systemic
approach to cleaning. Most importantly,
all of this can be achieved without
affecting the quality, design or finish
of the flooring, panel and furniture,
which have been carefully selected to
fit the practicalities and appearance of
its surroundings. With many consumers
asking for products that are not only
easy to clean but also help to alleviate
anxieties around cleanliness, selecting
products with built-in antimicrobial
technology puts builders, architects
and designers at the cutting edge of
innovation in cleaning. P
Indoor surfaces
can be subject to
a whole host of
contaminants from
foot traffic, pets, food
residues or cleaning
lapses, and thus
need antimicrobial
finishing
56 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
Timber bridge in
Gulou Waterfront
background of local villages on the premise of
preserving the spatial fabrics featuring mounds
and ponds. The resort maintains the form of
the basic local water system while organically
integrating nature education, parent-child
recreation, and fishing and husbandry activities.
Location: Gulou Waterfront,
Jiangmen, Guangdong, China
Client: Jiangmen OCT
Design studio: LUO studio
Design / construction instruction:
Luo Yujie, Lu Zhuojian, Wang Beilei
Structural consulting:
LaLu Structural Consulting
Construction firm: Shenzhen Zhenhui
Architectural Engineering
Wood material suppliers:
Shengtehaosen, Kingspine-House
Photography: Jin Weiqi, LUO studio
Total spatial area: 166m 2
Duration: March 2021 –
January 2022
BACKGROUND: RURAL REVITALISATION
Due to the tidal flat landform, Gulou in
Jiangmen City established the tradition of
making use of the water system to dig ponds
and form mounds for fishing and farming. As
the water system and fish ponds occupy a large
area and form a fragmented spatial pattern in
local villages, many bridges have been built to
connect the areas segmented by water. With
rapid urbanisation in the Guangdong-Hong
Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, many local
villagers have abandoned the traditional fishing
lifestyle in favour of living a more urban life.
For this reason, water villages in which people
make a living by fishing have been gradually
disappearing.
Gulou Waterfront is an eco-cultural tourism
resort developed by Jiangmen OCT in the
context of rural revitalisation, aiming to
combine rural development with the cultural
Those operations in the resort require several
bridges in certain areas, to facilitate the
movement of people and fishing boats.
ARCHED WOODEN BRIDGE
During the fishing civilisation period, roads were
poorly developed so water systems became
the key route for transportation and logistics.
Since bridges needed to be walkable while also
ensuring more space for boats underneath to
pass through, traditional bridge construction
techniques in China adopted arches to create
space for the passage of boats under bridges,
and enhance the effectiveness of the structure.
Due to the abundance of woods, southern China
has the tradition of applying timber to build
bridges.
This project is a timber bridge, which is one
of the many in Gulou Waterfront Resort. To
differentiate it from urban constructions and
revitalise traditional rural culture, LUO studio
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 57

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
adopted natural wooden materials to construct
an arched bridge. The resort provides access for
small fishing vessels as well as large tour ships.
To enable boats of various sizes to pass under
the bridge smoothly, the load-bearing platform
at the bottom of the arch, which is 1.35m
higher than the normal water level, combined
with the 2.8m-arched structure, forms a space
more than 4m higher than the normal water
level. This meets the clearance requirements
for large tour boats to pass through. Based on
geological surveys, the span of the bridge is
set at 25.2m. Through structural calculation
and construction analysis, LUO studio utilised
three large curved beams as main structural
components, which are arranged in a parallel
manner with a 2.8 spacing between each other.
With full consideration of manufacturing and
transportation costs, each main beam was
divided into three sections at appropriate
positions, connected and assembled by steelstrengthened
bolts on the site, to form the
complete wooden beam.
SET COVERED CORRIDOR
The ridge is located in the joint area between
a dense traditional commercial street area
and a children’s recreation area. LUO studio
created a relatively “closed” corridor space on
the timber bridge, which is different from other
open landscape bridges in the resort. It aims
to accentuate the transition from the practical
commercial street area to the relatively dreamy
children’s recreation area, allowing visitors
to feel a sense of ceremony in the moving
process.
