The French machinery and manufacturing technology association SYMOP (Syndicat des Machines et Technologies de Production) has decided to reschedule EXPOBOIS, France’s leading wood industry trade fair, from its original timeslot in November to a new timeslot in the spring season. The biennial event will therefore next be held from March 13 to 16, 2018 at the Villepinte exhibition center in Paris.

SYMOP’s decision was made in light of current turbulences and shifts in today’s French trade fair market and in response to wishes voiced by the show’s exhibitors for a national fair in Paris and a regional event in Lyon.

The organizers of EXPOBOIS will now work out the detailed concept for the 2018 event in close collaboration with exhibitors and the relevant associations. In an effort to ensure that the fair best supports and serves the interests of the French market, the organizers will give top consideration to exhibitor requests, e.g. in terms of the chosen display categories and other key aspects. Major emphasis will be placed on the topics of sustainable forestry and the modernization of timber processing and woodworking infrastructure, as well as on highlighting the benefits of Industry 4.0 (or industrie du futur, as it is known in France) for French SMEs. SYMOP – the organization behind EXPOBOIS – is also an active contributor to France’s “Alliance for the Industry of the Future” – a range of initiatives aimed at promoting the modernization of French industry and the digitalization of production processes.

EXPOBOIS is a joint production between SYMOP and Deutsche Messe AG. As the representative body of France’s manufacturers of timber processing and woodworking machinery, SYMOP is the long-standing owner and operator of the fair. Deutsche Messe, a German-based international trade fair operating company, provides operational support. With their combined expertise, the two partners will bring all the key market players together at EXPOBOIS, while at the same time contributing to a sustainable and prosperous future for France’s industrial base.

EXPOBOIS 2018 will put the spotlight on all the solutions needed by wood-industry enterprises to modernize their operations and thus maintain and build on their competitive edge.

Bandit Industries has hired John Mocny to serve as the company’s chief executive officer. Mocny joined the Bandit team in February 2016, bringing decades of engineering and management experience from previous leadership roles with General Motors and Caterpillar. Mocny holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University, and a Master of Engineering Science and Management degree from the prestigious Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.

Bandit owners Mike Morey Sr., Dianne Morey and Jerry Morey remain involved with the operations and management of the company. Jerry Morey continues to serve as president of Bandit Industries.

“We decided to bring in a CEO to take better advantage of the opportunities before us, and to help take Bandit to another level,” said Bandit Industries President Jerry Morey. “It was important for us to find someone with exceptional leadership experience, but also someone who understands the manufacturing side and can relate to our customers. John is also a Michigan native, and he shares the pride we have in our community and our state. He’s a down-to-earth leader and with him on-board, Bandit is poised to have our best year ever in 2016.”

After numerous relocations for work over the past 23 years, Mocny said he and his wife decided to return to Michigan to be closer to family.

“The Morey family has built something special with Bandit Industries,” said Mocny. “The company culture and pride that exists here is incredible, and it’s infectious. It’s easy to see why owners and crews are proud of their Bandit equipment, and I’m grateful to be a part of it all. Building on Bandit’s success will be a continuing journey of sustainable growth. It’s a journey I’m looking forward to taking.”

The world leader in eucalyptus pulp production, Fibria is building a new production line that will increase the capacity of its mill in Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil) to 3.05 million tons of pulp per year. Fibria has chosen Komatsu as the supplier of forest machines. Deliveries have started and will continue in 2016 and 2017. The package deal contains harvesters and forwarders. Investments in the new equipment also include service, maintenance and training program.

“This is the biggest package ever in Komatsu Forest history, and we are glad that Fibria show confidence on Komatsu brand and choose Komatsu as important partner for the whole Fibria group. This is a big challenge that we are ready to face”, says Lonard dos Santos, Marketing and Sales manager of Komatsu Forest Brazil.

Komatsu will supply 100% of the logging volume to Fibria´s project known as Horizonte 2 in Mato Grosso do Sul state. “We have acquired the whole fleet of harvesters and forwarders from Komatsu for the harvest that will supply the Horizonte 2 Project. These machines were chosen because they can deliver a very good performance with a very competitive production costs”, says Aires Galhardo, Chief Forestry Operations for Fibria.

The deal includes also full training package including simulators. Fibria offer training for employees to operate the new equipment safely. For this, Fibria will use Komatsu simulators (similar to flight simulators) and all the experience of Fibria and Komatsu in training forest machine operators and mechanics. Training will start in October.

For the third consecutive month, export volumes of Southern Pine lumber have revealed an upward trend. During September, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service recently reported SP exports to be just under 52 million board feet (MMbf). This volume represents a boost of 16% above the same month last year, contributing to a year-to-date increase of eight percent when compared with the first three quarters of 2014. Offshore shipments during September roughly break down as follows: 29.0 MMbf dressed, 8.4 MMbf rough, and 14.5 MMbf treated lumber.

Softwood lumber imports to the U.S. during September reached 1.24 billion board feet, up 15% from the volume imported during September of 2014. When compared with last year, year-to-date softwood imports remain up seven percent.

SFPA members can find detailed monthly reports of Southern Pine exports and imports in the Members Only section at SFPA.org. These reports are provided as a benefit of SFPA membership. This data originates from USDA. SFPA assimilates the USDA wood products data and prepares a more user-friendly eight-page report to reflect only relevant Southern Pine volumes exported and a two-page report of softwood volumes imported, including three-year comparisons by month and year-to-date. SFPA’s reports by country also feature conversion of all volumes to thousand board feet (Mbf). Contact SFPA’s Vernon Barabino at 504/443-4464 (option 1), or e-mail him at vbarabino@sfpa.org with any questions about these reports.

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