Chemists at the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have been developing a method to identify trafficked wood on the spot using chemical fingerprinting. The USFWS has been instrumental in developing this technique for wood identification and sharing it with law enforcement labs around the world. The technique is called direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry, or DART-MS for short. Today, the suite of molecules it measures can be used to rapidly identify the species, and sometimes even the region, a piece of wood came from.

A preview of LIGNA 2023, including a sneak peek at some of the woodworking innovations scheduled for display, was given to more than 60 journalists from around the world at a special event hosted by show co-organizer Deutsche Messe. The world’s largest woodworking event, LIGNA will be held May 15-19 at the fairgrounds in Hannover, Germany.

Wood-based materials manufacturer Egger Wood Products has started production on a third lamination line at its Lexington, N.C. facility. The $21 million investment will expand the company’s thermally fused laminate (TFL) production capacity by 50%, increasing production to more than 155 million sq. ft. per year, and alleviate supply chain and logistical challenges for customers.