by Web Editor | Feb 17, 2016 | News
A new kind of engineered lumber is being tested at the University of Maine. This new “plywood on steroids” could compete with other construction materials like concrete and steel, and this new industry may help add value back into Maine’s forests.
“It would be a new market, it would be a new factory, sort of like making furniture, except it’s really big pieces,” said Steve Shaler, director of the School of Forest Resources at UMaine.
The new market would be for cross laminated timber, an engineered plywood created and tested at the University of Maine. CLT is made with different types of wood from Maine’s forests. It’s then pressed into a strong construction material, ready to use at construction sites.
“They come out as large panels, solid panels with windows and door openings pre-cut, maybe utility locations pre-cut, and they’re swung into place and connected together and they go up very very quickly with very little cutting on site, very little waste on site,” said Bill Davids, professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
“This is for taller structures, four stories, 10, there are buildings now that are made out of wood that are 10 stories tall,” said Shaler. The blocks of spruce, pine and fir were stress tested and broken under 10,000 pounds of force, which is stronger than normal lumber, but lighter than other building materials like steel and concrete.
From WCSH 6 News: https://www.wcsh6.com/news/plywood-on-steroids-changes-lumber-industry/41656511
by Web Editor | Jan 27, 2016 | News
A plywood and veneer mill being built in Springfield will provide 200 full-time jobs once fully operational.
Glendale, Oregon-based Swanson Group is building the new mill on the site of its former facility, which burned in a 2014 fire. According to information from the company, total costs, including permitting, construction and equipment, could exceed $55 million.
While the plant is expected to be up and running in April, it likely won’t reach full capacity until August. The new mill will be roughly 345,000 square feet, located at 1651 S F St., according to company spokesperson Cameron Stewart.
Several factors pushed the company to rebuild rather than lease a different facility, including Springfield’s “proven and dedicated workforce” and its nearby timber sources, according to Stewart.
When at full capacity, the plant will produce about 20 million square feet of veneer each month, which will be turned into 10 to 12 million square feet of plywood products. Annually, it will produce some 120 million square feet of finished plywood products.
From the Portland Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/sbo/2016/01/springfield-plywood-mill-rises-from-ashes-will.html
by Web Editor | Dec 21, 2015 | News
New WOOD MARKETS five-year forecast calls for continued volatility as North American and global lumber markets continue to recover and grow.
In WOOD MARKETS’ new five-year forecast, the short-term outlook is that North American and global economies, as well as softwood lumber and panel markets, are all forecast to improve, but at a much slower pace than has been expected. What has also short-circuited the prospects of stronger demand is a slowdown in China and Japan, impacting export markets. And the new wildcard that caused U.S. dollar prices to plunge in 2015, especially in softwood lumber, was the rapid currency devaluations of almost all major lumber producers as compared to the U.S. dollar. All of these factors have changed the WOOD MARKETS outlook to one that expects more lacklustre demand and corresponding price growth through 2018. After that, it starts to look very good.
These details and further analysis of commodity lumber and panels was released last week in the report, WOOD MARKETS 2016 – The Solid Wood Products Outlook: 2016 to 2020 by International WOOD MARKETS Group, Vancouver BC.
The supply-side dynamics feature eroding sustainable timber harvests in key provinces in Canada, resulting in dramatically lower lumber production than in the previous decade. Canada’s total lumber output will start to flatten out by 2018 with no further increases expected – just as U.S. and global demand are expected to gain momentum.
On the U.S. side, the U.S. West Coast region continues to watch log export prices in China and Japan, as many domestic log prices are correlated with export prices – this can quickly tighten the wood supply for sawmills and plywood mills as export prices rise. The U.S. South is forecast to be the only region where any significant lumber and panel production will occur, mainly due its ample, under-utilized timberland base of southern yellow pine. As lumber and panel demand increases, it is forecast that the current depressed log prices will start to move higher to feed incremental wood consumption of the expected additional panel and sawmill production.
From Wood Markets: https://www.woodmarkets.com/global-malaise-in-demand-coupled-with-rising-production-stalls-price-movement-in-north-america/
by Web Editor | Dec 11, 2015 | News
Boise Cascade Company, one of the largest producers of plywood and engineered wood products in North America and a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of building products, is expanding its existing operations in Chester County. The company is investing $23.5 million in the facility, creating 52 new jobs in Chester, S.C.
In 2013, Boise Cascade acquired Chester Wood Products, effectively establishing the company’s first Palmetto State operations. Operating today as Chester Plywood, Boise Cascade has decided to expand its Chester County operations in an effort to better serve its growing customer base. With respect to its investment in the facility, which is located at 1445 Lancaster Highway in Chester, Boise Cascade has already begun installing new equipment and expanding the warehouse.
With a heritage dating back to 1957, and headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Boise Cascade manufactures engineered wood products, plywood, lumber and particleboard. As a national distributor, the company operates more than 30 distribution centers across the U.S.
Hiring for the new positions began in the third quarter of 2015, and will continue through the first quarter of 2016.
The Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved a $100,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund grant to Chester County to assist with the costs of real property improvements.
From the S.C. Department Of Commerce: https://sccommerce.com/news/press-releases/boise-cascade-company-expanding-chester-county-operations
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
