October 23, 2020. – It is tough to innovate and develop new products. As plywood is considered a mature product, it is easy to believe that everything around it has already been invented. But plywood is one of the world’s first composites. Fundamentally,the different layers can consist of practically anything. There can be infinite product varieties. 

Close to a hundred years ago, Henry Ford set up an assembly line for the Model T. Since those days plywood mills have been peeling, drying and pressing. Sometimes adding coating on top.

How about if we shuffled the veneers and other materials like a deck of cards? On the assembly line set-up, the plywood process could start from the lay-up station. New product varieties could also mean that specialised mills are organised in different ways. Given its long history, it is delightful to think of plywood as the sustainable product of the future.