by Web Editor | Jul 20, 2016 | News
For years, it was known as the ugly duckling, cheaper alternative to plywood. One design maven described it as “like the turkey loaf of building materials.” But oriented strand board – OSB for short – has come into its own over the past 3 1/2 decades as a major player in North American wood-frame housing construction and is increasingly used for industrial and other applications.
Structural OSB panels – made of wood strands that are resin-bonded under high pressure and heat – are mostly used as floor, roofing or wall substrate in home building. They’re also getting play these days on fashionable interior-decoration websites as a “shabby-chic” finishing material.
Capitalizing on OSB’s rise like no other forest-products company is Toronto-based Norbord Inc. Norbord, once a diversified forestry company, has shed assets over the years and focused on OSB. Now boasting annual sales in the $1.5-billion (U.S.) range and a market capitalization of about $2.4-billion (Canadian), it bills itself as the world’s largest producer of OSB.
The $763-million acquisition in 2014 of Vancouver-based Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd. gave Norbord – whose operations were concentrated in the U.S. southeast – a strong presence in Western Canada as well as a foothold in the promising Japanese market.
Right now, the steadily growing number of housing starts in the United States is giving Norbord a big boost, and low-key, media-shy chief executive officer Peter Wijnbergen says there are major growth opportunities in Europe and Asia.
From The Globe And Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/forest-products-firm-norbord-riding-the-rising-wave-of-osb-sales/article30985989/
by Web Editor | Mar 7, 2016 | News
DR Johnson Lumber Co., based in the small Oregon town of Riddle, is poised at the forefront of what could be a revolutionary use of wood as a building material in the Northwest.
Don R. Johnson founded the mill in 1951. Following his death in 2010, his daughters Valerie Johnson and Jodi Westbrooks decided they needed to move the millworks company in a new direction. Their father had been quick to jump on laminated beam products early on and the millworks had manufactured them for decades. Following the lead of their father’s eye for innovation, Valerie and Jodi decided to expand the mill’s manufacturing through a division called Riddle Laminators to include a new product they had heard about.
They have since invested millions of dollars in machinery that is allowing DR Johnson to become the first manufacturer in the country certified to produce cross-laminated timber panels – a new take on existing technology and products in the wood construction industry. What makes their product so progressive is the use of new-growth softwoods like Douglas fir to produce lighter, stronger, more flexible panels in sizes able to make the construction process much more efficient. They also offer a replacement to typical steel or concrete framing.
“We’re limited to 10-foot-by-32-foot panels because of transportation issues, but we can go larger if we need to,” said Todd Black, DR Johnson sales manager. “We have computer-controlled router systems that can pre-cut door and window openings, so the panels come prefabricated, labeled (for point of installation) and ready for immediate installation. Because they’re stronger and lighter than steel or concrete, we’re not limited to three or four stories as wood-frame construction would be.”
CLT is starting to capture attention in Portland. A 12-story structure under construction in the Pearl District will be the tallest all-wood building in the U.S. The technology has already been used successfully in Europe, where buildings up to 22 stories have been constructed with the same type of panels.
From DJC Oregon: https://djcoregon.com/news/2016/03/03/newsmakers-2016-dr-johnson-lumber-company/
by Web Editor | Feb 22, 2016 | News
Oregon wood researchers hope to bring a new type of engineered lumber to market after tests to make sure it meets state building codes. Oregon State University has been notified that it will receive a $447,000 grant from the federal Economic Development Administration for the testing of cross-laminated timber, or CLT.
The testing will allow the development of manufactured wood products that meet state building codes so the products can be approved for the construction of large buildings, said Geoff Huntington, director of strategic initiatives for OSU’s College of Forestry.
“Our objective is to make CLT and other innovative uses of mass timber products technically feasible, economically viable and accessible alternatives for architects and developers seeking to use Oregon products to meet growing consumer demand for healthy, sustainable buildings,” he said. Plans for Oregon’s first cross-laminated timber buildings already are on the drawing boards.
CLT is composed of large wooden panels made with hundreds of pieces of wood, typically 2-by-4s or 2-by-6s laid perpendicular and glued together, Huntington said. The wooden panels are large, ranging from 10-feet-by-20-feet to 20-feet-by-40-feet. They can be used for walls, ceilings and floors, typically in buildings several stories tall, he said.
The product has been used in multistory buildings in Europe and Canada for several years, but the engineered wood hasn’t been approved for construction purposes in the United States, Huntington said.
From The Register-Guard: https://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/34077270-75/oregon-researchers-tout-potential-of-new-manufactured-wood-in-building-industry.html.csp
by Web Editor | Dec 9, 2015 | News
Massive U.S. industrial wood pellet exports to meet green energy goals in Europe is not a threat to the sustainability of U.S. Southern forests, says a new report from the pellet manufacturers.
Drawing from U.S. government and available market data, the report was commissioned by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) and the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association (USIPA) – three organizations representing the producers of wood pellets and their suppliers.
The report reveals that industrial pellet exports represent a very small part of forest harvests in the U.S. South, the groups say. Panel manufacturers have expressed concern that drawing too much wood pulp for fuel will raise prices on raw material for OSB and plywood.
• Total removal of wood in the U.S. South for all markets is 3.3% of the total forest inventory.
• Pellet exports represent 0.08% of the total inventory.
• In 2014, pine removals for industrial pellet production totaled 3.7 million tons or 0.3% of the pine pulpwood inventory and 0.09% of the total pine inventory.
• In 2014, hardwood removals for industrial pellet production totaled approximately 2.4 million tons or 0.2% of the hardwood pulpwood and 0.06% of the total hardwood inventory.
• In 2014, pellet exports from the U.S. South to Europe, which represent the vast majority of U.S. pellet exports, were 3.6 million metric tons, or 40% of Europe’s 9 million metric ton industrial pellet consumption.
• Future industrial demand for U.S. pellets overseas represents 0.3% of total forest inventory in the U.S. South.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/pricing-supply/infographic-using-wood-pellets-fuel-no-threat-forests-or-panel-makers?ss=wood,wood,wood_of_the_month,wood,pricing_supply,wood,components_sourcing,wood,panel_supply,wood,wood_veneer,wood,lumber_quotes_charts
by Web Editor | Dec 4, 2015 | News
Arauco has acquired 50 percent of Tafisa’s assets, including 10 composite panel mills in Europe and South Africa, for $150 million.
Announced Nov. 30, the acquisition does not include Tafisa’s North American operations and its laminates and components businesses, which will continue to be fully owned by parent firm Sonae Indústria.
When completed, the new company will be called Sonae-Arauco. According to information from Arauco, estimated annual sales for the new business are $900 million. Located in Spain, Portugal, Germany and South Africa, the 10 mills produce 4.2 million cubic meters of composite panel products and employ 3,000 people.
Sonae-Arauco’s production capacity will be about 460,000 m3 of OSB, 1.45 million m3 of MDF, 2.27 million m3 of particleboard and 100,000 m3 of sawn timber.
With the acquisition, Arauco says it is now the second largest producer in the wood panel global ranking, with an annual production of 9 million m3.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/arauco-buys-50-interest-tafisa-0?ss=wood,wood,wood_of_the_month,wood,pricing_supply,wood,components_sourcing,wood,panel_supply,wood,wood_veneer,wood,lumber_quotes_charts
