Cowie particleboard plant celebrates 50 years
30 May 2023A Scottish Timber Products (STP) 50-year reunion dinner was held at the Dunblane Hydro Hotel on May 5, attended by former STP personnel and invited guests including local supporting companies, some in their third generation.
This event celebrated the start of Cowie particleboard production by the company 50 years ago in 1973. The event included a photograph screening of the Cowie factory, its management, workers and key suppliers.
Among those attending was Robin Pegna, former STP managing director 1974-77 and Klaus Kohler who later led Caberboard and CSC Forest Products at Cowie in the 1980s and 90s. Also attending was Alan McMeekin, managing director, of the existing Cowie plant owned by European-Norbord (who supported the event).
“My objective was to celebrate this 50-year milestone and bring together old STP colleagues and key suppliers and supporters of the 1970s, said Alan Bloomfield OBE, who organised the event.
“Although STP was not, in itself, successful, it did leave, importantly, a crucial legacy of a particleboard factory, that could, with some changes, and in different circumstances, be successful. Thanks to STP, a skilled management and workforce was absorbed into a new company, Caberboard Ltd in February 1978 under Bison Werke, Bahre & Greten.
“From 1978 it has been a success story, developing into MDF production also,” continued Mr Bloomfield. “The company was purchased in 1985 by Glunz AG and has now becoming European Norbord – part of Canadian West Fraser, a major world producer of OSB.”
“He added that “those who managed and worked at STP in the 1970s should be proud of what was achieved under very difficult and different circumstances compared with today”.
