The 4,200-capacity engineered wood mass-timber facility is slated to open in 2021 as home court for Vandal basketball programs and campus and community events.
Planning for the structure has brought in wood industry partners from across the state to take part in the project. These critical partners support the building as an example of what can be done in the realm of modern wood construction.
U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen praises the wooden construction for it’s sustainability and the economic opportunities it creates.
“Every piece of timber from this building will be harvested from the state of Idaho,” says Isakson.
One Equity Partners (OEP), a middle market private equity firm, announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisitions of USNR and Wood Fiber Group. OEP reports it subsequently merged the two businesses, with projected…
Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World January 2022 The staff at Panel World magazine is in full in-person-conference mode in preparation for the eighth Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) to…
Industry stakeholders of all types worked to supply materials for the recently opened ICCU Basketball Arena at the University of Idaho in Moscow. The 4,000 seat facility, which opened in October 2021, incorporates several innovative…
Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World November 2021 Given that Panel World is published six times per year, the November issue before your eyes represents the final issue of 2021. I’ve read through the…
Sherwin-Williams is acquiring Specialty Polymers, Inc., a leading manufacturer and developer primarily of water-based polymers used in architectural and industrial coatings and other applications. The business operates production facilities in Woodburn, Ore. and Chester, SC…
Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Tolko Industries announced its Armstrong and Soda Creek lumber operations would take downtime during the weeks of May 27 and June 3.
“High log costs and weak market conditions continue to impact our lumber operating footprint in British Columbia,” says Vice President of Solid Wood, Troy Connolly. “While we prefer to remain operational, we must manage the business responsibly and ensure we are sustainable for the long run.”
Connolly says employees were informed of the decision and local HR representatives are available to assist them with any questions they may have.
“We do not make these decisions lightly,” says Connolly. “We know we have great people working at these operations and this is in no way a reflection on them or their commitment. However, industry conditions in B.C. are challenging right now and could be for some time.”
Pino Pucci, Vice President, Tolko Marketing and Sales assured customers that Tolko’s Marketing and Sales team “will continue to support our customers and do our best to minimize any impacts as a result of these operations taking downtime.”
A 28-year
program to monitor logging Best Management Practices (BMPs) implementation on
east Texas timber harvest sites shows overall 93.8% BMP implementation in 2018
across all land ownerships.
That’s a solid improvement in the last 20 years—the
implementation rate was 87% in 1998—and remains at a high rate since the last
survey in 2015 when overall BMP implementation was 94%.
Every three years, the Texas A&M Forest Service conducts
BMP implementation monitoring on 150 randomly selected forested tracts across east
Texas where silvicultural activities occurred. The program is funded by Clean
Water Act Section 319(h) grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
through the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and seeks to measure
the degree of BMP implementation by forest landowners, silvicultural
contractors, forest industry and government agencies.
The recently completed round of monitoring covered sites in
33 counties between March 2017 and December 2018. Averaging all 150 scores,
overall BMP implementation on the sites was 93.8%. In general, implementation
was highest on sites under public ownership, with an overall implementation of
99%. Corporate lands (commercial landowners without wood processing facilities)
scored 95.3% overall, and family forest owners scored 91.1%.
As the program has consistently shown since its inception, the sites with the highest rates of BMP implementation were those where a forester was involved, the contractor had attended BMP training and the landowner was already familiar with BMPs. Other factors that boost BMP implementation are having BMPs in the sale contract, the timber purchased by an SFI mill, and a landowner forest management plan.
Overall BMP implementation has remained steady the last several years, the report says. The last time overall Texas BMP implementation fell below 90% was in 2000, at just under 89%. The highest recorded implementation rate so far in the program was 94.1% in 2011.
According to the report, most impressive is the considerable
progress demonstrated by family forest owners since monitoring began in the
early 1990s. This year, the 91.1% BMP implementation rate on family forest owner
sites represents a 31% increase since 1992. This improvement demonstrates that
ongoing education and training strategies geared towards loggers, landowners
and foresters were the driving force behind the increases in BMP implementation.
A Texas A&M on-line archive has an information-filled web
page detailing the program and a full lineup of every report beginning in 1992.
To find out more, visit https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/BMPMonitoring
The Michigan State University STEM Teaching and Learning Facility will be the first in Michigan to use mass timber wood products, rather than concrete and/or steel, for its load-bearing structure. The $100 million facility will be constructed of glue-laminated wooden columns and cross-laminated timber (CLT), a relatively new product for the floors and ceilings.
