INTERNATIONAL FIBER/WOOD-BASED PANELS CONFERENCE 2015

November 11-12, 2015 - Chicago, IL, USA

MANAGEMENT | INNOVATION | TECHNOLOGY

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INTERNATIONAL FIBER/WOOD-BASED PANELS CONFERENCE 2015

The “INTERNATIONAL FIBER/WOOD-BASED PANELS CONFERENCE 2015” is specifically dedicated to addressing the ‘Fiber/wood-based panels’ industry.

The term: “Fiber/wood-based panels” has been chosen to better describe and embrace the variety of non-wood fiber and composite panel materials that are now being produced across an increasing number of sub-continents. The focus will be on Fiberboard and Particleboard (MDF/PB), in its generic, composite and hybrid forms.

This conference offers an industry-driven opportunity for business leaders and professionals to meet, discuss and focus on management and business aspects across a changing industry.

Delegates will have an excellent opportunity to gain insight into the latest product developments and innovations; markets, business challenges, innovations and futures. Attending this event will also help you to consolidate and expand yourinternational business network with other professionals with a passion for wood!

- Learn about the latest updates, innovations and industry insights - Gain awareness of industry challenges and opportunities across the supply & value chains- Meet and interact with other industry professionals- Exchange management ideas and discuss new developments in processes products and sustainable business- One and a half days of presentations, tabletop displays and networking reception- The prime location and timing of the event will draw industry professionals from around the globe

Subjects covered in the conference have been carefully chosen to appeal to anyone who is involved with theFiberboard and Particleboard panels sectors across all disciplines and embracing: Investors, producers, suppliers and end-users. The majority of attendees to this event are expected to be key decision makers within their organization. The conference is targeted towards the following departments/functions:

> Executive Level Managers > Business Development & Strategy > Research & Consulting> End-users > Sales & Marketing > Engineers & Specialists> Manufacturers > Production & Technical Managers > Materials Suppliers

THE MDF YEARBOOK Published by Data Transcripts (DTL), a specialist publishing and information provider focusing on the global fibreboard, chipboard and panel composites industry sectors. The MDF YEARBOOK provides comprehensive global industry statistics technology and management information.

AWA Conferences & Events AWA Conferences & Events organizes an array of global industry events. Our event platforms are known for their in-depth market insights and peer-to-peer networking.

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

REASONS TO ATTEND

INTERNATIONAL FIBER/WOOD-BASED PANELS CONFERENCE 2015

8.00 – 9.00am Exhibition Open, Registration & Welcome Coffee

9.00 – 9.15 Conference Opening & Introductions Corey Reardon, President & CEO, AWA Alexander Watson Associates

9.15 – 9.45 The Industry in Broad Perspective: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Robert Higham, Consultant Editor and Publisher, The MDF Yearbook

9.45 – 10.15 Global Wood-based Panels Markets – Trends and Outlook Tomi Hartikainen, Principal, Forestry and Wood Products, Pöyry

10.15 – 11.00 Coffee & Networking Break

11.00 – 11.30 M&A on the Rise – What’s Happening in Our Industry & Why? Brooks P. Crankshaw, CEO, Highland Ridge Capital LLC Theglobalmergersandacquisitionsmarkethasbeenexceptionallylively.Thissessionwillexaminethedrivers whichhave ledtoheightenedM&Aactivity,specificanalysis relatedto theMDF industry, andstrategies for business owners to take advantage of the current financing environment and effect ownership transition.

11.30 – 12.00pm Future Forests: Responsible Procurement Decisions Matter! Danny Karch, Director, Community & Market Outreach, Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. Sustainability and environmental responsibility remains a key focus for business leaders and consumers alike. Producers of wood based building materials are aware of the importance to produce sound environmentalproductsandconsumersaswellasprocurementpoliciesarehelpingdrivethisdemandinthe marketplace.TheSustainableForestry Initiative® isavaluedproofpoint toensure thatwoodbasedbuilding materials are manufactured from well managed forests. SFI and other forestry certification programs are third party certified by independent firms and are composed of rigorous, social, economic andenvironmental components. The250million acresof SFI certified forests inCanada andUSA ensure an abundant supply of certified buildingmaterials for environmentally conscious builders and new home owners. This session will give an overview on the benefits of forestry certification in North America anditsrelationshiptotheGreenBuildingsector.

12.00 – 1.15 Lunch

1.15 – 1.45 Thinking Outside the “Wooden” Box Alicia Crawford, Materials Chemistry Specialist, Steelcase Sharon Tracy, Principal Researcher – Materials Science, Steelcase Thecurrentmarketdemandsthatorganizationsdevelopinnovationagilitybyembracingatransformational organizationwideinnovationstrategyandculture.Thissessionexploreshowsustainabilitycanbeusedasa lens forvarious innovation initiativesandgoals,specificallyaroundwood-basedmaterials,andhowresearch andsupplierpartnershipsassistwithinnovatingaroundtheprocessandcommodityofwood-basedmaterials.

