SmartLam Eyes $22 Million Maine Expansion For CLT Production
The nation’s first manufacturer of cross-laminated timber plans to set up shop in Maine, with a goal of creating 100 jobs at a $22 million mill, officials said Friday.
SmartLam, LLC of Montana still seeks a mill site, but has committed to building a factory in Maine within 18 months. Founded in 2012, the company produces more than 1 million board feet of the engineered wood product per month and employs 40 people in Montana’s Flathead Valley, SmartLam President Casey Malmquist said. “It is down to two sites right now,” Malmquist said in a telephone interview on Friday. “I’m just waiting to get further feedback on both of those sites and then we will be making our decision.”
“I don’t want to disclose them because I don’t want to influence the deal,” he added. “I think if they can kind of come up organically on their own rather than be influenced by one another it would be a more straightforward deal.”
SmartLam is the second maker of cross-laminated timber, a composite wood strong enough to replace steel and concrete in some types of high-rise buildings, to announce Maine expansion plans this week.
LignaTerra Global LLC of Charlotte, North Carolina announced plans at Husson University on Tuesday to build a $30 million, 300,000-square-foot factory to produce CLT in Millinocket. The company hopes to break ground in July and start production in 12 months with more than 100 workers.
From Bangor Daily News: bangordailynews.com.
RELATED ARTICLES
Latest News
Mushrooms Replace Formaldehydes In Particleboard Manufacturing
An American design and material science company has developed an unlikely replacement for the toxic urea formaldehyde used in particleboard manufacturing: mushrooms. Ecovative Design has figured out how to replace urea formaldehyde, which is used…
Swanson Acquires Olympic Panel
Swanson Group Manufacturing LLC has acquired Olympic Panel Products in Shelton, Wash., a longtime panel manufacturing facility and top plywood overlay producer in North America. Swanson purchased the plant from Atlas Holdings subsidiary New Wood…
American Wood Council Awarded USDA Grant To Research Tall Wood Construction
The American Wood Council has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct research on the fire performance of mass timber buildings. AWC will partner with the National Fire…
Montana Senator Helps Secure $250,000 For SmartLam
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., helped secure a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for SmartLam, a cross-laminated timber manufacturer and distributor in Columbia Falls. In January, Tester wrote a letter of support…
Find Us On Social
Newsletter
The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.
Subscribe/Renew
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.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!