Constructing a covered corridor on bridges has
been an old tradition that dates back to the
Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring
States Period. The initial intention was to
strengthen the bridge structure, resist rain and
moisture, keep the wood dry and prevent it
from corrosion.
This project also inherits the construction
wisdom of ancient covered bridges. The
covered corridor enhances the overall structural
stability and protects the arched wooden
structure beneath from exposure to sun and
rain.
The west area of the Pearl River Delta where
the timber bridge is located has abundant
rainfall, so the corridor was constructed in
a relatively closed form. The exterior of the
corridor space is covered by layers of metal
plates, which protect it from rain and also
create a sense of cohesion for the space.
COVERED CORRIDOR CONSTRUCTION
1. Sub-structural system formed by wooden
components with small sections
Apart from the three large wooden arched
beams that bear the main load of the bridge
body having a section size of 600x300mm,
other wooden components adopt small
sections. They are either 100x100mm or
100x50mm. Small wooden components
are interlocked and anchored to the three
1 2
58 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
Legend
1 Entrance details (Image: Jin Weiqi)
2 Bridge corridor (Image: Jin Weiqi)
3 Sub-structural system (Image: LUO studio)
4 Completed skeleton of the corridor space
(Image: LUO studio)
5 Entrance details (Image: Jin Weiqi)
3
4
5
main arched beams, 3 functioning
as sub-beams on upper and lower
levels. In addition, the two ends
of these sub-beams are combined
with upward components to form a
stable triangle of forces.
The plane of the bridge’s roof is a
complete rectangle. The top, left,
right edges of the bridge’s side
facades also consist of rectangular
silhouettes, while only the lower
edge is a natural curve. This
generates height variations of the
corridor space that is higher on the
two sides and lower in the middle.
To ensure the structural stability
of the covered corridor space,
the design team set horizontal
connecting rods in the middle
section and added two viewing
platforms on either side, which also
avoided the monotonous feeling
when viewing the corridor space
from the entrance and exit.
The small-section sub-structural
system not only enhances the
sense of structure in the corridor
space but also reveals the elaborate
craftsmanship and details to
visitors on tour boats and offers
them a unique visual experience.
2. Construction modules and
material specifications
The small-scale wooden
components are arranged with
small spacing in between. The
spacing between neighbouring
sub-structures is set at 1,000mm
equally. This matches the scales
of the steps and metal exteriors.
Between neighbouring sub-beams,
three steps are set at the steep
sections of the arch, while two
steps are set at the gentle sections.
The length of each external
metal plate is controlled at about
900mm, which is appropriate for
manufacturing, transporting, and
installation. The 900mm length
of timber frames also provides a
suitable space for a single person to
stand, lean and rest.
3. Top light, side and bottom gaps
The neighbouring upper and
lower steps of the corridor have a
clearance of 70mm. A gap of about
200mm is set in between layered
metal plates on the exteriors of the
corridor space. A 1,500mm-wide
daylighting belt is set in the middle
of the corridor roof. When walking
slowly into the corridor space
from the entrances at both ends,
visitors can catch the sparkling
water under the bridge through the
narrow gaps between steps.
As they continue to climb the
bridge, the bright light refracted
by the upper and lower metal
plates attract them to look out
through the side gaps. Such
a special “collected” viewing
experience distinguishes this
timber bridge from other open
bridges. While passing through the
platforms from two ends to reach
the centre of the bridge corridor,
visitors can experience the light
and shadows from the top,
feeling calmness and openness
in the mind. Such design forms a
continuous spatial rhythm that
gradually reaches the climax.
INDUSTRIALISATION AND
HANDWORK
The materials utilised were
manufactured and processed by
factories based on industrialisation
standards, and all the necessary
timber and metal components
were treated by modern industrial
technology and methods. During the
installation and construction, only the
three main beams were hoisted by
large machinery. All other follow-up
construction steps were adaptable
and transportable through the hands
of the workers in response to the
local context. The whole construction
process not only harmonised with
the surrounding construction sites
and took advantage of efficient
industrialised methods, but also
conveyed rural warmth as well as the
“localisation” of construction. P
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 59

WOOD CLINIC
Hello Mr Shim,
The company I am working for supplies adhesives, and I am
responsible for the sales of woodworking adhesives. A customer of
ours has a small woodworking factory that is equipped with two
two-finger-jointing machines, and one of which uses our waterbased
white emulsion (PVAs) to produce finger-jointed lumber.
