Foundation Wants Ill-Fated Huber Project Reviewed

Foundation Wants Ill-Fated Huber Project Reviewed

Foundation Wants Ill-Fated Huber Project Reviewed

The Blandin Foundation, based in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and aims to help rural communities in the region, has called on Gov. Tim Walz to commission an “after-action review” of the ill-fated, proposed Huber OSB mill project in Cohasset, according to local media.

“Rural Minnesota is home to the manufacturing, mining, lumber and agricultural industries which have played a vital role in the state’s economy,” Tuleah Palmer, the foundation’s president and CEO, wrote in a June 28 letter to Walz obtained by local news outlet Duluth News Tribune. “As the host of these industries and a steward of millions of acres of Minnesota’s natural resources, sovereign Native nations and rural communities have a critical role to play in planning for the state’s energy transition.”

“It is from this vantage point that I respectfully request your administration commission an independent after-action review of the Huber project in Cohasset, Minnesota, to inform and prepare the state for its continued energy transition,” Palmer wrote. “Those participating in the review must represent a broad cross section of the impacted interests to ensure a fair and comprehensive analysis. The objective of the review team should be to support sustainable energy models and resilient workforce structures.”

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Conway CLT Plant Is Back On Track

Conway CLT Plant Is Back On Track

Mercer International Inc. and its subsidiary Mercer Mass Timber, a manufacturer of timber building materials, completed the acquisition of Structurlam Mass Timber Corp. and its subsidiaries in mid-June. Mercer Mass Timber immediately takes possession and continues the operation of Structurlam’s manufacturing facilities, which will now operate under the Mercer Mass Timber brand, including a new production facility in Conway, Ark. and in Penticton, British Columbia, Can.

At the end of May, Mercer International received Bankruptcy Court approval of the acquisition for $81.1 million. Structurlam had filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

The Conway facility is a modern, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that was built in 2021 and has an annual capacity of approximately 75,000 m3; can produce both glued laminated timber (glulam) and cross-laminated timber (CLT); includes more than 280,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space; and is strategically located in the Southern U.S. in proximity to growing construction markets and with access to a large and high-quality regional wood basket.

The purchase also include three facilities located in British Columbia with a combined annual capacity of 40,000 m3 of glulam and CLT.

These assets complement Mercer’s existing Mercer Mass Timber facility in Spokane Valley, Wash.

“We are thrilled to welcome Structurlam into the Mercer Mass Timber fold,” says Brian Merwin, Senior Vice President of Mercer Mass Timber. “This acquisition will allow us to offer our customers a wider range of mass timber products, and to better support their projects with the addition of more cross laminated timber (CLT) capacity and glulam production capabilities. Our goal is to become a one-stop shop for all mass timber needs. The additional manufacturing facilities that the Structurlam acquisition brings will enable us to create greater efficiencies.”

A local paper in mid-June reported that the Conway facility had resumed production and will increase its pace as the order file heats up.

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Roseburg Closing Taylorsville P’Board Mill, Has Sold Facility For Another Use

Roseburg Closing Taylorsville P’Board Mill, Has Sold Facility For Another Use

Roseburg has announced that it will permanently end operations at its Taylorsville, Miss., particleboard plant on Aug. 21, 2023. While the plant will no longer produce particleboard, a forest products company has signed a letter of intent to purchase the facility for an alternate use. The transaction is expected to close later this year, pending completion of standard due diligence and regulatory activities.

Roseburg acquired the Taylorsville particleboard plant from Georgia-Pacific in 2006 in an expansion of the company’s composite panel business. The Taylorsville plant is now among the oldest particleboard mills in North America, and the plant’s press equipment and technology have aged to the point that it can no longer compete with newer domestic particleboard mills and the influx of imported products. The plant currently employs approximately 100 team members. Roseburg will work with local resources to assist affected team members as the closure date approaches.

“The decision to permanently close a plant is always difficult, and we know this closure will have a significant impact on our team members,” Roseburg’s Chief Operating Officer Stuart Gray says. “Unfortunately, our Taylorsville mill is no longer able to compete in a business segment that is dominated by modern mills that are more efficient and less costly to operate. We are very encouraged that the sale of the plant will provide jobs in the future, and that we will continue to serve our customers with product from our particleboard mill in Simsboro, La.

