by Web Editor | Jan 13, 2016 | News
The American Wood Council says the International Code Council (ICC) Board of Directors approval of the formation of a Tall Wood Building Ad Hoc Committee.
The committee will be made up of stakeholders, code officials and other interested parties. The committee will study tall wood construction and may develop code changes to be submitted for the 2021 International Building Code. Tall wood is an industry term to identify the use of cross laminated timber (CLT) and other heavy timber manufactured wood products in building heights greater than six stories.
“Other nations have already seen the benefits of tall wood construction – from the low carbon footprint, ease of construction and reduced construction time.
“Wood products are made from renewable resources found abundantly in North America. AWC petitioned ICC for creation of the committee to research the building science of tall wood buildings, and are pleased that it is moving forward. This is an important step toward the advancement of tall wood in the United States, a carbon-sequestering alternative in construction.”
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/tall-wood-building-committee-will-work-2021-global-building-codes
by Web Editor | Jan 8, 2016 | News
KronotexUSA and its parent firm Swiss Krono Group will invest $230 million to build a high-density fiberboard mill and expand the company’s laminate flooring production in Barnwell, South Carolina, a move which will create 105 new jobs over the next few years.
Construction is scheduled to begin by mid-2016, with HDF operations to begin by summer 2018. Once completed, the company said the expansion will allow it to produce 300,000 cubic-meters of HDF per year, to be used for manufacturing laminate flooring and for sale to furniture, cabinet, fixture, door and other wood-based manufacturers. Kronotex’s annual laminate flooring capacity is expected to increase an additional 8 million square-meters.
Kronotex opened its laminate flooring facility in 2005 and was featured on WoodworkingNetwork.com in 2008. A $45 million expansion in 2011 about doubled the size of the plant, and in 2015 Kronotex underwent another expansion, adding equipment to do its own paper and overlay treating.
“We’ve been very happy with the quality of the workforce talent here in South Carolina. And we’re delighted to be able to employ more Americans here in Barnwell and grow our exceptional relationship with the local people, businesses and government,” said Norm Voss, former CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Kronotex USA Holdings Inc.
The addition of new jobs will increase the company’s workforce in South Carolina to 275 people. Additional funding for the project was provided by the Coordinating Council for Economic Development, which approved job development credits, plus a $1 million Rural Infrastructure Fund grant to Barnwell County to assist with the costs of real property improvements related to the project.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/kronotex-announces-230-million-laminate-flooring-panel-mill-expansion
by Web Editor | Jan 6, 2016 | News
When complete in 2017, the 18-storey (53m) tower, called Brock Commons, will house hundreds of students at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Unless overtaken by other ambitious timber towers now at design or proposal stage, the CAN$51.5m residence is set to be the world’s tallest, beating the 13-storey ‘Origine’ apartment block now being built in Quebec City.
The world’s tallest completed timber structure is the 10-storey Forte apartment block in Melbourne, Australia, completed in November 2012 by Lend Lease.
Construction on Brock Commons, designed by Acton Ostry Architects, started on 9 November and the building is set to open in September 2017. It will house 404 students in 272 studios and 33 four-bedroom units.
Earlier this year the provincial government of British Columbia passed a new regulation that allowed UBC to go over timber-structure height limits if the building met rigorous health and safety standards. The architects, Acton Ostry, and UBC building officials helped draft the regulation.
From Construction Manager: https://www.construction-manager.co.uk/international/worlds-tallest-timber-tower-going-vancouver/
by Web Editor | Dec 29, 2015 | News
Georgia-Pacific LLC announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell its engineered lumber business to Boise Cascade for $215 million, including working capital. The transaction is subject to standard regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.
“Georgia-Pacific is firmly committed to the building products industry. Although the engineered lumber business has been profitable and employees have done a great job running safe, productive assets and meeting our customers’ needs, it is not a large part of our overall building products division,” said Mark Luetters, Georgia-Pacific executive vice president–building products. “We believe this potential sale to an established player in the industry is in the best interest of our engineered lumber employees, customers and stakeholders.”
Once completed, the sale will include the engineered lumber operations located at Thorsby, Alabama, (approximately 230 employees) and Roxboro, North Carolina, (approximately 40 employees), along with a commercial sales and technical team.
From LBM Journal: https://www.lbmjournal.com/georgia-pacific-to-sell-engineered-lumber-business-to-boise-cascade/
by Web Editor | Dec 21, 2015 | News
New WOOD MARKETS five-year forecast calls for continued volatility as North American and global lumber markets continue to recover and grow.
In WOOD MARKETS’ new five-year forecast, the short-term outlook is that North American and global economies, as well as softwood lumber and panel markets, are all forecast to improve, but at a much slower pace than has been expected. What has also short-circuited the prospects of stronger demand is a slowdown in China and Japan, impacting export markets. And the new wildcard that caused U.S. dollar prices to plunge in 2015, especially in softwood lumber, was the rapid currency devaluations of almost all major lumber producers as compared to the U.S. dollar. All of these factors have changed the WOOD MARKETS outlook to one that expects more lacklustre demand and corresponding price growth through 2018. After that, it starts to look very good.
These details and further analysis of commodity lumber and panels was released last week in the report, WOOD MARKETS 2016 – The Solid Wood Products Outlook: 2016 to 2020 by International WOOD MARKETS Group, Vancouver BC.
The supply-side dynamics feature eroding sustainable timber harvests in key provinces in Canada, resulting in dramatically lower lumber production than in the previous decade. Canada’s total lumber output will start to flatten out by 2018 with no further increases expected – just as U.S. and global demand are expected to gain momentum.
On the U.S. side, the U.S. West Coast region continues to watch log export prices in China and Japan, as many domestic log prices are correlated with export prices – this can quickly tighten the wood supply for sawmills and plywood mills as export prices rise. The U.S. South is forecast to be the only region where any significant lumber and panel production will occur, mainly due its ample, under-utilized timberland base of southern yellow pine. As lumber and panel demand increases, it is forecast that the current depressed log prices will start to move higher to feed incremental wood consumption of the expected additional panel and sawmill production.
From Wood Markets: https://www.woodmarkets.com/global-malaise-in-demand-coupled-with-rising-production-stalls-price-movement-in-north-america/
by Web Editor | Dec 11, 2015 | News
Boise Cascade Company, one of the largest producers of plywood and engineered wood products in North America and a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of building products, is expanding its existing operations in Chester County. The company is investing $23.5 million in the facility, creating 52 new jobs in Chester, S.C.
In 2013, Boise Cascade acquired Chester Wood Products, effectively establishing the company’s first Palmetto State operations. Operating today as Chester Plywood, Boise Cascade has decided to expand its Chester County operations in an effort to better serve its growing customer base. With respect to its investment in the facility, which is located at 1445 Lancaster Highway in Chester, Boise Cascade has already begun installing new equipment and expanding the warehouse.
With a heritage dating back to 1957, and headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Boise Cascade manufactures engineered wood products, plywood, lumber and particleboard. As a national distributor, the company operates more than 30 distribution centers across the U.S.
Hiring for the new positions began in the third quarter of 2015, and will continue through the first quarter of 2016.
The Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved a $100,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund grant to Chester County to assist with the costs of real property improvements.
From the S.C. Department Of Commerce: https://sccommerce.com/news/press-releases/boise-cascade-company-expanding-chester-county-operations
