Timber Construction Has Mill Machinery Rolling

by | Jun 13, 2017 | News

Timber construction is opening a new market that has been keeping lumber and milling machinery busy at a growing number of wood products companies, including Montreal’s Nordic Structures, Sauter Timber in Rockwood, Tennessee, SmartLam, in Columbia Falls, Montana, and D.R. Johnson, in Portland, Oregon.

Oregon-based D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations, a subsidiary of D.R. Johnson, specializes in the manufacture of cross-laminated timber, or CLT, and glue-laminated beams from Douglas fir and Alaskan yellow cedar. D.R. Johnson Wood was the first U.S. company to receive APA/ANSI certification to manufacture structural CLT panels – and CEO Valerie Johnson plans to help grow the U.S. market.

D.R. Johnson has received the first U.S. certification to manufacture cross-laminated timbers (CLT) under a new standard approved last year by the American National Standards Institute. D.R. Johnson is one of only three North American companies certified by the Engineered Wood Association to construct CLT for use in buildings.

Johnson’s company employs 125 at a traditional sawmill and laminating plant, which was recently expanded by 13,000 square feet for increased CLT production. They’re currently fielding calls from hopeful builders, and manufacturing samples to be tested for fire safety and structural quality. One recent new wood construction project is a 14-story wooden apartment tower being built in Portland, Oregon.

From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/pricing-supply/timber-construction-has-lumber-milling-machinery-rolling

Vaagen Timbers Gets Into CLT

by | Apr 7, 2017 | News

Vaagen Timbers Gets Into CLT

 

Sawmillers have formed Vaagen Timbers, which will construct a mass timber facility in Colville, Wash. The new business will produce cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue laminated beams (glulam).

Vaagen Timbers is partnering with Vaagen Bros. Lumber, Inc. for the supply of lumber to the new facility, which will be adjacent the Vaagen Bros. Lumber sawmill in Colville.

“Although the entities will be operated separately, this connection will add value to both businesses,” comments Russ Vaagen. “This will allow Vaagen Bros. and Vaagen Timbers to tell the small log story from the forest to better buildings.”

The state-of-the-art facility will be designed to produce multiple sizes of straight glulam beams up to 60 ft. long. CLT production will be up to 12 in. thick, 4 ft. wide, and 60 ft. long. Operations are scheduled to begin in 2018.

Production capacity numbers are still being tested, but forecasted capacity on two shifts for two press lines will consume approximately 50MMBF per year. Once Vaagen Timbers develops market demand, plans for a second 8 ft. press will provide a more diversified product offering.

“This is exciting for all involved including the forest, the community, and the future of eco-friendly buildings in North America,” Vaagen adds.

Bert and Bud Vaagen founded Vaagen Brothers Lumber in the early 1950s and the business has not only been a sawmilling mainstay in the Northwest since then, but is recognized as one of the leaders of the industry. Current President Duane Vaagen was Timber Processing’s Man of the Year in 1989.

 

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Portland State University Tests CLT’s Seismic Strength

by | Jan 4, 2017 | News

When the 12-story Framework building planned at Portland’s Northwest 10th Avenue and Glisan Street is complete, it may look to passers-by like any other Pearl District condo tower.

But it will hold a special distinction in the sustainable building world: the nation’s tallest building made primarily from mass timber (long pieces of timber, glue-laminated together).

Designers and engineers across the country are chasing an innovative style of mass timber construction pioneered in Europe, which they believe will go a long way to reduce the carbon footprint of large buildings.

The breakthrough came with the development of cross-laminated timber or CLT: Large, layered flat panels used as floors and walls (rather than just beams as vertical posts).

As Oregon moves on multiple fronts to take the national lead in all-wood construction for tall buildings, Portland State University stepped up early to do basic research. PSU won a three-year, $400,000 National Science Foundation grant to study two aspects of mass timber construction: its sustainability and how well it resists earthquakes.

From Sustainable Life: https://pamplinmedia.com/sl/337694-214716-psu-tests-new-green-woods-seismic-strength

D.R. Johnson Ready To Serve New Wood Building Market

by | Oct 7, 2016 | News

If the vast potential of timber construction isn’t obvious, a new exhibit at Washington D.C.’s National Building Museum aims to clear things up. Running through May 2017, the USDA-sponsored Timber City is drawing attention to the recent boom in a worldwide movement toward timber construction.

It’s opening up a new market that has been turning the mills at a growing number of wood products companies, including Montreal’s Nordic Structures, Sauter Timber in Rockwood, Tennessee, and D.R. Johnson.

Oregon-based D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations, a subsidiary of D.R. Johnson, specializes in the manufacture of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated beams from Douglas fir and Alaskan yellow cedar. They’re the first U.S. company to receive APA/ANSI certification to manufacture structural CLT panels – and they hope to help grow the U.S. market.

D.R. Johnson is one of only three North American companies certified by the Engineered Wood Association to construct CLT for use in buildings. The company employs 125 at a traditional sawmill and laminating plant, which was recently expanded by 13,000 square feet for increased CLT production. They’re currently fielding calls from hopeful builders, and manufacturing samples to be tested for fire safety and structural quality.

D.R. Johnson says the system for constructing CLT involves assembling prefabricated parts, speeding construction, and paring labor costs. The company partnered with wood processor manufacturer USNR to build a custom panel press for CLT.

From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/events-contests/event-coverage/timber-construction-exhibition-shines-light-industry