1.45 – 2.15 No Added Formaldehyde Alternative to MDF Derived from Starch Prof. Andy Abbot & Dr. Luka Wright, University of Leicester .

PROGRAM DAY 1

Whilst recent years have seen an insurgence of engineered wood products such as Medium Density FibreBoard (MDF), chipboard,plywoodandparticleboard, therehasbeengrowingconcernover theuseofurea/formaldehydemixturesastheresinusedtobindthewoodinthesematerials.This isdue, in largepart,tothecarcinogenic toxicity of formaldehyde. Herein we present a novel binder for MDF devoid of formaldehyde;comprisingreadilyavailablestartingmaterials,namely,apoly-alcohol,asaltandstarch.Starboardisamenabletolamination,sawing,drillingandroutingandcanprovideasuitablealternativematerialtoconventionalMDF. Furthertobeingdevoidofformaldehyde,thefibreboardsgeneratedbyourprocessrequirealowerwoodloadingthanconventionalMDF.Inaddition,thethermoplasticnatureofthebindingagentsmeansthatoff-cutfibreboardgenerated by our process can be re-ground and re-pressed into fibre board giving rise to a 100%waste freeprocess.Furthermore,theresinsynthesis isaconcertedreactionprocessrequiringnopreciousmetalcatalystsor controlled gaseous environments and is a 100% atom economical reaction, generating nowastematerial.

INTERNATIONAL FIBER/WOOD-BASED PANELS CONFERENCE 2015

2.15 - 2.45 The Total Surface Quality Dan Murphy, President, Steinemann Technology USA Inc. Thomas Raeber, Chief Technical Officer, Steinemann Technology AG Total Surface Quality, the challenge in the production and its process relevant parameters. Which are theparameters, influencingthesandedsurfacequalitymost?Howto judgeandadjust thesandingMachine? Sanding belts and shoe inserts just consumables or drivers for quality? What is the today’s state of the boardscanningandgrading?Whatarethedefectswearetalkingabout?

2.45 - 3.30 Coffee & Networking Break

3.30 – 4.00 TIGER Drylac® Powder Coatings for MDF Mike Hardy, National Sales Manager, International Business Development Manager, TIGER Drylac U.S.A., Inc.

4.00 - 4.30 Cost-Efficient Formaldehyde-based Resin Technology for Low Emission Panels Nikos Pargianas, Managing Director, NTL Chemical Consulting ThepresentationstartswiththestatusofGlobalFormaldehydeConsumption&Demand,followedbythecurrent and forecasting of regional shares in output of wood-based panels. Later there is a brief description of the chemistryandusageof formaldehydebased resinsand furthermore theFormaldehydeEmissionsRegulations will be presented. The presentation ends with case studies and achievements in the wood panel industry, usingNTL’scost-efficientresintechnologyforformaldehydeemissiondowntonaturalwood.

4.30 – 5.00 Key Trends of the European Particleboard and OSB Export Market Tetiana Skumin, Editor, Woodbizforum Since2012theEuropeanexportmarketofparticleboardandOSBhasbeeninastrongdowntrend.The presentationisfocusedonthecoredynamicsofthesegmentsinthelastyears,theirreasonsaswellason winningandlosingsuppliersbecauseofthedevelopments.

5.00 – 5.15 Conference Closing Comments Day 1

5.15 – 7.00 Cocktail Reception

PROGRAM DAY 1 (continued)

MEDIA PARTNERS

THE EVENT IS SPONSORED BY

Whereperfectsurfacesarecalledfor,Steinemanngoesstraighttothecore.Foundedin1917,theyareamongtheleadingmanufacturersofsandingmachineryforthepanelindustryandUVvarnishingsystemsforthegraphicindustry.Theirabilitiesgobeyondprocessingandmanufacturing.Customersbenefitfromaconsistentservice,establishedproceduralknowledgeaswellasreadilyavailablesparepartsandconsumables.Thankstothisservicespectrumtheyareabletoincreasequality,securityandefficiencyfortheircustomers,offeringSwissprecisionworldwide.

