Panels & Furniture Asia November/December 2022

www.panelsfurnitureasia.com
AN EXHIBITION AT THE HEART OF VIETNAM’S
FURNITURE MANUFACTURING CLUSTER
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022
VIETNAM
2023
www.smartfurnituremasstimber.com
10-13
AUGUST
2023
● Smart furniture manufacturing,
process solutions & automation
● Industry 4.0
● Mass timber
● Architecture and interior
doors and windows
● Wood flooring
VENUE:
WTC BINH DUONG NEW CITY EXPO
Binh Duong, Vietnam
Google Map
QR code
to WTC Expo
Jointly organised by:
PABLO
PUBLISHING
& EXHIBITION
PTE LTD
WORLD TRADE CENTER BINH DUONG NEW CITY
SUBSIDIARY OF BECAMEX IDC
Contact us:
williampang@pabloasia.com
info@pabloasia.com
+65 62665512
WECHAT
CONTACT

Simple – we handle all the complexities that go into hardwoods to make
life easier for you. Natural – we manufacture and supply only sustainable, high-quality
products that breathe life into your work. Hardwoods – from harvest to delivery,
we set the standard for what the hardwoods experience should be.
nwh.com

Find your supplier here!
These companies can supply you with exceptional
hardwoods from Canada
cambiumex.com
canamlumber.com
buchandel.com
caspencer.com
commonwealthplywood.info
boisdv.ca dzdhardwood.com champeau.com bjvoyer.com
pfmes.ca nordamhardwoods.com primewood.com rlumber.ca
simonlussier.com
vexco.com
To know more about East Canadian Hardwood
species, you are invited to visit our website.
quebecwoodexport.com/en/products/hardwood-lumber/
@QuebecWoodExport @QuebecWoodExport Quebec Wood Export Bureau

CANADIAN HARDMAPLE

CONTENTS
CONTENTS
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA (ISSUE 6)
November / December 2022
08
Editor’s Note
10
News
Market Report
16
Global economic slowdown overshadows near-term
market outlook
Environmental Report
18
The role of an independent auditor in forest
management
20
Innovative recycling and upcycling for furniture and
furnishings: Giving plastic waste a new life
In Person
24
“Delivering added value to our customers”: Teknos
expands to Vietnam
Product Highlight
27
Greater sustainability with Dieffenbacher’s CPS+
continuous press system
28
Automated spray coating
30
woodCommander 5: Simpler, faster and
more cost-efficient production
Panel Manufacturing
32
2022: A year rich in achievements
Furniture Manufacturing
34
Defect detection in batch-size-one production
37
Ways to improve the quality of edgebanding
40
The role of Malaysian Furniture Council in improving
sustainability
42
Advanced woodworking solutions pay off
with Jager and HOMAG
Materials
44
On market diversification and educating new
markets: A conversation with AHEC
Flooring
48
New herringbone technology:
One panel type for simpler production
Recycling
50
From wood to resource: Market updates in
times of challenges
16
42
Structural Elements
53
Little Finlandia
Columnists
56
Reasons for solid wood doors prone to warping and
loosening
60
How sustainable is palm wood?
Show Review
64
IFMAC & WOODMAC 2022
66
VietnamWood 2022
67
Calendar of Events
68
List of Advertisers
6 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

ALL KINDS OF WOOD
Whether you are looking for American, European, or
Tropical wood species, we have something for you. With
our new catalogues, we have made an easy overview
for you to explore the many species in our range.
Check out our website to browse the newest catalogues
from Global Timber and see for yourself.
Global Timber is an international company with more than 40 years of experience in the hardwood industry. The
company consists of the head office in Denmark and a sales office in Malaysia with a total of about 35 employees.
Our employees all have extensive experience from the wood industry.
Per Friis Knudsen
pfk@globaltimber.dk +60 111 429 7073
www.asia.globaltimber.net

FROM THE EDITOR
Standing together
in solidarity
Times are bad. This seems to be the
consensus not only in the industry, but across
the world. Amid inflation and rising interest
rates, factories are not seeing as much orders
as before, unlike earlier this year. Everybody
is a little cautious and hesitant at doing
business. Michael Snow, executive director
of the American Hardwood Export Council
(AHEC), predicts we are looking at least “six
months of difficult trading conditions” (p.44).
With less than two months left in the year,
it is a bit of a downer to end things so
bleakly. One can make the case that the
global economy is definitely getting better.
Trade exhibitions are back in full run, and
many companies got to reconnect with
old customers or meet new customers in
Vietnam (p.66) or Indonesia (p.64). Likewise,
CMC Texpan got to unveil new products and
showcase their portfolio at the recent Xylexpo
exhibition in October (p.32). A slow economy
also does not stop businesses from growing.
Teknos has opened a new commercial and
competence centre in Vietnam (p.24), and
both HOMAG and Unilin have released new
technologies this year, in machinery software
(p.30) and flooring (p.48) respectively.
But for every little achievement we
celebrate, something pulls us back. The
market slowdown is one, but other global
events continue to haunt us — be it the
Russia-Ukraine conflict, the aftereffects of
COVID-19, or climate change. With COP27
in the horizon, it is time to think about
sustainability measures, especially as a
forestry-related industry that has huge
impact in net-zero emissions. Furniture and
panel manufacturers can consider applying
to forest certification schemes (p.40), or try
alternative wood-based materials, such as
palm wood (p.60).
There is no quick solution to solve market
woes or climate change, and it is near
impossible to sit back leisurely, knowing
we still have to salvage the business in such
tough times. But if everybody is mired
in the same situation, perhaps we can
stand together in solidarity and comfort
each other. And hopefully, a new year
brings new prospects: When there are new
opportunities, the wood and woodworking
industry will rise up again.
YAP SHI QUAN | EDITOR
PANELS &
FURNITURE ASIA
PABLO SINGAPORE
Publisher
William Pang • williampang@pabloasia.com
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
HEAD OFFICE
PABLO PUBLISHING &
EXHIBITION PTE LTD
3 Ang Mo Kio Street 62, #01-23, Link@AMK,
Singapore 569139
Tel : +65 6266 5512
Email: info@pabloasia.com
www.panelsfurnitureasia.com
Company Registration No: 200001473N
Singapore MICA (P) No: 105/12/2021
REGIONAL OFFICES (CHINA)
PABLO BEIJING
Tel : +86 10 6509 7728
Email : pablobeijing@163.com
PABLO SHANGHAI
Tel : +86 21 5238 9737 / 36
Email : pabloshanghai@163.net
let's connect!
@panelsfurnitureasia
All rights reserved. Views of writers do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any
means, without prior permission in writing from the Publisher and copyright
owner. Whilst every care is taken to ensure accuracy of the information in
this publication, the Publisher accepts no liability for damages caused by
misinterpretation of information, expressed or implied, within the pages of
the magazine. All advertisements are accepted on the understanding that the
Advertiser is authorised to publish the contents of the advertisements, and in
this respect, the Advertiser shall indemnify the Publisher against all claims
or suits for libel, violation of right of privacy and copyright infringements.
Panels & Furniture Asia is a controlled-circulation magazine with two issues
a year. It is mailed free-of-charge to readers who meet a set of criteria. Paid
subscription is available to those who do not fit our terms of control. Please
refer to subscription form provided in the publication for more details.
Printed by Times Printers Pte Ltd
Scan to subscribe
to PFA’s enewsletter
8 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

Steel Belts for the Wood and Laminate industry
Our endless Steel Belts offer highest quality, optimum strength
and a long lifetime. Additionally, our worldwide service
network supports you 24/7 - especially when it is urgent.
Exceptional operating
characteristics
Global technical
support and service
Berndorf Band GmbH
T: +43 2672 800 0
E: band@berndorf.co.at
www.berndorfband-group.com
Ultimate strength
and durability
Steel Belts | Belt Systems | Worldwide Service

NEWS
TEKNOS EXPANDS
TO VIETNAM WITH
NEW COMMERCIAL
AND COMPETENCE
CENTRE
The opening ceremony of Teknos’s new centre in Dong Nai, Vietnam
Teknos has announced the opening of its new
commercial and competence centre with a
technical application laboratory, training and
warehouse facilities in Dong Nai province,
Vietnam.
According to the company, Vietnam is an
important growth market for them, and to be
close to their customer, they have invested
in and are committed to the region and their
existing and future customers. The new office
opened on 13 Sep 2022.
The local staff will now be able to provide
local services, from sampling and pre-line
trial testing, to training, colour matching and
optimised logistical services, thus reducing lead
times and offering the ability to provide fit-forpurpose
logistical support.
Customers in Vietnam will also have access to
Teknos’s range of products. The waterborne
and UV products will be imported from
Malaysia, the nearest Teknos production
site in the region. Accessibility to additional
products is also ensured and can come from
the company’s factories in Finland, Germany,
Denmark or China.
“The decision to establish the new service
centre in Asia-Pacific supports our growth
plans. Vietnam was a logical choice for us as our
Vietnamese export business has grown steadily
over the past years,” said Paula Salastie, CEO of
Teknos and owner of Teknos Group.
“We want to meet customers where they are
located to be able to enhance our collaboration
and support them with faster response time
and tailored solutions and services.
“This will also enhance our sustainability
as it reduces the emissions from logistics.
Our team in Vietnam plays a crucial role in
broadening our global development and
service network. Our model will always
be working in close cooperation with our
customers, building a stronger relationship,
by providing them with sustainable coating
solutions.”
Wanda Smith, managing director of Teknos
Malaysia, who is also taking care of the South
East Asia region, leads the new Teknos Vietnam
set-up, looking after the sales, customer
support, technical service and warehouse
functions.
“It is an exciting time to mark this milestone
and start a new chapter in this region to be
closer to our Vietnamese customers,” said
Smith.
The new office is located at Nhon Trach
Industrial Zone III – Phase 2, Hiep Phuoc
town, Nhon Trach district, Dong Nai province.
It has a total area of about 650m 2 , branded
with the blue and green Teknos corporate
colour scheme, and consists of an office space,
meeting room, technical application laboratory
and warehouse.
Teknos will continue to invest and grow in
Vietnam, with a mid-term of three to five
years expansion plan to become a secondary
production site and gain better control over
lead time and reduce the dependence on
imports to meet the growing local demand.
As such, the Vietnamese expansion will be able
to support the export to other South East Asian
or Asia-Pacific countries, complementary to
Teknos’s Malaysia plant.
For more information about Teknos’s new
centre, flip to page 24. P
SIEMPELKAMP AND SMARTECH TO COLLABORATE
ON AI TECHNOLOGY FOR WOOD-BASED PANEL INDUSTRY
Siempelkamp and Smartech have
announced a partnership to work on artificial
intelligence (AI) for the wood-based panel
industry, particularly for manufacturers of
engineered wood products.
“We believe our collaboration with Smartech
will drive the next generation of wood-based
panel manufacturing. We look forward to
working together to bring to the market
the most cutting-edge technology with a
massive impact for our customers,” said
Gregor Bernardy, head of Manufacturing
Executive System (MES) and Industrial IT
Solutions from Siempelkamp Logistics &
Service.
“Siempelkamp is a global leader in
supplying press lines to the wood-based
panel industry and we are excited to be
working together. Technology is the key to
better growth and a better future. The synergy
between Siempelkamp and Smartech will drive
the market with a game-changing solution,”
said Hanoch Magid, CEO of Smartech.
Smartech is a specialist in smart factories, with
experience in transforming existing production
lines into autonomous, data-driven and
sustainable assets. P
10 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

NEWS
EUMABOIS APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT
Luigi De Vito, the president of Acimall and
division director of SCM, has become the
president of Eumabois recently, succeeding
past president Jürgen Köppel.
Eumabois is a European association
dedicated to promoting European
woodworking machinery industry regionally
and internationally. De Vito was the previous
vice-president of the association since 2016.
The board of director was also renewed, with
new members being Wolfgang Rohner from
IMA Schelling, Daniel Bucher from Striebig,
and Ismet Toktas from AES Group. Outgoing
members include Samuel Hänni from
Lamello, and Mustafa Sabri Erol from Törk
Makine. P
Handover between Juergen Koeppel (left)
and Luigi De Vito (right)
De Vito commented in his inaugural
speech as the new president: “I want to
express my best wishes to the new board
of directors that will be in office for the
next three-year term. My heartfelt thanks
go to all the outgoing board members I
have worked with and who, in recent years,
have contributed to bringing Eumabois to
its current levels of quality and influence
worldwide.
“Finally, a very special thanks goes to Jürgen
Köppel, the years spent together have been
fuelled by a strong spirit of collaboration and
mutual esteem, and I can say that I am very
proud of the work done together and of the
results achieved.”
Köppel, in his farewell speech, said: “I
am very pleased that such top-class
representatives of our industry are
supporting at European level and are
thus driving our common European ideas
worldwide.
“European woodworking machines and
tools are setting trends worldwide and
this leading position needs to be secured
and expanded with the support of our
federation.
“I would like to thank everyone who has
supported me in my work, especially I want
to thank Luigi De Vito, because in the past
six years of working together, he, as a former
competitor, has become a strong comradein-arms
and friend.”
Besides the change in presidency, the new
vice-president was also appointed, with
Frederik Meyer from HOMAG group taking
charge.
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 11

NEWS
HOMAG UNVEILS
DRILLTEQ H-308
FOR ASIAN MARKETS
HOMAG has launched DRILLTEQ H-308,
which features the latest in drilling
technology in terms of efficiency and speed,
designed and developed for Asia.
According to HOMAG, DRILLTEQ H-308 is
distributed exclusively in Asia, since the
region requires a flexible machine to deliver
diverse orders.
Previously, manufacturing firms had to
manually adjust their machines with each
change in the cut, drilling and pattern. The
DRILLTEQ H-308 does away with these timeconsuming
steps.
In summary, the machine offers flexibility
for high variant diversity as well as
efficiency when series production is
needed. Work interruptions are also
lessened, resulting in faster processes and
greater efficiency.
The DRILLTEQ H-308 is suitable for firms that
produce 200-300 pieces a day.
The high-speed
processing unit of
DRILLTEQ H-308
(Image: HOMAG)
“TWO-IN-ONE” DRILLING MACHINE
The DRILLTEQ H-308 includes six-sided
processing, enabling the machine to drill six
sides of the working piece simultaneously.
The machine also operates on two working
fields that can be fed by an operator at the
same time, offering a two-in-one machine. As
one field is working on one panel, the other
field can prepare for further processing of the
workpiece.
Meanwhile, its upgraded variant, the
DRILLTEQ H-310, provides the same functions
but can be connected in a fully automatic line
and can be controlled by a computer or robot.
As such, the processing time is reduced, and
there is greater availability and flexibility in
production.
“The possibility of using two working fields
at the same time, thus doubling loading the
machine, is fully in line with the wishes and
needs of the Asian market,” said Gordon Wu,
product development head of HOMAG.
The DRILLTEQ H-308 also possesses a spindle
clamp that can perform precise depth in
drilling, ensuring reliable quality due to high
repeat accuracy. It is equipped with four
computer numerical controlled (CNC) clamps
to hold the workpieces firmly and precisely.
It can handle workpieces with dimensions of
250-2,500mm in length and 60-1,250mm in
width.
HOMAG reported that the woodWOP software
is also included in the machine, enabling
fast and intuitive operation and the ability to
create individual sub-programmes. It also has
greater programming security by providing
3D images of the workpieces as well as the
processing and clamping equipment. P
ARAUCO APPROVES
NEW MDF LINE AT MEXICO
Arauco’s board of director has approved
the construction of a new medium-density
fibreboard (MDF) line in the city of Zitácuaro,
Mexico.
According to Arauco, this construction project
will be an investment of US$235m and
incorporates operational, environmental and
safety technology. The project is expected to
begin operating during Q2 2025.
Arauco is a producer of wooden boards in
Mexico. This project is expected to add about
300,000m 3 of MDF production per year, half
of which would be melamine coated to meet
the growing demand of Mexico’s furniture,
construction, and interior decorating industries.
The plant will create jobs for 220 new
employees. Additionally, it strives to
promote a circular economy model,
driving small local forestry producers
and protecting the surrounding
ecosystem.
Back in May, Arauco also announced an
investment to expand their thermally
fused lamination (TFL) operations at their
particleboard plant in Grayling, Michigan, US.
The new lamination line will be Arauco’s third
TFL line at Grayling and will increase the mill’s
lamination capacity more than 50% in support
of Arauco’s Prism TFL decorative surface
product offering. P
The new MDF line at
Mexico (Image: Arauco)
12 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

NEWS
ZIEGLER GROUP STARTS WOOD FIBRE
INSULATION BOARD PRODUCTION
WITH NEW DIEFFENBACHER PLANT
A complete wood fibre insulation board (WFIB)
plant provided by Dieffenbacher for Ziegler
Group’s site in Grafenwöhr, Bavaria, Germany,
is up and running less than one year after
construction began.
Dieffenbacher’s scope of supply for the complete
plant included a fibre dryer, a EVOjet M 2.0
gluing system, the forming station and
forming line with pre-press, a CSS continuous
steam press system, the raw board handling
system, electrics, automation, and the
MyDIEFFENBACHER digital service platform.
“We are very pleased that our new
Dieffenbacher WFIB plant had such a rapid
and successful start,” said Andreas Sandner,
commercial managing director at Ziegler
Group.
According to Dieffenbacher, the line for
rigid WFIB began production on 30 Aug
2022. Ziegler Group placed its order with
Dieffenbacher on 1 Apr 2021, but the
construction only began five months later in
September due to a change of location from
the town of Bärnau, 50km west to Grafenwöhr,
on a short notice.
“We never would have been able to achieve
this record-breaking construction and
completion time without the full cooperation
of our partners. In this case, especially
Dieffenbacher,” said Sandner.
“The change of location and the procurement
crisis during the pandemic made this feat all
the more remarkable. Our thanks go to the
entire Dieffenbacher team, who overcame
Production of the first board in Ziegler Group’s new
Dieffenbacher WFIB plant in Grafenwöhr,
Bavaria, Germany
huge challenges to meet our requirements for
product quality and energy efficiency.”
In addition to the WFIB plant just completed,
Ziegler Group commissioned Dieffenbacher to
supply another fibre dryer for flexible insulation
mat production at the Grafenwöhr site.
Construction began in June, and the 10-tonne/h
capacity dryer should have started operations
in October. P
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 13

