EXHIBITORS/ATTENDEES BREAKFAST

MORNING KEYNOTERS SESSION

8:30-8:35 a.m.
Welcoming Remarks and Keynoters Introduction
—Rich Donnell, Conference Co-Chairman; Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

8:40-9:05 a.m.
Competitive Advantage Through Relationships
—David Neal, Executive Vice President, Georgia-Pacific Building Products

9:10-9:35 a.m.
Boise Cascade Wood Products – Focused and Ready
—Rob Johnson, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing Operations, Boise Cascade

9:40-10:05 a.m.
Rebuilding for the Future
—Jay Galloway, President, Hood Industries

TIME OUT WITH EXHIBITORS

CATASTROPHE MANAGEMENT

10:35-11:00 a.m.
From Ashes to Operations: Leading Through Crisis in the Forest Products Industry
—Charles Bradford, Vice President of Procurement, Scotch Plywood Co.

11:05-11:30 a.m.
From Tribulation to Triumph (A Plywood Journey)
—Ken Carter, Vice President, Winston Plywood & Veneer

11:35-Noon
Sense of Urgency
—Jay Galloway, President, Hood Industries

WOOD FIBER MATTERS

10:35-11:00 a.m.
Fiber and Timber Supply and Outlook
—Amanda Lang, President & COO, ForiskConsulting

11:05-11:30 a.m.
Profitable Solutions to the Residuals Challenge
—Dane Floyd, CEO | President, Floyd Holdings

11:35-12:00 p.m.
Engineering with Nature’s Variability: Southern Pine Wood Properties and Product Performance
—Joe Dahlen, Professor of Wood Quality & Forest Products, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

10:35-11:00 a.m.
Capital Projects 4.0: Building the Next Generation of Smart Wood Panel Manufacturing Facilities
—Bijan Shams, Vice President, Founder, Cogent Industrial Technologies

11:05-11:30 a.m.
Project Selection & Predictability
—Scott Stamey, President—Southeast Region, Cooper Tacia General Contracting Co.

11:35-12:00 p.m.
Constraints to Capacity: Debottlenecking and Upgrading Infrastructure in an EWP Manufacturing Facility
—Jowan Toor, Vice President of Operations, KTC Industrial Engineering

EXHIBITORS/ATTENDEES LUNCH

AFTERNOON KEYNOTERS SESSION

1:25-1:35 p.m.
Remembrances and Introductions
—Dan Shell, Senior Editor, Panel World

1:40-2:05 p.m.
Understanding Near-Term and Long-Term Drivers That Impact Wood Panel Usage in Housing
—Chris Beard, Vice President, Building Products Research, John Burns Research and Consulting

2:10-2:35 p.m.
Roseburg’s Capital Evolution: From Legacy to Billion Dollar Investment
—Jim Salchenberg, Director of Strategic Products, Roseburg

TIME OUT WITH EXHIBITORS

MASS TIMBER TODAY & TOMORROW

3:05-3:30 p.m.
Mass Timber Basics
—Pat Schleisman, Engineered Wood Specialist, APA—The Engineered Wood Assn.

3:35-4:00
Mass Timber Expansion: The SmartLam Story
—Derek Ratchford, CEO, SmartLam North America

4:05-4:30 p.m.
Accelerating Mass Timber Construction
—Matt Hestad, Senior Vice President, Georgia Forestry Association and Foundation

ADDITIVES & APPLICATIONS

3:05-3:30 p.m.
Re-Engineering Efficiency: Sustainable Nano-Technology for the Wood-Based Panel Industry
—Mehmet Sedat Balioglu, Owner/Director, PikaRetech

3:35-4:00
Sustainable MDI-Based Fast-Cure Chemical Technology for the Production of Composite Wood Products
—Andrew Kee, Director, Technical Services, Sustainability, & Stewardship Wanhua Chemical Canada

