Tafisa modernizes particleboard press with $23M upgrade
By PLANT STAFF
Industry Manufacturing laminate particleboardA complete refurbishment of the Line 1 press that produces particleboard panels used in thermally fused laminates.
Tafisa’s Line 1 particleboard press.
Photo: Tafisa
LAC-MÉGANTIC, Que. — A particleboard and TFL decorative panel manufacturer in Quebec has completed a $23 million modernization of its Line 1 particleboard press at its Lac-Mégantic plant.
Tafisa Canada, a subsidiary of Sonae, a Portugese company that manages wood panel businesses, operates a 17,000 square-metre plant with a workforce of 325.
The project involved the complete refurbishment of the original press that produces particleboard panels used in Tafisa’s thermally fused laminate line of decorative panels.
CEO Louis Brassard described Line 1 as one of the first original continuous presses installed in North America. “Our treasured Line 1 was in need of a major refurbishment in order to prepare itself for the coming decades of operations,” he said.
Every component of the press was removed, leaving only the original frame. Heating platens, hydraulic, electronic and mechanical components were replaced.
This investment follows the installation of new rotary screens and a gas extraction system on Line 1.
