Krefeld, February 18, 2020 – In December, the Egyptian company Wood Technology Co. (WOTECH)
placed a milestone project regarding “Green Technology” at Siempelkamp. Representatives of both
companies signed the contract for an MDF plant with an annual production capacity of 205,000 m³
which will process the annual plant rice straw as raw material.
With this plant, WOTECH is positioning itself in the areas of environmental protection and resource
efficiency, because the value-added use of rice straw opens up new perspectives for a raw material that
would otherwise be burned as a waste product. The concept is also attractive for countries such as
Egypt, which do not have sufficient wood resources for industrial use. “We have been pursuing research
into the raw material and the development of a market-ready plant for processing rice straw for many
years. In this respect, we are very pleased about the order from our Egyptian partner who is breaking
new ground in sustainable wood-based products production with us,” says Jürgen Philipps, Managing
Director Siempelkamp Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH. WOTECH is the second customer after CalAg,
LLC, California, to ask Siempelkamp for an MDF plant based on rice straw.
The expertise of the Krefeld-based company is once again confirmed by this demand. In the area of
production – e.g. spreading machines, forming and press line – the production process is comparable to
that of MDF production. The greenend process, however, the straw preparation, requires specific
adjustments which Siempelkamp has developed to market maturity. “Among other things, the
preparation, handling, and processing of the rice straw were newly developed in the production
process,” explains Jochen Dauter, Sales Director Siempelkamp.
The contract value for the new project marks the third-largest single order ever placed with
Siempelkamp. The WOTECH company, founded for this project by companies of the Egyptian oil and gas
industry which are part of the country’s Ministry of Petroleum, has also received positive feedback on
the political level. The new plant is considered a fundamental contribution to supporting the
governmental efforts in Egypt to realize an environmentally friendly, CO2-reducing and sustainable use
of rice straw. It will also create jobs in the MDF production and furniture industry.