NEWS
FUTURE HEIRLOOMS:
NEW DESIGN COLLABORATION
IN AMERICAN RED OAK
NOW OPEN
All seven pieces of
Future Heirlooms
(Image: Sarah de Pina)
Future Heirlooms, a design collaboration by
South African cooperative Always Welcome and
the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC),
is now open at Always Welcome Viewing Rooms
in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa.
The project, which was initially announced in
July 2022, will remain at its current location until
November 2022, and will then move to the new
Always Welcome Heritage House in Cape Town in
January 2023.
For this project, a group of seven South African
designers from three provinces across the
country have created a series of works that not
only anticipates the future of sustainable design,
but also explores their own heritage and the
story of South Africa’s design legacy.
Created in American red oak by hardwood
furniture designer-manufacturers Houtlander
and timber importers BOS Timbers, the seven
pieces are a celebration of material and memory,
and ask questions about current approaches to
the environment.
The seven pieces were crafted by various design
studios and designers, such as Dokter and Misses,
MashT Design Studio, TheUrbanative, Kumsuka,
Kalki Ceramics, Joe Paine in partnership with
Nathan Gates, and Nøde Studio.
Under the mentorship of the Always Welcome
team, the designers were asked to create an
object or a piece of furniture that encapsulates
the themes of sustainability, longevity and
quality.
“We need to end our current throwaway culture
and we need to use materials that have a low
environmental impact. These issues should
affect all our day-to-day decision-making,” said
Roderick Wiles, regional director of AHEC.
“Designers, especially, have a huge influence
on how products are planned and with what
materials. This project was the perfect platform
for us to work with accomplished South African
designers and makers, while also helping
them to work with an abundant, versatile and
beautiful, yet lesser-known American hardwood
species.”
For the designers, the project has offered
an opportunity to explore alternative
manufacturing methods and American red oak
itself.
Commenting on her participation in the project,
Thabisa Mjo, founder of Johannesburg-based
product and furniture design group MashT
Design Studio, said: “The material intrigued
me from the outset of Future Heirlooms. I
became fascinated by the seemingly endless
possibilities of American red oak itself that,
coupled with Houtlander’s special ability to
work with timber, set my imagination alight and
I just had to see what could be made.”
The American red oak arrived for the project
at the South African port of Durban was also
carbon negative. AHEC reported that just
about 1.3m 3 of American red oak were used
to make all seven pieces, with the finished
pieces being made up just under 1m 3 of wood
after manufacturing.
For their lifetime, these seven furniture pieces
will keep around 1,069kg of CO2e out of the
atmosphere.
Wiles concluded: “Such is the size of the US
hardwood forest resource and so dominant
in the forest is red oak at roughly 18% of the
total resource, that all the red oak lumber
used to make the seven designs would have
been replaced in the US hardwood forest
through natural regeneration in just 1.35
seconds.
“With the world facing the ever-increasing
impacts of climate change and of overconsumption
of high-impact materials, the
emphasis needs to shift to the environmental
merits of making more use of what nature is
growing.
“Through this collaboration, we hope the
designers and manufacturer learnt a lot
about a beautiful and sustainable material
while also demonstrating the beauty of a
widely available, yet under-utilised American
hardwood species.” P
14 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

NEWS
MTC INKS MOU WITH THAILAND’S
TIMBER ASSOCIATIONS
In a move to enhance ASEAN member countries’ competitiveness as a
region, the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) has signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) with the Thai Hevea Wood Association (THA)
and the Wood Processing Industry Club at The Federation of Thai
Industries (FTI) in Songkhla, Thailand.
The MoU, which was signed by Muhtar Suhaili, CEO of MTC, Nikorn
Likhitwangphanit, president of THA, and Akarin Vongapirat, chairman
of FTI Wood Processing Industry Club, will help to promote the
development of the Malaysian and Thailand timber trade as well as
establish timber trade standardisation between the two countries.
The MoU also included promotional activities for MTC’s upcoming
Malaysian Wood Expo (MWE) to encourage participation from Thai
timber industry players in the fair.
In 2021, Malaysia was one of the top five major timber export
destinations for Thailand’s major timber products, especially for
sawntimber. According to MTC, Malaysia was the largest export country
for Thailand’s sawntimber which amounted to US$44.3m. Thailand also
exported $7.8m worth of wooden furniture and $10m worth of plywood
to Malaysia in 2021.
MAT MOISTENING
INNOVATION MAT MOISTENING
AT WORK
INNOVATION AT WORK
Bottom moistening
on forming belt
Bottom moistening
on forming belt
WEKO-FLUID-APPLICATION-SYSTEM
WEKO-FLUID-APPLICATION-SYSTEM
Top moistening
on mat surface
Top moistening
on mat surface
The MoU signing was followed by a B2B matching session between 19
timber companies from Malaysia and 15 companies from Thailand.
“We need to strengthen our business ties and help escalate each other’s
imports and exports in international markets,” Muhtar said, adding that
the MoU was prompted during an earlier market visit to Bangkok in April
this year.
“Both MTC and FTI came up with the idea of organising a Rubberwood
Sourcing Mission from Malaysia to the Songkhla province which is the
second-largest rubber producer in Thailand with 330,240 hectares of
planted area.”
Sourcing and augmenting raw material supply for local timber-based
manufacturers is one of MTC’s top priorities, and Thailand’s rubberwood
is sought after. MTC has started reaching out to its trade partners within
ASEAN to revive business and trade relationships that were halted due
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to MTC, this year alone the council has visited Singapore
in March, Thailand in April, Vietnam in June, Indonesia in July and is
scheduled for a visit to the Philippines in November. P
IMPROVE YOUR BOARDS QUALITY
IMPROVE YOUR BOARDS QUALITY
YOUR BENEFITS
• Increase your press speed
YOUR BENEFITS
• Higher surface density
• Improved Increase your bending press strength speed
• Less Higher or no surface sanding density
• Longer Improved sanding bending tool strength lifetime
• Smoother Less or no surface sanding for
• easy Longer laquering sanding tool lifetime
• Smoother surface for
easy laquering
Productivity
and Quality
Productivity
and Quality
www.weko.net
www.weko.net
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 15

MARKET REPORT
Global economic slowdown
overshadows near-term
market outlook
By Judd Johnson, editor,
Hardwood Market Report Publications
Most countries in the world are
experiencing slower economic growth or
economic contraction. Certainly, those
with global influence are performing at
less-than-optimal rates.
For instance, the US is contending with
a 40-year high rate of inflation and a
tightened monetary policy by the federal
government. Included are significantly
higher interest rates to commercial
and consumer borrowers. Also, the
US GDP has marked two consecutive
quarters of contraction, which is one
measure of recession. In contrast, the US
manufacturing sector is still expanding,
according to its Purchasing Managers’
Index (PMI) readings of over 50, which
is another barometer that indicates
the US economy is not in recession.
But recession or no recession, the US
economy is waning.
Europe’s economy is also suffering from
tightened oil and gas supplies extending
from Russia’s war on Ukraine. This is
affecting both business and consumer
activity, and the impacts will become
more severe during winter.
China has earned recognition as
the world’s manufacturing hub. But
the manufacturing sector of China’s
economy has contracted five of the
past seven months, based on the
government’s manufacturing PMI
report. Also, China’s economic growth
in 2022 has relied heavily on increased
exports of goods and services, which
climbed from 21% of the overall
economy in 2021 to 36% of China’s
economy midway through this year.
China’s domestic consumerism created
a great deal of economic growth prior to
COVID-19, but has slowed substantially.
COVID-19 and Russia’s war on Ukraine
are key contributors to present
economic challenges. There also have
been policy missteps by world leaders
that exacerbated existing problems
and risks, however well-intended those
policies might have been.
Putting all the causes aside — and there
are many — one ramification facing the
forest and wood products industries
from the economic slowdown is reduced
consumerism in all major markets
around the world. Specifically at risk
are housing sales and sales of nonessential,
big-ticket items, such as home
furnishings.
AN UNNECESSARY REALITY
The frustrating part of this potential
outcome is that the marketplace
had prepared for housing and home
16 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

MARKET REPORT
have affected production capacity
utilisation and the product mix of
sawn lumber and timbers. That said,
continued financial strain could alter the
production make-up by acquisitions and
attrition of sawmill companies.
COVID-19 and subsequent pressures have affected production capacity utilisation and the
product mix of sawn lumber and timbers
furnishing sales to increase. There is
pent-up consumer demand in markets
held back by government lockdowns
to control the spread of COVID-19 and
delayed deliveries of goods. There also
is increasing demand in other markets.
It is an important distinction that
demand is not the same as the ability or
inability to fulfil demand.
In particular, the US has a large and
growing population of young people
that extends in ages from 40 years
and younger. Over half of the total US
population falls within this age group,
which means there can be tremendous
consumer buying power for homes and
home furnishings for many years to
come.
financial stress for almost three years.
The historic rise in prices that occurred
in 2021 did create profits for sellers,
but not for long. Rapidly rising costs of
replacement goods and materials cut
into profit margins and left companies
exposed with high-cost inventories
when sales prices began to fall.
TIME AGAIN FOR TRANSITION
In the case of US hardwood sawmill
production capacity, there has been
no measurable change since the
early recovery phase from the Great
Recession. However, changes caused
by COVID-19 and subsequent pressures
This pattern of business is similar
to that which began in Q4 2018 and
carried over to the start of 2020, as
the pandemic emerged. There was
evidence of tighter supplies of US grade
hardwood in H2 2019, and there was a
growing sense of optimism then about
improved business heading into 2020.
Yes, COVID-19 was unforeseen and
changed the marketplace. But before
then, US hardwood lumber supplies
were corrected.
And they are correcting now, again. 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.
Non-essential items
like home furnishings
are at risk of reduced
consumerism
from the economic
slowdown
While wood products manufacturing
and distribution can support increased
product demand at present, companies
involved in these businesses cannot
stand by idly and indefinitely while
waiting for a non-responsive customer
base to re-engage.
First, supplies will adjust to present
market conditions. That is happening
now, even if results from production and
inventory cutbacks are not yet evident.
In time, and without improvement
in economies and consumer activity,
manufacturing and distribution
capacities will contract. The reality
is that businesses have been under
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 17

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
The role of an
independent auditor
in forest management
By Yap Shi Quan
As forests are increasingly subjected to harmful causes,
whether natural or man-made, the need to preserve and
protect them arises. Auditing is one such way. Forest
Practices Board, a forest watchdog organisation based in
British Columbia, Canada, explains what auditing in forestry
comprises, and how it contributes to healthier forestlands.
Forestlands are depleting across the world.
Regardless of whether it is due to natural causes
like climate change, or man-made causes like
illegal logging or deforestation, forests need to
be preserved if businesses want to maintain the
global consumption of timber used for wood
and non-wood products, or simply, to protect
our environment. Timber certification systems
have been implemented to ensure that timber
is harversted ethically and legally. But is it
adequate?
Another way is through auditing. Darlene
Oman, director of corporate performance from
Forest Practices Board (FPB), explained what
auditing comprises: “During a forestry audit,
[our] board examines timber harvesting, road
construction, maintenance and deactivation,
silviculture activities, such as replanting
and tending of new forests, and wildfire
preparedness and prevention, as well as
operational plans related to these activities.”
FPB is a watchdog organisation based in British
Columbia (BC), Canada that provides oversight
of both forest companies and government
agencies. It ensures that forest planning and
practices in BC are sound, and that the public’s
interests in the forests are being served.
According to Oman, their auditors in BC check
for compliance with legislation, specifically
with the Forest and Range Practices Act
and the Wildfire Act. The Forest and Range
Practices Act sets out BC government’s
objectives for how the province’s forests
should be managed, and the Wildfire Act aims
to prevent wildfire caused by industrial activity
in the forests.
Oman continued: “Inspections take place in
the field and plans and permits are reviewed
in the office. Examples of practices audited are
18 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
1
2
Legend
1 The trend
of warmer
temperatures
and drought
have subjected
BC forests to
stressors
2 BC forests cover
approximately 57
million hectares
and are used for
different activities
checking reserves left along streams to
protect fish habitat and water quality,
ensuring roads and bridges are safe
for industrial use and are not causing
soil erosion or landslides, checking the
number and quality of replanted trees,
and ensuring that any fire hazards from
slash and debris are treated to reduce
the risk of wildfire.”
THE STATE OF BC FORESTS
Currently, BC’s forests are “generally
very healthy”, but the trend of warmer
temperatures and drought have
subjected their forests to stressors,
according to Oman. In the last 10-20
years, insect infestations and wildfires
have caused damage to millions of
hectares of BC’s forested lands.
The forests in BC cover approximately
57 million hectares and are used for
different activities. For instance, about
20 million hectares are available for
timber harvesting and the forest
industry harvests about 1%, or 200,000
hectares each year. The forests also
provide forage for ranchers to graze
cattle, and are important for the tourism
and recreation sectors. Furthermore,
forests are important to indigenous
lives. BC is home to about 200
indigenous nations, each with their own
unique language, dialect, and traditions.
The government is committed to
implementing the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples — a framework that aims to set
standards on maintaining the rights
and dignity of indigenous people
globally — by involving indigenous
nations in decisions about the
management of BC’s forestlands.
In 2021, BC passed legislation that
enshrines this commitment in law.
INDEPENDENCE
As an independent auditor, FPB is
responsible for holding governments
and businesses accountable,
ensuring that all forestry policies
and legislations are abided. The
organisation assures the public
that forest companies follow legal
requirements to protect forest values,
and that the government is enforcing
any forest-related legislation.
This independence is what separates
FPB from other certification or
auditing bodies — it is not directed
by the government or market forces,
and hence key to gaining the public’s
trust in their findings and policy
recommendations: “Having an
independent third party that provides
this assurance builds public trust in the
stewardship of BC’s public forests.”
FPB has audited various woodworking
businesses in the past, including
Interfor, a forest products producer
based in North America, and
Kalesnikoff, a mass timber and lumber
manufacturer. From these audits, FPB
will make policy recommendations
to the government, so that any harm
done to forestlands from industrial
and woodworking activities can be
mitigated.
As Oman explained: “Over the years,
the board has made a number of
recommendations to the government
to improve the forest management
system in BC. The government
recently introduced amendments to
the legislation that would address
a number of our recommendations,
such as a new forest landscape
planning requirement, maps that
showed the public the location of new
logging roads and cut blocks, and
giving government managers greater
authority to direct forest companies if
their activities might cause harm to the
environment.”
Indeed, in that sense, FPB is more
answerable to the public and the
forestlands. With a stronger forest
management and stewardship,
ensuring no long-lasting harm to the
ecosystems, a stronger forest industry
will emerge as well — contributing
to a more regular revenue flow for
companies producing forest-related
products. To that end, the board
encourages all companies to “comply
with the Forest and Range Practices
Act and the Wildfire Act and to
follow best management practices in
planning and designing their forestry
operations”, so that the public remains
confident in the management of BC
forests. P
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 19

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
Innovative recycling and
upcycling for furniture
and furnishings: Giving
plastic waste a new life
By Ken Hickson
Wood used by
Roger&Sons to
repurpose airline
seats and galley
carts
There is a fair chance that plastic
will get back into “my good books”.
Particularly if I find a few more examples
of where ocean-bound plastic is being
put to good use. Like being turned into
furniture or textiles for furnishing, or
even panels for boats or buildings.
Admittedly, my preference is for wood
— everywhere — in furniture and fittings
and even in complete built structures.
But I must admit I am looking much
more closely as plastic gets recycled
more and can be turned into an object
to admire and use. Sometimes in
combination with wood.
I saw this for myself when I went to the
launch of the new global headquarters
of Archwey in Singapore recently.
Archwey is a holding company for
various brands that innovate materials,
including Arch & Hook.
Not only did Sjoerd Fauser, the CEO of
Archwey make a seemingly outlandish
claim that his company intended to
“rid the world of virgin plastics”, but he
showed me how it could be done. He
showed me how his brand-new office
has been filled with recycled plastic
furniture and fittings.
He started in the Netherlands by turning
plastic waste into coat hangers for the
fashion industry. Now he has found an
efficient way of putting plastic waste,
literally, through the mill, turning it into
tiny pellets which can then be moulded
into objects of desire.
Arch & Hook has also done a lot of
work for Nike, not only to make use of
recycled plastic in all the sports shoes
it makes, but using what he calls “the
BLUE recycling process”.
On top of this, retail stores themselves
have become shrines to the
convenience of virgin plastic — often
crammed with plastic display cases,
shelving, packaging and furniture that
has been designed to be thrown away
rather than reused.
Arch & Hook’s experimentation with
sustainable materials dates back
to 2016, when the company started
exploring a way to turn ocean-bound
and post-consumer plastics into new
products.
20 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
During London Fashion Week in
September 2019, the company launched
BLUE: a fully-recyclable hanger
made from 100% recycled plastics
predominantly sourced from four of the
most polluting rivers in the world.
Arch & Hook takes
plastic waste
through the BLUE
recycling process
Fauser has been quoted in media around
the world as he believes “any fashion
or retail company dragging its heels
on eliminating virgin plastic from its
business will soon be left behind. The
tide is turning against single-use plastic
— both in the public consciousness and
now through global legislative action”.
In March this year, at the Environment
Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya,
representatives from the United Nations
(UN) Member States “endorsed a historic
resolution” to combat plastic pollution.
An Intergovernmental Negotiating
Committee will be established this year
with the aim of drafting an international
legally binding agreement before 2025.
This is truly significant. Rather than
only focusing on waste management,
the agreement will address diverse
alternatives to the full lifecycle of
plastic, including production, design
and disposal.
So, through the work of Archwey and
others, we should expect to see a lot
more practical uses for recycled plastic;
furniture and furnishings made to last,
too.
We have reported before on the
Singapore social enterprise, Semula,
because it has been doing its best to
show what can be done by recycling
or repurposing plastic waste, taking
it through a heating and moulding
process to produce items for home and
office environments.
According to Jeryl Yep, co-founder
of Semula, the company is still going
strong whether “by design and good
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 21

