by Web Editor | Sep 4, 2015 | News
A precision-quality hardwood plywood core peeling line has been installed at Columbia Forest Products plant in Hearst, ON. Crews of engineers, electrical technicians, installation laborers and technicians from Japan collaborated on installing what is Columbia Forest Products newest Meinan lathe line – this time at Columbia’s plant in Hearst, Ontario.
Columbia’s interest in finding the hardwood plywood core peeling system that delivers the world’s absolutely best quality peel, thickness tolerances and recovery available took Columbia engineers and executives halfway around the world to Japan, where Meinan peeling systems are engineered and fabricated.
Andy Frei, lead engineer and project manager for the Hearst installation, noted, “The attention to detail on this system is so high that the entire 200 ft. long lathe line was assembled, tested and disassembled in Japan prior to shipping to Canada.”
Once disassembled, 36 containers holding the lathe, stackers and ancillary equipment were shipped to Vancouver, BC. From there, the Meinan system traveled across Canada via rail, was unloaded in Toronto and then transported to Hearst on 30 trucks.
“Finally, we now have our Meinan system in the plant,” Columbia Forest Products’ Canadian general manager Gilles Levesque commented. “As a follow-up to the more than $5 million investment in innovative capital projects at the facility over the past seven years, this $15 million crowning investment provides more than 200 employees in Hearst an integral piece of capital innovation that will enable us to compete well into the future – regardless of the exchange rate or foreign competition.”
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/canadian-news/columbia-forest-products-installs-meinan-lathe-line-hearst-ontario?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news
by Web Editor | Sep 2, 2015 | News
We ask: If the 19th century modern building material technology was associated with steel and the 20th century with concrete, could the 21st be the century of “MCT,” mass construction timber? Wood, one of the world’s oldest (and greenest) building materials, was the de facto construction material in American cities for over two centuries, falling out of favor when non-combustible materials capable of building high and wide emerged.
Today, highly engineered timber, sized to compete with these structural systems, is making a comeback in Europe, especially in Germany and in Austria, where the world’s first 8-story “ply-scraper” was recently completed. Stateside, the Boston Society of Architects recently featured Urban Timber, an exhibit showcasing innovative developments in wood technology and construction, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is sponsoring a $2M ideas competition for the design of tall wood buildings. Given all of this hoopla, one could assume that we are on the verge of a global timber revolution, yet the U.S. is lagging far behind our European neighbors. In fact, to date, neither the U.S. nor Canadian building codes explicitly recognize mass timber structural systems.
Deeply committed to sustainability, we made the choice to dive feet first into connecting with the past to build the future by employing MCT for the primary structural system of our University of Massachusetts Amherst Design Building. Designed with Equilibrium Consultants, one of the world’s foremost timber engineers, the building will house the university’s Departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Regional Planning, and Building Construction Technology, and is now under construction. Permitted through a variance application using the “alternative” method provisions of the building code, our 87,000-square-foot building furthers the university’s educational mission by incorporating examples of the inherent departments’ design practices. Targeting LEED Gold, it will be among the first MCT structures in the region when completed in 2017.
Laminated technologies, first developed in Europe in the 1980s, are allowing us to fabricate fairly massive timber components for the Design Building using small diameter trees sustainably harvested from managed forests. Our selected timber, black spruce, was sourced from Canada’s Boreal forest region, an area that constitutes the world’s largest land based biome. It is constituted to stand up to fire and maintain its structural integrity.
From Metropolis Magazine: https://www.metropolismag.com/Point-of-View/August-2015/Timbers-Transformation-An-Old-Building-Material-is-Reborn/
by Web Editor | Aug 31, 2015 | News
In a move which will double its capacity, RedBuilt LLC is adding a laminated veneer lumber line at its Stayton, OR, facility, one of four manufacturing plants by the Boise, ID-based company. RedBuilt manufactures engineered structural wood products for commercial and multi-family applications.
“This press will nearly double our existing RedLam LVL capacity,” RedBuilt President and CEO Kurt Liebich said. “Our new line will help us meet demand for our engineered wood products. We’re committed to investing in the future of the business and providing the innovative solutions our customers have depended on for decades.”
The new four-foot LVL press is being supplied by Tahei Machinery, a manufacturer of plywood and woodworking machinery in Komaki City, Japan.
“LVL is at the heart of virtually all our products, from RedLam headers and beams and flanges in Red-I I-joists and open-web trusses, to RedPlank scaffold plank and our concrete forming and shoring solutions,” Liebich said. “With this new line, RedBuilt is better positioned to control the supply and quality of products we manufacture and serve our customers’ growing needs.”
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/panel-supply/redbuilt-engineered-lumber-facility-doubles-capacity?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news
by Web Editor | Aug 26, 2015 | News
No One Injured In Plum Creek MDF Plant Explosion
The Plum Creek medium density fiberboard (MDF) plant in Columbia Falls experienced an explosion and fire, but no one was injured in the blaze.
The fire appeared to have been contained to one line of the plant, said Columbia Falls firefighter Karl Weeks. The call for the fire came out at 6:09 a.m. and firefighters were off the scene at 11:15 a.m. Weeks said there were multiple spot fires as a result of the explosion inside the massive plant. The facility underwent a multi-million dollar renovation after a fire and explosion damaged the building in June of last year.
The cause of this fire remains under investigation. Whitefish responded with mutual aid and about 15 firefighters total fought the blaze, Weeks said.
Plum Creek spokeswoman Kathy Budinick said the fire apparently originated in an area of line one that holds the fiber before it enters the line. “The fire suppression system worked as intended,” she said.
The plant has two lines and line two is up and running, Budinick said. Line one will remain down until repairs can be made, but Budinick said there was minimal damage to the plant itself. She said the fire suppression system also needs to be recharged.
From Hungry Horse News (2015)
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by Web Editor | Aug 21, 2015 | News
Last September, for what we believe is the first time in our company’s 93-year history, one of our employees was killed in an accident at one of our facilities.
Bryan Dodge was a local hero. He was a husband to his wife, Amy, father to four children and friend to many. With the guidance of Crisis Chaplaincy Services, we met with those affected to provide what support we could. Ultimately, no support can replace a husband, father or friend.
An Aug. 6 article in the Statesman Journal questioned our family’s business practices and safety record. The article inappropriately reopened a wound and did nothing but add confusion and erroneous information. It warrants a response.
In regard to the accident, we don’t know why company procedures weren’t followed, why the safety equipment wasn’t used or why Bryan was where he was that night. The reason behind his death will forever be a tragic mystery.
What we do know is that safety is our No. 1 priority at Freres Lumber and our history supports that fact. According to the state of Oregon, our lost workday incident rate is 30 percent lower than our peers on average.
From the Statesman Journal: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/08/13/freres-lumber-co-responds-article/31650909/