Some of the feedback I received were obvious glue lines, poor glue
adhesion, small gaps in the finger joints and others. I hope you can
explain the factors that affect the stability of finger-jointed lumber
and suggest ways for improvements. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Chen Yongcai
Poor adhesive force
of finger-jointed timber
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.
Based on the information you
provided, these are some of the factors
that might have caused the adhesive
force of the finger-jointed lumber to be
unstable, as described below:
I. There are five factors that
contribute to the inconsistent
quality of finger-jointed lumber:
1. Unstable wood moisture
content: Very high moisture
content in finger-jointed
timber may lead to defects. If
the moisture content of the
finger-jointing material is up to
20%, it will lead to finger joint
fluffing and poor adhesive
strength. When lumber with
moisture content between
14-20% is used, the adhesive
strength will not be as good
as it should be. When the
moisture content of the fingerjointed
lumber decreases to
10-12%, the wood shrinks and
leads to defects of local small
gaps of some finger-jointed
lumber.
60 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

WOOD CLINIC
II.
2. Non-standard wood
classification: If lumber of
different species or with
excessively large density
tolerances is used for fingerjointed
lumber, it may lead
to unstable pressure of the
finger-jointed lumber. Using
lumber with excessively large
density tolerances may also
cause cracking or deformation
of the finger joints (Fig. 1). It is
recommended to control the
density tolerance of fingerjoined
lumber below 0.2g/cm³
or classify according to the
species of the tree.
3. Irregular wood texture: Unsound
wood grains such as diagonal
twill or dead knots at the end of
the wood will make the lumber
easy to break, resulting in
pinholes at the end of the finger
joints (Fig. 2). Additionally,
results of the tensile strength
test have shown that fingerjointed
lumber with unsound
wood texture cannot achieve
the tensile strength as required.
4. Non-standard wood
specification: Lumber with
excessively large specification
tolerance often blocks the
finger-jointing machine, which
should be shut down to deal
with the blockage. The glue film
at the back section of the gluecoated
finger joint has been
crusted, leading to unstable glue
force.
5. Wood resin: It is not
recommended to use wood
species rich in resin or other
extractable for jointing, because
it will lead to poor glue force.
Failure to let the finger-jointed
lumber set in place will also result in
defects. If the time taken to set the
finger joint is too short, the finger
joint may spring back, causing
pinholes or cracking of finger joints
(Fig. 3). If the finger joint is set too
long, it will loosen the finger joint
(Fig. 3c).
III. If the amount of glue applied is
too low to moisten the finger joint
tenon, it will result in poor glue
force of the finger-jointed lumber.
The reasons for a lower amount of
glue are as follows:
1. Improper amount of glue
applied: The area covered by
the film is less than two-thirds
of the total, and the amount
of glue applied is insufficient
to moisten the finger joints.
It is recommended that after
the glue is set, the finger joints
should overflow with small
sesame-like beads of glue after
pressure is applied.
2. Improper setting of glue roller:
If the height of the glue roller
is not set high enough, and the
finger joint is not in the centre
contour of the glue groove,
there will be insufficient glue
application on one side of the
finger joint, thus resulting in
poor glue force.
3. Unstandardised maintenance
of the glue-coating roller:
If the glue-coating roller is
not thoroughly cleaned, the
residual glue or wood chips in
the groove of the roller will lead
to insufficient glue coating. It is
necessary to thoroughly remove
the residual glue wood chips in
the groove of the glue-coating
roller.
4. Wearing of aluminium glue
coating roller: If the aluminium
rubber roller has been used for
a long time and the rubber tank
is worn out, or the rubber tank
is deformed due to improper
cleaning, the glue applied will
be uneven. The worn roller
should be replaced with a new
one (Fig. 4).
