Some 30 experts from EPF member companies gathered yesterday in Osoppo at FANTONI SPA to exchange experiences and discuss current practices on preventing fires and explosions to, ultimately, ensure the protection of the workers in the factories. This was the 4^th meeting of this important task force that previously took place at UNILIN in Belgium and SONAE ARAUCO in Portugal with an online meeting during the Covid19 pandemic.

Following interesting presentations, with case studies from the last 25 years by FANTONI, the group visited the impressive factory with specific attention for those areas where incidents had taken place although fortunately without any injuries or casualties. The discussions promoted before and during the visit contributed to a sound benchmark and valuable learnings on WBP industrial safety.

Participants unanimously elected Mr Jose António Rocha of SONAE ARAUCO as Chairman and Mr Koen De Backer of UNILIN as Vice-Chairman. Furthermore, the group was delighted to welcome the invitation from FINSA to host the next meeting in Iberia during Spring next year.

Brussels, 15 September 2022 – The European Panel Federation (EPF), representing the European manufacturers of particleboard, MDF, OSB, hardboard, softboard and plywood, welcomes the positive vote in the European Parliament Plenary on MEP Pieper’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) report on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) as part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package.

This vote on the revised RED comes at a critical time for the energy sector especially if we are to achieve EU’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. EPF applauds that the Parliament resolution clearly recognises and underlines the need for alignment of bioenergy policies with the cascading principle^[1] of biomass in line with resource efficiency through the prioritisation of the highest environmental and material added value for the use of biomass and by requiring respect of the waste hierarchy.

EPF is delighted that this will enshrine the cascading principle into the Directive allowing for the maintenance of sustainable carbon cycles in products such as wood-based panels, while ending market distorting subsidies for the burning of primary woody biomass for energy and limiting the burning of all woody biomass through enhanced sustainability criteria.

Mr Clive Pinnington, EPF Managing Director commented that “wood-based panels are natural, sustainable carbon stores, that contribute daily to the mitigation of climate change in furniture, construction, packaging and other applications. We are delighted that RED III will now allow these products to thrive on an increasingly level playing field”.

EPF’s Technical Director Mr Kris Wijnendaele welcomed the “efforts by the European Parliament to safeguard the material use of wood to manufacture high quality versatile products like furniture and sustainable nature-based building materials that are needed to realise the ambitions of the New European Bauhaus of EC President Mrs von der Leyen to turn the built environment from a greenhouse gas emitter into a carbon sink”.

EPF appreciates that ‘no later than one year after the entry into force of this amending Directive, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act on how to apply the cascading principle for forest biomass’. EPF stands ready to support on this and in the overall achievement of Europe’s New Green Deal.

EPF represents the manufacturers of wood-based panels being particleboard, dry process fibreboard (MDF), oriented strand board (OSB), hardboard, softboard and plywood. EPF has members in 25 EU countries. The EU wood panel industry has a turnover of about 22 billion euro every year and creates directly over 100,000 jobs. The production of wood-based panels in the EU-27 (+EFTA) in 2021 was an estimated 63.7 million m³. www.europanels.org  

[1] In line with the cascading principle, woody biomass should be used according to its highest economic and environmental added value in the following order of priorities: 1) wood-based products, 2) extending their service life, 3) re-use, 4) recycling, 5) bio-energy and 6) disposal.

Brussels, 1 July 2022

EPF, the European Wood-based Panels Federation, proudly welcomed more than 150 participants to its AGM 2022 on 29 June -1 July in Ghent Belgium.  The gathering was wonderfully hosted by EPF National Association member Fedustria, the Belgian federation of the textile, wood and furniture industries and its member companies UNILIN and Norbord West Fraser Belgium.

Results

EPF was delighted to announce strong results from 2021, with an overall production increase of 9.8%.  All product types recorded increases from the previous year, and each exceeded pre-pandemic levels, showing the resilience of the sector and the growing interest of the public in nature-based materials such as panels.  However, it was noted that these results should be treated with caution in terms of how 2022 might develop.

Mr Martin Brettenthaler, EPF Chairman, commented: “Like the city of Ghent, our sector has always been innovative, dynamic and sustainable.  I am confident that this will help us to find opportunity in today’s turmoil, but this is no longer business as usual.  That is why we need our politicians to help secure the energy we need, and the wood we require, but not by burning the latter to supply the former.  That is not the solution either in the long, medium or short-term”.

