Focus on MDF Part 1: Europe & North America | 27
In the Nordic region, there are no production facilities for MDF, but the influence of the well-known Swedish furniture group IKEA, in terms of global design trends in the competitively priced self-assembly sector, remains significant. IKEA continues to state it will use more
recycled fibre in MDF manufacturing as well as promoting the introduction of fossil-free binders. Recycled wood use is more focused on particleboard, with a smaller number of initiatives in the fibreboard arena currently. Weight issues also continue to dominate selection of materials. For certain components, MDF with a density of less than 500kg/m3
, whilst maintaining high quality,
is finding favour alongside higher density items of 700kg/m3
+, for special use. Also,
products produced as sandwich elements (core honeycomb with surface 2.5mm or less HDF) are helpful when weight issues need to be addressed in the final furniture product. In Belarus, the 224,000m3
Kronospan
now being operated there by Emirati Causa
Foundation with funding from Qatar and UAE. As a result, the Austrian woodworking holding company Kronospan has closed its business in Belarus and its factories and logistics centres are now owned by the Emirati Causa Foundation. The supervision activities were handed over to Russian managers.
In Russia, the MDF/HDF investment at Vladimir – capacity 424,000m3
– by the
Turkish wood-based panel and laminate flooring manufacturer Yildiz Entegre, is hoping to be operational later in 2025/6 and we will report on this further in due course. We also have three more Russian projects
to highlight and to list in our new capacity table: Lesplitinvest, a company from the St.
Petersburg region, plans to invest about US$20m doubling of the capacity of its MDF plant, which is in the city of Priozersk and is capable of producing 120,000m3
of
board this year. The Chinese company AVIC Forestry is implementing an investment project to create the Asinovsky forestry park in the Russian Tomsk region. It will invest more than 30 billion roubles (20 billion have already been invested) in the construction of 10 timber processing plants including MDF by 2026-2027. Monolit-Story, the Russian MDF producer, plans massive expansion of its output this year based on its MDF plant in the city of Tomsk. The company is also building a plant to produce urea-formaldehyde concentrate.
The Sheksninsky plant in Vologda has plans
to increase combined production of MDF and particleboard, which is estimated at close to 1 million m3
in total, by 30-40% in the coming
years, but we have no updated news on this currently.
The Russian market has completely evaporated for European technology providers due to sanctions imposed after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Ongoing and new projects are now almost exclusively awarded to Chinese technology companies. In particular, Yalian Machinery Co Ltd has increasingly gained a foothold in regions. Yalian was primarily active in the Chinese domestic market for a long time. New orders for lines featuring continuous presses are now chiefly placed with Yalian and Shanghai Wood-Based Panel Machinery Co Ltd (SWPM), in which Dieffenbacher holds a majority stake.
And as a final point in Belarus, Gomeldrev, a flagship MDF enterprise based in the city of Gomel, increased its output up to 120,000m3 in 2024 as a result of installation of new equipment. Taking our main table listing from 2023, which shows an adjusted total installed capacity of 31,575,000m3
and then fine-
tuning information with adjustments and corrections and with new capacity already installed in 2024, we reach an estimated total of 31,455,000m3
as the total European
(NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Lexington, NC. “Elevated mortgage rates and rising construction costs are making it increasingly difficult to deliver homes at price points accessible to entry- level buyers. We’re seeing demand soften as more potential homeowners are priced out of the market.” “March’s decline in housing production reflects the ongoing struggle to balance construction costs with the need for affordable housing,” said Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, NAHB’s assistant vice-president for forecasting and analysis. “High material prices and labour shortages continue to challenge our ability to build homes that meet the budget constraints of many families. Without targeted policy support, addressing the affordability crisis remains an uphill battle.”
. Then, with the future
new mills listed in Table 1 European capacity development, we now have a forecast figure of 32,389,000m3
capacity for 2025 and beyond.
NORTH AMERICA CAPACITY The MDF situation in North America is currently challenging. After a strong demand and rapid price escalation in 2022, mainly created by a pandemic hangover and shutdown of two Arauco mills, demand has fallen in conjunction with new construction and repair and remodelling. Constrained housing affordability
conditions due to elevated interest rates, rising construction costs and labour shortages has led to a reduction in housing production. This is one of the big problems right now in the US that is impeding MDF growth. Compared to former years, the US has a smaller furniture manufacturing base, so moulding, millwork, flooring, and cabinetry really drive the market demand. The March 2025 reading of 1.32 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 14.2% to a 940,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate and are down 9.7% compared to March 2024. The multi-family sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, decreased 3.5% to an annualised 384,000 pace. “The drop in March housing starts is a clear signal that affordability pressures are intensifying,” said Buddy Hughes, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders
MDF demand has been poor and shows little sign of improving in 2025. Any shortfall in supply has been of short duration and usually filled by imports. Imports are becoming more of a factor, especially in the US, encouraged by a relatively strong currency exchange against supplier currencies in Asia, South America, Mexico, and New Zealand. Vietnam is becoming a larger factor on the west coast.
Other than the new MDF plant announced
by Roseburg to be built in Dillard, Oregon, we know of no other plans for new MDF capacity in North America. Roseburg’s investment plans total US$700m over the next four years and involve upgrading/expanding manufacturing operations in southern Oregon. Two state-of-the-art manufacturing plants are being built at the company’s Dillard complex, as well as technological improvements and upgrades at existing plants in rural Douglas and Coos counties. Dillard MDF will use wood residuals from Roseburg’s local mills as well as other regional mill suppliers to manufacture standard MDF, as well as thin HDF – often used in cabinetry, doors, and other applications. The plant will produce panels with a thickness range from 2mm to 28mm. HDF is a new product for Roseburg that meets growing customer demand for domestically manufactured panels of increasing thinness and strength. CEO Grady Mulbery has reported that Dillard MDF will be one of the most technologically advanced plants of its kind in the world, representing a US$450m investment alone. Dillard Components will convert specialty MDF panels manufactured at Roseburg’s MDF plant in Medford, into Armorite Trim, a finished exterior trim product for residential and shed use. Roseburg will invest roughly US$50m in this plant. The two plants together will be capable of
www.wbpionline.com | June/July 2025 | WBPI
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 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
