The Krefeld machine builder Siempelkamp was able to record another success in the field of “Green Technology”: The Egyptian company Wood Technology Co (Wotech) placed a project with Siempelkamp in December. Representatives of both companies signed the contract for an MDF plant with an annual production capacity of 205,000 cubic meters 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-adding 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 like Egypt, which do not have enough 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 California-based CalAg, LLC, to ask Siempelkamp for an MDF plant based on rice straw.

The expertise of the company with its headquarters in Krefeld is once again confirmed by this demand. In the area of production – for example spreading machines, forming and press line – the production process is comparable to that of MDF production. The green end, 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. Wotech, founded for this project by companies of the Egyptian oil and gas industry which belong to the Egyptian 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.