by Web Editor | Oct 24, 2018 | News
From October 21-27, 2018, we celebrate the value of America’s forests and recognize how vital they are to our well-being and national prosperity during National Forest Products Week. This week is recognized each year by a Presidential proclamation. At the USDA Forest Service, we work year round to create new opportunities for wood products that contribute to diversified rural economies and support sustainable forest management.
By supporting forest products markets, we have the opportunity to create safer communities by reducing wildfire risk, supporting rural economic development, and contributing to a more sustainable building sector. The Forest Service is working to develop the U.S. market for cross-laminated timber, or CLT, and other mass timber technologies.
CLT is a made from several layers of dried lumber boards stacked in alternating directions, glued and pressed to form rectangular panels. These panels have exceptional strength and stability and can be used as floors, walls and roofs in building construction, replacing or used along with traditional building materials such as concrete and steel. In fact, the International Code Council is examining whether or not tall wood buildings up to 18 stories will be included in the 2021 International Building Code. A final decision will be made later this year.
The state of Oregon has already adopted the proposed provisions for the International Code Council under its Statewide Alternate Method, and Washington State legislation already embraces mass timber construction. The U.S. Department of Defense is already using CLT in some of its on-base housing because of the incredible resiliency of the materials and their resistance to explosive forces.
We are on the precipice of major momentum in the marketplace with mass timber, with four factories in production, including two making architectural grade CLT; five factories coming online (either under construction or just completed); and three more factories recently announced in eight states. Compounded with the upcoming code decisions, we expect to see many more mass timber and CLT buildings in the near future.
From the USDA: https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2018/10/22/forest-service-celebrates-cross-laminated-timber-during-forest-products-week
by Web Editor | Sep 14, 2018 | News
Boise Cascade Company has entered into an agreement with Woodgrain Millwork to sell its northeast Oregon lumber mills in Pilot Rock and La Grande and the particleboard operations in Island City. The planned transaction does not include Boise Cascade’s plywood mill or the powerhouse and log utilization center, based in Elgin, OR.
Woodgrain is a manufacturer and supplier with a diverse product offering including moulding, door shop products, and window parts, headquartered in Idaho. “The sale to Woodgrain allows us to further focus on our veneer-based engineered wood products and plywood businesses,” said Mike Brown, senior vice president of operations, Boise Cascade Wood Products division. “Woodgrain is a family-owned company with a solid reputation in the industry. The products manufactured at these northeast Oregon facilities are a good fit with their business strategy.”
“Being a fully integrated company in each step of our supply chain has become one of our core strengths as a company,” said Kelly Dame, Woodgrain CEO. “Being able to grow the Woodgrain Lumber division is a key step in growing as a company. We are excited about the opportunity it offers.”
The details of the agreement were not disclosed and the transaction is contingent upon the results of the due diligence process, which is expected to take approximately 60 days.
by Web Editor | Sep 10, 2018 | News
Construction is underway in downtown Toronto on a multi-story mixed-use project that incorporates an innovative combination of glulam and cross-laminated timber (CLT).
The timber installation, scheduled for completion in mid-September, encompasses a combined floor and roof area of 3,800 square meters. The development, located at the southwest corner of Charles and Yonge streets, is thought to be the first significant contemporary “mass timber” project to proceed in the city’s downtown core.
By definition, mass timber construction uses large, prefabricated wood members for wall, floor and roof construction. These products include glue-laminated timber and CLT. “Timber construction is definitely staking a new claim, so many years after now century-old wood buildings were being constructed in the city,” said Gary Williams, president of Timber Systems Ltd.
The Markham, Ont.-based company was awarded a contract in November 2015 to both supply and install the timber for the four-story project which incorporates an existing heritage-designated building.
The project is being carried out for Shoppers Drug Mart, now owned by Loblaw Companies, by a team that includes Toronto-based architects Brook McIlroy and structural engineers Blackwell. The two firms have collaborated on wood construction projects in the past.
For more on this from ConstructConnect visit https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/projects/2018/09/toronto-timber-build-trendsetter-developers.
by Web Editor | Sep 7, 2018 | News
In a recent message from the National Hardwood Lumber Association encouraging member companies to contact representatives in Washington regarding the tariff situation, NHLA passed on this information from the Hardwood Federation on the importance of the wood products industry to the United States.
The wood products industry in the United States is an important contributor to the U.S. economy, accounting for approximately 4 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP. Wood products companies are among the top ten manufacturing sector employers in 47 states, producing $210 billion in products annually.
The industry employs nearly 900,000 people; more than the automotive, chemicals and plastics industries. Many of them are in rural areas where employment opportunities are limited.
Hardwood is an important sub-sector of the wood products industry and has a heavy reliance on export markets for its survival.
In 2017, U.S. hardwood producers shipped $4.04 billion worth of U.S. products to global markets; $2.09 billion to Greater China, including Hong Kong and Macau. Combined, China, the NAFTA countries and the E.U. make up 82 percent of hardwood exports. Dependable, long-term export markets are vital to the sustainability of the hardwood industry. In 2017, the U.S. had a trade surplus of $1.475 billion in hardwood lumber, up from $1.1 billion in 2015.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/how-important-us-wood-products-industry?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
by Web Editor | Aug 29, 2018 | News
USNR is expanding its operations in Eugene. The investment moves the existing operation to a new, expanded building that will be outfitted to meet the growing needs of USNR’s business.
The Eugene location is home to a team that supports and advances optimization and veneer handling activities. It is the U.S. base for USNR’s optimization technology, from hardwood, shop and moulding, and green lumber grade scanning, to veneer scanning and grading. From logs to lumber and blocks to dry veneer, the Eugene team has a key role in the development of innovations for the solid wood and engineered wood industries.
The new location encompasses more than 60,000 square feet, situated on 3.2 acres. The majority of the space will house electrical manufacturing, with the remainder for engineering, R&D and training facilities, warehousing and sales offices. The new location is expected to be operational in January 2019.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/usnr-expands-oregon-veneer-operation
by Web Editor | Aug 24, 2018 | News
First Mass Plywood Panel Gets APA Certification
Freres Lumber Company says it has achieved Mass Plywood Panels (MPP) certification under the
APA – The Engineered Wood Association’s ANSI/APA PRG 320 standard.
The product is the first Mass Timber Panel constructed entirely out of Structural Composite Lumber (SCL) worldwide, making it much more cost effective than CLT (cross-laminated timber) options, according to a Freres news release. Mass Timber Panels will allow rapid construction of multi-story structures with pre-fabricated structural wood panels, the release says.
The predictable char rate of mass timber panels allows buildings to be built taller with wood, allowing multi-story structures out of wood up to 18 stories anticipated in the next iteration of the International Building Code (IBC). Wood structures carry a smaller carbon footprint, provide greater sustainability, faster construction with less waste and are an economically favorable construction method compared to concrete and steel, Freres says.
The company says it is continuing to refine the design values of the product line, and will roll out additional MPP product configurations.
From Building Design + Construction: bdcnetwork.com
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