MDF, by mistake

Interestingly, some materials used a lot in furniture production have appeared by chance and by accident. That's how I arrived at the article below.

MDF is a widely used material in the furniture industry whose finish I have written about repeatedly. It is a convenient material for manufacturers, simplifying the production process and eliminating many of the problems created by solid wood. Another advantage is that, properly processed and finished, it can give the impression that the furniture is made of solid wood.

A simple mistake has resulted in a material now highly valued in the furniture industry

This time I intend to present its history. It might be interesting to know how and when it came about.
MDF - Medium Density Fiberboard - was first produced in 1966 in the USA and is based on a 1925 invention by William Masson, made by chance, a technological accident, so to speak. He collected scrap and wood dust from local barbecues and mixed it with hot water in a plant to make an inexpensive insulator that everyone could afford. One night, he forgot to turn off the machine, and it continued working until morning. What resulted was a very thin and tough film, virtually the first version of PFL.

By 1974, MDF was already being mass-produced in Medford, Oregon (USA), and in 1976 the first exports were made to Europe, the UK and the Netherlands. In 1980, following the expansion of production, a factory was opened in Ireland. From this time onwards, a strong development of tile production began, as well as its diversification with moisture-resistant tiles, coloured tiles, fireproof tiles, etc.

PAF, the Romanian version of pre-1989 MDF

In Romania, large MDF factories appeared after 1989. But even before that, there were factories in some CPLs (Combined Wood Processing Plants, for the younger ones) for PAF (Chipboard and Fibreboard), the name of MDF in our country. The largest factory at the time was in Focșani, but there were smaller plants in many other combined plants.

I remember a story from that time. I was working at ICPIL (Institute for Research and Design of the Wood Industry) where a good part of our research consisted of copying what others were inventing abroad. Sometimes we even wondered how we could get them to do it with a blurry photo from a trade fair or a tiny sample.

One year, together with other colleagues, we had the theme of making a piece of furniture out of PAF, which we could finish as attractively as possible and present as an alternative to solid furniture. The assignment was in collaboration with CPL Iasi, which had a small plant for obtaining PAF. The boards were obtained and a table was made with a very interesting, elaborate design, just to demonstrate how many advantages this product has. Less consideration was given to the type of wood used for the slabs. In fact, that was the idea - to use waste, scrap, anything that was no longer used in production. The mass was not very big, but so heavy that it was impossible to lift. That table was assembled in the factory showroom and I don't think it was ever moved from there, at least not assembled.

I hope you find the information interesting. As usual, additions are welcome. And if you have any questions or queries, please leave them in the space below. I'm sure I'll reply.