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 | Nov 12, 2018 | News
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed technical amendments to its formaldehyde emissions standards for composite wood products.
Published last week in the Federal Register, the proposed changes primarily address concerns over testing and certification provisions of the rule published in December 2016, which require suppliers, importers, and manufacturers of hardwood plywood, MDF, and particleboard to limit the products’ formaldehyde emissions.
The EPA proposed removing the requirement for annual correlations between third-party certifiers and other mill quality testing procedures. The changes also clarify labeling requirements.
The changes are meant to streamline compliance and align more closely with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Toxic Control Measures (ATCM) Phase II.
Public comments from a June meeting influenced the proposed rule. The meeting was held to address technical issues, like correlation and equivalence of testing methods, how test data is treated, and handling sampling requirements. Public comments on the latest proposed changes will be accepted until December 3.
Read more on this from Woodworking Network at https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/epa-updates-clarifies-formaldehyde-emission-standards-composite-wood?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news.
by Web Editor | Nov 7, 2018 | News
The Mass Timber Institute officially launched on October 30 with an industry leaders’ collaboration event held at their offices at 110 Yonge Street in Toronto. Key industry leaders from education and industry participated in this collaboration to help propel the mass timber industry forward.
In her welcome address, Anne Koven, director of the Mass Timber Institute spoke about the role MTI can play to push the industry ahead and how MTI can help the industry get access to so much more of the research that has been done.
An adjunct professor at the University of Toronto and a Forester, Koven said coming into the Mass Timber Institute has been a “surprise for me that I am enjoying very much as I learn about your industry. Mass timber starts with trees, but it is very much in the hands of the industry represented by the people in this room. This is a multi-discipline enterprise driven by designers building, architects, engineers, and contractors.”
“We plan to expand the Mass Timber Institute nationally and eventually internationally. Again, I want to convince you of the importance of the academic and industry connection and collaboration. Lots of good things have come out of this collaboration including the biotech industry, cures for diseases, nanotechnology and synthetic forms of cancer drugs. There have been many exciting results in academic and industry collaboration. It might be presumptuous of me to add mass timber products to this list, but I am going to,” said Koven.
The morning presentations provided focused discussions on opportunities and specific challenges that lie ahead for mas timber integration. One of the critical challenges is the fact that the average practitioner (architect/engineer) does not have access to the specialist consultants that are developing today’s’ leading-edge mass timber projects. To gain market share, mass timber must be widely accessible.
Read more on this from The Working Forest at https://www.workingforest.com/mass-timber-institute-officially-launched/?utm_source=November+06%2C+2018&utm_campaign=November+06%2C+2018&utm_medium=email.
by Web Editor | Oct 31, 2018 | News
Prescriptive requirements for wood structures up to 18 stories were among the additions preliminarily approved for the International Building Code following the work of the International Code Council’s ad-hoc Tall Wood Buildings Committee.
Wood is widely recognized as a carbon-neutral building material, but its use as a structural material has been mostly limited to residential and low-rise buildings due to its combustible nature. Through recent advances in manufacturing and engineering, wood in the form of mass timber products is increasingly attracting interest as a structural system for tall buildings.
Portland, Ore., recently saw the completion of the eight-story Carbon12, currently the tallest wood building in the United States. Still, progress has been slow in this country as compared to Europe or Canada, where the 18-story-tall Brock Commons, in Vancouver, stands as the tallest timber structure in the world. One significant issue inhibiting widespread adoption in the U.S. is prescriptive building codes, which currently limit the height of wood buildings to 85 feet, or six stories. In December 2015, the International Code Council (ICC) formed an ad-hoc committee to study the impact of tall wood buildings on the building code with the membership voting on the adoption of proposed changes on Oct. 24.
The ICC’s International Building Code (IBC) classifies a high-rise building as any building with an occupied floor 75 feet above the lowest level at which fire department vehicles can access. The 2018 IBC defines heavy timber structural members as Type IV construction, which also includes a range of wood products, such as solid sawn timber, glue-laminated members, and composite wood members. The term mass timber, however, comprises both heavy timber as well as engineered products, many of which the IBC does not reference, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT).
Heavy timber construction is currently limited to a height of 85 feet. Architects can design taller wood structures, but they must demonstrate that the design meets the prescribed code and performs as well or better than a similar concrete or steel structure. This can be a costly and time-consuming process, requiring extensive testing and documentation on the part of the design team and building owner.
Read more on this from Architect Magazine at https://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/support-for-tall-timber-reaches-new-heights-in-the-building-code_o.
by Web Editor | Oct 24, 2018 | News
From October 21-27, 2018, we celebrate the value of America’s forests and recognize how vital they are to our well-being and national prosperity during National Forest Products Week. This week is recognized each year by a Presidential proclamation. At the USDA Forest Service, we work year round to create new opportunities for wood products that contribute to diversified rural economies and support sustainable forest management.
By supporting forest products markets, we have the opportunity to create safer communities by reducing wildfire risk, supporting rural economic development, and contributing to a more sustainable building sector. The Forest Service is working to develop the U.S. market for cross-laminated timber, or CLT, and other mass timber technologies.
CLT is a made from several layers of dried lumber boards stacked in alternating directions, glued and pressed to form rectangular panels. These panels have exceptional strength and stability and can be used as floors, walls and roofs in building construction, replacing or used along with traditional building materials such as concrete and steel. In fact, the International Code Council is examining whether or not tall wood buildings up to 18 stories will be included in the 2021 International Building Code. A final decision will be made later this year.
The state of Oregon has already adopted the proposed provisions for the International Code Council under its Statewide Alternate Method, and Washington State legislation already embraces mass timber construction. The U.S. Department of Defense is already using CLT in some of its on-base housing because of the incredible resiliency of the materials and their resistance to explosive forces.
We are on the precipice of major momentum in the marketplace with mass timber, with four factories in production, including two making architectural grade CLT; five factories coming online (either under construction or just completed); and three more factories recently announced in eight states. Compounded with the upcoming code decisions, we expect to see many more mass timber and CLT buildings in the near future.
From the USDA: https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2018/10/22/forest-service-celebrates-cross-laminated-timber-during-forest-products-week
