{"id":14839,"date":"2024-02-15T17:58:19","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T06:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=14839"},"modified":"2024-10-21T20:19:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T10:19:57","slug":"osb-over-ply-west-fraser-bets-on-ewps-for-next-building-boom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/osb-over-ply-west-fraser-bets-on-ewps-for-next-building-boom\/","title":{"rendered":"OSB Over Ply? West Fraser Backs EWPs for Global Building Boom!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the world’s largest forest companies is betting on higher-value forest products to drive its financial recovery after West Fraser Timber lost US $153 million for the last quarter of 2023 – in what is a continuing downward trend accelerated by weak pulp and paper demand.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes after the company exited several pulp assets and paper mills, which it dubbed an “ongoing portfolio optimisation strategy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, it is building up its laminated veneer lumber (LVL), medium density particleboard (MDF) and oriented strand boards (or OSB) businesses –\u00a0which has emerged as an alternative to plywood growing in popularity due to its cost-effectiveness and sustainable production.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Sean McLaren, West Fraser’s President and incoming CEO,\u00a0“the fourth quarter of 2023 saw continued weakness in demand for our North American lumber and European panel products.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr McLaren, who replaced long-term CEO Ray Ferris in January, said, “Demand for our North American OSB, plywood and other engineered products experienced resilient demand as new home construction markets were surprisingly robust.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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West Fraser Timber has invested in expanding its OSB production across Europe, including Belgium, where last month, it welcomed the Flemish Minister for Environment and Spatial Development, Zuhal Demir, to its upgraded mill in Genk, Belgium. Pictured are Bert Heylen, General Manager at Genk, showing Minister Zuuhal Demir, centre, and members of the Fedustria group – the peak body for Belgium’s Wood Product Industry around its OSB mill. (Photo Credit: West Fraser Timber).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He is inheriting a strategy focused on its wood-building products business. It has seen Mr McLaren accelerate mill closures in Flordia, Arkansas and Fraser Lake in British Columbia and instead focus on\u00a0flexible, higher-value production<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

West Fraser is the world’s largest producer of oriented strand boards, with Mr Ferris last year outlining that the product, along with LVL and MDF, was in the mix as it strived to become “the premier wood-building products company in North America.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could OSB overtake Plywood for popularity?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

As a substitute for plywood, OSB uses longer and coarser wood to increase mechanical strength and water resistance by compressing layers of wood stands with adhesive to ensure consistent density and waterproofing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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