“We compared mass timber with other framing methods and were intrigued by how far wood has come as a building material,” said John LeFevre, MSU’s Planning, Design and Construction director. “A major advantage is the speed of construction – the panels can be assembled very quickly.” The new building will be constructed around the former Shaw Lane Power Plant. Two new mass timber wings will offer 117,000 sq. ft. of modern teaching labs, responding to STEM course demand, which has increased 40% in the last 10 years at MSU. The building is slated to open in fall 2020 with classes beginning in January 2021. The wood panels are being manufactured in Quebec and will arrive on campus in April.
Currently there is no CLT manufacturing in Michigan, although it’s a prime place for future development. In addition to economic development, the building will have environmental benefits, especially for locking up carbon that otherwise would be in the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. “I am excited to see the educational, research and outreach opportunities that the building itself promises to many academic units and to our land-grant mission,” says Ron Hendrick, dean of MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “It is an interdisciplinary platform encompassing forestry, construction management, biosystems engineering and beyond, and can serve as a catalyst to develop this new technology in Michigan.
“Having a CLT manufacturer in Michigan would not only create green jobs using sustainable resources, but also provide the financial resources and incentives that are needed to restore and conserve healthy, diverse and productive forests that provide so many other benefits,” says Debbie Begalle, state forester and chief of the Forest Resources Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Boise Cascade has announced plans to expand its South Carolina operations with a new facility in Walterboro, with a $9 million investment that will create 30 new jobs. This new facility marks Boise Cascade’s first…
China’s BFP Orders Fine OSB Plant Chinese wood-based panel producer, A Beautiful Family Plate Making Co. Ltd. (BFP), has contracted with Dieffenbacher for a complete Fine OSB plant in Guangxi, China. Installation of BFP’s new…
Opened in fall 2022, the first mass timber commercial building in the U.S. capital city features more than 108,000 sq. ft. of mass timber. The building is an innovative retrofit at 80 M Street SE…
PART FOUR: This is the fourth of a four-part series summarizing the presentations delivered during the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) held this spring and hosted by Panel World in Atlanta…
Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Freres Lumber Company has been named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019, ranking as the fifth on the Most Innovative Company List in the Urban Development/Real Estate category.
The list honors the businesses making the most profound impact on both industry and culture, showcasing a variety of ways to thrive in today’s volatile world. Half of the companies on this year’s MIC 50 list are appearing for the first time.
“We are honored to receive this prestigious award and to be recognized for the innovation and application of our invention of Mass Plywood Panel (MPP),” said Rob Freres, president of Freres Lumber.
Freres Lumber’s MPP brings new innovation to the mass timber market, and was recently acknowledged for its revolutionary product with the awards of two new patents in the U.S. and Canada. MPP is the first and only mass timber panel constructed entirely out of Structural Composite Lumber (SCL) worldwide, which means it uses approximately 20 percent less wood, costs less, and is as strong as and lighter weight than competing products.
Fast Company’s editors and writers sought out groundbreaking businesses across 35 industries and every region. They also judged nominations received through their application process.
One Equity Partners (OEP), a middle market private equity firm, announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisitions of USNR and Wood Fiber Group. OEP reports it subsequently merged the two businesses, with projected…
Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World January 2022 The staff at Panel World magazine is in full in-person-conference mode in preparation for the eighth Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) to…
Industry stakeholders of all types worked to supply materials for the recently opened ICCU Basketball Arena at the University of Idaho in Moscow. The 4,000 seat facility, which opened in October 2021, incorporates several innovative…
Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World November 2021 Given that Panel World is published six times per year, the November issue before your eyes represents the final issue of 2021. I’ve read through the…
Sherwin-Williams is acquiring Specialty Polymers, Inc., a leading manufacturer and developer primarily of water-based polymers used in architectural and industrial coatings and other applications. The business operates production facilities in Woodburn, Ore. and Chester, SC…
Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Here’s how the new CalPlant I(CalAg) rice straw based MDF plant in Willows, California looked as of February 5, 2019, compliments of CEO Jerry Uhland. The $315 million facility is expected to start up in the third quarter and will have a production capacity of 140MMSF annually and process 275,000 tons of rice straw annually.
The Siempelkamp Group is realigning its Management Board to include seven members to bundle market-oriented core competencies together and integrate a modern management concept. Martin Scherrer, CEO of the Siempelkamp Group, will be working with…
Con-Vey, a leading provider of industrial automation and custom material handling equipment, has appointed industry veteran Jon Stults as its new sales manager. Stults, with nearly three decades of experience in the industry, will play…
Brad Thorlakson, President and CEO of Tolko Industries, has announced that Pino Pucci, Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Logistics will assume a newly created interim role as Tolko’s Chief Operating Officer. “This role has…
Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
