by Web Editor | Oct 24, 2016 | News
Wood has a largely favorable environmental effect. A study of the National Research Programme “Resource Wood” recommends using wood more widely as a source of energy and as a building material.
The study examined the overall environmental impact of wood in Switzerland, analyzing the value chain from cutting trees to recycling wood or burning it, including the manufacture of semi-finished products such as paper, boards and pellets for heating purposes. Wood manufacturing is a high profile industry in Switzerland, home to suppliers familiar in the U.S. such as IGP power coating, Michael Weinig machinery, Jowat adhesives, Swiss Chrono laminate panel, and Lamello.
The study indicates that the sustainable use of wood can contribute to meeting our needs in terms of energy and raw materials with a smaller footprint than other resources.
The study estimates that the use of wood in Switzerland leads to a reduction in CO2 emissions of between 2.0 and 3.1 million tons per year – in comparison, Switzerland emitted a total of 52.6 million tons in 2013. Replacing gas or oil with wood accounts for two thirds of the estimated reduction. The last third is linked to construction and furniture production where wood replaces materials with a high carbon footprint such as cement, steel, aluminum and plastics.
Conducted in the context of the National Research Programme “Resource Wood” (NRP 66), the study based its analysis on the one hand on comprehensive statistics of material flows (origin, use and disposal of wood) that were compiled by the federal offices in particular. On the other hand, it referred to several databases evaluating the life cycle of products. “We considered different environmental impacts, in particular in relation to climate change, energy consumption, air pollution and loss of biodiversity”, explains Florian Suter, first author of the study and doctoral student at the Chair of Ecological Systems Design at ETH Zurich.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/panel-supply/using-wood-more-widely-building-and-energy-helps-environment-swiss-researchers?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news
by Web Editor | Oct 14, 2016 | News
Real estate investment trust Weyerhaeuser Co. said on Wednesday it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale, for its timberlands and manufacturing operations in Uruguay.
The Uruguay operations include more than 300,000 acres of timberlands in northeastern and north central Uruguay, a plywood and veneer manufacturing facility, a cogeneration facility and a seedling nursery, the company said.
“This is a strategic revision with various possibilities: one is a sale but another is maintaining operations just as they are today,” the company’s South America Director Alvaro Molinari told Reuters.
Weyerhaeuser has been restructuring its business since it bought Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc in February, combining the two largest owners of timberland in the United States. Since then, Weyerhaeuser has said it would sell its pulp business to International Paper Co. for $2.2 billion and its liquid packaging unit to Nippon Paper Industries Co. Ltd for about $285 million.
Weyerhaeuser said this month it would sell its North Pacific paper unit to private company One Rock Capital Partners LLC.
From Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/weyerhaeuser-divestiture-idUSL4N1CI4DI
by Web Editor | Oct 12, 2016 | News
From: Panel World Staff
A report conducted by Forest Economic Advisors and released by Composite Panel Association says that in 2015, the total (direct, indirect and induced) impacts of U.S. CPA-member composite panel manufacturing on the U.S. economy were $7.05 billion in output, employment of more than 22,500 and wages of $1.45 billion. The Canadian composite mills’ impact on the Canadian economy were $3.41 billion (Can), employment of almost 11,500 and $724 (Can) in wages.
“Economic Impact of U.S. and Canadian Composite Panel Mills” also reveals that in 2015 37 U.S. CPA-member mills had sales of $2.30 billion and 12 Canadian mills had sales of $1.34 billion (Can).
The report estimates that U.S. and Canadian composite panel facilities consumed 8.3 million dry tons of residual fiber in 2015, out of total residual supply of 76 million dry tons. On a regional basis, composite panel mills in the U.S. South consumed the most wood fiber, accounting for 2.8 million dry tons, 34% of the total in 2015.
Other findings:
— Resin costs account for 30% of composite panel production costs.
— Energy costs account for 10-20% of costs.
— Value-added shipments accounted for 31% of North American particleboard ships in 2014 and 18% of MDF shipments. For particleboard, the biggest value-added product was thermally fused laminate panels, accounting for 66% of value-added particleboard shipments.
— In 2015, the 42 composite panel mills operating in the U.S. and 12 in Canada had total capacity of 8.15 billion SF (five of these U.S. mills were not CPA members).
— In 2015, North American composite panel shipments hit 5.97 billion SF, 31% below the pre-recession mark of 8.64 billion SF, but a gradual improvement over 5.23 billion SF in 2009.
Read more in the November issue of Panel World magazine…
by Web Editor | Oct 7, 2016 | News
If the vast potential of timber construction isn’t obvious, a new exhibit at Washington D.C.’s National Building Museum aims to clear things up. Running through May 2017, the USDA-sponsored Timber City is drawing attention to the recent boom in a worldwide movement toward timber construction.
It’s opening up a new market that has been turning the mills at a growing number of wood products companies, including Montreal’s Nordic Structures, Sauter Timber in Rockwood, Tennessee, and D.R. Johnson.
Oregon-based D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations, a subsidiary of D.R. Johnson, specializes in the manufacture of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated beams from Douglas fir and Alaskan yellow cedar. They’re the first U.S. company to receive APA/ANSI certification to manufacture structural CLT panels – and they hope to help grow the U.S. market.
D.R. Johnson is one of only three North American companies certified by the Engineered Wood Association to construct CLT for use in buildings. The company employs 125 at a traditional sawmill and laminating plant, which was recently expanded by 13,000 square feet for increased CLT production. They’re currently fielding calls from hopeful builders, and manufacturing samples to be tested for fire safety and structural quality.
D.R. Johnson says the system for constructing CLT involves assembling prefabricated parts, speeding construction, and paring labor costs. The company partnered with wood processor manufacturer USNR to build a custom panel press for CLT.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/events-contests/event-coverage/timber-construction-exhibition-shines-light-industry
by Web Editor | Oct 5, 2016 | News
Say what you will about wooden construction, it is sustainable. So it’s great that even large structures are now being built out of wood. One awesome example of this type of architecture is Brock Commons, a University of British Columbia student housing tower. It will rise to an impressive 174 ft (53 m) and will be the tallest wooden residential tower in the world once it is complete. Which it very nearly is.
It took just 66 days to build the wooden tower. It’s not quite finished yet though, but once complete it will contain 33 four-bed rooms, and 272 studios, so the 18-floor tower will be able to accommodate 404 residents. The tower was designed by Acton Ostry Architects.
The structure consists of 16 floors of five-ply cross laminated timber (CLT) floor panels, and has a steel-framed roof, as well as a few concrete sections, namely the base and stairwells. The façade of the tower is made of prefabricated panels that had the windows pre-installed. These panels contain 70 percent wood-based fibers with steel stud framed sections, and form a high-pressure laminate cladding.
The construction went remarkably quickly. At first they managed to build one floor per week, but were able to go faster after that, building two or more floors per week. Not including the concrete sections, they’ve been able to complete the entire structure in just over three months, which given the size of the tower is quite remarkable.
The Brock Commons residence was also designed according to LEED Gold certification standards, and will receive this certification once it is completed. They estimate that it will be completed in May, 2017, which is four months ahead of schedule. They are currently installing the steel roof, which they hope to complete in a couple of weeks.
From Jetson Green: https://www.jetsongreen.com/2016/09/tallest-wooden-tower-in-the-world-is-almost-complete.html