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
intentions”, taking discarded highdensity
polyethylene (HDPE) bottles
and turning them into “one-of-akind
material which can be used as
decorative claddings, fittings and the
making of furniture and more”.
Limited only by the imagination, Yep
said Semula has to date diverted
1.7 tonnes of plastic waste from
the incineration plant and landfill
into upcycled new plastic sheets for
partners to use in commissioned
projects.
Semula believes strongly that only by
showing how plastic waste can have
commercial value can we change
people’s perspective about it.
“We need to reduce the overuse of
finite resources,” Yep insisted. “And,
instead, consider the use of nontraditional
material like upcycled
plastic. This takes away some of the
pressure on our natural ecosystems,
and through time, leads to behaviour
change for a more sustainable way
of living.”
Semula operates and makes all
its sheets locally. It works and
collaborates with local fabricators
and craftsmen to design and turn
waste into a treasured thing of
beauty. Educating businesses
and creating greater awareness in
the minds of the consumer is an
important by-product of the work
done by Semula.
Working in partnership helps too, so
maybe Semula and Archwey could
find ways to collaborate in a similar
way to what Semula has done with
the woodcrafts firm, Roger&Sons.
These innovative and creative people
in Roger&Sons have just told us
about their latest Singapore project.
They now have a collaboration with
the Singapore Airlines by repurposing
economy class three-seaters and
galley carts from retired Airbus A380
planes.
While they had in mind making these
for airline enthusiasts, they have
recreated limited-edition collectables
using repurposed local wood. This
upcycling collaboration features
Roger&Sons’ initiative, The Local Tree
Project — an effort to rehabilitate
abandoned logs felled in our city.
Its version of the economy class
three-seater showcases local African
mahogany as the material of choice,
while retaining its original aluminium
frames and plastic armrests.
Even identifying its forms, the
enterprising woodcrafters mimicked
its curvatures to mould the seats for
comfort. They also kept its functional
seat-recline mechanism, allowing
additional control for passengers’
comfort.
There will probably be many furniture
collectors — more than just aviation
enthusiasts — who would love to
feature these unique “flying objects”
in their homes or offices.
Whether for repurposing airline
seats and galley carts, largely made
of plastic and metal, or producing
furniture and useful objects for the
home and office from ocean-bound
plastic, we are seeing a desire by
committed businesses to come up
with a second life for what would
normally be dumped.
Archwey puts it this way: “We collect
post-consumer and post-industrial
plastic waste via blue bins and put it
2
through a process of technological
1
2
3
recycling, including extrusion and
granulation, before transforming it
into high-quality recycled pellets that
can be manufactured into anything.
We design for the future — and work
with companies that realise that is
the only option, both ethically and
economically.”
The trick here is making sure that
materials are designed from the
very beginning with their second life
already in mind. That is “sustainability
thinking”. That is applying the
principles of a circular economy.
And maybe that is the future for the
built environment — inside and out
— as its grapples with the challenge
of producing a large share of global
greenhouse gas emissions. P
Legend
1 Semula takes
plastic bottles and
turns them into
coasters, plates or
tiles
2 Plastic recycled
and used in this
bar table top
and stool seats
for Archwey’s
Singapore
headquarters
3 Close up of the
wood treatment
used for upcycled
airline seats
22 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

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)274 380 3609
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.

IN PERSON
“Delivering added
value to our customers”:
Teknos expands to Vietnam
The new commercial and competence centre in Vietnam by
Teknos promises faster response time, and solutions and services
tailored to each customer. How can this customer-centric
business model strengthen the value of the company?
By Yap Shi Quan
Teknos’s new commercial
and competence centre in
Vietnam
OFFERING “VALUE-ADDED SERVICES”
Everything a company does impacts their
customers’ perceptions and decisions to keep
choosing the company’s brand, solutions,
products and services: This customer-centric
model is one of the guiding business principles
of Teknos, as declared by Paula Salastie,
CEO of Teknos and owner of Teknos Group.
It is also one of the various reasons why the
coating solutions provider has opened a new
commercial and competence centre in Vietnam
in September, with the aim of enhancing their
collaboration with Vietnamese customers
and support them with faster response time,
and tailored solutions and services of their
offerings.
Located in the province of Dong Nai, the new
centre includes Teknos’s sales and business
development, customer service, technical
application and services, training, and
warehouse facilities. Wanda Smith, managing
director of Teknos Malaysia, elaborated: “Our
local technical support and extensive global
network are at our customers’ service to help
find the right solution for their needs. On top of
that, we train our customers, help with safety,
chemistry, application, painting line processes
and so on. All these can be done from either our
new facility centre or at the customer’s site.”
24 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

IN PERSON
As a whole, Teknos offers various types of
value-added services, including product
development and adjustment, production
line configuration or set-up, line audit,
sampling and pre-line trial, colour matching,
quality performance testing, on-site or
virtual technical troubleshooting, and more.
According to Salastie, such services are part
of the company’s strategic pillar of ‘Customer
Experience’, where it aims to be as close to
their customers as possible by increasing
customer satisfaction and creating “long-term
customer relationships”. In essence, Teknos
hopes to interact with them “at all stages and
touchpoints of their journey, before and after
they become [their] customer”.
She added: “Each customer has their unique
operation model and pain points. For some,
this might be about energy savings, others
might want to solve recycling of over-sprayed
paint, or they might need to understand their
contribution to greenhouse emissions. We
tailor our services with close collaboration,
to understand our customers better all the
way to their end customer. For us, aftersales
services involve following how our
customers’ products develop and adapting our
collaboration, so that our services suit their
given circumstances.”
1
As mentioned by Salastie, Teknos looks at their
own manufacturing footprint and emissions
throughout the lifecycle of their customers’
products. The company is committed to
sustainability in their own processes, their
customers’ journey, and in the collaborations
with suppliers and other stakeholders, by
practising their own strategies modelled after
the United Nations’ Sustainable Development
Goals (SGDs): future generation, sustainable
solutions and services, people and culture, and
responsible operations and supply chain. For
instance, Teknos chose to open the new centre
in the JSC Industrial Park because the park
was equipped with sustainable infrastructure
systems, including a central wastewater
treatment and built-in air ventilation.
2
Legend
1 Teknos team with the
JSC team
2 The reception area
3 The technical
application room
Salastie intuited that building ESG values
and after-sales services is crucial in delivering
added value to their customers: “This will
reinforce or reassure our customers that they
have made the right choice in choosing us, and
make them feel good about the Teknos brand.
3
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 25

IN PERSON
It plays an important role in customer
satisfaction and long-lasting customer
relations, generating loyal customers
and increasing Teknos brand value.”
WHY VIETNAM?
In 2021, Vietnam contributed 36% of
Teknos’s total sales revenues in the
South East Asian region, among other
key markets that Teknos is located in,
such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia
and Cambodia. This is an indicator of
the company’s growing demand in the
country, and hence their decision to
expand into Vietnam to better support
the demand. Smith commented that
they are also aware Vietnam is one
of the fastest growing economies in
the world, with “openness to foreign
investment and the Vietnamese
government putting incentives in place”,
attracting Teknos to invest further in the
market.
4
5
“Currently, Vietnam is already one of the
leading manufacturers and exporters of
furniture, including wood for indoor and
outdoor purposes. With all the existing
and growing opportunities in sight, we
are confident that our Teknos solution
offerings, be it products or services, will
be able to benefit customers in Vietnam
— such as our bio-based products,
finishings and systems such as digital
printing or embossing, and value-added
services for pre- and post-purchases.”
For better collaborations with their
customers, Teknos chose Dong
Nai province also because it is one
of Vietnam’s main manufacturing
centres. Smith explained that the JSC
Industrial Park is most favourable in
terms of geographical location for
business development, investment, and
transport intersections for connectivity,
being close to various ports like Cai Lai
and Cai Mep ports, and airports such as
Tan Son Nhat airport and Long Thanh
international airport. With Teknos’s
waterborne and UV products imported
from Malaysia, and additional products
from their Finland, Germany, Denmark
or China factories, customers can
choose from different supply channels.
Furthermore, they can have easier
access to local sales and technical
support team, as well as regional and
global specialists for more complex
projects.
Following their Vietnam expansion,
Teknos is planning to grow their
business by penetrating existing
markets in Asia-Pacific, mainly
Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Japan
and New Zealand. Salastie concluded:
“Currently we are managing these
markets via export directly or with
our distribution network. The aim
is to expand our product range and
services in furniture as well as to other
customer areas and, as the business
grows, eventually to have our own
entities.” P
Legend
4 The technical
laboratory
5 Warehouse
containing
Teknos solutions
26 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT
Greater sustainability
with Dieffenbacher’s CPS+
continuous press system
Environmental regulations are
tightening and the cost of CO2 emissions
is increasing, but with Dieffenbacher’s
CPS+ continuous press system,
manufacturers can balance economic
and sustainability goals to build a
better future for their business and the
environment.
Dieffenbacher’s Press Emission
Control System is just one tool to help
achieve that balance. It protects the
environment by cleaning exhaust gases
from the press through a washing
process. Dust and condensable fractions
of exhaust gases are bound to fine water
droplets. These solid and liquid parts
are separated in the system’s Inline
Scrubber. In addition, pre-absorber
units are available to reduce volatile
organic compounds (VOC) emissions,
particularly formaldehyde.
Another way to balance economic and
sustainability goals is to reuse heat
from the press exhaust air elsewhere
in the production process. When the
press exhaust air is cleaned by a wet
air cleaning system, for example, the
Inline Scrubber in the Press Emission
Control System, the process water
from the wet air cleaning system cools
down. The result is more effective
air cleaning, as cold water can bind
emissions better. The recovered
low-calorific heat from the process
water can then be used, for instance,
to preheat the hall air inside the
production building to save heating
energy and costs. It can also be used
to preheat the glue. This not only
saves energy, but the resulting lower
viscosity glue enables a more precise
glue spray pattern. More consistent
operations, meanwhile, produce less
excess glue. These are two of the
various ideas to reduce energy costs
and emissions and increase profits by
reusing press exhaust air, according to
Dieffenbacher. P
Reuse heat from
the press exhaust
air elsewhere in the
production process,
such as to preheat
the glue
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 27

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT
Automated spray coating
In carpentry and joinery services for living, working and
commercial areas, carpentry company Bantli focuses on
quality, customer satisfaction and innovative technology. Their
automated spray coating line from Buerkle is an example of this.
SEEING AND FEELING SURFACES
Interior designers and furniture manufacturers
face the challenge of making the looks and
feel of doors, furniture and wall panelling
convincing. “Natural”, “durable”, “elegant” and
“attractive” are adjectives that describe surface
finishing. The range of different materials
requires a high level of flexibility, and it takes
economic efficiency to create the ideal surface
finishing, despite small batch sizes at times.
To meet these requirements to the customer’s
satisfaction, Bantli has been working with a
manual spraying station for years. Painters
manually apply the desired surface finishing
with spray guns. However, because of
increasing requirements and larger numbers of
incoming orders, the spraying station gradually
became a bottleneck in the production
process. Moreover, it has been increasingly
difficult to find skilled staff for this field of work.
Oliver Bantli, owner and managing director
of Bantli, therefore preferred an automated
solution to avoid bottlenecks in the field of
surface finishing.
Bantli, a company in the Swiss carpentry
industry, aims to attach importance to data
consistency throughout the company. The
owner Bantli explained: “Our company
objective is ambitious: We strive for 100%
customer satisfaction. Our comprehensive
employee and apprentice training activities
as well as the consistent use of innovative
technology in all areas contribute significantly
to this.”
With a branch office in Regensdorf, Switzerland,
Bantli caters to customers in Zurich and the
surroundings with a portfolio of services and
advice. Business growth has been steady for
the company since their beginning in 1982.
Computer numerical control (CNC) technology
and planning support through 3D computeraided
design (CAD) made their appearances in
the early 2000s.
ROBUSECO
Bantli was convinced of his decision of obtaining
Buerkle’s ROBUSeco spray coating line, in favour
over a system from the surface specialist Black
Forest: “The ingenious concept of the ROBUSeco
spray coating line developed and built for us
by Buerkle had convinced us on the spot. Data
consistency and, above all, a very high degree of
automation were important for us.”
The automation is accomplished through the
combination of workpiece cleaning, integrated
automatic turning unit, and the largely
28 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT
automatic removal and loading of
the rack trolleys. The spray-painting
machine and its upstream and
downstream machines thus enable
almost unmanned, individual coating
of quality. The installation of the
ROBUSeco also opens up an additional
business segment for Bantli. The
carpentry business can now offer
cost-efficient contract work in the
coating field to fellow carpenters.
This complements the cooperation
with colleagues in the field of parts
production.
VERSATILE EXPANSION OPTIONS
Robert Buerkle entered the spray
coating segment with its first
machines in 2017. The company from
Freudenstadt, Germany, has realised a
number of projects to date, ranging from
stand-alone machines to automated
batch-size-one lines. With the flexibility
of the ROBUSeco spray coating concept,
workpiece materials and their geometry
are of little importance; a customised
edge spray gun, for example, was
developed for the Bantli application.
High edges, which regularly occur when
coating doors, can thus be coated in
ideal quality.
1
With the combination of automated
surface finishing and the traditional
manual spraying station, Bantli now
sees itself well positioned for the near
future in this area. “Since we started
producing with the ROBUSeco, we keep
discovering more possible applications
that we had not even thought of
before. Buerkle proves to be a partner
who is always prepared to make
appropriate adjustments, extensions or
conversions,” Bantli stated.
In his experience, even the software
adaptations that usually become
necessary for the quite complex plant
are in good hands with the Buerkle
specialists. “So far, they have found a
solution for every requirement,” Bantli
concluded. P
This article was first published in
Schreinerzeitung and is reproduced
here with permission.
2
3
Legend
1 Cross conveyors
automatically
retrieve
workpieces from
the rack trolleys
2 Manual removal
of finished coated
workpieces from
the rack trolley
3 With the new edge
spray guns, even
high edges can be
coated
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 29

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT
woodCommander 5:
Simpler, faster and more
cost-efficient production
Relevant parameters
are displayed, and
preview images
based on 3D
simulation enable
faster programme
changes
HOMAG has launched a new generation
of software to boost the performance
and productivity of their EDGETEQ
S-500 machine. woodCommander 5,
an upgraded version of the previous
system, is now available to offer users
additional internal and external options
for data exchange.
woodCommander 5 is designed for
the quick selection of machining
programmes and edge material,
and enables the fast recording of
production parameters as well as
the workpiece-oriented creation of
machine programmes. The software is
recommended for operators who need
to run various programmes for their
product range through the edgebanding
machine.
According to HOMAG, customers who
have tried woodCommander 5 reported
that it is easy to find their way around
the software. Fewer clicks are required
to produce the desired edging results,
since the software groups the levels of
information in an intuitive way. Relevant
parameters can be displayed depending
on the situation, and preview images
based on 3D simulation enable faster
programme changes. Especially for
EDGETEQ S-500, where its automated
production requires a lot of parameters,
all of the production meters are visually
displayed, so operators need not
memorise anything to use the software.
woodCommander 5 also ensures that
the first test edgebanding workpiece
comes out as accurate as possible,
true to the operator’s desired results.
This allows savings in real-time
production and costs, since there
are fewer faulty test pieces. The 3D
workpiece simulation, the display
of the dimensions directly on the 3D
workpiece, and the automatic check of
impermissible parameter combinations
also ensure a high level of operating
safety. Additionally, with the operatorspecific
arrangement of parameters and
the integrated user rights management,
personnel have more flexibility when
operating the edgebanding machine.
Widgets, such as for programmes or
edge material, aim to simplify the
handling.
EDGE DATA PLUG-IN MODULE
The woodCommander 5 also comes
with an edge data plug-in module,
which creates a connection between
the machine control unit and the
Edgeband Management Set, HOMAG’s
edgeband assistant that keeps an
information overview of the edge
material and material stock. The
plug-in transfers data such as edge
30 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

