Norbord’s European division put in a strong performance in the first quarter of this year, recording earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £6.4m. Its mills were running pretty much at full capacity in the quarter, compared to 95% in the same quarter of 2012.
Over the last 45 days or so, and in line with other panel manufacturers, Norbord UK has found the market mixed. Ordering for MDF is "rather flat", while demand for chipboard is somewhat better, thanks to signs of improvement in housebuilding activity.
However, the OSB side of the operation is doing considerably better, according to business development consultant Dave McElroy. "Ordering has been strong both in the UK and on the Continent and has kept both our OSB plants [Inverness in the UK and Genk in Belgium] running flat out," he said.
It’s no coincidence that Norbord has concentrated its efforts on developing its OSB product ranges in recent months – it’s driven by customer demand.
"Our customers are always keen for new products and the board industry hasn’t always been as quick to react as they’d like us to be," said Mr McElroy. "We’re changing that."
The company launched several value-added OSB products at Ecobuild.
SterlingOSB Sitecoat is a square-edged, primed OSB3 product which can be further finished with either paint or site graphics. This durable product is being marketed as direct competition for imported plywood hoarding.
SterlingOSB Roofcoat has a protective polyethylene film and waterproof joint tape which both burn off when exposed to the roofer’s torch. It makes for a clean and tidy work surface and eliminates weather-related construction delays. A third product, SterlingOSB Armourcoat, is intumescent-coated to meet – and exceed – the UK Timber Frame Association’s (UKTFA) fire spread prevention guidelines. Subsets of the Armourcoat range are also being developed to meet every category level of UKTFA guidance.
The Armourcoat products will be released once Norbord has completed the current testing cycle and should be available in the third quarter, said Mr McElroy, adding that it was then a question of "watch this space" in terms of further OSB product development.
"Our customers are looking to us to continue providing better building solutions using locally-produced OSB," he said. "And we’ll continue to work with them to better meet their changing requirements."
Realigning product branding
An example of the company working closely with its customers is its decision late last year to realign its MDF product branding in a "what it says on the tin" fashion so they reflect typical end uses rather than just the grade.
Caberwood MDF Trade is aimed at tradesmen and DIYers carrying out small building works; Caberwood MDF Pro is for carpenters in high-end applications; and Caberwood MDF Industrial MR is suitable for joinery and furniture manufacturers for use as a stock material in a manufacturing process.
"We’ll let that change settle in before doing more with our MDF range," said Mr McElroy.
Developments in Norbord’s chipboard range have continued following its major investment, in 2011, in finishing, which allowed it to reenter the furniture grade and worktop markets.
For example, earlier this year the company made improvements to the methodology used to adhere Caberdek film to its P5 Caberboard. "This product refinement has been done to meet more exacting customer requirements – particularly from our housebuilding clients," said Mr McElroy.
He added that sales of the company’s Cabershield flooring system, which complements Caberdek but has a permanent polyurethane coating rather than the peel-off protective film, had increased as the product gained popularity.
The company has focused on fixings, too. Late last year it introduced Caberfix X-Treme tape, which was designed for installing Caberdek in harsh weather – it works in temperatures down to -21°C.
And recently it’s been promoting Caberfix Pro adhesives which were originally developed over six years ago but which are refreshed every couple of years.
"They are part of a BBA-approved system and we developed the specification in-house and then worked in very close co-operation with our key adhesive supplier," said Mr McElroy. "They are specifically designed to cope with the high demands of flooring applications and always achieve a better result than a nailed floor; there is significant reduction in airborne sound resistance."
Better by nature
Norbord has launched a campaign that encapsulates the company’s commitment to the environment and, in particular, the protection of the UK’s forests.
The Better by Nature campaign, which has its own website (www.betterbynature.org.uk), covers topics such as the biomass issue; imported plywood, in the context of the preservation of the world’s rainforests and endangered animal and plant species; and the EU Timber Regulation, legislating against illegally-felled timber.
"We’re being very open about how Norbord views its business in issues from health and safety and logistics to the biomass debate and environmental issues," said Karl Morris, managing director of Norbord Europe.
He said the campaign wasn’t a direct response to the pro-biomass lobby but that it had a much wider purpose "to explain Norbord to a wider audience in all its endeavours".
However, his view on the biomass issue and renewable energy companies’ subsidies is unequivocal. "I hold a strong view that government over the years has chosen to deliver a policy on beliefs rather than facts," he said.
"It talks about the issue being ‘green’ but it’s really about security of energy supply. Apart from some very exceptional combined heat and power projects, we should be using wood to build, not to burn.
"If the government has achieved one thing it is that it has aligned the most diverse group of people in opposition to its policy – Friends of the Earth, Confor and Norbord, for example."
