by Web Editor | Mar 18, 2016 | News
The Engineered Wood Construction Guide, APA’s comprehensive and widely recognized guide to engineered wood construction systems, has been updated and is now available on the APA website.
The 92-page guide features information on engineered wood products and recommendations for their use in a wide range of applications in residential and commercial construction. It includes information on plywood and oriented strand board (wood structural panels), glulam, I-joists, structural composite lumber, typical specifications, and design recommendations for floor, wall, and roof systems, diaphragms, shear walls, fire-rated systems, and methods of finishing.
The guide can be downloaded free of charge in PDF format or purchased in printed format for $12 at www.apawood.org/resource-library. The online offering has been enhanced with this edition to simplify the options for downloading selected chapters of the guide or the complete publication.
First published in 1962, this is the 33rd printing of the popular guide.
by Web Editor | Mar 16, 2016 | News
The fifth Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) is one month away, and in addition to a range of presentations on new technologies and new mill projects in North America, the event has a heavy international flavor to its agenda.
PELICE will be held April 7-8 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It is hosted by Panel World magazine and Georgia Research Institute.
Two of the event sessions are entitled “International Developments,” and “China Transitions to a New Paradigm.”
The International Developments segment will feature:
• Engineered Wood Trends in Europe—Heikki Vidgren, Principal, Pöyry Management Consulting
• North American Plywood and Veneer Based Industry: The Reinvention Continues—Dr. Richard Baldwin, Managing Partner, Oak Creek Investments
• Engineered Strand Lumber—Challenges and Opportunities—Dr. W. Ernest Hsu, Principal, Hsu Consulting
• New Trends in the Development of Wood and Natural Fiber Based Products—Dr. Bohumil Kasil, Director, Fraunhofer Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institute
• Status and Problems of the Panel Products Industries of the Philippines—Romulo Aggangan, Director, Forest Products Research and Development Institute, Philippines
China Transitions to a New Paradigm will include:
• China Is a Global Opportunity—Dr. Fred Kurpiel, President Georgia Research Institute
• Long Road to Quality—Dr. Hui Wan, Associate Professor, Forest Composite Products, Mississippi State University
• Market Demands: Engineered Strand Products and Applications—Dr. W. Ernest Hsu, Principal, Hsu Consulting
• China: Product Developments and Innovations—Colin Folco, Key Account Manager, Dieffenbacher, USA
In addition to these subjects, PELICE session titles include: Production Technologies; Adhesives Issues & Performance; Operations Planning; Heat Energy & Emissions Issues & Technologies; Environmental Issues & Technologies; Safety Issues & Technologies; QC & Optimization.
PELICE will also feature 78 exhibitor sponsors in the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Hotel.
For more information and to register, visit www.pelice-expo.com.
by Web Editor | Mar 11, 2016 | News
Investigators remain at the scene of an explosion at a wood products mill in Quesnel, B.C.
No one was hurt March 9 when a blast and fire damaged one side of the West Pine MDF mill, at the northern end of the Cariboo community, about 600 kilometers north of Vancouver.
Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson says the mill employs about 100 people and all the workers on shift at around 5:30 Wednesday were safely evacuated.
West Pine MDF, operated by Quesnel-based West Fraser Mills Ltd., uses sawdust and other materials to manufacture plywood-like boards known as medium density fiberboard.
Firefighters knocked down the blaze and spent the night dousing hot spots on the side of the plant where the sawdust is fed into the building. A cause of the explosion is under investigation and Simpson hopes the mill can resume operation in about a week.
From Canadian Manufacturing: https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/operations/blast-west-fraser-mills-ltd-plant-halt-production-week-164096/
by Web Editor | Mar 9, 2016 | News
With housing starts growing in both single-family and multifamily categories, lumber suppliers are looking to advance their product lines beyond the commodity mindset to help builders resolve more challenges. They also point to the many intangibles provided by suppliers that provide values beyond the initial price when considering options for dimensional lumber, OSB, plywood and structural panels.
“The trend we’re seeing with OSB panels is a move to enhance products in different ways,” says George Hendry, market development manager at Weyerhaeuser. “Builders are struggling with reduced levels of skilled labor, so they’re looking at enhanced panels to help them find ways to make products easier and faster to install. They want attributes that will enhance performance in the field.”
Adds Ray Peters, vice president of marketing at RoyOMartin, “Our new products are aimed at finding ways to decommoditize OSB and excel at all three factors that drive purchase decisions: price, quality and delivery. We want to stand out in that equation.”
Reducing processes and steps for installation has become a priority as builders face new challenges. “One headwind we face today is the shortage of skilled labor in many markets,” says Mary Jo Nyblad, commodity sales and marketing director at Boise Cascade. “Finding, training and retaining qualified employees at all levels of our industry will continue to be a challenge. We as an industry have done a poor job of marketing ourselves. We’re a well-kept secret, especially for young people. It’s a big blind spot.”
A prime focus for adding value has been protecting panels against moisture during the construction process and afterward, helping overcome issues with less efficient crews and eliminating the need for adding housewrap in a separate step. “Products that provide wet-weather protection are popular, as are those that need less sanding and prep time for framers and floor installers,” notes Weyerhaeuser’s Hendry.
From LBM Journal: https://www.lbmjournal.com/in-depth-lumber-and-structural-panels-2016/
by Web Editor | Mar 7, 2016 | News
DR Johnson Lumber Co., based in the small Oregon town of Riddle, is poised at the forefront of what could be a revolutionary use of wood as a building material in the Northwest.
Don R. Johnson founded the mill in 1951. Following his death in 2010, his daughters Valerie Johnson and Jodi Westbrooks decided they needed to move the millworks company in a new direction. Their father had been quick to jump on laminated beam products early on and the millworks had manufactured them for decades. Following the lead of their father’s eye for innovation, Valerie and Jodi decided to expand the mill’s manufacturing through a division called Riddle Laminators to include a new product they had heard about.
They have since invested millions of dollars in machinery that is allowing DR Johnson to become the first manufacturer in the country certified to produce cross-laminated timber panels – a new take on existing technology and products in the wood construction industry. What makes their product so progressive is the use of new-growth softwoods like Douglas fir to produce lighter, stronger, more flexible panels in sizes able to make the construction process much more efficient. They also offer a replacement to typical steel or concrete framing.
“We’re limited to 10-foot-by-32-foot panels because of transportation issues, but we can go larger if we need to,” said Todd Black, DR Johnson sales manager. “We have computer-controlled router systems that can pre-cut door and window openings, so the panels come prefabricated, labeled (for point of installation) and ready for immediate installation. Because they’re stronger and lighter than steel or concrete, we’re not limited to three or four stories as wood-frame construction would be.”
CLT is starting to capture attention in Portland. A 12-story structure under construction in the Pearl District will be the tallest all-wood building in the U.S. The technology has already been used successfully in Europe, where buildings up to 22 stories have been constructed with the same type of panels.
From DJC Oregon: https://djcoregon.com/news/2016/03/03/newsmakers-2016-dr-johnson-lumber-company/
