After over a year of transformative investment, the upgrade of MEDITE SMARTPLY’s OSB factory in County Waterford has been completed. This new world class drying, energy and screening system will enhance resource efficiency and asset reliability for SMARTPLY OSB.
The crucial upgrade means that SMARTPLY OSB will have an improved output, at a time when demand is high, and is predicted to grow further throughout 2022.
Since 2016, MEDITE SMARTPLY has been focusing on investment and product innovation. An initial investment of €59 million was made to the SMARTPLY facility which saw the creation of new forming and finishing lines with a new state-of the art continuous press. This was the beginning of the next generation of SMARTPLY OSB, the panels were smoother, flatter and underpinned by the brands strong environmental ethos.
€44 million was invested for this latest significant upgrade to the drying, energy and screening facility. The completion of the upgrade is a very exciting stage of development for SMARTPLY OSB. The construction of the biomass energy plant ensures that SMARTPLY will operate on 100% renewable biomass material for process drying and heating.
The completed upgrade follows the successful launch of SMARTPLY SURE STEP, a T&G structural OSB/3 panel with improved slip resistance and durability. This joins a range of sustainably produced speciality and technical products, from moisture resistance to flame retardance, demonstrating MEDITE SMARTPLY’s consistent innovation and contribution to the future of sustainable building.
SMARTPLY products are made from sustainable, fast-growing timber, only using forest thinnings of new-growth pine and spruce, including the tops which are not used to make any other wood-based product. OSB panels are manufactured by compressing precisely engineered strands of woods with exterior resins at high temperature to create an outstandingly robust, and environmentally friendly structural panel suitable for numerous applications such as roofing, flooring, and timber frame construction.
For more information on MEDITE SMARTPLY, visit: mdfosb.com
