The Effect of Hardboard, Particle Board, and Similar Products on Traditional Plywood Markets

A competitive situation may exist in certain areas of use between plywood, hardboard, and particle board. However, the entire plywood industry could not possibly supply the requirements which would be needed to serve every possible place where plywood might be used. The growth of the market potential has been so rapid as to outstrip the productive capacity of any one type of product–whether plywood or competitive materials. Hardboard is not a new product on the market, yet despite its increasing use over many years the plywood demand has continued to grow to record proportions. With the advent of increasing production and of refinements in hardwood and particle board, some of the end-uses formerly served by plywood will be challenged increasingly. Several concerns are already utilizing particle board for core stock. Particle board appears economically more feasible than hardboard as the particle board can be formed to produce heavy thicknesses in one operation. The utilization by the plywood manufacturer of a uniformly defect-free and joint-free particle board as a core may permit him to produce a superior panel for less money and in this manner re-establish plywood in markets lost to other materials or gain new markets. Hardboard employed as a crossband under thin veneer faces is being widely adopted by manufacturers. The availability of one-piece stock in large sizes minimizes expensive edge-gluing as with veneer crossbanding. Hardboard’s freedom from twisty grain, knots and knot holes, splits, checks, rough, or nonuniform cutting has made a favorable impression; and consumption in this field would indicate a material expansion.

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