Plum Creek expects to return its MDF plant in Columbia Falls, Montana, to full production by July 11 following explosion and fire on June 10; thin MDF line has restarted, No. 1 line due to be tested, restarted

Wendy Lisney

LOS ANGELES , July 8, 2014 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. expects to return its MDF plant in Columbia Falls, Montana, to full production by July 11 following an explosion and fire on June 10, according to a report by the Daily Inter Lake.

The plant restarted its No. 2 production line in the week ending July 4, a continuous press producing thin MDF that was installed in 2001 at a cost of US$80 million.

Tom Ray, Plum Creek's VP of Northwest Resources and Manufacturing, said there had been a few electrical issues over the course of the week, but the press was now working very well.

Work is still ongoing to restore MDF production on the older No. 1 line that produces MDF in thicknesses of up to 1 1/4 in. Ray said the line should be ready for testing within a couple of days, and is likely to begin production later this week, 30 days after the incident caused by a bearing failure on a raw material feed line, which led to a series of explosions in the plant's ductwork.

Plum Creek is working to determine the value of the damage caused, and Ray noted that some exterior building repair would continue after full production resumed.

The primary source of this article is The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Montana, on July 8, 2014. The original article can be viewed here.

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