Minnesota Looking To Attract Mass Timber Producers

by | Aug 8, 2018 | News

A burgeoning industry based on a relatively new type of material may be coming to Minnesota. Known as mass timber, the material is an alternative to steel in building construction. While dozens of buildings constructed with the product are dotted around the country, the majority stand in the Pacific Northwest.

“This type of building product is new to the U.S.,” said Brian Brashaw, a program manager with the U.S. Forest Service. “It’s geared at taller buildings; it’s building more along the lines of four, five and six stories. That product is seeing a lot of growth in the United States.”

Now, local groups and governmental agencies are working on a plan to bring that industry to the Midwest. But before a production facility can set up shop in Minnesota, officials need to know if the right kind of raw materials can be produced in the region.

“This is a feasibility study where we’re taking a closer look at if the Midwest has the lumber production capacity and softwood lumber supply chain in place,” wrote Kristen Bergstrand, of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, in an email.

A survey is being sent to 11 sawmills in the region that will help gauge if the state can sustain a mass timber industry. APEX, the local business and economic development organization which is sending out the survey, wants to learn the grade and board footage that mills have produced for trees such as red pine, jack pine, spruce and balsam — all considered viable materials for mass timber.

Read more on this from the Duluth News Tribune at https://duluthnewstribune.com/business/manufacturing/4482202-minnesota-looking-attract-mass-timber-producers.

‘Plywood On Steroids’ Holds Great Potential For Northwest Economy

by | Oct 30, 2017 | News

Oregon and Southwest Washington are well-positioned to become a manufacturing hub for cross-laminated timber — an innovative building product sometimes called “plywood on steroids” — according to a new study prepared by Oregon BEST.

The 110-page analysis found Oregon has the potential to create 2,000 to 6,100 direct jobs making cross-laminated timber and related mass timber products, which use adhesives and layered wood to create massive panels used as walls, floors and roofs, or beams. Mid-rise office and residential buildings are now being made with CLT, providing a dramatically lower carbon footprint than buildings using concrete and steel. Some high-rise projects using CLT are in the works.

Studies show CLT also cuts costs, mostly because construction takes less time. That cost advantage is projected to grow. “The cost of wood as a building material and as the raw material for CLT is expected to stay stable in the near future, while concrete and steel prices are forecast to raise with their relative energy prices and carbon costs,” the report states.

Oregon BEST, which commissioned the study along with partners, is a state-supported nonprofit that works closely with academia to nurture the state’s clean-tech industry.

CLT was developed in Europe, and European and Canadian companies got into the field before their U.S. counterparts. But D.R. Johnson became the first U.S. company certified to manufacture CLT in 2015, and is making it at its Southern Oregon plant in Riddle.

From Sustainable Life: https://pamplinmedia.com/sl/376727-262480-plywood-on-steroids-holds-great-potential-for-oregon-economy-environment