PANEL PRODUCT MANUFACTURING
HIGHLIGHT
From left: IMAL Belt
Dryer; GLOBUS OSB
Strander
glue blender. Hence, the gluing area contaminants potentially inside the mat, the top surface. A double diagonal saw
may be certified as ATEX 22, where an thus protecting the steel press belts produced by IMAL cuts the master panel
explosive atmosphere from a mixture of
combustible dust in the air is not likely
from damage.
to the size required after it has been
pressed.
A visual display of the
edge data plug-in module
to occur.
At the infeed to the press, the
thickness, edge height and available length Dynasteam when system recording is fitted the to edgeband inject data, thus A board saving weighing operator scale with and other users in work preparation
In of addition the selected to the edge mat weighing roll from scale the edgeband steam into time the and mat minimising to reduce possible the input errors. thickness gauge and and purchasing, blister detector simplifying stock management
and assistant moisture application meters, an to x-ray the edgebanding
operated press factor Furthermore, and achieve the a data better transfer is not manufactured a one-way and by IMAL production is installed for operators.
in the
system machine. is installed on the forming line,
called PSD 400 or Power Scan Device. It
distribution street of — the the heat. edgebanding In the case machine of also after-press reports area. The company declared
LSB production, the remaining a second length Dynasteam of the edge roll that back it to has installed Currently, approximately woodCommander 5 is only available
controls For the operator, the weight this per minimises area of the the mat need for is installed the to edgeband “iron” the assistant. strands, This so means that 870 thickness the gauges for EDGETEQ worldwide S-500, with but it might be available for
utilising manual x-rays, and redundant and detects intermediate any foreign steps that small edge particles stock will may be be up applied to date to for the machine over 7,000 measuring other EDGETEQ heads. The machines IMAL in the future. P
CONTI-SCALE X
Non-contact Panel Scale
Measurement of area weight
GERMAN TECHNOLOGY
Calculation of panel weight
Required space for installation
only 335mm [13.2“]
WIDE RANGE OF MEASURING SYSTEMS
FOR ENGINEERED WOOD PRODUCTION
www.electronic-wood-systems.com
Panels & Panels Furniture & Furniture Asia | November Asia | March / December / April 2022 31 37

PANEL MANUFACTURING
2022: A year rich
in achievements
CMC Texpan, a wood-based panel
manufacturer, and part of the Siempelkamp
Group, celebrated its 60th anniversary
earlier this year. In light of this, the company
recounts all of its achievements over the year.
was physically launched at Xylexpo.
This system can be installed inside
LYNX as an expansion or as a single
device to allow the classification of
different wood composites, such as
particleboard (PB), medium-density
fibreboard (MDF), wood chips and
oriented strand board (OSB). With the
implementation of artificial intelligence
(AI) algorithms, Speed Classifier is
able to predict the area and geometric
barycentre of the examined samples,
simultaneous to the type classification,
while they are carried on the LYNX’s
conveyor belt.
Another system introduced during
Xylexpo was a system based on THz
technology (Fig. 3) to measure the
density profile of the wooden panels
and mats, in real time and with
“non-contact” technology applicable
for various types of wood and mat
heights. Moreover, it is possible to
install an additional device that has
the capacity to identify humidity
gradients. With such systems, it
is possible to collect information
regarding the quality and repeatability.
With respect to other systems present
in the market, the THz technology
is not “dangerous”, and permissions
or particular authorisations are not
needed.
Fig. 1: The glue
kitchen system
Located in Colzate, Italy, CMC Texpan
celebrated its anniversary on 26 Mar
2022, with a speech by the president
Paolo Gattesco on the importance of
teamwork and team spirit. To leave a
tangible memory of this milestone, the
company gave an elephant made of
wood and metal to all its employees.
This present stood for solidity, majesty
and impressiveness — characteristics
of what CMC Texpan strives to be — and
in overall for what represented the
Siempelkamp group for the company.
The elephant also symbolised longevity,
health and happiness.
From 12-15 Oct, CMC Texpan
participated in the Xylexpo fair, which
took place at Fiera Milano-Rho in Italy,
to signal its presence in the furniture
industry. During the exhibition, the staff
members met their partners from all
around the world, and their customers or
potential clients to give the information
regarding CMC Texpan’s range of
machines, to explain its products and
services, and last but not least to give
technical support clarifications.
During Xylexpo, CMC Texpan emphasised
one of its latest products: the LYNX
sorter. LYNX is a compact and versatile
technology for the detection and removal
of contaminants. It is specially designed
for the removal of pollutants.
Another of CMC Texpan’s latest CMC
technology, the Speed Classifier (Fig. 2),
CMC Texpan also has experience in
glue blenders, particularly in designing
and manufacturing blenders with highand
low-speed execution. High-speed
glue blenders represent a conventional
technique that was, and still is, in
some plants appreciated for their
compactness and cost-effectiveness.
However, to preserve the geometric
shape of the particle, CMC Texpan’s
low-speed blenders reportedly reduce
the particle impact and fragmentations
with a decreased peripheral speed of
the mixing tools. The mixing chamber
walls of the blenders can be equipped
with ceramic or tungsten carbide
coating to reduce wear problems and
ensuring longer operation life. For
the production of unique panels like
ultra-particleboard (U-PB) or sandwich
32 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

PANEL MANUFACTURING
Fig. 2: The Speed Classifier
Fig. 3: The THz
particleboard (SPB), different configuration
or dedicated arrangements of the blenders
are also available to salvage the geometric
shape of the flakes and, consequently,
increase the mechanical proprieties of the
boards.
CMC Texpan has also designed and patented
a magnetic coating system named Mag Shell
(Fig. 4). This system is composed of metal
sectors with tungsten carbide coating applied
in the mixing chamber of the blenders.
The scope of this system is to recover the
worn mixing chamber without having to
replace the complete machine. The system
is also composed of magnetic sheets with
tungsten carbide coating surface, which will
be in contact with the wood flakes inside the
mixing chamber. This system includes strong
magnets when combined one another, but
not any more harmful or dangerous than a
normal magnet — in fact, in this case, CMC
Texpan claimed that the airfreight shipment
of Mag Shell is typically approved. In case of
wearing over time, CMC Texpan said that the
system allows for a possible fast and easy
replacement of the single sectors. As such, it
is economical and fast to revamp an existing
worn-out machine.
CMC Texpan also has a glue kitchen (Fig. 1),
which consists of a storage, allowing for
the dosing of the different components of
the glue mixture according to the present
throughput values. The glue mixture is made
up of the glue additives, such as hardener,
Fig. 4: The
Mag Shell
urea, paraffin emulsion, water, polymeric
methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (PDMI)
and dyeing agents. The glue kitchen system
can be integrated with dusty or granulated
additives too. Compared to the conventional
and common systems present on the market,
CMC Texpan’s new glue kitchen aims to be
economical, all-purpose and undemanding
with very low maintenance. The main phases
of the glue kitchen system are preparation or
storage, and dosing.
The storage of common additives is made
using tank with agitators and filtering group for
the components, so as to remove encrustation
of the foreign bodies. During the dosing phase,
there is a combination of mass-flow mater and
magnetic flow meters depending on the product
used. It is possible to ensure a precise and full
control of the regulation and the metering with a
dosing pump powered by a frequency converter
and with pressure sensors and an automatised
valve. Separate metering of every component
and static mixer ensure a correct mixing of all
the glue mixture. CMC Texpan’s glue kitchen
system can be also fitted with a transparent,
graduated vessel used for instrument calibration
during start-up. Directly controlled and
managed by a programmable logic controller
(PLC), the vessel can be used to run verification
tests on every component without stopping the
production. P
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 33

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
Defect detection
in batch-size-one
production
Around 98% of Hali furniture is delivered
to the customer fully assembled.
However, inspection only at the end
of production also means that any
defects in the individual workpieces are
noticed late. This causes a stir, since the
remanufacturing will be a rush so that
the delivery does not stop completely. In
addition, such a rush job at Hali cannot
run through the variant production line
with the corresponding recording in the
waste optimisation, but is automatically
a part for the make-to-order production
to be available again in time. All these
were disadvantages that Hali no longer
accepted.
Mario Helfenschneider, production
manager at Hali, commented:
“Discovering surface defects only during
furniture assembly was a problem
and economically a great loss for the
company. That was why we thought
about how we could improve the
situation. And we came up with the
idea of having the parts inspected
automatically by a scanner during the
ongoing process so that defects were
noticed much sooner.”
When workpieces pass automatically
through a production process, defects
are usually noticed late — namely, only
when an employee is involved in a visual
inspection, unless, an inspection system
performs this task during the ongoing
process. Office furniture manufacturer
Hali has decided to go this route and
invested in a system from Baumer
Inspection.
Hali’s production in Eferding, Austria
takes place in a showcase production
facility, and has efficient, interlinked
production facilities with decoupling
buffers in Europe. The company
aims to produce at a high quality in
batch-size-one. For this purpose, the
individual workpieces do not pass
through production labelled; instead,
prefabrication from cutting to the
drilling line is data-based. This means
that each workpiece passes through
the process steps of production as
pre-programmed data record with
individual information, and is not
‘read in’ anew by each machine so
that it can set itself up individually for
processing.
Yet, despite how advanced its
processes are, Hali has invested in a
ColourBrain Furniture 4.0 scanner from
Baumer Inspection to detect defects
on the workpiece surfaces earlier. This
is because low manpower production
means that the workpieces are only
inspected by employees at a late
stage in the value chain. At Hali, this
is usually not until assembly, shortly
before loading and delivery, which is
largely carried out by employees.
In 2019, there were initial discussions
with Baumer Inspection for their
ColourBrain Furniture 4.0 system
and also competitors at LIGNA, the
international woodworking trade show
held at Hanover, Germany. However, it
became apparent that Baumer’s system
was the ideal fit for Hali.
“There were clear knockout criteria
for other systems at an early stage, so
our choice fell on the Baumer system,”
said Helfenschneider. “For example,
in terms of material colours and also
workpiece thicknesses. At Hali, we are
talking about batch-size-one production
with around 1,200 parts per shift, where
hardly one part is the same as another.
Since we wanted the scanner to detect
at a normal line speed, other systems
reached their limits. The illumination
and camera settings from one part to
the next, for example, was a challenge,
as was the thickness change-over to
guide a thinner 16mm part through the
34 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
system just as reliably and without vibration
after a thicker 25mm part. In addition, a wide
part with 1m could also be followed by a very
narrow one with 30cm.
“In any case, all adjustments from transport
to camera settings must be made in fractions
of a second, and not every scanner could do
that. The resolution quality of the images was
also not the same for all suppliers, and we
had determined for ourselves that we would
digitally recheck the parts marked as faulty on
the screen.”
Helfenschneider and his team fiddled to find
the ideal position for the scanner within the
interlinked plant. In the end, they decided
to place ColourBrain Furniture 4.0 between
the edging line and the picking warehouse.
“At this point, it was still a good time in the
value chain and in the overall process flow
to be able to react. On one hand, the part
had not yet been finished, and on the other,
the picking warehouse held about a day’s
production directly after the scanner until it
was then outsourced, drilled and assembled
according to the order. This meant that we had
enough time to inspect the part that had been
marked as defect and, if necessary, to initiate
remanufacturing. This was then automatically
included in the next day’s waste optimisation
and ran normally via variant production.
Ultimately, we now have savings of between
40-50% as a result.”
The scanner inspects both the top and bottom
of the workpiece in a single pass and provides
feedback as the part continues on its way to
the picking warehouse. Hali decided against
a 360° inspection, even though the Baumer
system could handle this as well, since there
were rarely problems in the edge area. They rely
on employees to check edging lines instead,
according to Helfenschneider.
SHORT INSTALLATION TIME
After the initial contact with Baumer Inspection
in May 2019, the project was concretised and
visits were made to the scanner manufacturer
at Lake Constance. The inspection system
was delivered in July 2020 during the
summer vacation period. Nevertheless, it
was a huge task for Baumer, because variant
production had to be shut down accordingly
for the installation of the scanner. With good
preparatory work and preliminary acceptance
at Baumer in Constance, everything went
quickly and smoothly. In the end, it was less the
installation than the individual connection that
became a challenge for Baumer.
Stefan Eisenkohl, head of sales and marketing at
Baumer Inspection, recalled: “The production of
Hali with connection of the scanner was special
in that the parts passed through data-based.
This meant that we had to integrate the scanner
into HOMAG’s production control system of
the entire plant by means of an interface. This
was because it was necessary for the scanner
to provide each data record with an individual
description after the scan if a defect was found.
At a later point in time, the system operator used
the digital image to check whether the part really
had a defect.
“In principle, he had three options: He could
release a part because the error message was
due to, for example, contamination by dust,
which could be easily removed, or he ordered a
remanufacture because it was actually a scratch
or similar surface defect. If he was unsure, he
could also enter the information that another
visual inspection must be carried out. It was
important to attach all the information digitally
— cleanly programmed interfaces were the basis
for this. We did not have something like this with
every new plant; this form of software linking
was new territory for us.”
All these worked to Helfenschneider’s
satisfaction: “The plant functionality we had
imagined established within one month. The
difficulty lay in setting the quality individually
according to our requirements. In the end,
it would be of no use to us if parts were
permanently marked as defective where there
were no real defects and an employee then
had to check them using a scanner image.
Conversely, we did not want the machine
to measure so laxly that real defects slipped
through and we were back to square one.
“In this respect, the step from installation to
regular operation with exact detection was
almost the trickiest. We have defined guidelines
with templates that show which defect was
acceptable to what extent at which location,
and where it was not. On a front or a table
surface with uni-decor, for example, a maximum
defect of 0.2mm 2 might occur on an area of 1m 2 .
Basically, a part was given its ‘personal’ quality
zones in the data record. And all this was already
pre-set for the scanner. But we had to get there
first; not every detail could be clarified despite
professional preliminary acceptance of the
system.”
The inspection system finds various defects on furniture parts with a high hit rate
AI DEPLOYMENT FOR IMPROVED INSPECTION
Helfenschneider was hoping for another
leap in defect classification from this further
development so that, for example, dirt that
needed to be removed is also recognised as such
and no longer led to an error message and timeconsuming
visual inspection by an employee.
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 35

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
“First, we had a lot of chip generation in
upstream processes that could not be
completely removed from machining,
even with very good extraction. Then
it was a matter of cleaning the parts as
close to detection as possible — brushes
and also cleaning fluid were used for
this. The brushes could not be kept
100% clean in ongoing production, and
the liquid did not evaporate optimally
every time. And we already had a
breeding ground for contaminants or
even detect streaks on the workpiece
due to remaining moisture. In our case,
the path to the scanner tended to be a
bit too long, and this could cause dust
to settle again. The system should be
able to detect this in the future. It was
the same with labels. We did not actually
use them. However, it was possible that
parts from the residual board storage
were included in the waste optimisation,
which were given a label for storage. This
label, or even a piece of it, should also
not lead to an error message.”
Eisenkohl added: “The classifier for dirt
detection that we are currently working
on is a lever for all companies to further
improve the accuracy of a ‘real’ error
message in the future. We are already
doing well, but we want to work with
customers like Hali to improve system
performance even more. And experience
shows that most detections are caused
by contamination; large scratches in the
surface are rather rare.”
A scanner also has its limitations. Labels
are a problem, because they can conceal
surface defects. Even high-gloss surfaces
with protective films cannot be detected.
Nevertheless, Hali is satisfied with the
results, as Helfenschneider declared:
“Before we got the inspection system,
we detected about 40% of rejects in the
machine area and 60% of the defects
precisely when the furniture was
assembled. Now, in more than 80% of
the cases, we find the defects already in
the parts production. And this increases
our potential enormously.”
Since the system was installed, the
scanner has already helped to detect
machine problems and minimise them
at an early stage. A bent collet chuck on
the saw has left distinctive marks at a
specific point on the workpiece surface,
and with the error messages and digital
recordings, the problem is found and
eliminated.
DETECTION PERFORMANCE
STATISTICS
The Baumer scanner also helps
with general quality control vis-à-vis
suppliers. Helfenschneider described:
“Even before we got the ColourBrain
Furniture 4.0, there was documentation
of defects to prove that the material
was already of inferior quality upon
delivery. Based on these records, we
even launched a quality offensive in
2017 in the direction of our suppliers.
In general, the quality we receive is
now right. But with the scanner and
the digital recordings, it is now much
easier to create a good ‘defect log’. This
is because Q-Live, a tool in Baumer’s
plant software, allows companies to
obtain comprehensive statistics on
detection performance. While we cannot
necessarily trace a defect back to a
specific wood-based panel, we can at
least trace a batch.”
Helfenschneider also praised the
Baumer scanner’s user-friendliness:
“Maintenance and servicing take up only
a small amount of time. For what the
system does, this part is unproblematic
and easy. We are also able to configure
and set up everything ourselves, so
we do not have to contact Baumer for
every action. In addition, the range of
individual setting options is enormous.”
The easy handling of the system also
refers to the detection of new decors,
as Helfenschneider reported: “There
are already enough possibilities given
on the part of the software. We only
have to ‘categorise’ a decor, whether
it is smooth or textured, light or dark,
plain or patterned. So, any number of
new decors can be added. We could
not afford to train the plant with a new
decor over a long period of time first: If a
customer ordered furniture in a special
decor, which we consequently ordered
from the supplier for the first time, then
we must be able to programme it in and
make it ‘scannable’ within a very short
time so that production ran efficiently.
Alternatively, we could exclude these
parts from detection. But then such a
system would not be worthwhile. We
already wanted to inspect 99.9% of all
parts.”
Eisenkohl elaborated: “There are usually
a maximum of 12 categories for grouping
a workpiece or decor. This is exactly
what makes our systems so applicationoriented
— there is no need to teach
600 decors if there is a large variety in a
company. Instead, the system brings a
really large amount of knowledge to the
table to reliably find the defects in the
most diverse decors.”
Such close cooperation with new tasks is
beneficial for a machine manufacturer,
because it moves the plants forward in
the long term. Eisenkohl concluded: “The
scanner project for Hali was another leap
for us in terms of gaining know-how. This
will benefit other customers with similar
requirements in the future. With Hali,
we were very fortunate to have access
to certain data from the company in
detection during the project. Analysing
the faults we found and assessing the
stability of the system gave us another
boost. We rarely get that much insight,
especially after installing a scanner.” P
The article was first published in
Möbelfertigung by Doris Bauer and is
reproduced here with permission.
The Baumer scanner
is located in the
variant production
line at Hali and
detects all furniture
parts at normal
throughput speed
36 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
Ways to improve
the quality of
edgebanding
equipment accuracy and technologies.
The company focuses on EVA, PUR
adhesive, hot air banding, laser banding
process, striving to provide high-quality
edgebanding solutions for furniture
enterprises.
Continuous development of the
furniture industry and improvement
of people’s quality of life have led
to higher expectations of furniture
quality by consumers, and wholehouse
customised furniture and
custom-made concepts have
become a trend. In the face of new
furniture concepts and technologies
put forward by businesses, the
edgebanding effect for consumers
is arguably the most intuitive and
easiest factor for them to judge
the quality of furniture, apart
from different design styles. Ideal
edgebanding includes aesthetic fitting
and firm pasting, smaller colour
difference and glue seam between
edgeband and the panel, as well as
smooth and flat corners, making the
panel look like a whole board with
minimised traces of processing. In
essence, the quality of edgebanding
directly affects the overall aesthetics
and durability of the furniture.
Various factors such as edgebanding
machinery, edgeband, melt adhesive,
boards, and process will have an
impact on the final banding effect.
Currently, the edgeband and
workpiece joining process usually
includes ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)
hot-melt adhesive, polyurethane
(PUR) hot-melt adhesive, hot
air banding, and laser banding.
Nanxing Machinery, for the past
25 years, aims to keep enhancing
HOT-MELT GLUE: DOUBLE PRE-MELTING
GLUE APPLICATION SYSTEM
With low cost and low technical
threshold in woodworking equipment
and materials, traditional EVA hot-melt
adhesive banding still dominates the
market. The glue pot adopts the glue
taking method of absorbing glue on
the glue wheel. The glue pot has a large
capacity, and the glue near the glue
shaft will be consumed first, and the
remaining glue will be heated repeatedly
in the pot, which is prone to scorch
and discolouration , and impacts the
adhesive’s performance and aesthetics
of the glue seam. Using Nanxing’s premelting
glue application system, a part
of the hot-melt adhesive is preheated to
a certain temperature in the pre-melting
glue box above. Then the pre-melting
glue is injected into the glue tank below
for a short period of heating through
motor control according to the amount
of glue needed for the board, before the
glue is applied directly to the workpiece.
Repeated heating is avoided. The
50mm-diameter gluing roller also has
a heating rod in the middle, ensuring
better control over the temperature and
amount of glue applied. The glue can be
melted and used immediately to keep
the hot-melt adhesive, thus ensuring
an optimal performance at a proper
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 37

