Freres Lumber Reopens Veneer Plant Destroyed By Summer Fire

by | Nov 29, 2017 | News

“It’s in time for Thanksgiving, and that’s a good deal.” Kyle Freres imparted sentiments around Lyons based Freres Lumber Company as it announced that Plant 4 is back up and running, roughly four months since a fire destroyed the building amid the hot days of last summer.

“Getting this plant up and going in 3 to 4 months is somewhat of a miracle, especially since we are dedicating a lot of resources to getting our other (mass-plywood panel) plant going,” he said.

Freres, the company’s vice president of operations, said getting back to full operation wasn’t without obstacles. The company started Plant 4 operations more than a month ago, but a major electrical failure scuttled the process, leaving them limping through the past month until they could get all aspects into full working order.

“Looking at pictures of the fires blazing in the building, and the charred inventory, and realizing how recent the fire was illustrates the extraordinary accomplishment of everyone who worked on the project. We want to say ‘thank you’ to those who made this rebuild possible.”

After the fire, Freres offered employees of that plant positions in other locations, such as the company’s plywood mill. Many took the company up on the new, temporary jobs. Some did not but have returned now that the rebuilt facility is up and running. At full capacity, the plant can employ up to 40 workers, and Freres said it’s at about 23 right now, and they are looking to hire more.

From the Statesman Journal: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/stayton/2017/11/27/freres-reopens-plant-destroyed-summer-fire/887774001/

Freres Lumber Unveils MPP, Adding Plant In 2017

by | Dec 7, 2016 | News

Freres Lumber Unveils MPP, Adding Plant In 2017

Capitalizing on the current interest in building large-scale wooden buildings and more multi-story wooden structures, longtime Oregon plywood and veneer producer Freres Lumber has introduced the “Mass Plywood Panel” (MPP), a veneer-based engineered wood product that’s been more than a year in development while being tested and refined in conjunction with Oregon State University.

Calling the MPP the “first veneer-based product of this size and scale that’s been proposed to the marketplace,” Freres Lumber Executive Vice President Rob Freres says the MPP development represents the kind of innovative investment required to differentiate the company, add value and stay on the leading edge of product development and new technology.

Freres Lumber is adding an MPP plant near its Lyons, Ore. veneer plant and its Mill City, Ore. plywood plant. The facility is starting with a scarfing line and test press in early 2017, with a building planned for completion by late third quarter and commercial production to begin by late 2017.

“This will allow us to test panels and gain certification,” Freres says, adding he believes MPP will qualify under LVL and CTL standards.

A week after announcing the new product, Freres reps displayed MPP at the North American Wholesale Lumber Assn.’s Trade Market trade show in Las Vegas in late October. In a blog post on Freres Lumber’s web site, plywood sales rep Bob Maeda noted an “overwhelming response” to the product.

He added that Freres officials had “great discussions with many industry experts about product opportunities” that include crane mats, large cross-laminated timber (CLT) -like floor panels, solid wall panels, concrete forming applications, solid structural columns, scaffold planking, long length scarfed panels, furniture applications and more. “We have had a lot to digest and think about, but the opportunities seem to be many, and that is the exciting part,” Maeda posted.

Freres says the MPPs can be produced in dimensions up to 12 ft. wide, 48 ft. long and 12 in. thick. He believes a veneer-based mass building panel is more appropriate than the lumber-based CLT mass panel because defects are more easily removed during veneer production, and early research shows MPPs may reach the same strength values as CLT but using 20%-30% less raw material.

In addition, he says, the veneer layup process gives the MPP more engineering flexibility when it comes to meeting customer needs. MPP’s relative lightness, plus the aesthetic aspects of veneer add to MPP’s competitive benefits, Freres believes.

Moving ahead, Freres says, “We’re going to be testing a lot of different combinations and veneer thicknesses.” He believes MPP will be able to match the properties that engineers, builders and architects are looking for but with less raw material.

“It’s really exciting,” Freres says. “We’re looking at a multitude of different types of products, and it’s really a way to diversify and not be so reliant on standard commodity products.”

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Canadian Veneer Mill Thrives Amid Market Uncertainty

by | Sep 7, 2016 | News

The log yard is filled with two months’ worth of inventory and activity is humming at Columbia Forest Products’ veneer plant, east of North Bay. After being mothballed for five years, operations at the hardwood veneer mill in Rutherglen resumed April 18 running one shift of 52 employees.

Without delving into production numbers, mill manager Peter Loy said since the reopening, things have gone well as the operation continues to its ramp-up toward full production.

Heading into 2016, Northern American veneer demand wasn’t exactly bursting at the seams, but it had improved sufficiently enough for Columbia to make the decision to restart the 100,000-square-foot mill it had shuttered in 2010.

Loy said it’s difficult to forecast if the veneer markets will show signs of improvement over a sustained stretch. “Nobody can look forward any more than a few months and say, ‘it’s going to be a banner time’ or ‘no, we’d better think about slowing down.’ Historically, there’s a cycle to appetites through the year and typically it slacks off toward the end of the year and picks up early in the new year. It has to do with inventories and costing over the year-end.”

The U.S. remains the No. 1 global importer of hardwood veneer. “One of our largest competitors for our end product, being plywood, is China,” said Loy. “And they’ve eaten up a whole lot of market share in North America with their imports. As far as veneer goes, they’ll always be imports for sliced and specialty woods – things like that – but it’s not a big bite of our lunch.”

From Northern Ontario Business: https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/Industry-News/forestry/2016/09/Veneer-mill-thrives-amid-market-uncertainty.aspx