5 Strategic Directions

Mr Martin Brettenthaler, Chairman, launched EPF’s 5 new Strategic Directions: Role Model Industry, Climate, Wood Availability, Harmonisation and Regulation.  These were accompanied by a short video and a fact sheet and may now be found on EPF’s website: www.europanels.org.  The 5 Strategic Directions are the focus areas of EPF’s work in the coming years.

Elections

EPF’s General Assembly accepted the resignation of Mr Bernard Thiers, CEO of UNILIN as Vice-Chairman and Managing Board Member, thanking him warmly for his many valuable years of service and support.  Replacing Mr Thiers, Mr Pablo Figueroa López, Executive Committee member of FINSA, was chosen as the new Vice-Chairman and Mrs Veronique Hoflack, President of UNILIN Panels, was elected to the Managing Board.

Era of sustainability

Despite the turbulent times bringing a multitude of challenges, EPF looks forward to playing its role as a role model industry in the economy, in the environment and in society during the coming years.  This was symbolised by the ringing of the wood-based panels bell by Mr Brettenthaler and Mrs Hoflack.  With this, EPF hopes to usher in a new era of sustainability in construction, furniture, packaging and other markets served by innovative, climate-smart wood-based panels.

© Hilde De Kelver

Brussels, 29 June 2022

The start of the 2022 Annual General Meeting of EPF, the European Panel Federation, will be marked by the inauguration of a wooden bell made entirely from wood-based panels by the arborist Ben Vanden Berghe. The EPF AGM 2022 takes place in Ghent from 29 June to 1 July.

By ringing this bell, EPF and Fedustria, the Belgian federation of the textile, wood and furniture industries and this year’s host of the AGM, intend to kick off a new era of sustainability in construction, furniture, packaging and other markets served by innovative wood-based panels.  As well as being active contributors to climate change mitigation through natural long-term carbon storage, these products from sustainable sources fit perfectly into the circular economy and optimise resource efficiency through the cascading use of wood. They represent both our past, and our way ahead.

Today, only 45% of Europe’s wood goes to material use. EPF calls on regulators, EU Institutions and consumers to embrace nature-based materials, to prefer the cascading use of wood and thus to drive this usage up to at least 60%. The era of sustainability is upon us.

As EPF Chairman Martin Brettenthaler stressed: “Together with our members and in the traditional yet progressive city of Ghent, the wood-based panels sector, a role model European industry, is proud to ring in the start of an exciting future.”

Brussels, 2 June 2022

Following the great success of the previous Wood-Based Panel Symposia, EPF is organising the 12th edition of this Technical Conference again this year following the regretful cancellation of the 2020 edition due to the COVID19 pandemic and the restrictions that made such a large gathering impossible.

The Symposium is again intended to serve as a forum for the wood-based panels industry, supplying industries, technology providers, consultancies, research, education and training institutes from Europe and beyond. This symposium will again be organised in co-operation with WKI-Fraunhofer Institut für Holzforschung and with the support of iVTH and Hywax (formerly Sasol Wax). The event will take place in the Grand Elysée Hotel in the centre of Hamburg, Germany, on 12-14 October 2022.

The event will be opened by plenary presentations by EPF Chairman and SWISS KRONO Group CEO Mr Martin Brettenthaler and Mr Edi Snaidero, Chairman of the European Furniture Industries Confederation (EFIC) followed by a speech by the Managing Director of the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), Mr Jori Ringman. We are also happy to announce that Prof Dr Tunga Salthammer from Fraunhofer WKI will present a critical review on the TVOC value during the 2^nd day of the conference.

For the full programme, please click Here.

For more information and registration, please visit the website .

Horizon Europe project EcoReFibre explores smart sorting and processing technologies to recycle post-consumer waste wood back into fibreboards and into novel building products. Five highly promising pilots with leading panel manufacturers are launched to demonstrate how Circular Economy approaches linked with innovative, digital-supported technologies will enable security of raw material supplies. EcoReFibre’s aim is to increase available wood resources in Europe.

For full Press Release, click EcoReFibre Press Release

We are delighted to publish the final EPF Position Paper on RED III. This paper focuses on retention of the cascading use concept and gives an overview of EPF’s position on this issue.

For full document: EPF Position Paper on the Amendment of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III)