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
temperature. Such a method
ensures a stabler edgebanding
quality and more even gluing.
Compared to conventional glue
application method, the glue line
is smaller and more aesthetic,
the glue supply is large, and the
heating is fast.
In addition, white boards and
dark boards are used in furniture
production. Typically, white
boards are matched with white
edgeband and white glue, dark
boards with dark glue. The
consistent colour matching of the
banding material can enhance the
integrity after banding, making
the glue lines less visible. For this
reason, the design of the double
glue pot in Nanxing double premelting
glue application system
edgebanding equipment such
as NB7PCGM-PC and NB7CJM
reportedly achieve rapid switching
between dark- and light-colour
hot-melt glue for colour matching
with the workpieces and
edgeband, thus saving time for
machine adjustment. There is also
a narrow version of the automatic
edgebanding machine NB7CJMN
with double gluing system, and
the short-end corner rounding can
achieve a minimum processing
width of 45mm, which not only
realises switching between two
kinds of glue colours, but also
solves the problem of narrow
board and end edgebanding.
PUR GLUING SYSTEM
For PUR, adhesive molecules
and water molecules in the air
react to form an irreversible
adhesive-linked curing structure,
resulting in a more solid
and durable adhesive layer.
According to Nanxing, due to the
characteristics of PUR adhesive,
PUR adhesive edgebanding
achieves better performance
in water resistance, corrosion
resistance, durability, cold
resistance and long preservation
after an irreversible curing
reaction in the production of
panel furniture. Compared to EVA
hot-melt adhesive, the amount of
glue applied is about one times
less, the texture is relatively thin
after melting, and the glue line
is smaller, about 0.03-0.05mm.
The glue lines are reportedly
barely visible to the naked eye
after matching of the same colour
system — that is, white plates with
white glue, and dark plates with
dark glue. The bonding strength
is also several times higher than
traditional hot-melt adhesives, and
it has performance advantages
in scenarios with relatively high
temperature and humidity such
as bathrooms and kitchens. The
method is now being adopted
by more and more furniture
manufacturers to improve the
quality of edgebanding.
Nanxing reported that all of its
top feed glue pot can be directly
installed with PUR devices. The
double gluing-pot equipment
NB7CJM, NB7CJMN and NB7PCGM-
PC can be installed with two sets
of PUR device to realise the quick
switching of dark and light PUR
hot-melt adhesive and improve the
edgebanding effect.
Some of Nanxing
Machinery’s
edgebanders use a
double pre-melting
glue application
system
The NB-Laser10
38 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
1 1
LASER EDGEBANDING TECHNOLOGY
Currently, laser edgebanding is
the most technically advanced
process in the market and solves the
problem of glue lines with traditional
edgebanding. Laser edgebanding
comes with a functional polymer.
Through laser activation of the
functional layer, the functional layer
of the edgeband penetrates the board
fibres to form a mechanical ‘riveting’ to
achieve seamless banding and strong
joint strength. The whole process
is the jointing between the board
and the edgeband, and it has better
closure performance since there is no
additional glue coating in the middle,
thus improving the joint strength
and water tightness. Furthermore,
it is more environmentally friendly,
seamless, and aesthetic.
Laser edgebanding has high
requirements on the performance
and laser head of the edgebanding
machinery. Nanxing’s NB-Laser10
uses advanced rectangular spot laser
edgebanding technology in China,
which has a stabler energy output,
and more even temperature control
and power density, thus reducing the
risk of coating burn and producing
quality products more stably. In
addition to one laser set, NB-Laser10
is equipped with a pre-melting glue
application unit for EVA glue, and it
can also be installed with a PUR unit
to enable EVA, PUR and laser to be
used in one machine and to switch
quickly. The laser generator, together
with its integral steel beam, servo
tape feeder and presser, servo end
cutting, servo fast corner rounding and
other configurations, can ensure high
edgebanding quality even at speeds up
to 32m/min.
Legend
1 The laser
edgebanding
process
2 Hot air banding
technology
2
HOT AIR BANDING TECHNOLOGY
As a low-cost banding solution
alternative to laser banding, hot
air sealing technology, similar to
laser banding in principle, applies
a banding strip with a pre-coated
adhesive layer, and the hot air
system sprays hot air at a high
temperature and pressure onto
the strip through a nozzle, thus
melting the functional layer and
pressing the banding strip to the
surface of the workpiece to achieve
a seamless joint between the strip
and the workpiece. Compared
to EVA adhesives, it has higher
durability and resistance to water
and high temperature, and the hot
air used in hot air systems is easier
to obtain and greener. Nanxing’s hot
air system adopts a high-pressure
hot air conveying control system
from Germany, with short heatingup
time, stable performance, and
speeds of up to 20m/min. It can be
installed on automatic edgebanding
machines with pre-milling and
profiling functions, such as NB7PCGM-
PC and NB7CJ edgebanders.
In terms of the above-mentioned
joining methods between edgebands
and boards, from the edgebanding
effect, laser edgebanding is better
than hot air edgebanding, PUR
edgebanding and pre-melting
gluing edgebanding. However, hot
air banding is less cost-effective
than PUR and EVA edgebanding,
and the latter two still dominate the
market. Besides, with the continuous
advancement of edgebanding
equipment, process and materials,
as well as the same-colour system
matching between hot-melt adhesive
and panels, the gap of edgebanding
effect will become increasingly
smaller. Furniture manufacturers
should also identify product
positioning, and consider product
demand and cost in a comprehensive
manner to select the equipment
and process most suited for their
products. P
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 39

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
The role of Malaysian
Furniture Council
in improving sustainability
Can Malaysian furniture manufacturers
and suppliers adapt to the dual challenges
of advancing the industry to remain
competitive, while transitioning towards
greater sustainability in their processes and
sourcing of raw materials?
As an export-driven market, the
Malaysian furniture industry faces
a number of challenges to remain
competitive internationally, particularly
in the wake of the pandemic. The cost
and availability of raw materials, and
confronting the carbon footprint of the
industry as a whole are just a few of the
most pressing issues.
These issues emerge within the context of
a national shift towards a more efficient
and resilient Malaysian manufacturing
industry, with the Industry 4.0 policy
proposed by the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry (MITI) 1 . In addition,
the world has experienced a variety of
extreme weather events in H1 2021, and
this has magnified the importance of
sustainability in every facet of life, as well
as in international supply chains and
manufacturing processes.
RUBBERWOOD: A SUSTAINABLE AND
RENEWABLE RESOURCE
The Malaysian Furniture Council
(MFC) has introduced initiatives to
help both small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) and larger furniture
manufacturers address some of these
issues. For example, it encourages its
members to source sustainable materials
where possible. The Malaysian furniture
industry has relied on a relatively
renewable and sustainable source of
wood in furniture use for decades: the
rubber tree. The wood harvested from
this tree, after decades of supplying
latex, is traditionally a waste by-product.
Malaysian furniture manufacturers were
among the earliest to commercialise the
wood for furniture use in the late 1970s,
and rubberwood now comprises over
80% of Malaysia’s furniture exports.
Rubberwood is reportedly also an
efficient carbon sink, particularly in
mixed agroforestry systems where
rubber trees are planted among other
crops and trees. While studies of carbon
sequestration in rubberwood are yet to
still be fully explored, the next generation
of Malaysian scientists are taking strides
to determine rubberwood’s role in
removing CO2 from the atmosphere
with the support of the MFC and the
Malaysian Timber Certification Council
(MTCC). A student from Universiti
Malaysia Sabah, Chai Lee Ting, recently
won the Freezailah Forest Sustainability
Award from the MTCC for developing
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) as
a method in quantifying and mapping
the aboveground carbon (AGC) stock at
rubber plantation areas. This method
can be used to provide further insights
into the planning of rubber plantations
and the role they play in carbon
sequestration.
However, for a number of reasons,
including the length of time it takes to
harvest rubberwood — typically 20-30
years — and the impact of high rainfall
and flooding in Malaysia, the industry
cannot rely on rubberwood alone to
40 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
sustain the local furniture industry. The MFC
relayed concerns from its members about
the availability of rubberwood to the national
government, and the government banned the
export of raw rubberwood in 2017 as a result 2 .
SCALING UP SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
Forests are considered national treasures in
Malaysia, and have been, and still are, closely
linked to the socio-economic development
of the country and its people. The Malaysian
Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) developed
and managed by the MTCC is a certification
scheme for tropical forests in the Asia-
Pacific, endorsed by the Programme for the
Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
PEFC awarded a gold medal to the MTCC for
its efforts to certify almost 1 million hectares
of forests under sustainable management
plans in 2020 alone. Malaysia is now home to
over 5,600,000 hectares of certified forests 3 ,
which remain productive for the economic
development of the forestry sector while
protecting the natural ecosystems that exist
within these forests.
Certification schemes ensure that timber and
non-wood forest products derived from these
areas are sourced sustainably, allowing the
forests to regenerate naturally at a rate that
does not deplete or degrade them over time.
PEFC certification can also help protect water
catchment areas, conserve the environment
and animal and plant biodiversity living within
forests, as well as improve the economy of local
communities which depend on forest products
as a source of their livelihoods. In line with
the country’s sustainable forest management
commitment 4 , the MTCC plans to add 10 more
forest management units (FMUs) by 2025 5 ,
potentially representing hundred thousand
hectares of protected forests.
MFC’S ROLE
Electricity consumption among manufacturing
industries in Malaysia has grown at an annual
rate of 3.5-4.5% and constitutes roughly 40% of
the total energy consumption of Malaysia. The
MFC, through its subsidiary Export Furniture
Exhibition (EFE), has sought to address this
problem at the source by promoting the use
of solar power and supplying solar panels to
its members to trim the generation of fossilfuel-intensive
electricity. The generation of
electricity through solar panels is not only
environmentally viable but also cost-effective.
A study in August 2021 by United Overseas Bank
(UOB) Malaysia indicates that a typical solar
photovoltaic panel installation on commercial
or industrial properties will potentially help
businesses save 25% in electricity cost.
CLEANER AIR
On the manufacturing side, the MFC has
encouraged its members to adopt the use of E1
standard particleboards in lieu of the oftenused
E2 standard particleboards. E1 and E2
refer to European standards for the emission
of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as
formaldehyde, particularly in the adhesives of
engineered wood products. VOCs are toxic gases
that are released into homes and offices over
time and are generally considered dangerous
to human health, with links to cancer and other
health conditions 6 . VOCs may also have adverse
effects on the environment. When they are
released in large volumes during manufacturing,
they can contribute to smog and air pollution
in cities and industrial areas. E1 standard
particleboards reportedly emit just a tenth of
the VOCs that E2 particleboards do, making E1
standard boards safer for consumption.
With the MFC advocating and working towards
sustainability, the future of the industry looks
bright even in the face of challenges. The MFC
will continue to work towards a resilient supply
chain by introducing initiatives that enhance
the capacity of both SMEs and larger furniture
manufacturers to adapt and change, while
remaining internationally competitive. P
References
1. Ministry of International Trade and Industry. Industry4wrd Readiness
Assessment.
2. The Nation Thailand. Malaysian government to ban export
of rubberwood from July 1.
3. Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. Facts and
figures.
4. Malaysian Timber Council. Sustainable forestry in Malaysia.
5. Malaysian Timber Certification Council. Minister calls for state
governments to increase certified forests to complement
Malaysia’s sustainable forest management efforts.
6. Environmental Protection Department. Volatile Organic Compounds.
Forests are considered national treasures in Malaysia, and are closely linked to its socio-economic
development
Certification schemes ensure that timber products
derived from forests are sourced sustainably
(Image: The Green Factory)
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 41

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
Advanced
woodworking
solutions
pay off with
Jager and HOMAG
wood products: flooring, windows,
doors, and other types of furniture.
While these factories have proliferated,
some common issues exist in the
industry. Many processes involved in
manufacturing are still labour-heavy
with little to no machine assistance,
resulting in production bottlenecks,
defective products and the lack of
skilled workers.
HOMAG, a global provider of
integrated woodworking solutions,
has been providing machines and
software that have helped multiple
Asian companies rely less on
manpower and transition towards
automated processes. This is also
useful for manufacturers as many
prefer to access data logged by their
machinery; understanding production
metrics helps them set and achieve
KPIs, ultimately increasing efficiency.
Another emerging industry trend is
a shift away from mass production,
necessitating manufacturers to move
down to batch-size-one production.
Consumers prize customisation — after
all, who would not want something
uniquely made for them? Furniture
is no different. Order volumes have
shrunk from 100-500 pieces in the past
10 years, to 5-20 pieces.
The rise of Industry 4.0 or the fourth
industrial revolution has changed the
face of the field of manufacturing with
the use of autonomous systems driven
by data and machine learning — Internet
of Things (IoT), cloud computing,
analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI),
among others. It creates greater value
with data gleaned from production and
operation. It brings to light insight from
areas such as supply chain, customer
service and other enterprise systems,
which would have in the past remained
concealed. These smart factories
feature higher automation, predictive
maintenance, self-optimisation in
terms of processes as well as greater
efficiency and responsiveness to
customers. Flexibility in production is
also a highly prized effect of Industry
4.0.
These are especially true for small,
medium and large enterprises in South
East Asia.
COMMON MANUFACTURING TRENDS
IN THE INDUSTRY
Many of these manufacturing plants
cater to interior designers, fit-out
contractors and end users, and they
focus on the design and fabrication of
With batch-size-one production,
manufacturers have flexibility.
Automated machines make for a less
cluttered factory floor and encourage
skilled workers who might otherwise
leave for other manufacturing
industries.
Finally, as Asian companies look into
phase-by-phase growth, HOMAG
presents itself as an industry partner.
Jager, a Vietnamese furniture
manufacturer, is one such company
that has teamed up with HOMAG,
trusting the woodworking machinery
manufacturer to guide them through
their business expansion and
journey into advanced woodworking
automation.
42 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
PROUDLY VIETNAMESE
Jager uses technology whereby customers can
determine how their space is designed and
furnished without spending excessive time in
communication between furniture maker and
client. With this, the company aims to lead the
domestic furniture market and export to other
countries. Their clientele includes real estate
corporations, designers as well as individual
customers.
While maintaining their production, Jager
strives to incorporate “Vietnamese values and
pride” in each and every piece of the furniture
they make. They place a premium on beauty
and perfection, especially as the company
promises their customers a “high-class living
space” and “high living quality”.
MODERNISING MANUFACTURING
Apart from their company’s goals and vision,
Jager commits and invests in woodworking
automation. Le Quon Khanh, CEO of Jager,
recognises the need for technology in this
business. Jager’s first factory was equipped
with a panel saw, edgebander and computer
numerical control (CNC) system but when he
was planning for his new factory, he knew
he had to invest into a new, more automated
production to cater to the lower batch
environment. This commitment paid off.
“In 2009, I started research and learning in the
industry from my experiences doing business
with clients and handling previous projects,”
Khanh shared.
Aiding them in their technological journey was
HOMAG, which the CEO of Jager described as a
“key partner” and “one of the best decisions”
that the company had made to develop their
products successfully. He is proud to call Jager
a “modern, new-generation manufacturer”.
When Khanh set out to build his business,
he made his decisions based on two key
objectives: to create a company not dependent
on manpower, and to nurture one that
promotes effectiveness and sustainability.
HOMAG’s machines and solutions have helped
him with respect to these objectives.
Among HOMAG’s products that have
improved their manufacturing processes are
the STORETEQ S-200, a horizontal storage
system; SAWTEQ B-300, an integrated panel
saw; CENTATEQ N-300, an integrated CNC
nesting centre and another SAWTEQ B-300 as
an external panel saw. Other machines the
Vietnamese manufacturer utilised are HOMAG’s
Legend
1 Industry 4.0 ensures
greater value with
data gleaned from
production and
operation
2 Jager aims to
create a company
not dependent on
manpower, thus
enlisting the help of
HOMAG’s automated
products
3 With automation,
understanding
production metrics
can help companies
set and achieve KPIs,
ultimately increasing
efficiency
2
edgebanding machine EDGETEQ S-380 with
return conveyor belt LOOPTEQ O-300; and
the routing and drilling processing centre,
CENTATEQ P-110 and DRILLTEQ V-200.
Jager’s ongoing transformation reflects
not just the impacts of Industry 4.0, but the
potential that technology and automation
have on manufacturing, production, and
distribution in various industries.
GROWING WITH CUSTOMERS
HOMAG strives to design its machines and
solutions with Asian markets in mind. Jager’s
success and continual progress are not
only a reflection of how HOMAG commits to
helping its customers expand, but also proof
that manufacturers can grow and flourish
when they make the right investments in
automation and advanced woodworking
solutions. P
1
3
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 43

