On October 03, 2024, the Corepan-Bois team had the opportunity to visit Uniboard's raw and laminated particleboard plant in Sayabec. The visit was part of a strategic partnership established by our research consortium to strengthen links between academic research and industrial applications.

Warmly welcomed by Mr. Richard Gilbert, engineer in transformation process optimization, and Mr. Jean-Sébastien Beaulieu, plant manager, our team was able to discover the latest technological advances in laminated panels, as well as the company's manufacturing processes. This immersion enabled our researchers to gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the sector while identifying areas for future collaboration.

What's more, the visit was particularly beneficial to the students' project, notably the hygrothermal behavior of particleboard for exterior siding by Tiam Mahmoudian, a PhD student in wood and bio-based materials engineering at Université Laval under the supervision of Alain Cloutier. The visit offered concrete insights and practical knowledge that will enrich their research work.

We would like to thank Uniboard Sayabec for their warm welcome and look forward to a promising partnership.