by Web Editor | Nov 15, 2018 | News
Dying, deformed and diseased trees will be key ingredients of particleboard manufactured at the new Arauco panel mill in northern Michigan.
“All of these degraded trees need to be removed to better manage our forests,” said Scott Robbins, director of the Michigan Sustainable Forestry Initiative implementation and forest policy for the Michigan Forest Products Council (MFPC). “The Arauco mill is going to source these types of trees to make their product. It’s always good to get rid of the bad trees so you can grow more good trees.”
Randy Keen, wood procurement manager for the Grayling mill, said the current plan is to use 60 percent roundwood and 40 percent clean sawmill chips and other lumber processing byproducts.
“There are not enough sawmills in this area to run a mill this size so that’s why we have to use a combination of pulpwood and mill residuals,” he said. “The main species used will be pine, fir and spruce softwoods, but mixed hardwood species, mainly maple and beech, will be used as well. In the case of pulpwood, we’ll be using the very top of the tree that typically gets left in the woods after the log material is removed. These are small diameter logs that are not suitable for anything else.”
“We believe in the highest and best use of the tree,” Keen said. “If there is a saw log in the tree, we want it to go to a sawmill. By using the stuff that is crooked or has a little bit of rot in it to make our particleboard, we help use the whole tree and help clean the forest for the next generation of trees.”
Read more on this from Woodworking Network at https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/new-arauco-michigan-mill-convert-low-grade-wood-quality-particleboard/
by Web Editor | Aug 8, 2018 | News
A burgeoning industry based on a relatively new type of material may be coming to Minnesota. Known as mass timber, the material is an alternative to steel in building construction. While dozens of buildings constructed with the product are dotted around the country, the majority stand in the Pacific Northwest.
“This type of building product is new to the U.S.,” said Brian Brashaw, a program manager with the U.S. Forest Service. “It’s geared at taller buildings; it’s building more along the lines of four, five and six stories. That product is seeing a lot of growth in the United States.”
Now, local groups and governmental agencies are working on a plan to bring that industry to the Midwest. But before a production facility can set up shop in Minnesota, officials need to know if the right kind of raw materials can be produced in the region.
“This is a feasibility study where we’re taking a closer look at if the Midwest has the lumber production capacity and softwood lumber supply chain in place,” wrote Kristen Bergstrand, of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, in an email.
A survey is being sent to 11 sawmills in the region that will help gauge if the state can sustain a mass timber industry. APEX, the local business and economic development organization which is sending out the survey, wants to learn the grade and board footage that mills have produced for trees such as red pine, jack pine, spruce and balsam — all considered viable materials for mass timber.
Read more on this from the Duluth News Tribune at https://duluthnewstribune.com/business/manufacturing/4482202-minnesota-looking-attract-mass-timber-producers.
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