MATERIALS
On market diversification
and educating new markets:
A conversation with AHEC
The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has recently
concluded their appearances in Vietnam and Bangkok timber
events. We speak to Michael Snow, the executive director of
AHEC, on the current hardwood market outlook, the council’s
strategies for diversification and education, and what
sustainability means to them. By Yap Shi Quan
This year started out strong, but now,
the last two or three months were
bad. Prices are going down quickly,
lots of people in the industry are
sitting on too much inventory. It is not
helping in Europe with what is going
on, the energy prices and inflation,
and housing markets slowing down
everywhere, whether in China, the US,
or Europe. And these are usually big
drivers of demand. So, I think we will
be looking at probably, at least, six
months of difficult trading conditions.
DIVERSIFYING THE MARKET
How was the recent convention by
AHEC in Bangkok?
Michael Snow: We were pleasantly
surprised. We were hoping for maybe
150 people, and we ended up with
more than 200. We had 30 American
companies that travelled with us, which
was good too, given the problems in
the industry now with low prices and
a difficulty in selling stock anywhere. A
lot of them came [to Bangkok] to find
new customers, and we already know
from several members that they made
sales during the convention. From that
perspective, I think the convention was
very good.
Can you describe what the timber
market is like now?
Snow: It has been a roller coaster ride
the last two years, especially last year.
And in Europe, one of the AHEC’s
biggest regions, people are worried
about how they are going to afford
to keep their homes this winter. So, I
do not think people are doing much
renovation work. Compared to 2021
and early 2022, we saw big increases
in demand everywhere. After being
cooped up at home during COVID, a
lot of people wanted to do furniture
and flooring, then we had a big push,
and we probably saw three years’
worth of normal home renovations
in one year. But now it is slowing
way down. We have a shortage of
truck drivers in the US, there are still
problems with logistics. Shipping is
getting better, but there is still a lot of
bottlenecks.
44 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

MATERIALS
What about the demand for US
hardwoods in South East Asia?
Snow: For South East Asia in the last
couple of years, especially since COVID,
we are now selling more to the region
than we ever have. It is better than it
was pre-COVID. Vietnam is one of the
biggest markets in South East Asia for
us, and of course, Indonesia, Thailand,
and Malaysia.
your exports go to one country. That is
one of our biggest goals right now, to
start developing other markets, even
if they are small, which is why we are
going to South Africa, Algeria, Morocco,
the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, among
others. If we can spread the risk over
to more than one country, any trade or
real war will not impact the business
much.
The other thing we are seeing that is
exciting for us is Vietnam moving up
the value chain. If we look back to
2017, more than half of what was sold
to Vietnam was yellow poplar, which
is the least expensive wood in the US
that we sell internationally. Now they
are using less of that, and much more
white oak, red oak, and walnut than
before. They are no longer looking to
be the cheapest manufacturer. They are
moving up the value chain and making
more expensive, higher-end furniture.
And that is good for us too, because we
need to sell a bigger spread of species,
and the spread to Vietnam now is more
even.
What kind of markets is AHEC trying
to expand into to promote the use of
US hardwoods?
Snow: We have been focusing a lot on
India. We still have a small percentage
of the Indian market, so that is one area
where we see a lot of growth. We have
also been looking at North Africa, like
Algeria and Morocco. We are trying to
find more smaller markets to pick up
some of the slack from the declining
market in China, such as Brazil, and
a little bit in Colombia. So, we are
reaching out a little more into South
America. And Mexico continues to grow
very much. I was in a show in August
in Guadalajara, Mexico, where a lot of
the furniture is made. A big part of our
promotion is the nearshoring in France
too. There are also a lot of Taiwanese
looking to invest in the US market.
Our main focus now is to diversify
our markets as much as possible. We
learned a big lesson with China, that
it is a problem when more than half of
EDUCATING THE MARKET
What strategies does AHEC have to
expand to these markets?
Snow: It really depends on the
knowledge level of hardwoods in these
markets. They need to understand first
the species, and more importantly,
the grades. Because if they do not
understand the grading rules, and they
just look at price per cubic metre, AHEC
is almost always the most expensive.
But with grading rules, certain grades
are made for certain uses. If you are
making flooring, for example, you do
not need to buy the highest grade.
We spend a lot of time on this
education with smaller markets, but
for markets that are more mature, like
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and
Europe, that is when we try to pull
the demand by influencing architects
and designers. Our goal there would
be to influence the influences, making
architects talk about the species.
We can talk about it, but at the end
of the day, we are trying to sell you
something. An architect does not really
want to be sold something, but they do
want to listen to their colleagues, about
what they are doing.
In India, it will be several years before
we could do that. Right now, we work
directly with the manufacturers and
importers there. We are spending more
time making sure they understand
the grades, what species are good for,
what type of species or wood grades
for flooring, and others. For example,
you do not want to use poplar if you
are making flooring. So, education is
always the first step. And then you can
start talking to designers. It does not do
“The forest is growing quickly,
and that is sustainable. But for
us, we need to make sure there
is a home for all the different
species… We need to open up
the forest.”
Michael Snow
Executive Director, AHEC
you any good to get architects excited
about wood if there is nobody there
that can sell to them.
Some of the countries you mentioned
grow tropical timber. How can
US hardwoods compete with the
demand of tropical timber?
Snow: The way we look at it, we do not
compete with other woods suppliers.
For us, the real competition is other
materials. In 1999, we produced the
most employment, and we had a high
domestic use of US grade lumber. But
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 45

MATERIALS
more slowly, they absorb less. So, by
taking out bigger trees and allowing
smaller trees to grow, you actually get
more carbon stored in the forest. But
people often overlook the importance
of carbon stored in the wood products
made. If you make a table and pass it
down to your children, and that table
has been sitting around for 60 years,
then that really is carbon negative,
because in the time that the tree was
cut down to make that table, it has
been replaced by new trees now. And
the carbon that has been taken out is
stored in that piece of furniture.
AHEC at their
Bangkok convention,
presenting on
one of their latest
design showcases,
Discovered
now the domestic consumption is
lower because of, for example, floors
made out of luxury vinyl tile, and
we have got a lot of particleboards
and the IKEA-nisation of furniture.
Essentially, we are not making things
to last, we are making throwaway
furniture. Whether it is using French
or Canadian wood, or as long as it is
sustainably sourced, we do not look at
other wood suppliers as competition.
But we are in deep competition with
all the other types of materials.
“[OPENING] UP THE FOREST”
Given the council’s past projects
with interior designers or
architects, what is the council
focusing on now?
Snow: We are looking at doing more
structural work, and we are trying to
push red oak. One of the problems we
always had with red oaks, the most
abundant species in the forest, is that
China used to buy a lot of it, so it was
not really a problem before. But now,
with the Chinese market down — and
Europeans previously never really
liked red oak — a lot of our projects
now try to showcase red oak, because
one of our main goals is to match
demand for species with what the
forest provides. That is the one thing
when you are talking about natural
forests and not plantations: You get
the species that nature gives you. You
got to create demand for what nature
gives us. Everybody loves walnut,
but walnut is 1% of the forest. Red
oak is 30% of the forest. That is a big
difference.
What does sustainability mean to
AHEC?
Snow: You got forest sustainability,
which has the growth removal ratio of
2.4:1. For every tree that is cut down
or dies naturally, we have two and
a half more trees. So right now, we
have more than double the number
of trees we had 50 years ago. The
forest is growing quickly, and that is
sustainable. But for us, we need to
make sure there is a home for all the
different species. We do not just take
white oak or walnut. We need to open
up the forest.
The second part is understanding the
role the forest and wood itself play
in carbon sequestration and climate
change. If we make something out
of wood, we will cut down that tree
and allow new trees to grow where
the old tree was. New trees absorb
carbon quicker than mature trees,
but mature trees will hold carbon
inside. As they stop growing or grow
Now we started looking at mass
timber, building buildings out of wood
instead of steel and concrete. That
also locks away carbon. Plus, mass
timber buildings go up much quicker
and there is less disruption compared
to steel or concrete buildings where
you have to dig deep foundation, with
trucks coming in and out all the time,
and the work done on-site. These
cause disruption to nearby buildings.
Whereas if you construct buildings
using wood panels, the building is
made somewhere else, brought in,
and put together — it goes up quicker.
And all of that wood stores carbon. It
will have a carbon footprint of about
1/20 of a same size building made of
concrete or steel. So, we really want
to look at it on a larger scale, and it
is something that can be done right
now.
Currently we are also working on a
new certification system, because
the Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) and Programme for the
Endorsement of Forest Certification
(PEFC) schemes do not really work
in the US due to land ownership. So,
we are researching on certification
systems of jurisdictional certification
that looks at individual areas, and
we are seeing these systems used for
things like wood pellets, soybeans,
or olive oil, to show that this region
is sustainable. More information will
come out soon, so do look out for
that. P
46 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

FLOORING
New herringbone
technology: One panel type
for simpler production
The conventional method of installing
herringbone flooring requires two
distinct types of panels, and this
raises several challenges in producing
and installing herringbone. As Floris
Koopmans, sales director IP at
Unilin Technologies, explained: “The
installation of a herringbone pattern
has one big downside: you normally
need two types of panels — left and
right or A/B panels which are mirror
images of each other — to be able to
lay this flooring pattern. The method
of using A/B panels makes installation
more difficult, and also creates a more
extensive production process, supply
chain and stock management.”
To address these inconveniences,
Unilin Technologies, a researcher and
developer of solutions for interior
design- and construction-related
industries, has launched a new
herringbone installation method that
removes the need for two types of
panels, and instead uses one universal
type. Unizip, Unilin’s new herringbone
technology, is their answer to simplify
the production, supplying and
installation of herringbone flooring.
Without using glue or plastic inserts,
the Unizip profile leverages on a
tongue-and-groove locking system
and positions it around the panel so
that the short side of the panel can be
locked into the long side of the adjacent
panel without having to compromise
on the locking strength. According
to Koopmans, Unilin focused on
developing a locking system that creates
strong locking strength on both the
short and long sides of the panel, while
ensuring that the panel could fit other
panels in every way possible.
Koopmans added: “After a lot of R&D
effort we developed a breakthrough
locking system that combines an
innovative design that is partly groove,
partly tongue. It is a great locking
system that can be incorporated by
48 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

FLOORING
integrating some adjustments to
existing product lines.”
Hence, this rules out any confusion
from using two different sets of
panels. From a logistical perspective,
producing only one type of panel
compared to two reduces the supply
chain storage and distribution
requirements. Additionally, the Unizip
profile can be integrated in the current
production process, as producers only
need one additional tool: a machine
integration for the milling machine.
This tool pushes the milling blade
forward and backwards at precise
moments.
The development of Unizip also
responds to the rising demand for
herringbone. According to Unilin,
what makes herringbone popular is
its trendy and timeless look, while
creating the illusion that a room
looks larger than it is. The developer
reported that they have seen “an influx
of interested parties” for herringbone
patterns, and “more producers have
invested in production lines for Unizip
panels”.
For instance, according to a press
release by Unilin, Novalis Innovative
Flooring, a designer and manufacturer
of sustainable luxury vinyl tile
(LVT) flooring, adopted the Unizip
technology for their flooring products
and will be investing more to lead the
trend for herringbone stone plastic
composite (SPC) flooring. Another
manufacturer, Jiangsu Shengchang,
described how their turnover time
was reduced with Unizip, since only
one type of panel is needed to be
produced.
1
Unizip is available for all main types
of flooring, although it is generally
more popular with engineered wood
floors. P
Legend
1 Using Unizip rules out any confusion
from using two different sets of panels
2 Herringbone can create the illusion that
a room looks larger than it is
2
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 49

RECYCLING
From wood to resource:
Market updates in
times of challenges
Trees are circular
by nature
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.
Wood is becoming an increasingly
desirable commodity, especially in
times when the market finds itself under
extreme pressure due to supply chain
shortages and high prices.
In only a couple of months, two
developments have been influencing
the status quo of the sector. On the one
hand, there is no place in the world
where the impacts of climate change
have not become evident. Whether it
is extreme heat, large-scale floods or
wildfires, climate change is quickening its
pace. On the other hand, energy prices in
Europe are on the rise and winter ahead
could lead to sky-high power bills. In
50 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

RECYCLING
this article, we will look at how both the
energy crisis in Europe and the weather
extremes impact the wood industry and
how transitioning to a circular economy
can help overcome these challenges.
EUROPEAN ENERGY CRISIS
The current energy crisis, with gas prices
at record highs, has a major impact
on the wood sector. Households now
tend to turn to conventional heating
methods such as wood-burning stoves.
In Germany, for instance, where almost
50% of homes are heated with gas,
people started to stockpile wood for
fear of gas shortages 1 . For centuries,
wood has been a reliable and affordable
source of energy. To date, 50 million
homes in Europe use energy recovered
from biomass 2 . With the aim to create
sustainable energy systems and limit
resource scarcity, renewable energy
sources like biomass will only continue
to grow 3 .
CLIMATE CHANGE
It has been decades since people
heard about the urgency to combat
climate change and little has happened
to mitigate its effects. This year,
maybe more than ever before, we are
experiencing the devastating aftermaths
of climate change. Extreme weather
has significantly impacted forests and
thereby the condition and availability
of wood. Canada, which covers about
one quarter of the wood demand in the
US, is suffering from severe drought
and wildfires that disrupt the supply
chain 4 . At the same time, drought
leads to insect infestations that affect
the condition of wood and, thereby,
potentially the quality of the woodbased
products.
LACK OF WOOD
A variety of industrial and consumer
products consists of wood, and
the furniture industry is producing
wood-based panels on a large scale
to meet growing consumer demands.
Unfortunately, wood has turned into a
product that no longer grows on trees
since its demand has long exceeded the
volume Earth can naturally provide 5 . The
lack of supply has only recently been
exacerbated by the climate emergency
and the European energy crisis, as well
as the ongoing war between Russia and
Ukraine. With the start of the war, the
EU decided to stop imports including
wood and wood-based products from
both Russia and Belarus. This entails a
gap of approximately 4.5 million cubic
metres of sawn lumber annually 6 . As a
consequence, the wood-based panel
industry is exposed to challenges in
sourcing enough raw material that is still
suitable to be processed into superior
quality products.
PRICING TRENDS
Current lumber prices are a reflection
of the scope of the sector’s challenges.
In Bulgaria, for instance, where the use
of wood-burning stoves is common,
firewood prices have doubled,
reaching up to €150/cubic metre 7 . In
Germany, prices for wood and pellets
have multiplied by 2.5, and pellet
production plants can hardly keep pace
in producing enough saleable material 8 .
In the US, lumber prices outperformed
those of gold and bitcoins and wood is
expected to become the most desirable
commodity 9 .
The price for non-processed wood chips
for instance shot up by 450% within the
last year. In 2021, collectors had to pay
for disposing of hazardous waste wood
but today some licensed facilities are
even rewarding waste collectors for the
material. Given the recent challenges,
prices are predicted to increase even
more mid-to-long term.
Such trends can be turned into
opportunities and incentivises us to
change the way we treat and manage
our resources.
RECYCLING ENABLES ACCESS TO
MATERIAL
When energy-intense primary
production is hampered by material
shortage and unprecedented prices,
manufacturers must find ways to
access materials to secure profits.
An environmentally friendly and
economically viable solution is the reuse
of recyclable materials. Until recently,
most wood has been downcycled rather
than being turned into recycled content
that features virgin-like qualities and
is applicable for the manufacture of
higher-grade applications 10 . If we kept
wood-based panels in a closed loop,
we can bridge the gap between supply
and demand and contribute to meeting
sustainability targets.
WOOD IS CIRCULAR BY NATURE
Wood is a circular material and trees are
a best-practice example of renewability:
It all starts with a small seed that is
planted and nurtured by nutrients
found in the soil, and the tree starts
growing. During the tree’s lifecycle, it
uses nutrients from the soil to produce
oxygen with its leaves. During autumn,
the leaves fall, are absorbed by the
soil, and provide nutrients for the next
generation of trees. As this example
shows us, trees are circular by nature
from the beginning to their end of life.
Given the recent developments and the
industry’s aim to make its processes
more sustainable, it is time to also apply
the concept of circularity to the end-oflife
cycle of trees.
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 51

