The Portuguese city of Porto, on the banks of the River Douro, has been a hub of trade for centuries.

A Phoenician trading settlement in the 8th century BC and an outpost of the Roman Empire, it experienced economic growth following the Treaty of Methuen in 1703.

The actions of English entrepreneurs to invest in local vineyards to supply the English wine market provided a great boost to the city. Today, the names of port wine makers such as Sandeman, established by Scot George Sandeman in the early 19th century, light up the banks of the Douro.

Although the city’s industrial past has partly given way to service industries, there are still successful manufacturing businesses with expansive growth strategies – including in the timber products trade – that are targeting the UK market.

Finsa, the international wood-based panels producer, is hatching plans here to greatly expand one of its most versatile products – Superpan.

Superpan, a multi-layer panel consisting of thin MDF faces and a chipboard core, has been in production in Porto since 2000, when Jomar established a factory with a Siempelkamp ContiRoll continuous press.

The message was simple – Superpan was a product with all the benefits of a smooth MDF surface for postforming and finishing, as well as a good fixing ability and high physical-mechanical performance, but at a reduced cost thanks to the chipboard core.

Jomar’s intention then was to serve the Portuguese and Spanish markets in the furniture, shopfitting and exhibition contracting sectors. That vision has steadily become more international and has accelerated in the years following Finsa’s 2005 acquisition of the operation.

Now, with production at the Perafita plant nearing its 350,000m³ capacity, Finsa has decided it is time to build a second Superpan factory.

Superpan product manager Daniel Rocha said construction work on the second Superpan line is already under way at Finsa’s existing Nelas plant, where Iberpan thick MDF is produced.

Close to capacity
"We’re close to our maximum capacity now so that’s why we need to invest in a second factory," said Mr Rocha. "We are already closing the doors to some markets because we don’t have enough capacity."

The plan is to start up the new factory in February/March 2015, with an initial capacity of 150,000-200,000m³.

A later second stage of investment would take capacity beyond that of the existing factory.

"We are not reaching the full potential [for Superpan] at the moment," said Rafael Willisch, Finsa UK managing director. "With the new capacity we can fulfil the potential for these other markets."

Finsa’s launch of an international Superpan marketing strategy in 2011 has brought the product to the attention of wider markets, along with an ever-increasing range of applications. A fire-retardant (FR) version of Superpan will be launched very soon, with Finsa planning to have Class B fire certification, while the Tech range of products for structural applications is being promoted heavily.

"The structural and building sectors are becoming more and more important for us," said Mr Rocha. "We have been doing more promotional campaigns and partnerships with technical bodies."

The Tech load-bearing boards come in P4, P5 (moisture-resistant) and P6 (heavy-duty) formats, with applications including mezzanine floors, technical floors, roof sarking and wall sheathing (Tech P5), formwork (P5 Encoform), industrial packaging (STD, P4 and P5) and van fitting (H Deck).

Testing by Edinburgh Napier
Edinburgh Napier University has tested the product for mezzanine floors, showing that Superpan boards can be used in reduced thickness – compared to other boards.

"It performs better than similar boards of the same thickness of chipboard," said Mr Rocha.

A slight increase in the spanning ability between supporting metal joists represents a saving of steel for mezzanine floor manufacturers.

UK mezzanine projects using Superpan Tech – supplied by distributor Arnold Laver – have included Marks & Spencer and DFS. Lavers is the exclusive UK distributor for Tech P6.

Other structural uses include Superpan Tech P5 being used as roof sarking, and for partitions and wall sheathing in Italy, France and Germany – often as a replacement for OSB3.

A large European prefabricated house manufacturer has decided to use Superpan Tech P5 panels instead of OSB3.

The wide price fluctuation of OSB means much of the time Superpan will be more expensive than OSB3. Consequently, the companies specifying Superpan in these applications are typically the ones who appreciate the product’s quoted benefits – such as acoustic and thermal properties.

Finsa also says there are Superpan strength advantages, with the product’s performance consistent when used as sheathing in both directions – horizontally and vertically – unlike OSB which has a major strength axis.

Another structural application is formwork. Finsa says the product gives a good finish to concrete and enables customers to avoid purchasing an expensive specialist plywood. Its availability in long sections also helps to avoid seams.

Some important formwork projects have been completed in Germany.

One of the most recent developments at the Perafita factory has been the launch of Superpan Star – a composite Superpan panel using BASF’s Kaurit Light technology.

A foamed polymer is combined with wood chips to form the Superpan core layer, reducing the wood content, resulting in a panel which is about 25% lighter than a standard Superpan panel. A combination of heat and pressure is used to expand the polymer before it is mixed with chips.

No compromise
Finsa says the advantage of using the foamed polymer in Superpan – rather than particleboard – is that the MDF faces prevent the polymer rising to the surface, so no compromise is made to the surface quality.

Superpan Star is the first lightweight board to get P2 classification. Applications include interior doors.

UK-based Lawcris Panel Products, Finsa’s preferred supplier of Superpan Star veneered board, has been experiencing success selling the product in the contract furniture and hotel furniture sectors. But it believes more customer awareness of the product’s benefits is needed.

"We just need to promote the product and convince people it’s not chipboard," said Mark Smith, Lawcris’ head of procurement.

The UK is an important market for Finsa. Superpan was first shipped to the UK in 2002, with the easy logistics making large volume export possible from La Coruna to Liverpool.

Of course, applications for furniture and interior design are numerous – kitchen and office furniture, doors, worktops, displays and shopfitting to name a few.

The quality of the fibre surface is very important for manufacturers serving these markets, particularly if they are applying a high gloss or laminate finish. Thin film applications and coatings are possible with Superpan.

Finsa says the product’s surface quality means no barrier paper is required for post-forming.

Lacquering is becoming an important market for Superpan, with the product having a good dimensional stability for this process. Finsa is predicting an expansion of high gloss varnishing on melamine-faced panels, with the Decor range available in three options.

The Superpan Plus range is aimed at the lacquering, printing, painting and high gloss coatings market.

Two melamine lines operate at the Superpan factory, using Dieffenbacher and Siempelkamp technology.

Superpan is also suitable for making curved panels by cutting grooves on its back face, while the Top range has thicker 4mm MDF layers to allow for routing on the surface for products such as special doors.

The Perafita factory has seen many improvements since Finsa acquired Jomar. One of the first tasks was an upgrade in machinery, including new forming stations, to improve the core and surface product quality. The whole site extends to 30,000m², comprising a wood yard, chip and fibre production, the press line, quality control laboratory, sanding line, melamine lines and warehousing. Veneering operations no longer take place at the factory – these are done at Finsa’s Santiago facilities.

Maritime pine is the most important species used, with the mill receiving both logs and falling boards from sawmills.

Machinery used
Equipment used in Superpan production includes Dieffenbacher ClassiFormer, Kvaerner mechanical fibre formers, Siempelkamp prepress, Cassel metal detector, Siempelkamp ContiRoll continuous press, Ferrocontrol saw, Steinemann sanding technology and an SHS handling system.

The Dieffenbacher and Siempelkamp melamine lines have an MFC annual capacity of 8 million m².

Overall, Finsa’s Superpan capacity will ultimately double from the current 350,000m³ after both phases of the new factory are completed in Nelas.

Other Finsa product capacities are currently 700,000m³ for chipboard and 1.3 million m³ for MDF, with group turnover hitting €735m last year.