ROSEBURG, Ore. — Con-Vey has been recognized with the 2025 Excellence in Business Innovation Award by the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce for its newly patented Edge-Damming System, a first-of-its-kind advancement in automated plywood panel repair.

The award was presented during the Chamber’s 71st Annual Meeting of the Membership & Awards Luncheon, held Monday, March 16 at the Community Conference Hall of the Douglas County Fairgrounds. The event drew approximately 100 local residents and business leaders and recognized standout individuals and businesses from across the region. 

Traditionally, edge defects on trimmed panels have been difficult to repair in-line due to material runoff, cure timing, and the demands of continuous production. Con-Vey’s newly patented system addresses that challenge by creating a controlled “dam” along the panel edge using a custom-engineered, Teflon-coated steel belt and targeted inductive heating. This allows repair material to be precisely contained and begin curing immediately, enabling high-speed, in-line edge repair that was not previously achievable in a commercial production environment.

“This project pushed us into some unfamiliar territory in the best possible way,” said Jeremy Goebel, president of Con-Vey. “At the beginning, it felt like one of those challenges that might be too difficult to solve. But that’s often where the most meaningful innovation comes from — when a customer brings you a real problem, and your team is willing to stay curious, work through the failures, and build something entirely new. To now see this technology both recognized with an innovation award and officially patented is incredibly rewarding.”

“It was both cost- and people-driven,” said Jeremy Burford, VP of Plywood at RoyOMartin. “The price of the chemical we use on that line had increased tremendously. On top of that, it was a very labor-intensive job, and we were seeing a lot of turnover. So having somebody monitor the process versus actually doing it is a big deal out here.”

Burford added, “We’ve reduced costs on the line, we’ve reduced turnover, we’ve improved on grades, we’re meeting the panel throughput that we thought we would. The project has been a huge success.”

To learn more about the Edge-Damming System, view the case study here: con-vey.com.