RECYCLING
ENABLING A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
FOR WOOD
To date, huge volumes of wood end up
in landfill instead of being recycled and
processed into new products. Stepping
away from linear production and
consumption towards a circular model
would enable the industry to alleviate
supply shortages and prices and save
valuable resources. To get there, we
must introduce a holistic approach
that includes the collection, sorting,
and recycling of waste wood. While
the necessary infrastructure is still in
its infancy in many countries, market
trends signal that investing in waste
wood recycling can be economically
advantageous.
Apart from the economic advantages,
a circular economy for wood is a
promising concept to reduce CO2
emissions. Production with recycled
wood emits less CO2 than processes
with primary materials. For example,
1m 3 of ready-to-market particleboard
absorbs 720kg CO2, and for mediumdensity
fibreboard (MDF), even 820kg 11 .
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS
A circular economy that exploits the
full potential of natural resources
like wood depends on the advanced
cleaning, sorting and recycling of
waste wood. Whereas traditional
cleaning methods, such as magnets,
air and water separators, deliver
adequate results for smaller plants
that do not require high throughput
and purity levels, manufacturers
looking to increase recycled content
require the most advanced sorting
technology. A combination of x-ray
sorting units to remove inert materials
from waste wood and optical sensorbased
sorters for further purification
enables plant operators to unleash
new opportunities. First, they can
run high throughputs and reach new
purity levels. Second, they can create
new revenue streams when upgrading
the optical sorter with deep learning
technology. Sorting software based on
deep learning allows for the detection,
analysis and separation of different
Droughts endanger the condition of vegetation and trees
wood grades and can even recover MDF
from a processed waste wood stream.
WHAT’S NEXT
In recent years, the industry has
undergone considerable change and
made progress related to sustainability.
Infrastructures to collect, sort, and
recycle waste wood have been put
in place in countries and regions
that have recognised the untapped
potential of waste wood. With the
market introduction of smart sorting
technologies that outperform many
conventional methods, recycling has
become a promising concept for both
the industry and nature. In the future,
the wood-based panel industry will
increasingly turn to recycled wood to
access materials, develop products
of higher quality, reduce costs and
dependence on material availability,
and realise higher yields.
Once holistic approaches are
established, we must go beyond
closing the loop on particleboards
and address circularity for all types
of wood-based materials, some of
which are still difficult or impossible to
recycle. In general, the solution is quite
simple: The more wood is kept in use,
the more we protect our planet and
minimise deforestation, a factor that is
propelling climate change. There is still
a long way to go, and the imbalance of
supply and demand will not disappear
overnight, but we will get there if we
join forces and remind ourselves of the
necessity to maximise resource use
and recovery.
Do not forget: wood is good, recycled
wood is better. P
References
1. Deutsche Welle. Germany: Stockpiling wood in fear
of gas shortage.
2. The Post. Firewood: The premodern solution to Britain’s
3. Renewable Energy Magazine. Biomass market growth
promoted by increasing investments in renewable power
generation.
4. CNBC. Climate change will disrupt supply chains much
more than COVID — Here’s how businesses can prepare.
5. Material Trader. Cascading wood towards the circular
economy.
6. Metsä Group. Price of sawn timber settling at a new
normal.
7. Euractiv. Firewood prices, shortages spell cold winter
for Europe’s poorest.
8. Deutsche Welle. Germany: Stockpiling wood in fear
9. The Atlantic. Lumber prices are off the rails again.
Blame climate change.
10. Material Trader. Cascading wood towards the circular
economy.
11. ResearchGate. Carbon shortage in wood products.
52 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
Little
Finlandia
Location:
Helsinki, Finland
Architectural design:
Jaakko Torvinen, Havu Järvelä,
and Elli Wendelin, in collaboration
with Pekka Heikkinen, Architects
NRT, and Arkitekturum
Client:
Finlandia Hall and
the City of Helsinki
Building year:
2021
Structural design:
Asko Keronen
Construction:
FM-Haus
Photography:
Kimmo Räisänen, Jaakko Torvinen,
Mikko Raskinen, FM-Haus
Finlandia Hall, a venue in Helsinki,
Finland for conferences and other
events, is now flanked by a wooden
construction known as Little
Finlandia. The pavilion-like building,
offering facilities for events and
catering, is made 100% from Finnish
wood and will provide temporary
facilities during Finlandia Hall’s
renovation until the end of 2024. The
building covers approximately 2,000m 2
and can host up to 800 participants.
Little Finlandia is a joint project of
the City of Helsinki, Finlandia Hall,
Aalto University and FM-Haus, and its
elements are built with Metsä Wood’s
Kerto laminated veneer lumber (LVL)
products.
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 53

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
A VARIETY OF PURPOSES
Little Finland was designed by
architects Jaakko Torvinen, Havu
Järvelä, and Elli Wendelin in
collaboration with professor Pekka
Heikkinen from Aalto University,
and architecture and design firms
Architects NRT and Arkitekturum. The
structural design of Little Finlandia
was based on the possibility of
reusing the building. Once the
renovation of Finlandia Hall is
completed, Little Finlandia can be
moved to other locations and used
as temporary facilities for schools
and day care centres, or for other
renovation projects.
1
A VERSATILE AND SUSTAINABLE
CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL
Little Finlandia is an example of
Finnish wood architecture, blending
into its surroundings. It also adheres
to the principles of sustainability
and the circular economy. Wood is
a sustainable construction material,
and the use of wooden modules
enables the building to be flexibly
adapted, ensuring it a long, useful life.
“Wood stores carbon throughout
the building’s lifecycle. For example,
the Kerto LVL used in Little Finlandia
has a carbon storage of 484.5 tonnes
of CO2e,” said Lassi Moisio, sales
manager from Metsä Wood.
The renovation of Finlandia Hall is
slated to complete by the end of
2024, so Little Finlandia will serve
its current purpose at least until
then. The building can then be
used for other purposes. Moisio
explained: “To ensure the building
meets the requirements for
adaptability, transport, and reuse, it
must be constructed from durable
and premium-quality materials.
The elements, made of Kerto LVL
products, ensure a long-lived building
that withstands heavy use.”
FM-HAUS
Little Finlandia was constructed by
FM-Haus, a family-owned company
established 25 years ago in the
municipality of Jokioinen, Finland.
The company is a partner in module
and wood construction. FM-Haus
operates across Finland and has
been Metsä Wood’s partner for more
than 20 years.
The cooperation between Metsä
Wood and FM-Haus is based on
mutual trust and the wish to develop
and boost wood construction. The
partners’ joint work has focused
especially on developing the
structure of Kerto LVL RIPA slabs.
“Metsä Wood offers first-class
delivery reliability. We also have
a designated sales representative
and get personal customer service
whenever needed. We have engaged
in close cooperation with Metsä
Wood for nearly as long as our
company has existed. In recent
years, our joint development work
has mainly focused on multi-storey
construction, and we have carried out a
lot of product development for various
components,” said Juhani Sjöman,
managing director of FM-Haus.
Metsä Wood and FM-Haus share the
same goal: They aim to be sustainable
and environmentally friendly operators
in the construction value chain. The
buildings constructed by FM-Haus are
adaptable and modifiable while offering
the properties and fulfilling the criteria
of permanent buildings. FM-Haus
wants its buildings to serve people as
versatilely and for as long as possible.
Another major goal is to put a stop to
single-use construction.
Little Finlandia was constructed
from wooden volumetric modules,
prefabricated by FM-Haus at its
element factory in Jokioinen, 120km
north of Helsinki. Modular construction
had an impact on the speed of
construction compared to on-site
construction.
2
Legend
1 Little Finlandia
can host up to 800
participants
2 The on-site
construction
time was a third
of the duration
for normal
construction
3 The wooden
volumetric
modules were
prefabricated offsite
4 The volumetric
modules were
built using Metsä
Wood’s Kerto LVL
products
5 The floor and roof
structures feature
Metsä Wood’s
Kerto LVL RIPA
technology
6 Three-ply CLT
panels were used
and folded to gain
structural integrity
7 The Kerto LVL
panel
54 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
“In the case of Little Finlandia,
modular construction cut the on-site
construction time to a third of the
usual duration,” said Sjöman.
3
KERTO LVL
The load-bearing structures of the
modules used in Little Finlandia were
built with several Kerto LVL products,
including Kerto LVL S-beams, as
well as Kerto LVL Q- and Kerto-Kate
panels. Each of these products offers
optimal usability and properties for
their purpose. Although lightweight,
the products are strong and rigid,
according to Metsä Wood.
4
The floor and roof structures feature
Metsä Wood’s Kerto LVL RIPA
technology, as elaborated by Sjöman:
“Thanks to Kerto-RIPA technology, we
didn’t need as much Kerto LVL for the
elements. This matches our ecological
values, as it means a reduced volume
of material. Of course, it is also more
cost-effective for us.”
5
FIRE-RETARDANT WOOD MATERIALS
Little Finlandia must meet stringent
standards for fire resistance. Metsä
Wood reported that the Kerto LVL
structures used in the building have
a fire resistance of 60 minutes. The
building also features three fire
compartments, bordered by fire
dampers that withstand fire for 30
minutes. The ventilation engine room
and the intermediate floors were
constructed to ensure a fire resistance
of 30 minutes.
The wood panels used in the
building have a high fire and char
resistance, and they have been
treated with a certified fire retardant
to ensure they satisfy the fire safety
requirements of European design
standards. The building also has
an automated fire alarm system
and four fire hydrants, according
to Jere Kinnunen, the site’s project
manager. P
6
The article was first published by Metsä
Wood, and is reproduced here with
permission.
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 55

WOOD CLINIC
Hello, Mr Shim
I am working for a company supplying adhesives, responsible
for the sales of woodworking adhesives. A customer who owns
a factory producing solid wood doors with mahogany wood
sourced from its forest farm complained that the two-component
emulsion polymer isocyanate (EPI) glue we supplied was unstable,
resulting in the assembled doors prone to loosening and warping,
and hence not durable. I appreciate it if you can help analyse the
reasons for warping and the poor durability of the doors, and put
forward solutions. According to local government regulations,
new trees must be planted after logging in the client’s forest farm,
with Acacia mangium as the main plantation species. Recently,
the client is considering planting Azadirachta excelsa, and I hope
you can provide general knowledge about Acacia mangium and
Azadirachta excelsa to enhance my communication with the client.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mr Chen
Reasons
for solid
wood doors
prone to
warping and
loosening
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 message. According
to the information you provided, the factors
that cause assembled wooden doors to be
prone to loosening and warping, as well as the
improvement measures, are briefly described
as follows:
I. Unstable wood moisture content: Excessive
moisture content in solid timber used for
doors may result in the following defects:
1. Poor adhesive strength: When lumber
with moisture content between 16-20%
is used for the door post or ledge, the
adhesive strength will not be ideal.
When the moisture content of the
lumber decreases to 10-12%, the wood
will shrink and lead to gaps and the
warping of solid wood door parts.
2. Fluffing of round timber tenon hole:
If the moisture content of the timber
is up to 20% and the drilling bit is not
sharp enough, it may cause fluffing
of the round timber tenon hole of the
door post and ledge, resulting in poor
adhesive strength.
3. Unstable wood: Most mahogany
timber is mixed with different species
with large density tolerance. When the
homogenisation treatment in the dry
kiln is not in place and the moisture
content is too high, these will cause
wood instability, causing solid wood
doors to be prone to warping and
deformation.
4. Suggested improvement measures:
Logs of the same species or similar
densities should be selected in the
lumber mill and then collected for
lumber production. Raw logs of the
same species, similar densities or
synchronous drying times are also
preferred for lumber production. It is
recommended to control the lumber
density tolerance below 0.2g/cm³ or
classify it according to the species of the
tree.
Additionally, use qualified stacking
rods and ensure they maintain an
appropriate distance to minimise the
disadvantages of the kiln-drying wood
warping. And regularly check whether
the drying kiln is operating normally
and whether the homogenisation
56 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

WOOD CLINIC
II.
treatment is in place before
the drying timber leaves the
kiln. An ideal moisture content
is 8-10%. The drying timber
should not leave the kiln until
its temperature drops to room
temperature.
Unstable quality control (QC) of raw
logs for door post or ledge: Try to
avoid bending and warping when
cutting and sawing the raw logs. It
is recommended that the raw logs
should be planed on the side and
front with a hand planer, and a foursided
planer is used to complete the
secondary processing process after
ensuring the logs are straight and
free of warping defects.
III. Poor processing accuracy of door
post or ledge: If the thickness or
door slot accuracy of the door post
or ledge during four-sided planing
is not handled properly, it will lead
to gaps when the door post or ledge
is assembled, causing damage to
tightness performance (Fig. 1). It
is recommended to use a simple
mould to check the accuracy of the
door post or ledge during planing.
IV. Poor accuracy of dowel tenon
hole of door post or ledge: When
drilling the dowel tenon holes into
the door post or ledge, ensure that
the thickness is error-free. When
drilling tenon holes in the centreline
of the door post or ledge, ensure
that the spacing, hole depth, hole
diameter and right-angle accuracy
are accurate. If the dowel mortise
and tenon hole are not at a right
angle, it will cause the assembled
solid wood doors to spring back and
loosen (Fig. 2). It is recommended
to use a simple mould to check the
accuracy of the door post or ledge
when drilling the tenon holes.
V. Unstable dowel tenon quality:
Misplacement of the chamfering
and grooving of the dowel tenon,
excessively large diameter
tolerance, hit miss, and excessive
moisture content will cause the
assembled wooden door to be not
durable and prone to loosening. It
is recommended that the moisture
content of the dowel be controlled
at 8%, and the diameter tolerance of
the dowel tenon be less than 0.1mm
(Fig. 3).
VI. Improper glue application: If the
glue applied to the tenon holes
is too little or uneven, the solid
wood door will not be durable. It
is recommended to use a steampressure
glue barrel and a glue gun
with a small hole in the nozzle, so
that the glue can be sprayed on
all sides, to ensure that the glue is
applied evenly and a proper amount
is used (Fig. 3).
VII. Unstable QC of glue mixing:
Employees must control the glue
mixing ratio and use it up within
45 minutes of the pot life, or the
glue will lose efficacy. Therefore,
the adhesive force is often unstable
due to human errors, resulting in
the degumming and poor durability
of solid wood doors. EPI twocomponent
adhesive is used in the
assembly of solid wood doors, but
it is recommended to use EU D3
grade one-component white latex,
or polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) glue that
features an appropriate anti-solvent
effect.
VIII. Lengthy assembly time: If it takes
too long to assemble the solid wood
door, the glue film of the tenon
hole will dry prematurely, causing
poor glue strength of the solid
wood door. It is recommended to
complete the door assembly within
the effective opening and closing
times after glue application.
IX. Improper control of assembly
pressure: If the assembly machine
for the solid wood door has been
used for a long time, and the oil
seal of the oil cylinder piston wears
and leakage occurs, these will
result in the poor tightness of the
Fig. 1: Gaps in between the door posts or ledges from the improper
handling of the thickness or door slotting accuracy of the post or ledge
Fig. 2: Misplacement of the round tenon’s chamfering and grooving,
excessively large diameter tolerance, hit miss, and excessive moisture
content will cause the assembled wooden door to be prone to loosening
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 57

