Plywood and other veneer-based products

The history of plywood can be traced back to the time of pharaohs in ancient Egypt, but it really came to prominence as a structural engineered wood product through two significant innovations: the invention of rotary peeling for producing wood veneer at industrial scale in the late-nineteenth century and the advent of synthetic waterproof adhesives in the early twentieth century. These breakthroughs led to the development of strong and durable wood composites that could be used in a variety of demanding applications. Later developments resulted in laminated veneer lumber and parallel strand lumber, which opened up further application areas for veneer-based, engineered wood products, which continue to expand to this day.