The Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) has always featured a broad range of presentations, from big-picture outlooks and forecasts to nanotechnology, and the 10th PELICE is again living up to these standards that attendees have come to expect.

​Organizers of PELICE, scheduled for April 16-17 at the Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta, Ga., have announced 12 more speakers, following last month’s announcement of 13 speakers, bringing the total to 25 speakers as of mid-December, with more on the way.

​“I’m not sure we’ve ever had the number of inquires as to making a presentation at PELICE before the year even ended prior to the event in the spring,” comments Rich Donnell, co-chairman of PELICE and editor-in-chief of Panel World, which serves as the media host of the event. “This tells us a lot of developments are taking place, whether it’s technology, actual wood products, economics, you name it, that people are anxious to talk about.”

​PELICE unites representatives from structural and non-structural wood products segments, making it unique in that regard. “Usually one segment is ‘hotter’ at the moment than the other, and we just react to that as we put the program together,” Donnell says. “In other words, the state of the industry at this moment in time pretty much dictates what we will see on the stage. We’ll see some new faces and some familiar ones.”

​One of the familiar ones is Rich Baldwin, chief investment officer at Risk Advisors, who always brings an international flavor to his talks, and this one will be no different. Baldwin will address the state of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and its potential impact on North American forest products exports, despite the ongoing concerns over its lack of real world understanding.

​Speaking of Nanotechnology, Mehmet Sedat Balioglu, owner/director of Pika Retech, will address nano-paraffin emulsion application technology and its enhancement of wood-based panel manufacturing performance while putting sustainability into production practices.

​The demand for sustainable wood adhesives is rapidly growing, and Steve Block, director of Business Development at Omni Tech International, will explain how soy-based wood adhesive delivers environmental, process manufacturing and end-usage benefits.

​Daniel Chastenais, vice president sales & marketing at Tanguay Machinery, will address mill infeed optimization through remote-control loader technology.

​Lorne Fardy, vice president of product development, Kadant Carmanah Design, speaks on next-generation 3D camera systems within Smart-connected technologies at the strander infeed pocket in OSB mills.

​Keeping facilities and personnel safer through new spark detection and extinguishment technologies will be the emphasis of Todd Havican, sales director at Fagus GreCon.

​A legend of the air emissions control sector, Steve Jaasund, senior product manager at Andritz, will explore the nature of wood dryer emissions and how an incomplete understanding leads to costly mistakes in the application of wet ESPs and RTOs.

​Sustainable formaldehyde-free MDI-based fast-cure chemical technology for the production of composite wood products, including the use of lignocellulosic waste from upstream processes toward the production of molded pallets, will be explained by Andrew Kee, director of technical services, Wanhua Chemical Canada.

​David Reed, technical director at Timber Products Company, will address Meinan roll squeezer technology application in response to his company’s push to improve veneer dryer capacity at their wood manufacturing facilities in southern Oregon.

​Bijan Shams, vice president of Cogent Industrial Technologies, introduces Capital Projects 4.0, a framework for building wood panel facilities and integrating automation, connectivity and data analytics from the ground up.

​Soy flour-modified adhesive in hot and cold press technologies offers production benefits and reduction in resin usage, as Brian Via, director of the Forest Products Development Center at Auburn University, will explain, with anticipation toward independent testing and results validation leading to commercial adoption.

​Another familiar face at PELICE is Tim Young, professor and director of the Data Science Institute at the University of Tennessee/School of Natural Resources, who has long been at the forefront of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, and who will address the unprecedented pace and transformation that is ongoing throughout the panel industries, calling it the Fifth Industrial Revolution.

Previously, PELICE announced the following speakers:

​• David Neal, executive vice president, Georgia-Pacific Building Products

• Rob Johnson, senior vice president of manufacturing operations, Boise Cascade Wood Products

• Jay Galloway, president, Hood Industries

• Chris Beard, vice president, building products research, John Burns Research and Consulting

​• Jim Salchenberg, director of Strategic Products, Roseburg

• Matthew O’Malia, president and CEO, TimberHP

​• Charles Bradford, vice president of Procurement, Scotch Plywood Co.

