Code Officials Vote To Advance Mass Timber Proposals

by | May 4, 2018 | News

The International Code Council’s (ICC) Committee Action Hearings in Columbus, Ohio, have concluded with a clear endorsement of building codes that will enable the use of mass timber technologies in buildings ranging up to 18 stories. Though taller mass timber buildings are currently being built under various local codes, this move by the ICC ensures that model code provisions will be available to many more building officials.

Mass timber structures are generally built with large panels made of cross-laminated timber (CLT), nail-laminated timber (NLT), glue-laminated timber (Glulam) or structural composite lumber (SCL). The greater availability of CLT has provided new options for builders.

“The strength and fire resistance performance of mass timber structures is well understood and supported by substantial testing and data,” said Stephen DiGiovanni, P.E., Chair of the ICC’s Ad Hoc Committee on Tall Wood Buildings and fire protection engineer for the Clark County (NV) Department of Building and Fire Prevention. “As taller mass timber buildings become more widely deployed, it’s important that the International Building Code and the entire family of I-Codes remains at the forefront of emerging construction technologies, and continues to provide building and fire code officials with the tools they need to ensure the safety of the public and first responders.”

All buildings under the International Building Code (IBC) must meet specified fire performance standards, whether built of steel, concrete or mass timber. The 14 code provisions passed out of the ICC Committee Action Hearing established new fire resistance standards and procedures for mass timber that are more rigorous than comparable steel and concrete structures.

From Civil+Structural Engineer: https://csengineermag.com/code-officials-move-update-ibc-tall-mass-timber-buildings/

First Full CLT Building In California Opens

by | Apr 20, 2018 | News

First Full CLT Building In California Opens

 

The ribbon cutting ceremony by the Plumas County Health and Humans Services Department for its new Biomass Boiler Building in Quincy, CA on April 6, marked the opening of the first building in California made entirely of cross-laminated timber (CLT). CLT is establishing itself as a sustainable building material with a reduced carbon footprint and an inviting, natural aesthetic. Whereas limited uses of CLT were previously implemented across the state of California in buildings as a roof or floor system, the Biomass Boiler Building was constructed using CLT panels for the complete structural system to resist gravity and lateral forces, such as wind or a seismic event.

Owned by Plumas County, the industrial Biomass Boiler Building located adjacent to the Health and Human Services Department in Quincy, CA, includes approximately 2,000 SF of space. It houses an innovative biomass system using organic and sustainable waste material to generate heat for the Health and Human Services Building as an alternative to fossil fuels. The boiler is only the second of its kind in the U.S.; it is a community-scale, biomass boiler unit that runs on hog fuel, a coarse woody material generated as a byproduct directly from forest restoration and management activities.

Camille Swezy, Wood Utilization Program Lead of Sierra Institute, remarked, “The community of Quincy and Plumas County officials are very pleased with the new Biomass Boiler Building constructed entirely of CLT, now housing an innovative biomass heating system. Timber and wood products development is deeply engrained in Quincy’s roots, and the community is now thrilled to have a demonstration of wood utilization in a practical small-scale application.”

Originally, the Biomass Boiler Building structure was planned to be constructed with a prefabricated metal building system. Plumas County officials and the Sierra Institute decided to take the project in another direction to demonstrate the strengths and benefits of building with timber while also incorporating Plumas County’s most abundant natural timber resources. Plumas County officials worked with the design team to integrate mass timber into the building’s design.

 

Latest News

Weyco Expects Strong Growth

Weyco Expects Strong Growth Weyerhaeuser Co. hosted an Investor Day in December and outlined the company's strategic growth plan and financial...

Find Us On Social

Newsletter

The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

Subscribe Now
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.

Complete the form
Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!

Contact Us

Katerra Receives $865 Million To Fund Massive CLT Plant

by | Apr 4, 2018 | News

Katerra, a high-tech construction firm, has secured $865 million in funding from SoftBank Vision Fund. That money will go toward ongoing projects in the U.S., like the company’s planned cross-laminated timber plant in Washington, as well as research and development activities.

Katerra says its upcoming 250,000-square-foot Washington plant will help scale up U.S. production of CLT so that the material can be more broadly adopted across the construction industry. Katerra’s manufacturing presence in the region will provide hundreds of jobs and stimulate additional jobs through the larger supply chain and associated industries, including design, engineering, and construction. More than 150 construction-specific jobs will be created to build the CLT factory.

Cross-laminated timber, or CLT, is a key ingredient in the so-called timber towers – multi-story high rises built of wood, some reaching 18 stories or higher. Katerra says CLT is valued due to its low carbon footprint and strength.

“CLT… is a material that creates beautiful spaces, is designed for manufacturing, and is sustainable all at the same time,” said Michael Marks, chairman and co-founder of Katerra. “This material represents a great opportunity to create new value within the construction industry and will be central to many of the projects we’ll be designing and building. We feel very comfortable and excited, particularly with the knowledgeable team we have, to make the jump into manufacturing mass timber. We are ready to help bring mass timber to the mainstream of U.S. construction.”