INTERNATIONAL FIBER/WOOD-BASED PANELS CONFERENCE 2015

8.00 – 9.00am Exhibition Open & Welcome Coffee

9:00 – 9.15 Conference Opening Day Two

UVEB (Ultraviolet & Electron Beam) TECHNOLOGIES Session Organized by RadTech International North America

9.15 – 9.45 Waterborne UV Coatings for Engineered Wood Products Laurie Morris, Senior Chemist, Alberdingk Boley Inc. Waterborne (WB) UV curable coatings have become popular choices for industrial wood applications. Kitchen cabinet and office furniture manufacturers choose these coatings because they have excellent resistance andmechanical properties, excellent application properties and very low VOCs. This presentation will compare the performance of several different WB UV coatings to that of a traditional solvent-based· acid catalyzed conversion varnish. UV PUDs, UV PUD hybrids andUV PUD hybridswith thermoplastic acrylic modificationswillbeinvestigated.KitchenCabinetManufacturersAssociation(KCMA),ArchitecturalWoodworking Standard (AWS) and individual furniture manufacturer’s specifications will be examined. Test methods and formulatingtechniqueswillbediscussed.

9.45 – 10.15 UV-cured Powder Coatings, Challenges and Opportunities? Michael F. Knoblauch, President, Keyland Polymer Ltd ThechallengesofbuildingmarketacceptanceandmarketpositionofUV-curedpowdercoatingsarenotlimitations of chemistry or performance attributes of the coating material. The presentation will look at global industrialmacro-economicconditionsingeneralandthenfocusonhowtheserelatetoUV-curedpowdercoating. The second part of the presentation will look at the innovation opportunities available to adopters of UV-curedpowdercoatings.

10.15 – 10.45 The Economic and Production Benefits of Using Energy Cure Coatings Chris Mirt, Director of New Customer Development, R&D Coatings Inc. Thispresentationwilloutlinebasicchemistryofenergycurablecoatingsspecificallyhighlightingtheenhanced physicalpropertiesof thecuredfilm.Emphasiswillalsobeplacedonproductionefficiencyandtheeconomic benefitsofusingenergycurechemistry. Abriefhistoryof thedevelopmentofenergycurecoatingswill also bediscussed.

10.45 – 11.15 Coffee & Networking Break

11.15 – 11.45 End-User Preferences and Influences of MDF and Particleboard Chris Watt, Global Wood Purchasing, Ashley Furniture Industries AshleyFurnitureIndustriesisahighvelocitymanufacturingandfurnituredesigncompany.Purchasing decisionsforpanelproductsarereviewedonacontinuousbasis.Thedecisionprocessiscategorizedbyquality, packaging,supply,transportation/warehousingandprice.Theprocesshasformalandnonformal aspectsandcomprisesthepurchasingdecisions.

11.45 – 12.45pm Industry & Business Management Concerns Panel Moderator: RobertHigham,EditorialDirector,TheMDFYearbook Panelists: DanMurphy,President,SteinemannTechnologyAG ChrisWatt,GlobalWoodPurchasing,AshleyFurnitureIndustries MichaelF.Knoblauch,President,KeylandPolymerLtd 12.45 – 1.00 Conference Closing Comments

1.15 Exhibition Close

PROGRAM DAY 2

The MDF YEARBOOK provides comprehensive global industry statisticsand technology information. Many contributors from the global MDF industry bring a distinctive flavor to the latest product and equipment developments in their field. Whatever your level of interest, the YEARBOOK will provide you with a detailed and current presentation of the facts.

For more information on THE MDF YEARBOOK please contact:info@woodpanelsonline.com

THE MDF YEARBOOK

INTERNATIONAL FIBER/WOOD-BASED

PANELS CONFERENCE 2015

FIBRE BASED PANELS BULLETIN

The Fibre Based Panels Bulletin is a management newsletter covering the global panel industry. It provides market information, company news and product and equipment developments.

For more information on The Fibre Based Panels Bulletin please contact:info@woodpanelsonline.com

SPONSORS

Sponsoring this event is an excellent opportunity to increase your visibility within the industry and market. Sponsor benefits include visibility during our dedicated marketing activities both pre and post-event; enchanced networking opportunities during the conference and much more.

For more information and to discuss your requirements please contact: conferences@awa-bv.com

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Early bird conference fee* $695Regular fee $895End-user ComplimentaryMDF YEARBOOK 2015 buyers 10% discount

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Registration fees: Regular fee $895End-users: ComplimentaryMDF YEARBOOK 2015 buyers 10% discount

*Valid until November 1, 2015

Registration fee includes:Conference attendance, lunch, coffee, light refreshments, cocktail reception and digital proceedings

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Venue and accommodation:HYATT REGENCY O’HARE9300 BRYN MAWR AVENUEROSEMONT, IL 60018UNITED STATES Tel: +1 (847) 696-1234

Hotel rooms are not included in the participation fee and are the responsibility of individual participants.

Hotel reservation information:AWA has arranged special room rates for delegates: single/double occupancy: $199 (+applicable taxes). The special rate is available until October 14, 2015 for a limited amount of rooms based on a first come, first served basis. After this time the hotel will accept reservations based on availability and best available rate.

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