The Taiwanese-owned company in Songkhla province is the first in Asia to order the new ContiRoll Gen 9 from Siempelkamp.
Mr Jurgen Philipps presents a model of the ContiRoll to Mr David Huang, CEO of Green River Panels
Green River Panels is set to build Southeast Asia’s biggest particleboard line, boasting a 50.4-metre continuous press—the longest in the region. The new line, which is Green River’s third, will see the wood-based panel manufacturer double annual production capacity to over one million cubic metres, making it one of the largest production powerhouses in Southeast Asia. It will be delivered by Siempelkamp.
“I am very happy,” said David Huang, chief executive officer of Green River, at the signing ceremony in Hatyai witnessed by representatives from both client and vendor. “We have known each other for more than 10 years. The negotiations took a long time, but I believe that this agreement will provide a lot of value for us.”
Jurgen Philipps, speaker of the Siempelkamp Board, added, “We are happy and honoured to be selected for this project. This is our second success in three months in Southeast Asia. It is a good sign that we are considered a market leader in this area.”
The new line is also Siempelkamp’s first ContiRoll Generation 9 delivered to Asia. It will also feature machinery by its subsidiaries: Buettner, CMC Texpan and Pallmann. Together the engineering team will build the biggest drum dryer and energy plant in Southeast Asia, as well as the world’s largest knife ring flaker.
Mr Philipps and Mr Huang are accompanied by Mr Marc Mueller, Siempelkamp (far left) and Mr Karakolidis Konstantinos, project manager for the new particleboard line.
The team from Siempelkamp and Green River at the official signing ceremony on Nov 28 in Hatyai.
“All eyes will be on Green River for this project,” Mr Philipps added. Addressing the Green River team, he said, “Your project has our personal attention and like a marriage, we welcome open and frank communication between both parties.”
Although Green River is no stranger to Siempelkamp’s expertise, this is the first time it is working together with the Krefeld-based technology company on such a massive scale. (Green River’s PB Line 1 runs on Buettner’s energy plant while Line 2 uses size reduction technology from Pallmann.)
Green River, which is named for the company’s environmental philosophy, is committed to producing green products. “They know what we want, and I believe they can support us in our vision for a green production line,” Mr Huang said, on the decision to seal the historic agreement with Siempelkamp.
Mr Philipps added, “Similarly, we are very pleased to be part of Green River’s success story.”
The first board is expected to birth in the last quarter of 2019.
Catch the full interview in the January issue of Panels & Furniture Asia.
