Panel Perspectives: Richmond Plywood | 39
PRODUCTS
Richply’s specialty overlay concrete formwork plywood, popular on the UK market, includes the Ultraform brand of medium density overlay (MDO) plywood, an all-Douglas fir panel. Another product, made of hemlock, called Coastform, is also being used in the UK. Other speciality overlay panels selling in North America include high density overlays and high alkaline overlays. Overlay panels are of course the solution
to expanding the longevity of formwork panels and improving smoothness for the finished concrete surface. The protection is needed as the alkalinity of the concrete mix attacks the formwork panels.
“The more you can reuse the panel, the cheaper it is for the end-user. If panels get used only once and are tossed away, it is a false economy,” said Mr Sutherland. Richply promotes the whole life cost of the materials to contractor customers, explaining to them that buying high quality and reusable products can save them money in the long-term. “But it is sometimes difficult to convince them as many get fooled by some products’ cheaper sticker prices.” Beyond MDO panels, Richply produces paint grade MDOs, typically for garage doors and hoardings, plus a sanded value-added category using high-end aesthetic veneers. A marine grade product is also produced. “I know that marine grade is consumed in the UK, typically using tropical hardwood veneers and it is produced to the BS1088 standard. We can produce a Douglas fir marine grade according to US Voluntary Product Standard PS 1-22 which has a very wide following.”
Richply’s most popular sanded product is its Douglas fir good one side produced to the CSA standard.
Sheathing is the third product category and Richply’s largest category by volume, going into roof, floor and wall applications. Despite the popularity of OSB for these applications, there are North American regions that prefer the benefits of plywood over OSB, particularly for flooring and high- water applications (bathrooms and kitchens) because of plywood’s propensity to swell less than OSB.
The timber frame wall sheathing market in North America has been largely taken by OSB, but Richply points out that some geographies do not like to use OSB on the roof, due to either slipperiness of the latter or due to damp weather in some regions. Mr Sutherland says there are opportunities with some of the company’s sheathing products – either spruce or fir sheathing plywood – on the UK market, putting it in competition with Finnish spruce plywood. “We believe our spruce plywood is of equal quality and we’re working with Graeme
Holburn & Co to get some samples over to the UK market for people to see.” Richply’s high-end defect-free product featuring clear Douglas fir rotary peeled face veneers has been used in some notable projects in the UK, with UK importer EC Griffiths (Décor Solutions) representing Richply for the specific product. “We’ve landed some wonderful jobs through the Décor Solutions group – some of the Facebook and Google offices used the product,” explained Mr Sutherland. “Douglas Fir has a warmth and a beauty to its grain which is quite attractive for people.”
MILL INVESTMENTS The Richply factory has seen a continuous process of improvements. Its most recent technical investments
involved a new backup boiler, a panel repair system, a lay-up line and a core veneer composer.
The backup boiler, supplied by Cleaver- Brooks, was installed in 2023 to ensure the mill had the power capacity to grow and run newer and bigger equipment. In 2024, the composer, panel repair system
and lay-up line were installed. The core veneer composer is from Hashimoto Denki Co Ltd of Japan, and it is reportedly working very well after a quick installation. The automatic panel repair system by
Con-Vey and Argos Solutions is “AI for the plywood industry”, according to Richply, the equipment making multiple decisions quickly and precisely, whether it is routing out defects or filling out imperfections. Product repair operations were previously manual, though one of the manual machines has been kept as a back-up. Raute supplied the lay-up line, the latest equipment from the Finnish manufacturer at the plant. A new Raute lathe was installed in 2019, as well as a veneer stacking line. The lay-up line was ordered several years ago but the Covid-19 period and related global supply chain issues meant a longer wait than normal for the equipment to be shipped and installed. The Raute lathe installed in 2019 was designed to address the mill’s fibre diet changes – moving to smaller logs. “We wanted something that would give a good quality peel but also maintain our productivity,” said Mr Sutherland. Future investments could include a new
dryer. The last dryer installed was in 2014, with two other older dryers also running. “We have the lathe capacity, and increased
dryer capacity would set the stage for the next phase of growth here,” said Mr Sutherland.
THE FUTURE
Richply has seen some volatile trading patterns since the onset of Covid in 2020,
Above: Argos automatic panel repair system
www.wbpionline.com | February/March 2025 | WBPI
from production curtailments at the start of the pandemic to huge demand and soaring prices in the period that followed. The Covid “hangover” brought forest product companies crashing back to earth, with global inflation and higher interest rates dominating the landscape. “The last couple of years have been difficult in the forest industry everywhere,” commented Mr Sutherland.
“In North America we are under built and there is a housing crisis. We are expecting at some point there will be a more normal business cycle. I don’t expect there will be another runaway market [like during Covid] where prices go that high. It was once in a lifetime.”
Richply’s market forecast, made in the autumn of 2024, was for a more normal business cycle by mid-2025, with 2026-2027 being relatively good for the North American economy. The year, thus far, has not yet met those expectations, with much market uncertainty, but the company is positive that underlying fundamentals will support market improvement. “Interest rates have tamed inflation to a certain degree. Signals suggest the Federal Reserve may do a couple of 0.25% interest rate cuts in 2025. I think developers are going to start to get things going, that’s what we’re hearing from customers and the second half of this year should be a bit more active.” ●
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45
