Brian Luoma Picked To Lead Alabama’s Westervelt Company

Brian Luoma Picked To Lead Alabama’s Westervelt Company

 

The Westervelt Company named Brian Luoma as President and CEO, succeeding Mike Case, who announced his retirement after more than 32 years with the company. Luoma will oversee Westervelt Lumber, Westervelt Renewable Energy, Westervelt Forest Resources, Westervelt Communities, Westervelt Ecological Services and Westervelt New Zealand.

Luoma most recently served as executive vice president and general manager, Siding, with Louisiana-Pacific Corp.

Jon Warner, Chairman of the Board at The Westervelt Co., based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, comments, “Brian’s proven leadership and vision will be essential in leading our company.”

“I am thrilled to join the Westervelt team,” Luoma says. “The company’s commitment to excellence and focus on sustainability are the driving forces behind 133 years of success.”

Since 1987, Luoma held roles of increasing responsibility with LP. Luoma graduated in Forestry from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. He worked for LP while attending college, first as an assistant log scaler at the LP stud mill in Fort Bragg, California and then in the woods as a forestry technician. After graduating he worked for Simpson Timber in Korbel for a year before rejoining LP as timberlands manager in northern California. He then became wood procurement manager for LP’s Western Region. He later led LP’s Northern operations OSB group in Hayward, Wisconsin before moving to LP headquarters as head of forestry, wood procurement and logistics.

He advanced to LP’s vice president of Engineered Wood Products before becoming executive vice president and GM over LP Siding, based at headquarters in Nashville, Tennnessee.

Westervelt operates a high production, modernized southern yellow pine sawmill at Moundville, Alabama, a large industrial wood pellet plant in Aliceville, Alabama, and owns/manages 500,000 acres of timberland.

For more information on The Westervelt Company visit westervelt.com.

 

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Timber Innovation Act Advocates For Nationwide Timber Construction In U.S.

A new piece of bipartisan legislation has been tabled by The United States Senate and House of Representatives named the Timber Innovation Act. The bills were put forward to further the development of tall timber buildings in the U.S., thereby supporting the nation’s considerable timber market and the rural manufacturing jobs it entails.

“The United States has an opportunity to bring new, sustainable mass timber technology to our construction industry, and the Timber Innovation Act directs technical assistance and research components already in place,” said Robert Glowinski, President and CEO of the American Wood Council (AWC).

The bills aim to create a focused research and development program to aid in the advancement of tall wooden structures in the United States. Federal grants will be awarded to fund the research undertaken on state, local, university, and private sector levels. This includes the provision of education to architects and builders, in relation to timber construction.

“Mass timber technology is revolutionizing and disrupting the way buildings are being built around the world. Unfortunately, the United States has been trailing other markets in this regard. The Timber Innovation Act will significantly contribute to enhancing our industry’s ability to close the knowledge gap and stimulate private sector investment,” remarked general manager of the Binational Softwood Lumber Council (BSLC), Cees de Jager.

Additionally, the act will introduce educational and technical programs on timber design and applications, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture and state foresters. Responding to continued job scarcity in the aftermath of the recession, retrofitting buildings in regions of high unemployment will create new positions in rural areas, while also addressing environmental concerns.

From ArchDaily.com: https://www.archdaily.com/866841/new-timber-innovation-act-advocates-for-nationwide-timber-construction-in-the-united-states

Arauco, Dieffenbacher Sign Supply Contracts For Michigan Panel Plant

Arauco is investing in the construction of a new particleboard plant with a planned capacity of 800,000 square meters per year in Grayling, Michigan. For the first time, the company is purchasing a complete plant from Dieffenbacher. The two companies decided to work together in January 2016, followed by a phase of detailed engineering and concluding with the signing of supply contracts at the end of 2016.

The highlights of the scope of supply are Dieffenbacher’s EVOjet P gluing system, which reportedly uses up to 15 percent less glue; and the continuous CPS+ press, which, at 10 feet wide and 52.5 meters long, will be one of the largest particleboard presses in the world.

“Arauco always exercises prudence when it comes to committing to new development. Therefore, we are all the more pleased with the confidence that Arauco has shown in us with its decision to choose the CPS+,” says Bernd Bielfeldt, head of the Wood Business Unit at Dieffenbacher.

