Comment | 3
WBPI – the voice of the global panel industry W
hen someone with expert knowledge
in AI says that within five years there will be dramatic changes in digitalisation, cloud computing and AI – including in the wood-based panels industry – then it’s probably a good idea to listen.
In this issue of WBPI, we have our first Focus on AI. It’s a subject we’ve covered before – we’ve previously showed the important work being done by Dieffenbacher and Siempelkamp in the field. This time we approached three companies –
AHX.ai, SMARTECH and Andritz. London-based Haidin Rashid Amin of London- based
AHX.ai has developed an AI platform with partner Adrian Hilditz specifically for the panel manufacturing sector. The business was started after they saw inefficiencies in the production process when developing a new type of adhesive for the industry.
Mr Rashid Amin talks about a radical loop of transparency where factory staff embrace data driven solutions, and where both staff and AI learn together to drive efficiencies forward. The savings generated on production lines by such an approach can be “crazy” he says. Potentially €500,000 on a line annually for a production output of approximate €70m-80m turnover, he says. Groups with multiple plants in different countries could generate quite substantial efficiencies.
He forecasts a turning point over the next five years, with AI, data integration, access, and
❯ FOCUS ON PARTICLEBOARD PART 2 We update on PB capacity investments in the rest of the world, including the important Asian and South American markets. In addition, there will be commentary on market projections
❯ FOCUS ON GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES Interviews with wood-based panels technology companies from German-speaking countries
cloud connectivity, where we will see an influx of technology suddenly digitalising everything in the span of two to three years. SMARTECH is also making inroads in the field,
now as part of Hexion Inc. Its operational split under Hexion, the launch of multiple AI modules, and deep OEM partnerships signal it is looking to scale rapidly as mills embrace the next generation of smart manufacturing. The company says the AI evolution isn’t about replacing human expertise but augmenting it. By giving control operators, process engineers, and mills managers the tools that empower them to make faster and better decisions. SMARTECH says the autonomous, sustainable mill of the future will see every process learn, adapt, and perform with greater precision and efficiency. Elsewhere in this issue of WBPI, we cover North America – with the CPA providing its latest assessment of markets and investment levels – as well as our Focus on Italian machinery companies, and our Particleboard Survey Part One covering Europe and North America. On the latter, investment levels are at a low level currently and there is less to report than usual, but in Italy and Lithuania there are good prospects for new PB facilities in the near to medium term, with some improvement/ modernisation works also being reported.
Stephen Powney
www.wbpionline.com
GROUP EDITOR
❯ PLUS REGULARS Including all the news relevant to our industry, which will be covered in depth and will also appear, as it happens, on our website:
www.wbpionline.com
www.wbpionline.com | October/November 2025 | WBPI
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