Kronospan\u2019s proposed OSB production line at Chirk, North Wales, has moved closer to environmental approval after Natural Resources Wales said it was minded to grant a variation to the factory\u2019s permit.<\/p>\n
The regulator opened consultation on its draft decision on 6 October, with comments accepted until 17 November 2026. Approval is not yet final, and NRW will consider responses before determining the application.<\/p>\n
The project would introduce oriented strand board manufacturing alongside Chirk\u2019s existing panel operations. It also involves upgrading two existing direct dryers for OSB production, changing rail unloading and biomass handling arrangements, and adding raw material storage areas within the log yard.<\/p>\n
The permit variation would allow hydrogen peroxide dosing in wet electrostatic precipitators where required to control odour. A northern access road, lorry park and two surface water wetlands would be brought within the installation boundary, together with an additional discharge point for uncontaminated runoff.<\/p>\n
NRW\u2019s announcement does not give an annual capacity for the proposed OSB line or a start-up date.<\/p>\n
What Chirk produces<\/strong><\/p>\n Chirk already manufactures particleboard, MDF, P5 flooring board, melamine-faced panels, laminate flooring, worktops and sawn timber. Kronospan reported more than 650 employees at the factory in November 2025.<\/p>\n Published descriptions of the site list annual manufacturing capacities of approximately 600,000 m\u00b3 of particleboard and 600,000 m\u00b3 of MDF, alongside 18 million m\u00b2 of laminate flooring, 350,000 m\u00b3 of melamine-faced panels and 500,000 worktops.<\/p>\n These are published capacity figures, rather than confirmed production volumes for 2026. Melamine-faced panels are made by further processing raw boards, so their volumes cannot simply be added to particleboard and MDF capacity.<\/p>\n The factory supplies both construction materials and products for furniture and interiors. Adding OSB would extend its structural panel range and allow Kronospan to manufacture locally a product it has previously supplied to UK customers from other group factories.<\/p>\n Years of preparation for OSB<\/strong><\/p>\n Plans to manufacture OSB at Chirk were already part of the site\u2019s investment programme in 2019. In December that year, Kronospan described a EUR 200 million modernisation project and said space had been cleared for a planned 50-metre continuous OSB line.<\/p>\n The work included new raw material silos, automated feeding systems and upgrades to panel finishing. Three new melamine presses and one refurbished press doubled melamine-facing capacity. The worktop line was replaced, while one flooring line was installed and two others were refurbished.<\/p>\n A replacement tongue-and-groove line was also equipped to process both particleboard and OSB for flooring applications. At the time, however, Kronospan was still supplying its UK OSB customers through imports from sister factories.<\/p>\n Chirk\u2019s existing raw board operations were built through earlier rounds of investment. A continuous MDF press was installed in 1993. In 1997, five single-opening particleboard lines were replaced by a continuous press with a stated capacity of 600,000 m\u00b3 a year. The site also added a second MDF line, providing the raw panel base for its flooring, decorative board and worktop operations.<\/p>\n The latest application therefore follows years of preparation for OSB manufacturing, including changes to equipment that would handle and finish the product.<\/p>\n Environmental conditions remain central<\/strong><\/p>\n The draft decision comes as NRW continues to require improvements to existing operations at Chirk. Its August 2026 update described ongoing work on dust suppression, odour controls and noise management, as well as enhanced monitoring of the K7 biomass boiler and associated MDF emission points.<\/p>\n According to that update, heavy metal emissions had met limits since the boiler restarted in March. Dioxin and furan emissions had declined but remained above the limits at the boiler. An enforcement notice required further monitoring and a plan to achieve compliance.<\/p>\n NRW says it will grant the OSB permit variation only if it is satisfied that Kronospan can meet the proposed conditions and operate without causing significant pollution or harm to human health or the environment. The final decision will follow the consultation closing in November.<\/p>\n About<\/strong><\/p>\n Kronospan\u2019s Chirk plant has published annual capacities of approximately 600,000 m\u00b3 of particleboard and 600,000 m\u00b3 of MDF, together with 350,000 m\u00b3 of melamine-faced panels, 18 million m\u00b2 of laminate flooring and 500,000 worktops. The site also manufactures P5 flooring board and sawn timber. These figures represent capacity rather than actual output, and melamine-faced panels are processed from raw boards rather than additional raw panel production. The proposed expansion would add OSB manufacturing, although the annual capacity of the new line has not been specified yet.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kronospan\u2019s proposed OSB production line at Chirk, North Wales, has moved closer to environmental approval after Natural Resources Wales said it was minded to grant a variation to the factory\u2019s permit.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n