Figure 1: Lumber with excessively low density used as finger-jointed
lumber can cause defects such as deformation or cracking
Figure 2: Lumber with wood grains in the shape of thread or scallop
used for finger-jointed lumber can cause the tips of finger joints prone
to break, resulting in defects such as pinholes in the finger joints
a. X=Y finger joint setting properly
b. XY finger joint setting too long
Figure 3a: The finger joint is set standard, but due to the material
density tolerance, it is still necessary to observe and adjust to the ideal
state. Figure 3b: If the finger joint sets too short, it causes spring-back
or cracking. Figure 3c: If the finger joint sets too long, the finger joint
will not be strong enough, and is easy to loosen
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 61

WOOD CLINIC
Figure 4: The aluminium rubber roller
has been used for a long time and the
rubber tank is worn out, or the rubber tank
is deformed due to improper cleaning,
causing the glue to be uneven
IV. Poor control of forming time:
Failure of the finger jointing
machine may leave the gluecoated
finger-jointed lumber in
the conveyor belt for too long. If
the film has dried or crusted when
splicing, it will lead to poor local
adhesive force of finger-jointed
lumber. It is recommended to
remove and re-glue the fingerjointed
lumber left in the belt.
V. If the finger-jointed lumber down
the line has insufficient or no
nurturing and is used for secondary
processing direct, it may lead to the
following defects:
1. Uneven moisture content: If
the finger-joint material is just
off the assembly line, it will
absorb the water content of the
water-based glue, resulting in
an increase and unevenness
in the moisture content. It
is necessary to reduce the
moisture of finger-jointed
timber to an ideal state of
10-12% on average through the
nurturing workshop.
2. Collapse: If the finger joint
lumber is directly processed
for the second time without
nurturing, and the water
content of the finger joint
material is gradually released, it
will lead to surface indentation
in the partial section of the
finger-jointed lumber.
VI. If the finger jointing machine
is used day and night and not
maintained properly, it will cause
poor processing accuracy, resulting
in poor quality of finger-jointed
lumber. The reasons for poor
maintenance are as follows:
1. Damaged bearing of finger
jointing knife shaft: If the finger
jointing machine has been
used for a long time, the knife
shaft bearing is worn, and the
knife shaft swings ≥0.025mm,
one side will be tight and the
opposite side will not be tight
enough with obvious seams
after the finger jointing machine
is assembled. It is necessary to
replace the bearing and check
the knife shaft and belt to
ensure normal operation.
2. Improper setting of end
trimming saw and scoring
saw: If the repair end saw
and scoring saw of the finger
jointing machine are not sharp
enough, and the benchmark and
angle setting is inaccurate, they
will lead to poor docking of the
machine shoulder, poor splicing,
holes or obvious thick glue lines.
It is recommended that the end
trimming saw, the scoring saw
and the knife of the finger jointing
machine must be kept sharp and
the benchmarking should be set in
place.
3. Pressure instability: If the
pressurised oil cylinder is
used for a long time, and the
wearing of the piston oil seal
causes oil leakage, these will
result in unstable pressure
which cannot reach the set
standard, and insufficient
pressure-holding time which
will lead to inconsistent quality
of finger-jointed lumber. It is
recommended to test regularly
to ensure that the pressurised
cylinder operates properly. P
I hope you will find useful the knowledge
about the quality of finger-jointed lumber,
based on the information you provided. P
Sincerely,
Shim Yee Shin
62 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

Photo Credit: LEITZ Toolings
International
Wood & Woodworking
Machinery Expo
NOV
20-22
2022
MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL TRADE
AND EXHIBITION CENTRE (MITEC)
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
Endorsed by:
Ministry of Plantation Industries
and Commodities (MPIC)
Malaysian Timber Industry
Board (MTIB)
Malaysian Wood Industries
Association (MWIA)
Malaysian Panel-Products
Manufacturers’ Association
(MPMA)
For enquiry, contact us at:
Pablo Publishing & Exhibition Pte Ltd
+65 6266 5512
williampang@pabloasia.com
Malaysian Wood Moulding
& Joinery Council (MWMJC)
Malaysian Furniture
Council (MFC)
The Timber Exporters’
Association of Malaysia
(TEAM)
Association of Malaysian
Bumiputra Timber & Furniture
Entrepreneurs (PEKA)
Malaysian Timber Council
+603 9281 1999
info@malaysianwoodexpo.com.my
American Hardwood
Export Council
FrenchTimber
Thai Timber Association
Softwood Export Council
Malaysian Timber
Certification Council
(MTCC)
China Timber & Wood Products
Distribution Association
International Wood
Product Association
Guangdong Timber
Industry Association
Hong Kong Kowloon
Timber Merchant
Association

SUSTAINABILITY
Oil palm trunk:
An untapped resource
OIL PALM TREES
Malaysia has approximately
14.5 million acres of oil palm
trees that needed to be
replanted every 20-25 years.
