How Is Plywood Made? A Veneer Mill Tour - Seite 2

Finding the right wood for the veneer mill

"We try to grow the best logs for the mills that we possibly can," says our Senior Timber Marketing Manager Kevin Pilemalm, who sells Rayonier timber to Pacific Veneer. "Our silviculture team has worked really hard to get good, straight, clean logs that grow fast. There's not really a technique to grow every log on the job to a veneer quality. We have to go out on those jobs and find the veneer quality logs that are there."

Veneer mill logs are more valuable than, for example, lower quality logs Rayonier would sell to a pulp mill. It's the timber marketing manager's job, along with the logging crew, to determine the best use for each log.

"Our guys in the woods are really crucial in picking those logs out and putting those sorts together," Kevin says. "Then, when they come in here, we have the right product and the mill gets what they need."

Kevin says fostering good relationships with customers like Pacific Veneer is key to the role of a timber marketing manager:

"We work really hard to maintain the relationships Rayonier has with our local mills. It's a long-term relationship to keep this industry running."

What are the steps to make plywood? A veneer mill tour.

To make plywood, a tree has to be debarked, steamed in a vault and then peeled into a long, thin sheet at the veneer mill. Those sheets are then graded and cut down to size, dried and stacked. Once the stacks are delivered to the plywood mill, the plywood manufacturing process continues. The veneer sheets are covered in a powerful glue called laminate and then stacked with the wood grain facing in perpendicular directions, which ensures the wood will be extremely strong.

The team at Pacific Veneer provided a tour in the video included with this article, showing the step-by-step process to making plywood sheets. Some manufacturers will make veneer and plywood at the same site. Pacific Veneer specializes only in the veneer manufacturing process.

Below we go into more detail about each of the following steps in how plywood is manufactured, including:

• Step 1: Prepare the logs for peeling in a steam vault
• Step 2: Peel the logs into thin sheets of veneer using a lathe
• Step 3: Clipping and assessing the veneer sheets
• Step 4: Drying, grading and banding
• Step 5: Creating the final product at the plywood mill

Step 1: Prepare the logs for peeling in a steam vault