JACKSON, Miss. - Construction of a studio that promotes innovative wood product design and building methods will soon begin at Mississippi State University’s School of Architecture thanks to a $10,000 grant and matching money.

The grant was awarded by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc., an international non-profit promoting responsible forest management. The Mississippi Forestry Foundation (MFA) and other industry groups added a combined $12,000 in a grant match.

Fourth-year undergraduate students at MSU will use the studio, which is called TIMB(R): Timber Innovations for Mississippi Buildings Reimagined. Students will engage in a competition to design plans for a mid-rise wooden structure that could become a showcase for wood building design in the state, as well as serving as an office space for the MFA. The winning design probably won’t be built, but it will provide MFA the chance to conjure interest and investment for a like-minded project.

MSU architecture assistant professor Jacob A. Gines will use a portion of the funding for a design studio, scheduled for this fall and tailored for fourth-year undergraduate students. The studio will focus on recent innovations in wood products and construction methods, said MSU on their website.

Gines said recent innovations in wood design technology, such as cross laminated timber where thicker wood panels run perpendicular throughout the structures’ frames, are opening doors to taller wood construction with better fire ratings.

“These highly engineered wood products allow us to increase the strength and span properties of wood, so we can build higher while addressing life safety issues,” he said.

With a showcase wood building that would demonstrate those technologies, Gines sees an opportunity for Mississippi to become a leader in the Southeast region in promoting mid-rise wood-frame construction, said MSU. He said that would help the state’s economy.

MSU architecture students already have experience with wooden architecture. Last year, they designed a 20-story wooden building for an urban Manhattan setting.

Innovations in wood buildings and interest in wood-frame construction is gaining momentum around the country, and around the world.

PORTLAND - 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, and sponsored by the USDA, 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 and Sauter Timber in Rockwood, Tennessee.

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 tohelp grow the U.S. market .

ARTICLE Oregon manufacturer first to be CLT certified D.R. Johnson has received the first U.S. certification to manufacture cross-laminated timbers (CLT) under a new standard approved last year by the American National Standards Institute.

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 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.

Advocates of CLT say it can be used to construct buildings of equal strength and fire-resistance as those made of steel and concrete. It has also fueled the passions of architects and environmentalists, who believe it to be a much greener method for housing the world's growing population.  

Due to its benefits for carbon capture and reduced CO2 emissions in construction, CLT has sparked interest worldwide. Proposals for new projects include a 100-story tower in London, a 40-story building in Stockholm, and a residential complex in Vancouver.  An 18-story CLT wood structure, a student residence at the University of British Columbia, is nearing completion.

The National Building Museum's Timber City exhibit hopes to challenge the notion that wood is an antiquated building material. The exhibit will feature an immersive installation with numerous architectural models, which include prefabricated wood walls and large-scale samples of mass timber. Timber City will demonstrate the many advantages offered by timber construction, including strength, fire resistance, sustainability, and beauty. 

The museum says CLT is the only building material can reduce carbon emissions and remove carbon from the atmosphere.

PENTICTON, B.C. - Mass timber manufacturer Structurlam says its president, Bill Downing, has been named Runner-up in the Pacific region Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year 2016 awards. He was recognized in the contruction category.

The program recognizes Pacific region entrepreneurs for financial performance, vision, leadership, personal integrity and entrepreneurial spirit.

Bill Downing has been with Structurlam since its inception in 2007. He recently led the mass timber manufacturer through a time of substantial innovation, as the company shifted towards the application of technology such as 3D modeling and robotics in the manufacturing of glue-laminated (Glulam) and cross-laminated timber (Crosslam CLT) panels in pre-fabricated mass timber packages.

The company has contributed major components to several award winning and world class projects, including UBC Brock Commons and Rocky Ridge Recreational Facility. Construction was recently completed on UBC Brock Commons, making it the world's tallest mass timber building. This impressive project will serve as a benchmark for future mass timber construction. Rocky Ridge Recreational Facility, which features the world's largest wood constructed roof in North America, covering approximately 28,000 square meters, is slated for completion in Fall 2017.

"I'm proud to be leading such an innovative company as we manufacture the highest quality, BC born and raised products, and make the world more aware of the benefits of building with mass timber," shares Mr. Downing. "It is an honour to be named Runner-up for this award, and it reflects on the collective success of everyone at Structurlam."

EY Entrepreneur of the Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. It celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic business, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 140 cities in 50 countries.

Structurlam is a provider of the most innovative and cost-effective structural laminated mass timber solutions and industrial matting. Structurlam's mass timber solutions cover the spectrum from simple beams and panels to the most complex and beautiful structures in the world. Their value-added production includes the best people and state-of-the art technology coming together to create glue-laminated beams and cross-laminated panels showcasing premium British Columbian fibre. Using mass timber for both its strength and beauty, Structurlam works closely with customers to create complete solutions including connection design, engineering and installation. Their world-class reputation is a result of more than 50 years of innovation and quality. For more information, please visit http://structurlam.com.

MINNEAPOLIS– The seven-story T3 tower features 220,000 square feet of prefabricated CLT timber panels and nail-laminated timber cladding.

It became the largest timber building in the U.S. when it opened Wednesday in Minneapolis. Designed by Vancouver-based Michael Green Architecture and Architect-of-Record DLR Group, the office building is named T3, which stands for Timber, Technology, and Transit.