Felled trees provide an abundant
source of OPT.
In Malaysia, the palm oil sector is the
main producer of bioenergy, with a
considerable volume of biomass waste
created each year and only a tiny
percentage turned into value-added
goods.
The depleting global forest resources
combined with an increasing
environmental awareness has led to
businesses and consumers looking for
alternative sustainable sources of wood.
With pressure on timber resources
within Malaysia and increasing
competition for wood fibre around
the world, new sources of usable raw
materials such as oil palm trunk (OPT)
can prove to be important in the future
for not just furniture but timber-based
construction materials.
TRANSFORMING OIL PALM TRUNKS
INTO SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
IOI Palm Wood (IOIPW) is one of
Malaysia’s first manufacturing plants to
commercially and sustainably convert
unused OPT into eco-friendly and
sustainable wood panels for the furniture
and building industries.
Established in June 2020, IOIPW is a
joint venture between IOI Corporation, a
global palm oil plantation conglomerate,
and Hans Peter Fitch, CEO of IOIPW. The
vision of IOIPW is to create new materials
using the biomass available from the
mature and established cultivation of
oil palm. The oil palm trunks, which are
left to rot in the field after replanting,
constitute approximately 20% of the total
biomass.
Fitch emphasised that for many years the
timber industry has been frustrated with
64 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

SUSTAINABILITY
The name OnCore refers to palm
wood’s core of inner fibres that are
like ‘reinforced concrete’ that gives
the wood its strength. Stronger than
some conventional timber, palm
wood is also lighter and more ecofriendly.
The IOI Information
Hub was unveiled
last December at the
Ground Floor East
Wing at IOI City Mall
the lack of raw materials, as the industry
primarily used rubberwood.
He said: “With less and less rubberwood
being available, it has always been
my ambition to find a sustainable and
alternative material. And with OPT, I
can see the immense potential of this
material to be used not only in Malaysia
but in Thailand, Indonesia, West Africa
and South America as a substitute for
tropical timbers and rubberwood.”
Commencement of production of the
first 21-acre palm wood manufacturing
plant located at Mukim Pogoh, Segamat,
Johor, is due by the end of 2022. The
new plant equipped with kiln drying
and panel production expertise and
technology has a production capacity
of approximately 80,000m 3 per annum
of palm products under the OnCore
brand to supply to the local and
overseas market.
HIGH-PERFORMANCE MATERIALS
PRODUCED SUSTAINABLY
IOIPW’s OnCore brand, which offers a
range of products including kiln-dried
palm wood, blockboards, palm wood
panels and palm wood core materials
are designed to meet the rising
demand for high-quality wood panel
solutions.
The production of palm wood
is supported by their innovative
manufacturing processes and
customised technologies from Europe.
As IOIPW aspires to offer a range of
high-performing and environmentally
sustainable wood that conform
to international standards and
certifications for quality and safety,
the OnCore brand will be marketed
to expanding demand for office,
household furniture, and building
construction materials.
MAKING PROFIT WITH PURPOSE
Fitch elaborated: “For every cubic
metre of palm wood produced, we
are in effect capturing approximately
250kg of carbon, which would
otherwise be released into the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide or
methane. We are also contributing to
the circular economy by eliminating
waste as we are using everything from
a palm tree.
“We will start with the development of
engineered materials produced from
the humble OPT, which is sustainably
available from existing plantation
replanting programmes. In the future,
we may even consider engineering
materials from the fronds, which
constitute almost 60% of the available
biomass.” P
Hans Peter Fitch,
CEO of IOIPW, looks
forward to changing
the world positively
with OnCore
ORIGINS OF THE NAME,
ONCORE
This palm wood is not such a
beautiful wood with all its rough
and heavy fibrous texture. But
the core is beautiful because
of its inner fibres that are like
reinforced concrete that give the
wood its ultimate strength.
Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022 65

EVENTS CALENDAR
Events Calendar 2022–2023
AUGUST, 25 – 28
2022 2023
JUNE, 01 – 03
Carrefour International du Bois
Nantes, France
JUNE, 02 – 06
Korea International Furniture & Interior Fair
(KOFURN)
Korea
SEPTEMBER, 05 – 08
China International Furniture Fair (Shanghai)
2022
Shanghai, China
DOMOTEX 2023
Hannover, Germany
JANUARY, 12 – 15
India Wood
Bangalore, India
JUNE, 30 – JULY, 03
Qingdao International Furniture Fair
Qingdao, China
JULY, 06 – 09
Photo: Akshay nanavati / Unsplash
Malaysia International Furniture Fair 2022
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
FMC China 2022
Shanghai, China
SEPTEMBER, 13 – 17
SEPTEMBER, 21 – 23
125th NHLA Annual
Convention & Exhibit Showcase
Ohio, United States
SEPTEMBER, 21 – 24
IFMAC & WOODMAC 2022
Jakarta, Indonesia
imm Cologne 2023
Cologne, Germany
Hanoi Wood Vietnam
Hanoi, Vietnam
DelhiWood
New Delhi, India
JANUARY, 16 – 21
FEBRUARY, 09 – 11
MARCH, 02 – 05
Photo: Warren Gold Swain / Unsplash
Holz-Handwerk 2022
Nuremberg, Germany
JULY, 12 – 15
Xylexpo
Milan, Italy
OCTOBER, 12 – 15
Photo: Warren Gold Swain / Unsplash
MAY, 09 – 12
AUGUST, 08 – 11
Photo: Markus spiske / Unsplash
OCTOBER, 18 – 21
VietnamWood 2022
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
NOVEMBER, 20 – 22
interzum Cologne
Cologne, Germany
LIGNA
Hannover, Germany
MAY, 15 – 19
Photo: marco czollmann / Unsplash
BIFA Wood Vietnam 2022
Binh Duong, Vietnam
AUGUST, 18 – 21
Indonesia International Furniture Expo
Jakarta, Indonesia
Malaysian Wood Expo 2022
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
DECEMBER, 15 – 18
Cairo WoodShow 2022
Cairo, Egypt
Photo: Azlan Baharudin / Unsplash
SYLVA WOOD 2023
Shanghai, China
JUNE, 26 – 28
66 Panels & Furniture Asia | May / June 2022

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • May / June 2022
COMPANY PAGE COMPANY PAGE
American Hardwood Export Council
OBC
Nanxing Machinery Co., Ltd 2-3
Anthon GmbH 31
Baillie Lumber 9
BIFA Wood Vietnam 15
Cabinet Vision South East Asia 13
Dieffenbacher Industriemarketing GmbH 5
Northwest Hardwoods 7
PEFC International 43
Plytec Oy 23
Shanghai Wood-based Panel Machinery Co., Ltd 33
Softwood Export Council 1
Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd. 68
Global Timber Asia Sdn Bhd 53
Technik Associates, Inc
Teknos (M) Sdn Bhd
IBC
IFC
Homag Asia Pte Ltd
FC
Yalian Machinery Co., Ltd 25
IMEAS spa 67
Kuang Yung Machinery Co., Ltd 11
Malaysian Wood Expo 2022 63
ai161597024816_EN_PFA_IMEAS_202105.pdf 1 17/03/21 09:37
Scan to download eBook
PFA May/June 2022
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.
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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 | May / June 2022 67

Canadian wood.
Versatile and durable.
Gỗ Canada.
Đa dụng và bền bỉ.
WESTERN HEMLOCK GỖ ĐỘC CẦN BỜ TÂY
TRY CANADIAN WOOD
HÃY DÙNG THỬ GỖ CANADA
canadianwood.com.vn
+84 (0)909 222 408
A range of high-quality certified lumber from sustainably
managed forests of British Columbia, Canada.
Các loại gỗ xẻ chất lượng cao được chứng nhận từ nguồn rừng trồng
được quản lý bền vững của tỉnh bang British Columbia, Canada.