Kadant Carmanah Design announced it is entering into a collaborative partnership with Hexion Inc., a global leader of adhesives and performance materials solutions that uses artificial intelligence to improve the manufacturing process of wood panels.

"The benefit of this collaborative partnership for OSB producers will be the full visibility and connectivity they will now have throughout their entire manufacturing process - from the strander, to the dryer, to the blender, to the forming line, to the press," said Michael Lefenfeld, President and CEO of Hexion. "As OSB wood rooms continue to face labor challenges and the high variability of log inventory management, Hexion's advanced AI and machine learning technology will help stabilize the quality of strands from the strander. As a result, OSB producers will see reduced variability in downstream processes such as drying, blending, forming, and pressing, ultimately improving overall mill efficiency."

Hexion's Smartech division, which Hexion acquired in 2024, uses artificial intelligence to improve the manufacturing process for wood panels. The product line includes software and systems solutions providing a unique approach to resin application that increases efficiency and product quality, as well as autonomous manufacturing systems, which utilize machine learning to optimize productivity in the wood panel industry.

The Kadant Carmanah SmartRING Strander is the global leader in processing logs into strands for OSB production. Combined with Kadant Carmanah's Argus smart-connected technologies, OSB producers now have real-time access to accurate trending data for log throughput, production uptime, and strand quality from the strander.