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Timberlab Opens Glulam Facility

Timberlab Opens Glulam Facility

Timberlab, a nationwide provider of mass timber systems, is opening its second glued laminated timber fabrication facility in Greenville, SC. Timberlab’s goal is to provide the Eastern U.S. with a more regional platform for a sustainable, low-carbon building material and accelerate the mainstream adoption of mass timber construction to benefit the planet and its people.

The newly renovated 75,000 sq. ft. East Coast facility began operations in April and expects to be at full capacity by the second quarter of 2024. Staffed by 30 manufacturing and timber professionals, the Timberlab facility is the largest of its kind planned in the region, according to the company. The facility is equipped to produce an estimated 1MMSF annually once at full capacity.

“Greenville was selected due to its close proximity to an abundance of southern yellow pine that is durable, renewable, and fast-growing and—mainly because of that—has emerged as the species of choice for producers east of the Mississippi River,” says Manufacturing Director Jared Revay. “There are a significant number of glulam producers throughout the Southeast who need a value-add partner, like Timberlab, in order to fully participate in the commercial, prefabricated mass timber industry. As we saw in the Pacific Northwest, our Eastern U.S. manufacturing center is expected to positively impact the Southeast with an expanded supply chain.”

The company notes that in the past five years, the number of projects incorporating mass timber has doubled every two years, and this trend is expected to continue for the next 15 years. Timberlab expects the adoption rate in key areas along the Eastern seaboard to outpace this projection. Glulam columns and beams for the University of Arkansas’ Institute for Integrative and Innovative building in Fayetteville, Ark. will be the first components fabricated in the East Coast facility.

“There is an existing network of timber suppliers and glulam manufacturers in the Southeast that have been operating for decades with limited opportunities to deploy their product,” says Timberlab President Chris Evans. “The CNC fabrication is currently the significant pinch point in the mass timber supply chain and where Timberlab will make a tremendous impact not only for suppliers but also in the adoption of this sustainable building system.”

Timberlab opened its first location in Portland, Ore. in 2020 where it annually produces 800,000 sq. ft. of fabricated glulam components. By replicating its successful West Coast business model, the East Coast facility will support the Southeast’s trajectory as a new regional powerhouse for mass timber construction.

“Our intention is to expand the supply chain and, thereby, reduce the cost of mass timber structures, ultimately promoting the deployment of timber for commercial buildings along the Eastern seaboard, particularly in the office, multifamily, civic, and higher education sectors,” Evans says.

In addition to its custom fabrication services, Timberlab also dedicates a team to pursue mass timber innovation and research. The firm partners with Clemson University and other universities as well as the U.S. Forest Service to advance the adoption of mass timber construction. Areas of focus have included fire testing, vibration testing, and seismic load testing for tall timber buildings.

Timberlab expects to tap local trade schools, community colleges, and universities to fulfill job opportunities, offering new career paths in engineering and fabrication. The company will employ up to 30 prefabrication and shop technicians, CNC machinists and programmers, and operations positions. In addition to engineers and fabricators, Timberlab’s robust construction crews travel nationally to install the firm’s mass timber structures. “A key to our success in this industry is that our team is vertically integrated,” Revay adds.

Timberlab evolved from Swinerton, a leading general contractor with offices across the country and early adopters and innovators of mass timber construction.

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Luoma Announces Retirement

Luoma Announces Retirement

Luoma Announces Retirement

Longtime executive and manager in the wood products industry, for years with LP, Brian Luoma announced he is retiring at the end of 2023 from his position as president and CEO of The Westervelt Co.

Luoma joined Alabama-based Westervelt as president and CEO in 2017, and has been instrumental in the company’s expansion of its lumber and timberlands divisions.

Prior to coming to Westervelt, Luoma worked in various capacities for Louisiana-Pacific for nearly three decades. He led LP’s EWP division for nearly 10 years and also headed its siding division.

