Uniboard Opens MDF/HDF Plant in Moncure, North Carolina


Laval, Quebec, Canada, 18 February 2010 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Uniboard, a North American leader of manufactured engineered wood products, has completed its new medium- and high-density fiberboard (MDF/HDF) plant in Moncure, North Carolina, USA.

The CAD 160 million plant, produced its first panel on 17 February, just one year after construction of the facility started. With an annual production capacity of 225 million sq. ft (3/4 inch basis) per year the plant is the largest MDF/HDF facility in North America and is the company's third manufacturing facility in the United States. The new facility is part of Uniboard's Moncure Mega Site concept offering customers the ability to order a full range of panels from a single source. Particleboard, thermofused melamine, and now MDF/HDF are all produced at Moncure, making it a true one-stop shop for manufacturers of kitchen cabinetry, office and residential furniture, store fixtures, flooring, and molding.

"Our aim is to strengthen relationships with existing clients and to develop new customers, markets, and business opportunities," said James Hogg, president and CEO of Uniboard.  "This new plant will play a large role in fulfilling that objective by broadening our product offering at Moncure and ensuring Uniboard is the supplier of choice."

The new Moncure facility is approximately 40 miles from Raleigh, North Carolina, and is geographically well positioned to service the entire eastern United States by truck or rail. The 340,000 square foot facility took just over a year to complete and has created 160 permanent local jobs.

Uniboard, a subsidiary of Pfleiderer AG, is a leading North American manufacturer of engineered wood products, with installed capacity of over 1.1 billion square feet of raw particleboard, high-density fiberboard, and medium-density fiberboard, of which more than 50% is converted into value-added melamine and laminated flooring products. Uniboard reports annual sales exceeding CAD 550 million and Uniboard employs over 900 people. Its products are sold to retailers, distributors and finished goods manufacturers, which cater to the kitchen cabinet industry, the furniture industry, the renovation and construction industries, and the floor covering industry. Uniboard is the largest supplier of thermofused melamine panels in North America.