Olympic Panel Products 2009
November 2009Olympic Panel Products (OPP) is the largest and most advanced manufacturer of overlaid plywood in North America. With over 60 years of production and field application know-how, Olympic’s panels have earned the reputation for being the finest overlay plywood panels produced in North America. OPP has the broadest product offering available and it is the market share leader in overlaid plywood. The manufacturing facility, located on a 25-acre site in Shelton, Washington, is the single largest overlay plywood manufacturing facility under a single roof in the world.
The manufacturing process includes the peeling of Douglas fir and Hemlock veneer, drying of the veneer through one of 4 veneer dryers, lay-up and pressing through one of three hot presses, plus an extensive finishing department, which includes a panel sander and film press for the production of Two Step® high-quality overlay panels.
OPP offers the most diverse selection of overlaid plywood panels. Available panel sizes are 4’ x 8’ and 4’ x 10’ for most products and for MDO up to 5’ x 8’ and 5’ x 10’.
THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY
The extended downturn in the economy is having serious consequences in the plywood industry—with serious risks to future supplies. According to the latest American Plywood Association data, 30 percent of plywood capacity across North America has been eliminated since 2005.
In just the past couple of months, one of the largest forming panel manufacturers announced the “indefinite” closure of its mill. That’s cause for concern. That same company also told investors it intends to exit the plywood market altogether as part of its “strategy to divest non-core assets.” That’s cause for worry. Add in the propensity of other manufacturers to dabble in concrete forming panels only when confronted with poor demand for larger volume commodity products and you’ve got a real supply problem on your hands.
Olympic Panel Products offers a solution—our company is strong, growing, and committed to serving the forming panels market as a core part of our business. For years, we have partnered with the concrete industry day-in and day-out, earning trust and repeat business by being uncompromising in our quality and relentless in our commitment to provide the best value. We have also invested greatly in our sales and technical staff, hiring the industry’s most experienced and knowledgeable forming panels experts—people who not only know our products inside and out, but understand their applications and the real-life needs and challenges faced by the concrete industry. We are not only a manufacturer, we are an information resource for you and your customers.
If you are interested in learning more about the state of our industry and Olympic Panel’s ability to assure your satisfaction, please call us at 800.445.2442. ■
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