WOOD CLINIC
Fig. 3: Using a straight six-inch-long round tenon or a round rod with the same diameter as
the tenon to drive into the tenon hole, while using a square to check whether the drilled hole
is at a right angle
assembly, and a slit between the
door post and ledge. If the material
density tolerance of a pair of door
pillars is too large, it will cause the
flimsy pillars to be under too much
pressure, which further causes the
compressed door pillars to rebound
after decompression and destroy
the glue film that penetrates the
cellular tissues of the pillars. It is
recommended to check the solid
wood door assembly machine
regularly to maintain proper
pressure, and it is recommended
to control the density tolerance of
lumber used for door pillars below
0.2g/cm³ or classify according to
the tree species.
A brief description of the two plantation
species is given below:
I. Acacia mangium, with a scientific
name of Acacia mangium Willd,
also known as big-leaf acacia,
is an evergreen tree native to
Queensland, Australia, and later
introduced to South East Asia.
It belongs to the Mimosaceae
family with alternate leaves, flat
leaf margins, and 3-5 longitudinal
veins with acuminate ends. As a
fast-growing species, it has small
diameter timber and grows to
full size within 7-8 years. Acacia
mangium is most commonly
II.
used for pulp making: The wood
is brown, with a wood moisture
content of 15% and a density of
0.53-0.69g/cm³. The material is
refined, with a colour similar to
teak, and can be used for furniture.
The sapwood is light yellow and
white, and the heartwood is often
decayed or broken. It has a low
utilisation rate of materials, slow
artificial drying, and is easy to
produce collapse or honeycomb
crack if not well controlled.
The neem, or sentang, with a
scientific name of Azadirachta
excelsa, is an evergreen tree of
the neem family, distributed in
South East Asia. If the growth
environment is good, it can reach
125cm in diameter and 50m in
height, with an average height
of 20-30m, and is a fast-growing
timber. It has alternate, oddpinnately
compound leaves, usually
7-11 pairs which are 30-75cm. The
pinnae are lanceolate or falcate,
with serrated leaf margins and all
green near the petiole of 1-2cm
(Fig. 4). The leaves have a bitter
taste and insect pests. It grows to
full size within 7-8 years and has
12% moisture content and 0.58g/
cm³ density. As medium hardwood,
it has light brown sapwood and
dark red-brown heartwood,
suitable for furniture, plywood and
other woodworking materials. In
addition to being used for wood,
the bark and leaves are rich in neem
seeds, which can be extracted to
make neem oil and insect repellent.
If added to other materials, it can
be made into insecticide, fungicide,
and others. It has a scientific name
of Azadirachta Indica in India and
Melia Azedarach L in China.
In addition to the above two species,
Albizia Facata Bacher ex Merill and
Eucalyptus Grandis are also worth
considering for afforestation.
Based on the information you provided,
the above are my analyses and
suggestions for improvement. I hope
they can help solve the problems of
poor durability in the solid wood door,
and the door post and ledge prone
to loosening or warping. I have also
provided some general knowledge of
afforestation species, which I hope are
helpful. P
Sincerely,
Shim Yee Shin
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
Fig. 4: Sapling of
neem, or sentang
58 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

Build
Sustainably
Build
with Wood
Every two minutes
U.S. forests grow
700 cubic meters
enough to build a
12-story building

SUSTAINABILITY
How sustainable
is palm wood?
Inspiring the next “material revolution” by
creating sustainable and high-performance
materials from oil palm waste, Peter Fitch,
together with IOI, have set up IOI Palm
Wood to commercialise this untapped
potential.
Palm wood comes from various tree-like
species in the palm family. However, the most
abundant and sustainable supply comes from
Elaeis guineensis, or commonly known as oil
palm. Palm wood can be sustainable due to
the high availability of oil palms but logging in
tropical forests and deforestation causes great
ecological damage. So, the question is: Just
how sustainable is it to buy products that are
made from palm wood?
Palm wood is sustainable because of its
carbon storage and carbon sequestration.
Palm trees are only cut down when they stop
bearing economically valuable fruits. Thus, the
production of palm wood from oil palm trunks
(OPT) that are chopped and left to rot in the
fields serves as an environmentally friendly way
to repurpose an otherwise waste material.
To understand the sustainability of palm wood,
let us assess the lifecycle of furniture and
other building materials using the lifecycle
assessment (LCA) to evaluate the potential
environmental impacts of each stage of palm
wood’s lifecycle. LCA is a strategic method that
has been used by companies over the years to
research and create more sustainable products.
In this article, we will use the cradle-to-grave
perspective to examine each stage of the
lifecycle of flooring, furniture and building
materials made from palm wood.
THE LIFECYCLE STAGES OF PALM WOOD
As oil palms grow, they uptake carbon
dioxide, thus reducing its presence in the
atmosphere. Throughout the ages, oil palms
have adapted to many habitats in the world’s
tropical regions and have provided fruit crops
such as crude palm oil. While only 5% of the
world’s vegetable oil farmland is used for palm
plantations, palm cultivation produces 38%
of the world’s total vegetable oil supply. In
terms of oil yield, a palm plantation is 10 times
more productive than soyabean, sunflower or
rapeseed cultivation because palm fruit and
kernel both provide usable oil. The production
of palm wood from discarded trunks adds to
the usefulness and climate positive aspects of
palm wood.
GROWING PALM WOOD
The palm family has 190 genera and 2,800
species, making it one of the largest in the
monocotyledon, or monocot, group. Other
families in this group are banana and bamboo.
Palms, like all other monocots, are more closely
related to grass than trees: The plants have only
a single stem and no bark, branches or secondary
growth. Thus, palm wood is technically neither
hardwood nor softwood. Palms have been used as
alternative sources of wood for hundreds of years,
such as the flexible stems from climbing rattans
— a large palm sub-family — which is commonly
used to make furniture and household items.
Some palm species which palm wood is
commonly utilised for building homes and making
furniture include palmyra palm, or Borassus
flabellifer; red palm or coconut palm; date palm,
or Phoenix dactylifera; peach palm, or Bactris
gasipaes; and rattans.
At IOI Palm Wood, we aim to add oil palm,
or Elaeis guineensis to this list. Palm wood’s
sustainability lies in the potential for carbon
sequestration due to the abundance of
plantations throughout Malaysia and South East
Asia, and the multiple benefits of land used for
growing these palm species for vegetable oil
production.
Oil palms are grown in large plantations for their
fruits. Once these palms are no longer productive,
60 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

SUSTAINABILITY
they are cut down to make room for the next
generation of palms. OPT, which is the byproduct
of the fruit crops, provides a quantity
of sustainable biomass material for the wood
industry. For example, oil palms can grow
up to 20m in height and 1.5m in diameter. If
plantations are replanted after 25 years, the
felled trunks could be used to produce palm
wood. It can be estimated that a typical trunk
volume of 140m³ per hectare can sequestrate
80 tonnes of CO2. Additionally, removing the
trunks prevents the release of methane during
the decaying process which is 24 times as
detrimental to the climate as CO2. The use
of the palm wood thus reduces the pressure
on endangered hardwood species located in
tropical rainforests.
Hardwoods have annual growth rings that are
similarly dense. Conversely, a typical palm stem
consists of two regions with unequal density.
The region around the core is larger and softer
than the outer region, which is often made of
densely packed fibres.
The energy needed to power sawing machines
and the kilns can come from fossil-free sources
to reduce carbon emissions. Burning wood
waste is one way to avoid using fossil fuel in
this step. At IOI Palm Wood, we intend to derive
100% of our thermal energy from biomass.
Another fossil-free fuel option is solar power
which will be a potential investment for us in
2023.
USING PALM WOOD
Using palm furniture and building materials is
sustainable with the carbon capture during the
product’s lifetime. Palm wood, for example,
can last for more than a decade, provided
they are dry and treated properly. When wood
is decayed, either naturally in the forest or
MANUFACTURING PALM WOOD
Turning palm wood into furniture has a
relatively low carbon footprint because wood
waste can be recycled fully as by-products
or biomass energy to off-set the carbon
emissions during harvesting and processing.
The first step of manufacturing palm furniture
and building materials involves cutting down
the palms and turning them into lumber in a
sawmill. Electricity is needed to run sawing
machines. The next step is to dry the lumber
before turning it into furniture. A piece of
lumber needs to be dried to the desired
moisture content. Then, a kiln is used, which
requires extra energy, which can be off-set by
using biomass energy.
The rate of drying palm wood depends on the
moisture content and the temperature. This
can take many days, or even weeks. Density
is another deciding factor for the drying time.
Turning palm wood into furniture has a
relatively low carbon footprint
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 61

SUSTAINABILITY
because of damage caused by usage at home,
the carbon stored in the wood is released back
to the atmosphere. Therefore, long-lasting
furniture can be a good way of keeping carbon
out of the atmosphere. If the wood is reclaimed
for making another piece of furniture, its
positive carbon storage environmental impact is
even higher.
TRANSPORTING PALM WOOD
The transportation of palm wood is a relatively
carbon-intensive stage in the palm wood’s
lifecycle due to the distance from its source
and the emissions associated with operating
the vehicles from taking the OPT at the oil
palm plantations to sawmills, to factories, and
lastly to stores. As palm wood typically comes
from the tropics, transporting palm wood
furniture would typically have a similar carbon
footprint to furniture produced in other Asian
regions such as Vietnam, China and Indonesia.
THE END-OF-LIFE STAGE
The end-of-life stage for palm wood products is
sustainable when the wood is reused or burned
as bioenergy. There are a few scenarios for wood
products — furniture, building materials and
household items — at the end of their lifecycle.
First, they can end up in landfills and do not
decompose. In this case, it keeps its role as
carbon storage. Second, wood products can
also be upcycled and reused, extending their
role as carbon storage and reducing the fossil
carbon emitted. New wood products often travel
much further to their markets, compared with
recovered wood products. The latter is typically
made in urban centres and sold locally, which
lowers the transportation environmental
burdens. Third, in another end-of-life scenario,
products like a palm wood cabinet can be
burned for biomass energy displacing coal or
natural gas in generating electricity.
BUYING PALM WOOD SUSTAINABLY
Buying sustainable wood helps to prevent
illegal or unsustainable logging, which harms
the forests’ biosystems and accelerates climate
change. Logging accounts for 26% of forest and
biodiversity losses. Cutting down trees for wood
has less impact on carbon storage than farming
or mining. However, if logging is not sustainably
managed, it can damage the biodiversity.
Sustainable use of palm wood will absorb
carbon from the atmosphere and reduce the
overall effect of climate change. And, to make it
even more sustainable, use any palm furniture
for as long as you can, upcycle the material
to extend its usage, and arrange for it to be
recycled fully. P
Keeping long-lasting
furniture can be a good
way of keeping carbon
out of the atmosphere
62 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

SHOW REVIEW
IFMAC & WOODMAC 2022
encourage industry
innovation and growth
IFMAC &
WOODMAC 2022
gathered 11,225
trade visitors over
four days
Indonesian furniture manufacturing
components and woodworking
machinery technology exhibitions
IFMAC & WOODMAC 2022 closed its
doors on 24 Sep 2022 on a positive
note with 11,225 trade visitors from 22
countries. They returned to a physical
edition after a two-year postponement
due to the pandemic, and gathered
participation from 108 exhibitors from
18 countries and regions, including
Austria, Canada, China, Germany,
Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, South
Korea, Taiwan, the US, among others.
Various furniture and woodworking
machinery, tools and components,
software for furniture design, raw
materials, solutions for interior works
like adhesives and coatings, and fittings
were showcased.
Over the four days of exhibition,
exhibitors and visitors got back to
face-to-face business, conducting
live machinery demonstrations and
business back at the top of the agenda.
Complementing the exhibition were
seminars and presentations, which
were reportedly well-received by
trade attendees. These industryspecific
sessions ran concurrently with
the exhibition and feature industry
specialists to address problems in the
Indonesian furniture industry, as well
as provide insights on world furniture
industry trends to Indonesian
furniture industry players.
Shaun Yee, marketing and
communications specialist in
Raute Corporation for Asia-Pacific,
commented: “We are very happy to
be back in IFMAC & WOODMAC to see
people, to interact and mingle again
with customers. A huge crowd came
to our booth to see our products and
watch our demonstrations, where our
experts could explain more to them.”
Similarly, Tri Purno Adianto, chief
representative of Jowat Adhesive in
64 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

SHOW REVIEW
Indonesia, expressed his satisfaction: “The
exhibition is good. A lot of visitors came
to our booth and we have a lot of new
potential here.”
IFMAC & WOODMAC 2022 have also
garnered the support of industry
associations. Abdul Sobur, chairman of
the presidium of the Indonesian Furniture
and Craft Industries (HIMKI), said that the
use of technology could be a solution in
competing with other countries, since it can
not only increases the domestic industry’s
production capacity, but also increases
the efficiency of production costs. As he
explained: “To meet the export market,
Indonesian industry players must shift from
traditional patterns to the use of advanced
technology. The cost of technology is
not always high. Therefore, HIMKI invites
furniture industry players to attend IFMAC
& WOODMAC 2022 as reference and
motivation.”
companies to explore the Indonesian
market through IFMAC & WOODMAC. This
includes Felder Group, Raute Group Asia,
Dainasint, Qualitech Indopiranti, Cabinet
Vision South East Asia, Global Timber Asia,
Furnisoft, Jowat, and more.
The next edition of IFMAC & WOODMAC
will take place from 20-23 Sep 2023, at
Jakarta International Expo in Jakarta,
Indonesia. Space bookings are now
open. P
Live demonstrations of various furniture or interior
design technology
This statement was also supported by H.M
Wiradadi Soeprayogo, chairman of the
Indonesian Sawmill and Woodworking
Association (ISWA): “The IFMAC &
WOODMAC exhibition has been highly
beneficial to Indonesia’s wood processing
industry. It is a must-attend exhibition
for wood processing industry players to
learn about the latest developments in
machining technology displayed here.”
Sofianto Widjaja, general manager of
Wahana Kemalaniaga Makmur (WAKENI),
the organiser of IFMAC & WOODMAC,
said that to boost the performance of the
Indonesian furniture and craft business,
quality interaction is expected between
producers and suppliers at the exhibition:
“Given that IFMAC & WOODMAC unite from
upstream to downstream a spectrum of
furniture production under one roof, the
exhibition is proud to be the link for the
entire industrial value chain that brings
together the tools, fasteners and hardware
needed for the entire furniture production
and production process.”
WAKENI’s partnership with Deutsche
Messe, the organiser of Germany-based
woodworking exhibition LIGNA, is said to
attract more European and other global
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 65

SHOW REVIEW
VietnamWood 2022
The 14th Vietnam International
Woodworking Industry Fair
(VietnamWood), concurrent with
Vietnam International Furniture
Accessories, Hardware and Tools
Exhibition (Furnitec), was held
from 18-21 Oct 2022 at the Saigon
Exhibition and Convention Center
(SECC) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,
with the online platform live from
18-24 Oct. Both exhibitions aim to
boost the wood industry and pave
the way for future investment.
1
This year, VietnamWood gathered
233 exhibitors from 25 countries
and regions to display their
manufacturing solutions, machinery
and technology for business
contacts and technical exchanges.
During the four-day event, more
than 8,992 visitors came to
experience the event, attending
business interactions and catching
up with the Vietnam market.
Despite pandemic challenges
and the current market situation,
statistics showed that VietnamWood
and Furnitec were a place of
choice for the woodworking and
furniture industry to unveil
innovations. According to Chan
Chao International Enterprise
Group, the organisers behind
VietnamWood, 85% of the
exhibitors were satisfied with
the exhibition and showed
interest to participate again in
2023. Moreover, over 67% of the
visitors influenced purchasing
decisions. The visitors hailed
from 53 countries and regions
and had the opportunity to
check out exhibitors’ launches
and new brands, and explored
woodworking trends. Over 88%
of them were satisfied with their
experience in VietnamWood 2022.
Legend
1 Businessmen
interacting at the
German pavilion of
VietnamWood 2022
2 Over 8,992 visitors
participated the
exhibition
2
The 15th edition of VietnamWood
aims to continue the momentum
and bolster the growth of the
woodworking industry and
market in Vietnam. It will be held
from 20-23 Sep 2023. P
66 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022

EVENTS CALENDAR
Events Calendar 2022–2024
2022
Cairo WoodShow 2022
Cairo, Egypt
DOMOTEX 2023
Hannover, Germany
DECEMBER, 15 – 18
2023
JANUARY, 12 – 15
MARCH, 09 – 12
Export Furniture Exhibition
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
MARCH, 28 – 31
Interzum Guangzhou
Guangzhou, China
AUGUST, 10 – 13
AUGUST, 24 – 27
in conjunction with
Smart Furniture Solutions and Mass Timber
Binh Duong, Vietnam
Hawa Expo
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Malaysia International Furniture Fair 2023
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
DelhiWood
New Delhi, India
FEBRUARY, 22 – 25
MARCH, 01 – 04
MARCH, 02 – 05
MARCH, 07 – 09
Dubai WoodShow
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Photo: Jonathan Bernard / Unsplash
Photo: Jonathan Bernard / Unsplash
Salone del Mobile
Milan, Italy
Wood Taiwan
Taiwan
interzum Cologne
Cologne, Germany
LIGNA
Hannover, Germany
imm Cologne 2023
Cologne, Germany
APRIL, 18 – 23
APRIL, 20 – 23
MAY, 09 – 12
MAY, 15 – 19
JUNE, 04 – 07
Photo: Thomas Tucker / Unsplash
Korean International Furniture & Interior Fair
Seoul, South Korea
IFMAC & WOODMAC
Jakarta, Indonesia
VietnamWood
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Holz-Handwerk 2024
Nuremberg, Germany
SEPTEMBER, 20 – 23
SEPTEMBER, 20 – 23
OCTOBER, 4 – 6
126th NHLA Annual
Convention & Exhibit Showcase
Ohio, US
2024
MARCH, 19 – 22
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 67

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • November / December 2022
COMPANY PAGE COMPANY PAGE
American Hardwood Export Council
OBC
Lensaya Industriya Journal 63
Baillie Lumber 11
BAUMER Inspection GmbH 61
Berndorf Band GmbH 9
Cabinet Vision South East Asia 21
Nanxing Machinery Co., Ltd 2,3
Northwest Hardwoods 1
Plytec Oy 13
Quebec Wood Export Bureau 4,5
Electronic Wood Systems GmbH 31
Smart Furniture Solutions & Mass Timber 2023
FC
Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd. 23
Softwood Export Council 59
Global Timber Asia Sdn Bhd 7
IMEAS spa 68
Technik Associates, Inc
Teknos (M) Sdn Bhd
IBC
IFC
Interzum Guangzhou 47
Weitmann & Konrad GmbH & Co KG 15
Kuang Yung Machinery Co.,Ltd 65
ai161597024816_EN_PFA_IMEAS_202105.pdf 1 17/03/21 09:37
Scan to download eBook
PFA November/December 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.
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
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
68 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022