Production of OSB boards

OSB boards (oriented strand board or oriented structural board) are wood-based panels made of long, thin chips, the so-called strands. OSB boards are used as building boards in structural work (e.g. roof cladding) and as walls in interior work. In the flooring sector they serve as laying boards (tongue and groove profile). They are used for visible floors, in roof finishing and as facades because of their distinctive appearance, including in furniture construction for shelves and as frames for upholstered furniture. In addition, they are used for packaging (boxes/cable reels/pallets), shop and trade fair construction, construction fences and as concrete formwork panels. Several OSB panels glued together can be used as wall and ceiling elements in timber house construction.

OSB belongs to the "Engineered wood products", which were developed in the USA and Canada in the 1950s. The aim was to produce a board with approximately the same technical properties as plywood, but using sufficient, rapidly renewable wood materials with a smaller trunk diameter. Long, slender strands are specifically used for the production, which are aligned and pressed in layers during the production process. The classic OSB board consists of 3 layers. Here, the top layer strands oriented in the direction of production (hence the name OSB) maximise the bending strength of the board.

In total, the global production capacity for OSB boards is around 40 million m³ per year. The largest capacities are in the USA, Canada and Europe. In Russia, several new plants have recently been put into operation. A breakthrough has also taken place in Asia: There are now several plants in China and in South-East Asia.