Current Westervelt COO Cade Warner will succeed Luoma. Warner joined Westervelt in 2017 and has held roles in strategy and planning, sustainability and continuous improvement.

Luoma comments, “I am so blessed to have had a long and fulfilling career in the best industry in the world. Nancy and I will cherish all of the friendships we have made all over the industry. Friendships that will last a lifetime. We appreciate our time at LP and all of the great people there. Our time at Westervelt literally changed our lives. The people at Westervelt are in a league of their own. I am very proud of the next generation of leadership that will take the company to a new level. This is the right time for me and for Westervelt.”

From Fort Bragg, Calif., Luoma’s first job for LP, while attending college, was as an assistant log scaler in the log yard at the LP stud mill in Fort Bragg. He worked for LP each summer during college, and LP moved him into the woods as a forestry technician, laying out roads and timber harvesting plans.

Luoma graduated in Forestry from Humboldt State University in 1986. He became timberlands manager for LP in northern California, then was wood procurement manager for the Western Region. He later led LP’s Northern Operations OSB group out of Hayward, Wis., before moving to LP headquarters in Nashville as head of forestry and wood procurement and ultimately being promoted to head up engineered wood products and then siding operations.

Luoma plans to move back to Tennessee, where his children and grandchildren reside and where he has recently purchased a house in Murfreesboro.

“My wife told me I could go wherever I want but that she’s going to Tennessee. I decided I better go to Tennessee!” Luoma says tongue-in-cheek.

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Foundation Wants Ill-Fated Huber Project Reviewed

Huber Takes Another Swing

Huber Takes Another Swing

Huber Engineered Woods LLC (HEW), a subsidiary of J.M. Huber Corp., plans to build a new oriented strandboard (OSB) facility in Shuqualak, Noxubee County, Miss. The plant will increase the company’s production of its ZIP System and AdvanTech structural panels, while providing more than 150 direct new jobs.

“After considering multiple locations for what will be our most efficient and sustainable facility, we have decided to invest in and partner with Shuqualak, Mississippi, and the broader Noxubee County region,” HEW President Brian Carlson comments. “We will build a world-class workforce by leveraging the diverse talent in the surrounding communities. In line with our commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, we have already started our permitting process in Mississippi.”

The Shuqualak location will be HEW’s sixth OSB mill in the U.S.

“Huber Engineered Woods is committed to meeting demand for customers, and we are excited to do so in a state with a rich history of sustainable forestry and wood products manufacturing,” Carlson adds. “Our mill will create a market for the abundant supply of smaller diameter timber, creating environmentally focused efficiencies.”

The new facility, reportedly a $418 million investment, will be located on 551 acres and will feature some of the most advanced processes and technologies available for manufacturing operations. Initiation of project construction is pending various federal, state and local permits as well as economic development incentive approvals and/or processes.

Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance for infrastructure needs. MDA also certified the company for the Advantage Jobs Rebate Program, which is designated for eligible businesses that create new jobs exceeding the average annual wage of the state or county in which the company locates or expands.

In March, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Dept. of Environmental Quality released a joint public notice for Huber’s application for a permit pursuant to the Clean Water Act, and in May MDEQ released a Large Construction Notice of Intent under the Large Construction General Permit applied for by Huber at Shuqualak.

Huber had planned to build its sixth OSB plant in Cohasset, Minn., but after experiencing constant entanglements in the process from governing authorities, including a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision that would have caused further delay in the construction of the $440 million plant, Huber opted to pull out of the project and begin looking elsewhere.

Huber proposes to purchase stream and wetland credits from an approved mitigation bank for the Mississippi project.

Huber had announced in June 2021 its plan to build an OSB plant on nearly 200 acres at Cohasset. But in a ruling on an appeal from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (its reservation was a mile from the proposed plant) and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, the court of appeals said the Cohasset city planners’ earlier decision to only require an Environmental Worksheet Assessment (EAW) of the project, and not require a more detailed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) needed to be re-addressed by the city because of issues involving several acres of two public waters wetlands. The court said such wetlands were accorded greater protection under state law.

Huber operates OSB facilities in Maine, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

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