by Web Editor | May 8, 2017 | News
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) announced today that SmartLam, LLC, is the first U.S. manufacturer of cross laminated timber (CLT) to be certified to the SFI 2015-2019 Chain-of-Custody Standard. SmartLam is also the first manufacturer to produce CLT in the U.S.
SmartLam manufactures CLT for a variety of applications, including floor, roof and wall systems. SFI’s Chain-of-Custody Standard helps companies address the growing demand from governments, customers, and consumers for responsibly sourced forest products.
CLT is the next-generation of engineered wood products. Extensively tested and already widely used in Europe, CLT has vast applications for construction, industrial matting and bridging. Architects and builders choose wood because it looks great, has numerous environmental characteristics – including renewability – and it’s easy to work with. In addition, trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow, sequestering and storing the carbon while producing oxygen which reduces greenhouse gases and improves air quality.
“At SmartLam, we make CLT, but we like to tell our clients what we really sell is time. CLT increases construction speed and reduces a project’s cost and carbon footprint. Now, with certification to the SFI Chain-of-Custody Standard, we can also offer our clients supply chain assurance that our products are sourced from well-managed forests that are third-party certified to SFI’s rigorous standards,” said Casey Malmquist, President and General Manager at SmartLam.
SmartLam produces CLT at its Columbia Falls facility in Northwest Montana and is part of a global movement to use wood in tall buildings. Advances in technology are producing more engineered wood products and mass timber products that increase the capabilities of building with wood.
From PR Newswire: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smartlam-is-first-us-clt-manufacturer-to-earn-sfi-chain-of-custody-certification-300452619.html
by Web Editor | Dec 19, 2016 | News
Videos are now available showing a series of live blast tests on three cross-laminated timber (CLT) structures at Tyndall Air Force Base, conducted by WoodWorks in cooperation with the US Forest Service and Softwood Lumber Board. Post-test observations were exciting. All structures remained intact and matched modeling predictions with acceptable levels of damage under significant explosive loading. The results of this testing will be used to further expand the use of wood solutions for Department of Defense applications and other blast-resistant construction. Watch the videos here: https://bit.ly/2hwVE1g
The CLT structures—each two-story, single-bay structure with anchorage to an existing concrete slab—were constructed in full by Lendlease over a period of eight days. Each structure was constructed using a different grade of CLT (i.e., grade designations V1, E1 and V4 per ANSI/APA PRG-320 provided by DR Johnson, Nordic and SmartLam, respectively) and included window and door openings (with doors provided by American Direct) consistent with an actual building. Self-drilling screws provided by MyTiCon and adhesive anchors provided by Hilti were utilized in concert with angle steel to connect the constituent panels of each structure.
Three shots were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of CLT over a spectrum of blast loads. The first two shots were designed to stress the CLT structures to within their respective elastic limits. The third shot was designed to push the structures beyond their elastic limits such that post-peak response could be observed. Reflected pressure and peak deflections were recorded and will be used to thoroughly document the response of the structure in time, and support a design methodology for predicting elastic response of CLT under dynamic loads.
Initial observations deriving from these tests are positive. For the first two tests, peak recorded deflections were consistent with pre-test predictions, indicating the efficacy of the design assumptions and supporting design methodologies. Results from the third test indicated a controlled response in which localized panel rupture was observed but connection integrity and load carrying ability were not compromised for any of the three structures. Over the next couple months, WoodWorks will be working with Karagozian & Case, Inc. and the University of Maine to thoroughly post-process and analyze the results of these tests.
From Business Wire: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215005337/en/WoodWorks-Leads-Blast-Testing-Project-Cross-Laminated-Timber
by Web Editor | Apr 15, 2015 | News
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., helped secure a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for SmartLam, a cross-laminated timber manufacturer and distributor in Columbia Falls.
In January, Tester wrote a letter of support for SmartLam’s Wood Innovations Planning Grant application. The grant was announced last week.
“The folks at SmartLam are producing a unique product, and these additional resources will help them continue to grow and hire folks in the Flathead Valley,” Tester said in a news release. “Successful operations like SmartLam continue to show the country the high quality businesses here in Montana.”
SmartLam is the first manufacturer and distributor of cross-laminated timber products in the United States. When its expansion is complete, it will be the largest cross-laminated timber manufacturer in the world.
Wood Innovations Grants are awarded to companies that use wood products as a renewable energy source and as a building material. The money is designed to increase the use of wildfire fuel from public lands to promote forest health and create jobs.
From the Daily Inter Lake: https://www.dailyinterlake.com/members/tester-helps-secure-for-smartlam/article_ffe490e2-e2f2-11e4-b4b7-a774ff6ea976.html
by Web Editor | Apr 1, 2015 | News
When completed, a new wood products plant at the Columbia Falls Industrial Park north of town will be the largest cross-laminated timber (CLT) plant in the world, Sen. Jon Tester learned during a meeting with city officials and business leaders at Freedom Bank on March 20.
SmartLam general manager Casey Malmquist said he’s in talks with the industrial park’s new Canadian owners about plans for construction of a new manufacturing plant to produce the giant wood panels. “We plan to quadruple our capacity, which will make us the largest CLT plant in the world,” Malmquist told Tester.
SmartLam’s panels are made with low-grade dimensional lumber from F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. that are sawn into smaller pieces and finger-jointed and planed into a 2-inch product that is then cross-laminated into large, heavy and very strong panels.
Currently the panels are being used in the oil industry for drilling rig platforms, bridges and roadways, but SmartLam wants to start producing panels for building construction, which is common in Europe.
Malmquist enumerated the environmental benefits of replacing concrete and steel with renewable and sustainable wood products.
From Hungry Horse News: https://www.flatheadnewsgroup.com/hungryhorsenews/expansion-will-make-smartlam-no-in-the-world/article_03c59e1c-d48a-11e4-90b8-fb43c4b37825.html