The two driers, together with the associated energy system that Chile-based Arauco also commissioned from Dieffenbacher, are large parts of the new operation. Grayling is located in the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.

The contract also includes dosing silos for the chips, a glue mixing station, forming stations and the forming line; as well as the raw board handling system, the sanding line and the Lukki bearing system, which Arauco has already had experience with at its other sites.

From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/arauco-and-dieffenbacher-sign-supply-contracts-new-michigan-panel?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news

Engineered Lumber Has Replaced Natural Lumber In Key Building Components

Building a house, garage or even a shed today isn’t as easy as going to the local lumberyard and buying whatever dimension of wood you need. A lot of emphasis goes into the grade of the wood and its stress and load ratings, according to Everett Brands, manager of Arrow Building Center in Glencoe. Arrow took over the former Fullerton Lumber Center on Desoto Avenue this past October.

Today, main structural pieces, such as headers, consist of LVL, or laminated veneer lumber, an engineered product typically of poplar, fir or pine. It is laminated under heat and pressure with a moisture-resistant resin and it’s stronger than typical native wood. Building codes call for the use of specific lumber grades for specific applications.

“Anything longer than six feet as a header has to be LVL,” Brands said. The LVL products range up to 36 or 48 feet long. While regular lumber could sag or bow under extreme weight, the LVL won’t. Thus LVL is typically used over windows and entries, especially with tall entries.

“We use a lot of engineered products — beams, headers and I-joists,” added Matt Smieja, manager of Simonson Lumber, just outside Hutchinson along State Highway 7 East.

Years ago, when forests were being cut for the first time, the wood tended to be of higher quality as far as grain and knots. But new stands of trees generated are of a lower grade.

From the Hutchinson Leader: https://www.crowrivermedia.com/hutchinsonleader/news/business/engineered-lumber-has-replaced-natural-lumber-in-most-key-building/article_67ee0dc7-e4d8-56c8-932e-9ca668bb40bc.html

Innovation Abounds Among OSB, Plywood And Lumber

Innovation Abounds Among OSB, Plywood And Lumber

 

Though often seen as commodity products, the categories of wood structural panels (OSB and plywood) and lumber are not short on innovation—and they’re categories where educated dealers can truly serve their customers.

Manufacturers continue to unveil improvements on these wood staples, along with offering fresh ways to keep pros informed on best practices, design, and application. Though trade articles often wage an either/or scenario with plywood and OSB, both can be used in similar residential applications.

OSB holds the majority share of the structural panels market for residential construction, in part due to its lower price point. But plywood’s premium finish and advantage on the moisture front give it a stronghold in markets that have always used it and always will.

Plywood manufacturers are increasingly supplying panels for industrial applications such as concrete forming, for doors and windows, furniture manufacturing, and more.

“What we would recommend is that dealers talk with their customers,” says Judy Haney, plywood sales manager for Boise. “Find out what their customers want, what they need, and why. They may be surprised that builder preference changes over time, partly related to what they’re building, where they’re building, where they have to transport it, market pricing, and other factors. There are many considerations, and the more a dealer understands what a customer wants and needs in a structural panel the better prepared they’ll be to fill those needs.”

From LBM Journal: lbmjournal.com.

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Roseburg Makes Major Decision

Roseburg Forest Products, which announced in April a $700 million investment over the next four years to expand operations in southern Oregon, including a $450 million MDF plant in Dillard, Ore., has selected Siempelkamp as the primary supplier of the MDF plant, including a 10 ft. x 42.1 m ContiRoll continuous press. The companies noted that in 1969 Siempelkamp supplied Roseburg Lumber with its very first composite panel press line…

APA Board Adds Beers As Trustee

APA, The Engineered Wood Assn. Board of Trustees has added John Beers III as its newest member. He joins the APA Board of Trustees, filling the position vacated by Andy Konieczka’s resignation and move to a new role within Georgia-Pacific. Beers currently serves as the president of the structural panels business at Georgia-Pacific…

J.M. Huber Corp. Receives Management Honor

J.M. Huber Corp. (Huber) has proudly announced it has been selected as a 2023 U.S. Best Managed Company Gold Standard honoree. Sponsored by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal, the program recognizes outstanding U.S. private companies and the achievements of their management teams. The 2023 designees are U.S. private companies that have…

Find Us On Social

Newsletter

The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

Subscribe/Renew

Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.

Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!