• Ken Carter, vice president, Winston Plywood & Veneer

• Derek Ratchford, CEO, SmartLam North America

• Thomas Mende, chief sales officer, BinderholzTimber

• Pat Schleisman, engineered wood specialist, APA—The Engineered Wood Assn.

• Joe Dahlen, professor of Wood Quality & Forest Products, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia

• Amanda Lang, president & COO, Forisk Consulting

​Approximately 100 exhibitors are expected to set up shop in the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Atlanta Hotel, either as Gold, Silver or Bronze sponsors. The event will recognize those exhibitor companies that have participated in all 10 PELICE events. Also, an anniversary celebratory dinner will be held on the first evening.

​

Organizers of the 10th Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), scheduled for April 16-17, 2026 at the Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta, Ga., have announced a second wave of speakers and three special panel sessions.

Previously, PELICE announced four keynote speakers on tap, including David Neal, executive vice president, Georgia-Pacific Building Products; Rob Johnson, senior vice president of manufacturing operations, Boise Cascade Wood Products; Jay Galloway, president, Hood Industries; and Chris Beard, vice president, building products research, John Burns Research and Consulting.

Additional speakers now include Jim Salchenberg, director of Strategic Products, Roseburg; and Matthew O’Malia, president and CEO, TimberHP.

In addition, three panel sessions will address “Navigating Through Catastrophe,” “Mass Timber Today & Tomorrow,” and “Wood Fiber Due Diligence.”

Jay Galloway, president, Hood Industries; Charles Bradford, vice president of Procurement, Scotch Plywood Co.; and Ken Carter, vice president, Winston Plywood & Veneer will each speak on catastrophic events in the past decade that destroyed one of their mills in the South and how their companies navigated through and recovered from those setbacks with new operations, re-gathered workforces and how their companies overall benefited not only with modern technology and product recovery but also with regard to opportunities to reemphasize company culture and safety practices.

Following their individual presentations, the three speakers will participate in a panel session and field questions.

Another panel session, “Mass Timber Today & Tomorrow,” will offer a similar format, and include Derek Ratchford, CEO, SmartLam North America; Thomas Mende, chief sales officer, Binderholz Timber LLC; and Pat Schleisman, engineered wood specialist, APA—The Engineered Wood Assn. Again, the participants will deliver individual presentations and then participate in a panel session and discussion. An additional participant in this panel session will be announced soon.

“We continue to piece together the 2026 PELICE agenda,” comments Rich Donnell, co-chairman of PELICE and editor-in-chief of Panel World, which serves as the media host of the event. “It is coming together nicely, and I believe that with many wood products markets in challenging situations it becomes even more imperative to attend an event like this to gain some new insights into global issues and trends, and really just to hear other people’s perspectives.”

Another presentations/panel discussion combo is  “Wood Fiber Due Diligence,” which will address the status and growth of raw material as it pertains to the development of new wood products manufacturing plants and the ongoing pertinence of existing ones. Joe Dahlen, professor of Wood Quality & Forest Products, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, will participate along with Amanda Lang, president & COO, Forisk Consulting, LLC. Also, an additional participant will be announced soon.

Donnell adds that an always important component of PELICE, new machinery and equipment technologies, is also currently being placed into the agenda, and will include speakers addressing topics such as resins development, safety and fire prevention, air emissions control and others.

“One thing that was very noticeable at Ligna in Germany this year, and that I’m sure will transition to PELICE as well, is that the equipment community, soft markets or not, haven’t let up in the development and manufacturing of technologies, especially complemented with Artificial Intelligence, whether used in their own manufacturing process, or to be used in mill applications, or both.”

Approximately 100 exhibitors are expected to set up shop in the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Atlanta Hotel, either as Gold, Silver or Bronze sponsors. The event will recognize those exhibitor companies that have participated in all 10 PELICE events. Also, an anniversary celebratory dinner will be held on the first evening.

Chris Beard

Vice President
John Burns Research and Consulting

Jay Galloway

President
Hood Industries

Video Spotlight PELICE 2024: Jessica Johnson, Panel World, and Dan Shell, Panel World, give a recap of Day 1.