Uniboard hosted a party Oct. 28 to celebrate its versatile $160 million panel manufacturing plant in Moncure, NC, that began churning out product in February.

Though dubbed as the “Moncure MDF Mill,” the plant’s more than 120-foot-long Dieffenbacher press also is able to produce particleboard, high-density fiberboard (HDF) and low-density fiberboard (LDF) in thicknesses ranging from 3/16 inch to about 1-1/4 inches. In addition, a nearby facility houses a pair of thermo-fused melamine lines. The plant has the capacity to produce up to 26 million square feet of panel on a 3/4-inch basis per year.

Uniboard bills the new highly automated plant as the largest MDF/HDF manufacturing facility in North America. Panel thicknesses can be adjusted on the fly. After being pressed, panels are sanded on both sides and trimmed all in one continuous operation. Company officials say its diverse product line and thickness range makes it a “true one-stop shop” for manufacturers of kitchen cabinetry, office and residential furniture, store fixtures, flooring and molding.

Three weeks prior to its gala event, attended by approximately 220 people, Uniboard announced that the Moncure mill had been certified by the Composite Panel Assn. to meet California Air Resources Board Phase 2 emissions standards for the production of MDF panels.

Moncure Mill is U.S.‘Cornerstone’
The Moncure mill is Uniboard’s first U.S. manufacturing facility. The Laval, QC-based company operates four plants in Canada. Its parent company, Pfleiderer of Neumarkt, Germany, employs approximately 5,600 people and operates 22 mills in North America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe.
Pfleiderer also owns Pergo, which produces laminate flooring at a plant in Garner, NC, about 40 minutes from Moncure. Pergo is one of the Moncure operation’s founding customers.

Addressing a group of attendees comprised of dignitaries, suppliers, employees and others, Hans Overdiek, head of Pfleiderer, called the Moncure mill “the cornerstone of Uniboard’s growth strategy in the U.S.”

Rep. Joe Hackney, speaker of the North Carolina House, said Uniboard came to the right place for the 200-plus workers it hired and the raw materials it needs. The plant is surrounded by rich stands of southern yellow pine trees, whose shavings are processed into the fibers for the Moncure plant’s composite panel products.

Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC), who was narrowly defeated in his Nov. 2 re-election bid, said he is confident Uniboard will recoop its investment in the Moncure mill and then some. He added that he hopes the company will expand the facility in the future.

James Hogg, president and CEO of Uniboard, assured all of those in attendance that the company is intent on future expansion.