by Web Editor | May 10, 2018 | News
Boise Cascade Co., Boise, Id., has agreed to purchase Norman Distribution, Inc., a distributor of engineered wood, commodity lumber, and specialty building materials based in Medford, Ore.
“Norman Distribution has built an excellent reputation as a strong industry partner throughout its four decades in this business,” said Nick Stokes, executive VP of building materials distribution. “The positive relationships they have built with their customers and suppliers have been a key to their success. We are very pleased to welcome their team to Boise Cascade and strengthen our presence in the Oregon, Northern California, and Nevada markets.”
The entire staff is expected to remain, under the banner Boise Cascade Building Materials Distribution Medford Branch.
“Norman Distribution is excited and proud to join Boise Cascade,” said owner Jeff Norman. “We were one of the first customers of their EWP mill in White City, Ore., which began operating in 1991. This is a great strategic and cultural fit, which will allow us to grow our product line and better serve our customers.”
The acquisition is expected to be complete in the coming weeks.
From Building Products Digest: https://www.building-products.com/article/boise-cascade-buys-norman/
by Web Editor | May 4, 2018 | News
The International Code Council’s (ICC) Committee Action Hearings in Columbus, Ohio, have concluded with a clear endorsement of building codes that will enable the use of mass timber technologies in buildings ranging up to 18 stories. Though taller mass timber buildings are currently being built under various local codes, this move by the ICC ensures that model code provisions will be available to many more building officials.
Mass timber structures are generally built with large panels made of cross-laminated timber (CLT), nail-laminated timber (NLT), glue-laminated timber (Glulam) or structural composite lumber (SCL). The greater availability of CLT has provided new options for builders.
“The strength and fire resistance performance of mass timber structures is well understood and supported by substantial testing and data,” said Stephen DiGiovanni, P.E., Chair of the ICC’s Ad Hoc Committee on Tall Wood Buildings and fire protection engineer for the Clark County (NV) Department of Building and Fire Prevention. “As taller mass timber buildings become more widely deployed, it’s important that the International Building Code and the entire family of I-Codes remains at the forefront of emerging construction technologies, and continues to provide building and fire code officials with the tools they need to ensure the safety of the public and first responders.”
All buildings under the International Building Code (IBC) must meet specified fire performance standards, whether built of steel, concrete or mass timber. The 14 code provisions passed out of the ICC Committee Action Hearing established new fire resistance standards and procedures for mass timber that are more rigorous than comparable steel and concrete structures.
From Civil+Structural Engineer: https://csengineermag.com/code-officials-move-update-ibc-tall-mass-timber-buildings/
by Web Editor | Apr 23, 2018 | News
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) will not launch a new investigation into plywood imports from China for the time being. With this decision, the DOC dismissed a petition filed by four U.S. plywood producers on 15 February.
In the petition, the plaintiffs called for more far-reaching reviews to complement the investigation completed at the end of 2017. Specifically, they aimed to expand the subject of the probe into plywood made with softwood veneer faces. The companies report that a variety of Chinese plywood manufacturers have started to switch outer faces with softwood veneers in response to punitive duties imposed on hardwood plywood products at the start of the year.
Section 781c of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930 allows the investigation to be expanded as long as the new object of the investigation only varies slightly from the grades covered to date. The probes conducted to date addressed laminated and unlaminated plywood with two or more layers whose top face solely consists of hardwood veneers or bamboo. Against this backdrop, the DOC feels that plywood with softwood outer faces cannot be seen as a minor product change to the object of the investigation.
From EUWID: https://www.euwid-wood-products.com/news/wood-based-panels/single/Artikel/us-no-new-investigation-into-plywood-imports-from-china.html
by Web Editor | Apr 20, 2018 | News
First Full CLT Building In California Opens
The ribbon cutting ceremony by the Plumas County Health and Humans Services Department for its new Biomass Boiler Building in Quincy, CA on April 6, marked the opening of the first building in California made entirely of cross-laminated timber (CLT). CLT is establishing itself as a sustainable building material with a reduced carbon footprint and an inviting, natural aesthetic. Whereas limited uses of CLT were previously implemented across the state of California in buildings as a roof or floor system, the Biomass Boiler Building was constructed using CLT panels for the complete structural system to resist gravity and lateral forces, such as wind or a seismic event.
Owned by Plumas County, the industrial Biomass Boiler Building located adjacent to the Health and Human Services Department in Quincy, CA, includes approximately 2,000 SF of space. It houses an innovative biomass system using organic and sustainable waste material to generate heat for the Health and Human Services Building as an alternative to fossil fuels. The boiler is only the second of its kind in the U.S.; it is a community-scale, biomass boiler unit that runs on hog fuel, a coarse woody material generated as a byproduct directly from forest restoration and management activities.
Camille Swezy, Wood Utilization Program Lead of Sierra Institute, remarked, “The community of Quincy and Plumas County officials are very pleased with the new Biomass Boiler Building constructed entirely of CLT, now housing an innovative biomass heating system. Timber and wood products development is deeply engrained in Quincy’s roots, and the community is now thrilled to have a demonstration of wood utilization in a practical small-scale application.”
Originally, the Biomass Boiler Building structure was planned to be constructed with a prefabricated metal building system. Plumas County officials and the Sierra Institute decided to take the project in another direction to demonstrate the strengths and benefits of building with timber while also incorporating Plumas County’s most abundant natural timber resources. Plumas County officials worked with the design team to integrate mass timber into the building’s design.
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by Web Editor | Apr 6, 2018 | News
If you manufacture finished goods that contain particleboard, medium density fiberboard (MDF) or hardwood plywood (HWPW), then you likely have been preparing to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Formaldehyde Emissions Standards for Composite Wood Products rule. If this is the first time you have heard of this Regulation, known also as “TSCA Title VI” after the statutory authority for the regulation, there is still time to prepare for compliance, but time is of the essence. This article provides a general outline of the TSCA Title VI requirements applicable to manufacturers of finished products containing composite wood panels, as well as the key dates for compliance, which have only just been finalized through recent litigation.
TSCA Title VI covers all finished goods and component parts made with particleboard, MDF and HWPW. Fabricators that make component parts using a wood or woody grass veneer (such as bamboo) attached to a composite wood core that is later used in a finished product may also meet the definition for “laminated product” producers, which triggers several additional requirements starting March 22, 2024. TSCA Title VI does include a “de minimis” exemption for finished goods or component parts sold directly to end users if its composite wood content does not exceed 144 square inches on its largest face. This exemption applies only to labeling; products such as small picture frames and others that meet the de minimis definition must still be made with compliant composite wood and comply with recordkeeping requirements.
The central requirement for manufacturers of finished goods is that they use compliant composite wood and that this is documented throughout the supply chain. On March 13, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order altering many TSCA Title VI compliance dates, including those related to sourcing. Fabricators must either begin using TSCA Title VI certified composite wood panels in all component parts and finished goods by June 1, 2018, or be able to prove that the composite wood panels or component parts were manufactured before, or were in inventory prior to, that date. The Court has now also allowed California Air Resources Board Airborne Toxic Control Measure Phase 2 (“CARB 2”) certified composite wood panels to be considered TSCA Title VI compliant until March 22, 2019.
Read more on this from Woodworking Network at https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/management/quickguide-to-epa-formaldehyde-regulation-what-woodworkers-need-know?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news.