Katerra is already applying its high-tech construction techniques to manufacture building sections in an existing Phoenix factory, in processes similar to auto plants. The Phoenix plant uses CR Onsrud and Laguna machinery, and fabricates rooms and building sections, including cabinetry, plumbing and wiring.

From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/katerra-receives-865-million-fund-massive-cross-laminated-timber?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news

Washington OK’s Mass Timber Construction For State Building Codes

by | Mar 23, 2018 | News

Washington State legislators changed building codes in new legislation, a move expected to increase in the use of mass timber products in commercial and residential construction.

The Washington Forest Protection Association says the move will boost business for rural communities and forest landowners and will lead to an increase in the use of mass timber products in commercial and residential construction.

Mass timber products like cross-laminated timber (CLT) have been on the upswing in Washington in recent years, with Vaagen Brothers Lumber of Colville. Wash., and Katerra, a California company both announcing CLT factories in Eastern Washington. The material is increasingly being used in buildings around the state, according to the Washington Forest Products Association.

For Katerra, founded in 2015, CLT is an element in a broader strategy for resetting the building and construction industry. The company announced $865 million Series D funding round led by the SoftBank Vision Fund to fund its new plant in Washington, and it has already accumulated more than $1.3 billion in bookings for new construction, spanning the multi-family, student and senior housing, and hospitality sectors. It already has a fully operational manufacturing facility in Phoenix.

“The $12 trillion construction industry is extremely fragmented with tens of thousands of companies using minimal levels of technology. While labor-productivity growth has skyrocketed in the overall global economy, the construction industry has averaged only 1% annual productivity growth over the past two decades,” said Jeffrey Housenbold, managing partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers. New investors in Katerra’s latest the round include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a private investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management LLC, Tavistock Group, Navitas Capital, DivcoWest, and others.

Read more on this from Woodworking Network at https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/washington-state-wil-revise-building-codes-okay-mass-timber.

To MPP Or CLT? That Is The Question

To MPP Or CLT? That Is The Question

by | Mar 6, 2018 | Taking Stock

To MPP Or CLT? That Is The Question

Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-In-Chief, Panel World March 2018

It’s no coincidence that Freres Lumber’s new Mass Plywood Panel (MPP) plant in Lyons, Ore. is the cover story of this issue—the same issue that is distributed April 13-14, 2018 at the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) in Atlanta.

When you’re promoting your magazine at a conference & expo event, it’s nice to make a splash with the cover story. We think we’ve succeeded. After all, it’s the only MPP plant in the world, and it’s built by a highly respected family owned business that has been best known for its softwood veneer and plywood operations in Oregon. In other words, there’s nothing flash-in-the-pan about this project.

We appreciate the Freres family allowing our editor Dan Shell to visit the mill in late February. We even held up printing the magazine until Dan returned and wrote the article.

Vice Presidents Rob Freres and Tyler Freres will speak at PELICE on Saturday morning, April 14. They’ll be part of a program that also includes Senior Product Engineer Steve Lieberman and Operations Manager Karl Aicher of IB X-Lam USA, which is building the first southern pine cross laminated timber (CLT) plant in the world at Dothan, Ala. We’re anxious to write an article about that one, too.

We don’t think it will be Ali v. Frazier, but there may be some punches thrown and taken between MPP and CLT. All in good spirit of course, as everybody stands to benefit from new building markets.

Those speakers are but four of the 40 on tap to participate and speak on a range of subjects at the sixth PELICE. The agenda appears on pages 24-25 of this issue, and we’re extremely pleased with it, and thankful that so many industry experts are willing to commit their time to prepare a presentation, travel to Atlanta and deliver it.

Meanwhile, on the Grand Ballroom North floor will be 94 exhibitors that have weighed in as Gold, Silver or Bronze sponsors. A list of those companies appears on page 22. If you’re looking for some technology, you’ll find it in this group of impressive companies.

PELICE is the only conference that brings together representatives and companies from all of the primary production segments of the wood products industry—veneer, plywood, OSB, particleboard, MDF, engineered wood products. Fortunately, we’re at a point in time when all of those sectors seem to be doing well, as housing starts continue to edge upward and take interior construction with it.

As busy as you are at home, you won’t be disappointed if you venture to the Omni Hotel at CNN Center. For that matter, bring a lot of people and hold a meeting when you’re not attending PELICE.

We look forward to seeing you.

RELATED ARTICLES

PANEL WORLD SEPTEMBER 2020

PELICE DRAWS POWERFUL SPEAKERS IN ATLANTA

FRERES HAS TAIHEI HORIZONTAL PRESS GOING

 

Latest News

Weyco Expects Strong Growth

Weyco Expects Strong Growth Weyerhaeuser Co. hosted an Investor Day in December and outlined the company's strategic growth plan and financial...

Find Us On Social

Newsletter

The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

Subscribe Now
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.

Complete the form
Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!

Contact Us