Focus on MDF: Part 1 | 17
of producing 310,000m3 124,000m3
of MDF per year, of primed Armorite and 90 million
ft of interior mouldings. The company anticipates that both new plants will begin operations in 2026-27 and will employ approximately 120 people once completed. The investment project by Swiss Krono for the HDF / MDF plant at its facility in South Carolina which relies heavily on roundwood, has continued to progress successfully and is running well. The plant at the Barnwell site has been expanded extensively to strengthen the HDF and laminate divisions throughout the Group. The plant has a production capacity of around 280,000m3
of
HDF, which is intended primarily for laminate flooring production in the company’s own plant.
Meanwhile, in Canada the Great Plains wheat straw based MDF project moves forward slowly in Alberta. It seems a long time ago now but back in 2021, Great Plains MDF announced it has selected a site for its greenfield wheat straw based MDF plant. The plant with a design capacity of 849,000m3
is planned to be built in Kneehill
County in Alberta, Canada. As a latest update (April-May 2026) the company said that the financing process has taken much longer than anticipated. It still appears positive, but nothing is for sure until it happens. Once financing is secured, the engineering, equipment purchasing, and construction phases will begin, but we are still three years away from start up, at best. A series of similar facilities are envisaged
by the company across the Canadian prairies and elsewhere over the next 10 years. As we close out the North American section, we have the positive news that Homann Holzwerkstoffe GmbH, based in Munich, is now expanding into North America after starting up its new MDF/HDF mill in Lithuania. The company, Homanit USA Inc., is building
an MDF/HDF mill at Alcolu (Clarendon County) South Carolina, nearly 25 years since it started up an MDF plant in Mt Gilead, NC, which it later sold to Unilin in 2003. (Mohawk Industries purchased Unilin in 2005). The decision to proceed was made at the end of April 2025 based on factors including wood supply, transport distances to potential customers and financial incentives and a groundbreaking ceremony at the site took place in June 2025. The new mill is to have an annual production capacity of 487,000m3
. Its main
product will be thin MDF/HDF, which will be delivered to the furniture industry and its suppliers and the door industry as raw boards or with surface finishing. Like its Polish mills, the US mill’s main
customers will include the Ikea Group and its suppliers. Ikea is poised to significantly
expand both its retail activities and furniture production in the US in the coming years. The new mill is expected to involve an
investment of around €260m. Financing is to be provided by a syndicated loan of up to €200m, which was agreed at the end of the first quarter of 2026.
The project in South Carolina will not be fleshed out until the new mill in Pagirai makes a positive contribution to EBITDA. If everything goes according to plan, construction work will continue, with commissioning following during 2028. Homann Holzwerkstoffe will serve the US market using exports from its European locations until the new mill is up and running. This approach aims to unlock a new sales market which, according to Homann Holzwerkstoffe, offers relatively good earnings prospects thanks to much lower timber prices in the southeast of the US compared to Europe and higher sales prices. The US mill will be Homann Holzwerkstoffe’s fifth manufacturing site.
MEXICO Total nominal production capacity of the MDF plants in Mexico has been adjusted to 792,000m3
/year, such a significant volume
when compared to the small capacity of less than 80,000m3
only a few years ago. In
Mexico, we see the three projects that we highlighted previously progressing well, with all of them being fully operational Celulosa Arauco y Constitución plans to double the MDF/HDF capacities of Arauco Industria de México, by installing a new production line at the Mexican site in Zitácuaro (Michoacán). The company is investing around US$312m in the project. With production expected to commence during Quarter 3, 2026, this will
HOW THE LISTING WAS COMPILED
sources and data received directly from the mills and industry experts. Published information was reviewed for news of capacity changes. These sources include relevant trade magazines, association reports, press releases and equipment suppliers’ reference lists. Self-completion enquiry forms were distributed to the mills, requesting current and future
capacity data. The mills own reported design capacities are used wherever possible because this is the basis
upon which they can make their estimates of future capacity and production changes. Where this information is not available, published sources are used, usually on a basis of 330 operating days per year. Conversion of ft2 to m3
/year is made with 1,000ft2 equal to 1.77m3 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
trade consultancy, providing independent in-depth assessment of markets and market potential
driving the introduction and huge expansion in the use of MDF in the UK and international markets. He is a former President of the Timber Trade Federation (TTF), the European Association of MDF Manufacturers (EMB) and the Fibre Building Board Federation (FIDOR) and a former Board Member of the European Panel Federation (EPF). He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and for 10 years since 2016, was President of The Institute of Carpenters. In 2017 he was the recipient of the TTJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award for services to the timber industry.
.
ultimately add 300,000m3
to the groups’ MDF
capacity in Mexico. The plant will employ 220 people during its operation, and its supply seeks to promote a circular economy model, empowering small local forest producers and safeguarding the ecosystem values of their surroundings. To date, Arauco México has produced raw
and coated particleboard at the Zitácuaro site.
No continuous process plants existed in Mexico a short while ago and per capita consumption remained very low compared to most countries. Mexican wood panel producers are still driving several market development initiatives, which are gaining momentum and are at the forefront of a campaign to promote wider use, particularly of MDF, by the national furniture industry. The panel makers are continually educating Mexico’s furniture designers about the benefits of the material compared to solid wood. As a point of reference, total North American installed MDF capacity for Canada, USA and Mexico for 2023 is shown as at 5,787,000m3
and for 2024 this has
been readjusted down (with the closure of CalPlant 1) to 5,537,000m3
. . With some
further fine tuning and input from industry experts the capacity for 2025 is shown 5,461,000m3
Finally, now, with the Arauco Mexican capacity expansion, along with the futuristic and large Canadian wheat straw based MDF project, the Dillard - Oregon US investment by Roseburg, and the announcement by Homann Holzwerkstoffe GmbH in South Carolina, our table showing forecast future capacity gives a figure of 7,407,000m3 North American area for 2026 and beyond.
for the
www.wbpionline.com | Summer 2026 | WBPI
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