With its new MDF facility in North Carolina about to open, this Quebec company has become a major player in the North American market
Written by Kevin Doyle & Produced by Cory Challoner
Established in 1982, Uniboard of Laval, Quebec, Canada, is a large, integrated manufacturer of engineered wood panels including particleboard, medium and high density fibreboard and thermofused melamine. Recently the company embarked on an aggressive expansion plan to position itself as the premier North American manufacturer of Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) and High Density Fibreboard (HDF).
Uniboard employs more than 1,000 people with an annual production capacity of 1.15 billion square feet of composite panel products. Its products are sold to industrial distributors, OEMs and retailers serving the kitchen cabinet industry, furniture industry, renovation and construction industries and the floor covering industries. A subsidiary of German company Pfleiderer AG, Uniboard is the largest supplier of thermofused melamine panels in North America.
Not one to rest on its laurels, Uniboard is making a major move into the United States market with the construction of its $160 million Moncure MDF plant in North Carolina. The facility is targeted to be up and running by the end of February.
“We’re the only company that has really invested in the composite panel industry sector in a sizeable magnitude in 2010,” says Uniboard’s Vice President of Marketing Don Raymond. “This investment is for the long term and we believe that our new mill will offer our customers the product range, the service and the quality unmatched by any of our competition. We believe in long-term customer partnerships, attested to the fact we have customers that have been with us since we started in 1982.”
MONCURE MEGA SITE
Uniboard has long held the dominant market share in Canada and targeted the Southeastern United States as the logical focus of major expansion into the United States. “We wanted to be a true North American player. This site is well located geographically to our customer base and has an excellent raw material base and skilled workforce. It’s just a natural fit.”
Uniboard initiated that process by acquiring ATC Panels in Moncure, NC, in 2008. “In addition to the ATC manufacturing facilities, there was enough property on the site to build the new MDF facility. It will be world-class, the largest in North America and provides a true one-stop shop for our customers. They will be able to buy everything from one supplier and this will really open up and strengthen our market position in the United States,” Raymond explains.
The plant will have an annual production capacity of 400,000 cubic meters (226 million square feet) on a ¾-inch basis. It features some of the latest equipment such as a 10-foot wide Dieffenbacher continuous press that will yield MDF with superior surface quality, uniform density and precisely-controlled thickness.
The Moncure MDF facility will produce panels using post industrial wood fiber, primarily southern yellow pine fiber. All panels manufactured at Moncure (and other Uniboard sites) are Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certified by the Composite Panel Association (CPA). Distribution from the Moncure site will be available via truck and rail.
ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS
Moncure is just one of seven Uniboard sites in Canada and the US totaling more than one billion square feet of production capacity. Four are located throughout Quebec (Val-d’Or, two and Sayabec and Mont-Laurier) and three in the United States (Fostoria, OH, Moncure, two).
The company installed a thermofused melamine press at its Val-d’Or facility this past December, bringing to 10 the number of presses within Uniboard’s panel division, the largest capacity in North America.
“The flexibility of this new equipment will allow Uniboard to take advantage of its key markets in Quebec, Ontario, and the Northeastern United States. The new press furthers our strategy to exploit Uniboard’s global manufacturing product network and product capabilities to offer a true one-stop experience for our distributors and customers,” says Gilles Lepine, Uniboard’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
DAY TO DAY
Uniboard benefits from parent company Pfleiderer AG. Group, a worldwide leader in the manufacture of engineered wood, surface finished products and laminate flooring.
“We certainly reap the benefits of many of the things they’re doing,” Raymond explains. ¨From technical assistance, to standardized operating methodologies to the latest in design trends, being part of the Pfleiderer Group has many advantages other North American companies do not have access to.“
Uniboard has long practiced environmental stewardship, even before “green” and “sustainability” became society’s buzzwords and follows Pfledierer’s environmental corporate policy. In 2007, Uniboard introduced Nu Green, an NAUF particleboard made with 100 percent recycled fiber that meets LEED certification standards.
¨But equipment and products are not the only part of Uniboard’s success. People are what makes a company tick,” says Raymond. “Our human resources practices are pretty innovative. For instance, when we were hiring employees for the new Moncure MDF facility, we engaged in an extensive interview and screening process. Many of the plant’s key operating personnel were sent to Germany or Canada to train on the equipment they will be operating.”
Recently, the company implemented a mentoring program designed to pass on the knowledge of its veteran employees on to individuals who have been identified as up and coming stars. “We want to take them under our wing and nurture them as future leaders,” says Raymond – a step, which, in the long run, will help Uniboard realize its ultimate goal to become North America’s leading integrated supplier of engineered wood products.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
COMPANY NAME: Uniboard
CEO: James N. Hogg
OPERATIONS: Manufacturer of engineered wood products, including particleboard, Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) High Density Fibreboard (HDF), thermofused melamine
ESTABLISHED: 1982
EMPLOYEES: +1,000
www.uniboard.com
View Digital Corporate Profile of Uniboard in Manufacturing Digital February 2010