Chris Beard

Vice President, Building Products Research
John Burns Research and Consulting

Understanding Near-Term and Longer-Term Drivers That Impact Wood Panel Usage in Housing

Chris outlines key macroeconomic and consumer trends that will heavily influence wood panel demand in residential construction over the coming years. He provides an outlook on the changing market dynamics that affect homes and apartments being built today and in the future.

Charles Bradford

Vice President of Procurement
Scotch Plywood Co.

From Ashes to Operations: Leading Through Crisis in the Forest Products Industry

In January 2021, Scotch Plywood’s Waynesboro, Miss. veneer mill was destroyed by fire, resulting in a total loss. Faced with the challenge of sustaining operations, supporting employees, and honoring commitments to landowners and customers, the company’s leadership team made the decision to rebuild the mill while maintaining production with minimal interruption. Over the next 14 months, Scotch Plywood bused employees 120 miles daily to its Beatrice, Ala. facility, transported logs, and operated extended shifts to keep veneer moving and customers supplied. In March 2022, the rebuilt mill came online, reached prior production standards within two weeks, and set new production records within months. This session shares leadership and operational lessons, offering insights on resilience, crisis management, and the importance of preserving trust with employees, suppliers, and landowners.

Ken Carter

Vice President
Winston Plywood & Veneer

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

Engineering with Nature’s Variability: Southern Pine Wood Properties and Product Performance

Jay Galloway

President
Hood Industries

Rebuilding for the Future

Jay provides a brief overview of Hood Industries and its history with the Beaumont, Miss. facility, where Hood Industries began in May 1983. In April 2022, an F-3 tornado hit the Beaumont facility the night of Easter Sunday. The severity of the damage immediately rendered the facility unsafe to occupy and operate. The decision was made to rebuild the Beaumont operation, and Hood set out to establish its strategy for rebuilding. There have been many challenges with trying to rebuild a facility of this magnitude without significant time to plan, design and engineer. When a facility is shut down without notice it greatly increases the sense of urgency. Jay provides details around the facility Hood has built, where Hood is in the process and Hood’s expectations for the mill once it is at full capacity.

Rob Johnson

Senior Vice President of Manufacturing Operations
Boise Cascade

Boise Cascade Wood Products – Focused and Ready

An overview of Boise Cascade Wood Products’ manufacturing footprint and product capabilities along with how Boise sustains readiness to serve customers in all market conditions.

Amanda Lang

President & COO
Forisk Consulting

Fiber and Timber Supply and Outlook

Changes in timber markets create opportunities for wood-using businesses. Amanda addresses fiber and timber supplies in the U.S. and provides regional outlooks. She also provides an update on announced mill openings and closings and potential impacts to local wood basins. She includes an update of timber market trends and how these impact supplies of residual fiber and supplies of timber for OSB, plywood, and engineered wood products businesses.

Thomas Mende

Chief Sales Officer
Binderholz Timber

Mass Timber Trends and How to Make Mass Timber More Suitable for the Building Products Distribution Business

David Neal

Executive Vice President
Georgia-Pacific Building Products

Matthew O’Malia

President and CEO
TimberHP

Derek Ratchford

CEO
SmartLam North America

Jim Salchenberg

Director of Strategic Products
Roseburg

Roseburg’s Capital Evolution: From Legacy to Billion Dollar Investment

 Jim offers an inside look at how Roseburg scaled its capital investment strategy from $70 million to more than $1 billion in the post-COVID era. Building on Kenneth Ford’s foundational legacy, Jim’s presentation reveals Roseburg’s proven CapEx process that delivers success through operations-led project ownership and integration of engineering, project management, and field teams. This presentation includes a brief overview of some of the significant investments by Roseburg in the last five years.

Pat Schleisman

Engineered Wood Specialist
APA—The Engineered Wood Assn.

Mass Timber Basics

Learn about engineered wood products, especially mass timber, and how (and why) mass timber has been incorporated into projects across North America. Explore glue-laminated (glulam) timber and cross-laminated timber (CLT), covering manufacturing processes, design specifications, performance and environmental benefits through real-world case studies.