On June 3, 2005, Maillefer and Conenor entered into a strategic partnership in the area of Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC). The agreement formalizes the opening of a WPC Skill Center located at the Maillefer premises in Vantaa, Finland. It also marks strengthened ties between the two companies for increased promotion of WPC manufacturing solutions. Conenors invention is based on the Conex conical extrusion technology, which Conenor started developing in the 1990s. The company licensed the technology to produce extruded plastic products such as pipes and cables. Of interest to both parties is the development and commercialization of the Conex Wood Extruder specifically for producing composite wood and other natural fiber-plastic composite products. The unique Conex Wood Extruder offers a novel solution combining several processes from grinding and drying, to extrusion in one process step through a single piece of equipment. Maillefer, as a leading provider of manufacturing solutions to the pipe and wire & cable industries, brings to play its manufacturing know-how and its global presence. Through the agreement, the company offers increased sales and manufacturing support for WPC solutions. The opening of the WPC Skill Center offers the composite wood industry an infrastructure for innovative product development and trials. For further details, or for reserving the WPC Skill Center, please contact Markku Vilkki of Conenor or Antti-Jussi Rissanen of Maillefer. On a related topic, get more details about the Conex Wood Extruder technology as presented at the 8th International Conference organized by USDA-Forest Service for the Woodfibre Plastic Composites Industry 23-25 May 2005 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

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