4:05-4:30 p.m.
Soy Flour–Modified Adhesives for Improved Wood Panel Manufacturing
—Brian Via, Director, Forest Products Development Center, Auburn University

4:35-5:00 p.m.
Reducing the Carbon Footprint Wood Adhesives with Soy
—Steve Block, Director of Business Development, Omni Tech International

VENEER & PLYWOOD MANUFACTURING

3:05–3:30 p.m.
Efficient Plywood Manufacturing with the Innovative Horizontal Hot Press
—Hiroshi Matsuoka, Chief Leader, Husni Thamrin, Overseas Business Development and Sales, Taihei Machinery Works

3:35-4:00 p.m.
HighEfficiency Plywood Lay Up Line: Maximizing Output and Material Quality through Advanced Automation and Digitalization
—Paul Gavin, Sales Manager North America, Biele Group

 4:05-4:30 p.m.
From Measurement to Margin: Using Analyzer Data to Improve Yield and Production Performance
—Todd Kurle, Sales Manager, Analyzers, Raute Corp.

4:35-5:00 p.m.
Roll Squeezer Project
—David Reed, Technical Director, Timber Products Company

EXHIBITORS/ATTENDEES RECEPTION

EXHIBITORS/ATTENDEES BREAKFAST

MORNING KEYNOTERS SESSION

8:30-8:35 a.m.
Welcoming Remarks and Introductions
—Fred Kurpiel, Conference Co-Chairman, President, Georgia Research Institute

8:40-9:05 a.m.
How Machine Learning and AI Will Transform the Leading Companies of the Panel Industries
—Timothy Young, Professor Emeritus/Interim Director, Data Science Institute, The University of Tennessee/School of Natural Resources

9:10-9:35 a.m.
Operational Intelligence in Wood Panel Manufacturing: How Systems and AI Are Driving Measurable Performance Results Today
—Mercer Rowe, General Manager, Smartech AI; Arash Nejad, VP, SmartSystems Commercial Leader, Hexion

9:40-10:05 a.m.
Driving Strategic Growth for Engineered Wood Products
​—Lofton Beasley, WP Product Manager, Weyerhaeuser

TIME OUT WITH EXHIBITORS

RANGE OF TECHNOLOGIES

10:35-11:00 a.m.
Using 3D Camera Systems to Improve Log Stranding Throughput and Strand Quality for OSB Production
—Lorne Fardy, VP of Product Development, Kadant Carmanah Design

11:05-11:30 a.m.
Exploring the Nature of Wood Dryer Emissions
—Steve Jaasund, Senior Product Manager, Andritz

11:35-12:00 p.m.
Optimize Your Mill Infeed with Electrical KnuckleboomLoaders
—Daniel Chastenais, Vice-President Sales & Marketing, Tanguay Machinery

OUTLOOKS

10:35-11:00 a.m.
Future of the North American Wood Panel Industry:Outlook and Opportunities in the Composite and Structural Market
—Guillermo Velarde, Principal, AFRY Management Consulting

11:05-11:30 a.m.
Impact on North American Wood Panel Markets of Tariffs, EUDR, and Other International Trade Issues
​—Rich Baldwin, Chief Investment Officer, Risk Advisors LLC

11:35-12:00 p.m.
A New Era in Building Envelopes: Wood Fiber Insulation as a Sustainable, High-Performance Alternative to Foam
—Matthew O’Malia, President and CEO, TimberHP

FIRE AND SAFETY

10:35–11:00 a.m.
Integrated Solutions To Stop Fire Development
—Jörgen Dehlbom, Division Manager, Firefly US

11:05-11:30 p.m. 
Keeping Facilities and Personnel Safer
—Todd Havican, Sales Director, Fagus GreCon

11:35-12:00 p.m.
Hot Oil System Safety: Early Detection, Fluid Life Extension, and Fire Mitigation Technologies
—Tom Wechsler, Founder, Wechsler Technologies

CASH PRIZE DRAWING
(Must Be Present To Win)