U.S. Forest Service Celebrates CLT During Forest Products Week

by | 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

Wood Construction Pushes Forward On Both Sides Of The Border

by | Aug 22, 2018 | News

Wood Construction Pushes Forward On Both Sides Of The Border

 

Mass timber construction is making waves on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, but factors in each country mean a different pace of progress.

The state of Washington is rapidly moving forward on both green construction and use of advanced wood products, but Washington State Department of Commerce forest products sector lead Brian Hatfield said the state isn’t necessarily ahead of its Canadian neighbor. “In some ways, British Columbia is ahead of us in terms of low carbon building materials,” he said.

In 2017, the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services oversaw a pilot project that built 20 kindergarten through Grade 3 classrooms using cross-laminated timber (CLT) in five school district sites in Washington. “We had a pilot district for five school districts, all single-story schools, and those have gone pretty well. They went up quickly and everyone was impressed,” Hatfield said.

The state’s 2016 supplemental capital budget included $5.5 million for the pilot project, which also measures the efficiencies of using engineered wood products through the construction process.

While Washington is taking steps to increase wood use in construction, the Province of British Columbia has pushed for mass timber and wood-focused design for the previous decade. In 2009, the Province of British Columbia put the Wood First Act into practice, which requires provincially funded projects to use wood as a primary construction material. The B.C. building code was also modified in 2009 to allow for wood buildings of up to six stories.

From Journal Of Commerce: canada.constructconnect.com.

 

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Boise Cascade Acquires Norman Distribution

by | May 10, 2018 | News

Boise Cascade Co., Boise, Id., has agreed to purchase Norman Distribution, Inc., a distributor of engineered wood, commodity lumber, and specialty building materials based in Medford, Ore.

“Norman Distribution has built an excellent reputation as a strong industry partner throughout its four decades in this business,” said Nick Stokes, executive VP of building materials distribution. “The positive relationships they have built with their customers and suppliers have been a key to their success. We are very pleased to welcome their team to Boise Cascade and strengthen our presence in the Oregon, Northern California, and Nevada markets.”

The entire staff is expected to remain, under the banner Boise Cascade Building Materials Distribution Medford Branch.

“Norman Distribution is excited and proud to join Boise Cascade,” said owner Jeff Norman. “We were one of the first customers of their EWP mill in White City, Ore., which began operating in 1991. This is a great strategic and cultural fit, which will allow us to grow our product line and better serve our customers.”

The acquisition is expected to be complete in the coming weeks.

From Building Products Digest: https://www.building-products.com/article/boise-cascade-buys-norman/

Boise Cascade Acquires Tennessee Distributor

by | Mar 14, 2018 | News

Boise Cascade Acquires Tennessee Distributor

 

Boise Cascade Company is acquiring Lumberman`s Wholesale Distributors, a Nashville, Tenn.-based distributor of engineered wood products, commodity lumber items, and specialty building materials. The acquisition is expected to be complete in the coming weeks. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are very pleased to welcome the Lumberman`s associates to Boise Cascade. They have been an excellent distributor for nearly 50 years,” said Nick Stokes, executive VP of Boise Cascade Building Materials Division. “This location will allow us to strengthen our nationwide presence and satisfy a growing demand for our products and services in the Tennessee Valley and Central Kentucky markets.”

Founded in 1969, Lumberman’s supplies pro dealers, millwork houses, and manufacturers. “We are excited to join Boise Cascade,” said Garey Keltner, president, Lumberman`s Wholesale. “We believe there is a strong cultural and strategic fit that will allow us to grow and continue to serve our customers.”

Last month Boise Cascade reported fourth quarter 2017 net sales of just over $1 billion, up 19% from fourth quarter 2016 net sales of $919 million. For the full year, the engineered wood products and building products supplier reported sales of $4.43 billion, a 13% increase from sales of $3.91 billion in 2016.

The Boise, Idaho-based company also recently reported a fourth quarter net income of $19.1 million, soaring well above a fourth quarter 2016 net income of $4 million. For the full year Boise Cascade reported a net income of $83 million, increasing 117% from a net income of $38.3 million in 2016.

From HBS Dealer: hbsdealer.com

 

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Rise Of Mass Timber Buildings Showcase Its Increasing Credibility

by | Jan 29, 2018 | News

New mass timber products are becoming more widespread and encouraging builders, designers, and engineers to search for the best applications for mass timber initiatives. A few of the mass timber building products available today include:
• Cross-laminated timber
• Nail-laminated timber
• Glue-laminated timber
• Dowel-laminated timber

As they test the capabilities of these materials, designers are looking to existing mass timber buildings around the world for examples and inspiration.

Canadian and European researchers and architects began experimenting with the design of mass timber buildings in the 1970s. European timber projects have shown that weight matters with structural systems, and mass timber structures weigh up to one-third as much as their concrete counterparts. This fact has made wood construction a viable prospect in places where building height and weight are limited, such as city utilities, subway tunnels, and underground rail yards.

Due to their lighter weight, mass timber buildings are more resilient in seismic zones. They carry less inertia, so the possibility of destructive swaying goes down. This approach was recently applied in the Brock Commons tower, an 18-story college residence designed for the University of British Columbia by Canadian firm Acton Ostry Architects.

The 173-foot-tall tower combines glue-laminated columns, cross-laminated timber floor slabs, dual concrete cores, and steel connectors. The cores help to counteract wind-generated and seismic forces while anchoring the mass timber building in place. It meets structural and fire-safety regulations by utilizing a specially designed set of interdependent finishes and building materials.

From CRL: https://c-r-l.com/content-hub/mass-timber-buildings-credibility/