28 | Focus on OSB: Rest of the World
stakeholders by initiating an ongoing consultation process. When first unveiled, the project was planned as a first phase €340m investment in a 420,000m3 600,000m3
capacity, increasing to in a second €52m phase.
The last public announcements on the project were following the online posting of the assessment by the guarantors of the ongoing consultation and the project owners’ report, the CNDP, at its plenary session on February 5, 2025, when consultation was said to be ongoing until a public inquiry. An April project press release said the underground electrical connection to “connect the future Swiss Krono plant to the Nérac substation”, was approved by the Prefect of Lot-et-Garonne, Daniel Barnier, on March 21, 2025. Another item of news for Swiss Krono is a new product launched in 2025: Magnumboard OSB // HybridWood, comprising solid Magnumboard OSB ceilings, combined with reinforced concrete ribs for large spans and various visual finishes. Turning to Russia, a whole collection of
OSB projects have been planned in the last few years, but solid information on their progress is hard to come by. These projects remain in the list of future capacity until their status can be confirmed. One new project to report is Bazis LLC’s
investment project for OSB and sawn timber in Lesosibirsk, in the Krasnoyarsk region. The Russian Forest National Association of Timber Industry have said the Rub8.5bn investment would be completed in 2030. The OSB mill is planned with a 300,000m³ capacity.
ASIA AND REST OF THE WORLD Looking further afield, a Kazakhstan OSB plant is on the drawing board. Domestic news source The Astana Times reported the project for the production of OSB and
laminated wood chipboards by Ultradecor Trading Kazakhstan LLP in the North Kazakhstan Region. It will bring US$155.3m of investments to the economy. Kazakh Invest has introduced a targeted approach to attracting investments, focusing on four priority sectors: deep processing of grain, coal chemistry, petrochemistry, and production of oil and gas equipment. As well as Ultradecor, other projects involve partnerships with prominent companies such as CHN Energy, Carlsberg and PepsiCo. A machinery contract has been awarded
to Chinese press supplier Yalian, which will supply a 52.3m x 8.5ft press, with a 2,000m3 per day capacity. In China, WBPI has reported on multiple
OSB or hybrid OSB plant projects in recent years. The most recent Asia projects we have covered are from Luli Group in China which completed its third and fourth fine OSB plants from Dieffenbacher in Jiangxi and Hunan. The former started operation in December 2023 and the latter in January 2024 (now added to the main listings). Dieffenbacher has also confirmed two other projects – Guangxi Deli New Materials in Yulin and Baoding Tianzelin Board Industry at Baoding were completed last autumn, with the former having a 500,000m³ annual capacity and Baoding having a 550,000m³/ year capacity. Both lines can produce OSB and Fine OSB. These projects have also been added to the main listings. A further project in Asia is IMALPAL
GROUP’s project to supply a complete OSB line with a 30m continuous press to a customer in Vietnam with a 250,000m3
/
year capacity. Commissioning was originally planned for 2025 and we await more details on progress. We have also previously reported on the
Fletcher Building Ltd project in New Zealand. It was originally due to be completed in late 2024/early 2025. Start-up is now planned
for summer 2026, and capacity will be 130,000m³/year. Dieffenbacher is the press supplier on this project also.
The project is taking place at the Laminex
New Zealand site in Taupo. Laminex New Zealand runs a particleboard mill in Taupo, North Island. The new CEBRO plant will have the flexibility to produce Fine OSB and conventional OSB. It will replace the particleboard production line featuring an almost 50-year-old single-opening press supplied by Dieffenbacher in 1974.
CENTRE FOR INVESTMENT In South America, Chile is turning out to be a centre for OSB investment. In November, 2024 Dieffenbacher announced it had won a contract from Paneles Arauco SA (Santiago de Chile) to convert one of its two Trupan MDF lines in Cholguán in the Bío Bío region to making OSB. The plant, with an estimated planned capacity of 300,000m3
is scheduled to start
production in the second half of 2026. “It’s a special project for us, not only because we are happy to be working with our friends at Arauco again, but also because we will be building the new plant around the existing 10-opening press from 1988, which will remain at the centre of the production line,” said Diego Coelho de Oliveira, area sales director and managing director of Dieffenbacher do Brasil. The Dieffenbacher scope of supply will range from the wood yard with debarking to the raw board handling including pneumatic systems and plant electrics and automation. A belt dryer is being supplied. Another potential project to look out for
is a second OSB line for Chile Panel SA, which according to EUWID is considering a project. We will wait to hear more before adding this to the future capacity list.
Above left: Paneles Arauco SA (Santiago de Chile) is to convert one of its two Trupan MDF lines in Cholguán Above right: OOO DOK Kalevala OSB plant in Russia
WBPI | April/May 2025 |
www.wbpionline.com
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