07 November 2011

Alfa Wood Group, high quality wood products for booming in Europe

Founded in 1962 by Panagiotis Iliadis, Shelman started out as a factory producing particleboard and plywood panels in Vassiliko Chalkis, 90 km north-east of Athens.
In 2000, the company invested large sums in the construction of a new factory in Komotini, producing chipboard and melamine- faced panels.
At the end of 2009, Mr. Panagiotis Iliadis decided to sell the Shelman Industry.
The company was acquired by Alfa Wood in 20th of January 2010. Alfa Wood was founded in 1981, in Larissa, by Antonios Adamopoulos and his brother in law, Christos Agorastos for the production of door frames and profiles. Over the last few years, Alfa Wood has grown with investments in machinery and with the acquisition and modernization of a factory in Bulgaria, producing mainly decorative veneers.
In 2004, Alfa Wood acquired Pindos company which is located in Grevena in North Greece and produces MDF. The factory had been inoperative for a few years.
Alfa Wood invested 65 million USD in a new continuous plant with an output capacity of 120,000 cubic meters per year. Pindos factory now also produces melamine- faced and veneered panels as well as laminated flooring. We travelled to Athens to meet the Chairman of the Group Mr. Antonios Adamopoulos who outlined his vision of the market : “With the acquisition of Shelman, we currently own five factories including the one in Bulgaria, having large production capacity . At present, the market situation is very tough and, in order to face market competition, our main priority is to continuously improve the quality of our production. Our strategy for the future is to expand our business abroad, particularly in Europe. Our aim is to offer cost-effective products and services to our customers and at the same time guarantee high quality.”
The first time I visited Shelman, in Vassiliko Chalkis was the summer of 1997, and during my recent visit I was informed about the important improvements that had been taken place since that time.
During our visit to the factory in Vassiliko, Shelman’s Opera - tions Director, Mr. George Kalamaras, gave us information about the machines, the production lines and the products. The factory in Vassiliko employees 440 employe and it is situated on a coastal site of 400,000 sqm of which 124,000 sqm are covered.
The capacity of the chipboard production in Vassiliko plant is 420 cubic meters/day, in compliance with the American CARB (California Air Res ources Boards) regulations. (certification will be implemented before the end of the year). The Post forming unit has one line for the production of conventional post forming products (worktops, front elements), two direct post forming lines and one soft forming line.
Shelman is famous on the market for the excellent quality and the exceptional technical properties of plywood. Shelman Plywood is considered as one of the most reliable products locally and internationally.
The well known product brands, Shelmarine, Shelmaplex, Shelmaply, Okoume Twin are addressed to the most demanding markets and bear the stamp of approval of the most reputable institutes, such as British Lloyds, CTB of France, SKH of Holland and WKI of Germany.
Shelman Plywoods which are suitable for use in construction, are CE marked in accordance with EN 13986. All Shelman’s products are classified as Class E1, regarding formaldehyde emission (control methodology according to the EN 717-2 norm).
The factory of Chipboard and Chipboard Melamine which is situated in the Industrial area of Komotini in Northern Greece, is the most recent and one of the most modern factories in Balkan Countries. It extends over a surface area of 297,000 sqm of which 58,600 sqm are covered.
It comprises of three main units:
• Chipboard production unit, installed capacity 700 cubic meters/day.
• Melamine faced Chipboard production unit, installed capacity 500 cubic meters/day.
• Paper impregnation unit for the production of melamine films, installed capacity 28.000.000 sqm/year.
Production at Shelman is integrated to use wood as a raw material for a variety of different products, covering most of the needs of traditional and modern markets.