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Over the past decade, Medite of Europe Ltd. has brought many new, special grades of medium-density fiberboard to market. It has now rounded out its product mix with thin MDF panels--3 to 12 mm thick--made on a new continuous pressline in a plant in southeastern Ireland.
Expansion of Medite's Clonmel plant in County Tipperary adds to a success story that began in 1984 with startup of the original MDF line. It produces panels 6 to 30 mm thick(1 in. = 25.4 mm).
Capacity of the new line propels Medite Corp. into second place among world MDF producers. The company, headquartered in Medford, Oregon, USA, has three MDF plants. Medite of Europe now has an annual capacity of 300,000 m sup 3 /yr; the two US plants are in Medford and in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The Medford mill's capacity is 175,000 m sup 3 /yr; capacity at Las Vegas is 160,000 m sup 3 /yr (1 m sup 3 = 565 ft sup 2 , 3/4-in. basis). This volume of output puts Medite in the company of two European rivals, Fantoni of Italy and Glunz of Germany. Both of these two have major expansions under way.
Medite's MDF project at Clonmel began to take shape in the early 1980s, when the company's European sales were all US-made panels. Medite's light-colored MDF, made from Sitka spruce and other Pacific Coast softwoods, was appreciated in Europe. This young and growing market was putting increasing volumes of this relatively unknown panel to a widening variety of end uses. In 1983, the European MDF market was well under 100,000 m sup 3 /yr; Medite claimed 30,000 m' of this. Europeans joined the competition with plants in France, Italy and Scotland.
At the time, the UK firm Seaboard Lumber represented Medite in Europe. Geoff Rhodes, now Medite of Europe's sales director, recalls a visit from Medite sales manager (later president) Ted Bauer. Bauer had come to evaluate the European market for himself. He told Rhodes, who worked for Seaboard at the time, that Medite would have to manufacture MDF in Europe if it hoped to maintain its market share.
Bauer recently retired as Medite president, but remains active as a consultant. He nicknamed the project "The Shamrock Caper." The...