“As businesses compete to attract and retain staff, T3 offers a modern re-interpretation of the historic building that appeals to young professionals,” says Architect Michael Green. “It celebrates the robust character of historic wood, brick, stone and steel buildings, but provides state of the art amenities, environmental performance, and technical capability needed for competitive businesses in Minneapolis.”

In addition to being constructed of sustainable lumber, the building will sequester about 3,200 tons of carbon.

StructureCraft, who worked on the project, said the building, which resembles nearby historic warehouses in the district, features a structural system around a fifth of the weight of a similarly sized concrete building. StructureCraft says it was able to construct the 180,000 square feet of timber required in less than 10 weeks.

“T3 is a unique approach to office building and an investment in both the past and future of Minneapolis – specifically the rich history of the warehouse district,” says Green.  We have designed T3 to build on the character of the past with a progressive modern perspective.”

“It will have the ambiance of the old warehouses with timber beams that everyone wants, but solves all the problems of energy efficiency and light,” real estate firm Hines director Bob Pfefferle told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Advocates of CLT say it can be used to construct buildings of equal strength and fire-resistance as those made of steel and concrete. It has also fueled the passions of architects and environmentalists, who believe it to be a much greener method for housing the world's growing population. 

Due to its benefits for carbon capture and reduced CO2 emissions in construction, CLT has sparked interest worldwide. Proposals for new projects include a 100-story tower in London, a 40-story building in Stockholm, and a residential complex in Vancouver.  An 18-story CLT wood structure, a student residence at the University of British Columbia, is nearing completion.

Read more about Timber Towers>>

Why an international lumber classification system?

“One of the challenges within the industry is that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of timber species-grade designations, each with unique engineering properties, so choosing the most appropriate for a construction project is not easy,” said Erol Karacabeyli, Chair of ISO/TC 165.

What ISO standards for lumber?

Where would we be without wood? In 2015 alone, we humans consumed a whopping 310 million cubic metres of softwood lumber and 130 million cubic metres of hardwood lumber, totalling USD 129 billion. And the hunger for wood is increasing, with wooden buildings as high as 18 stories starting to pop up. 

CORVALLIS, Ore.— The National Center for Advanced Wood Products Manufacturing and Design at Oregon State University has been renamed as the TallWood Design Institute.

The institute brings together the OSU College of Forestry; OSU College of Engineering; and the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts. It’s the nation’s only research collaborative that focuses exclusively on the advancement of structural wood products, and will serve as a national research, education, teaching and outreach hub in the development of tall wood buildings.

Iain Macdonald, an international leader in high-rise wood structures who led the Centre for Advanced Wood Products at the University of British Columbia for the past 10 years, has been hired as its first acting director.

“Oregon’s forest products industry and sustainable design profession are recognized for their products and progressive leadership internationally,” said Thomas Maness, dean of the College of Forestry. “The TallWood Design Institute works to link these two together in order to grow and leverage the use of new wood products in sustainable building design. The addition of Iain Macdonald is one more step toward putting mass timber on the map and Oregon as the go-to place for expertise and new products.”

The institute’s applied research on the strength and durability of mass timber products is key to widespread adoption of this technology. Data from product testing and development enables building code officials to modify rules to allow for mass timber buildings in the United States. Mass timber has been successfully used in Europe for over two decades.

“I’m excited to lead the TallWood Design Institute and partner with two outstanding universities,” said Macdonald, who played a key role in garnering support for UBC to build the world’s tallest timber structure in 2016, an 18-story student dormitory called Brock Commons. “We are conducting collaborative, world-class research that will advance solutions for designers, manufacturers and engineers of advanced wood structures and encourage the widespread adoption of tall wood buildings.”

The institute and its affiliated wood science, architecture and engineering faculty have already played a key role in developing market-ready mass timber products that are either being used, or will soon be used, in commercial projects.

"There is a lot of excitement around mass timber in the design community,” said Judith Sheine, head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture & Allied Arts. “But for mass timber to be fully embraced in the U.S., we need demonstration projects, performance testing, and new product development. The TallWood Design Institute is doing the kind of research needed to make it possible for design professionals to realize the potential of mass timber and to make it practical to use in a variety of project types."

Oregon State is one of only three locations in the world with a multi-chamber environmental conditioning system capable of conducting durability and advanced climate testing. The institute is equipped to perform structural, seismic, fire and acoustic testing on engineered wood products and their distinct components.

Currently, the institute is testing panels for the 12-story Framework project in Portland, one of two national winners of a U.S. Department of Agriculture mass timber design competition. It is also partnering with D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations to conduct fire and structural testing on cross-laminated timber panels and is working with Freres Lumber Company, Inc. of Lyons to create a new Mass Plywood Panel for structural applications in buildings.

On March 28, Mass Timber Conference delegates will visit Oregon State University to learn about the TallWood Design Institute and visit its extensive research and testing facilities. Representatives from Michael Green Architecture will be on hand to introduce the two innovative new wood buildings that are set to begin construction this spring - the A.A. Red Emerson Advanced Wood Processing Laboratory and the new Peavy Hall, future home to the OSU College of Forestry. Judith Sheine, Head, Department of Architecture at University of Oregon, will describe the design side of the TallWood initiative.
For more information about the TallWood Design Institute, please visit tallwoodinstitute.org.

The Oregon State University College of Forestry has been a world class center of teaching, learning and research for a century. It offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in sustaining ecosystems, managing forests and manufacturing wood products; conducts basic and applied research on the nature and use of forests; and operates 14,000 acres of college forests.

EN FRANCAIS

SEATTLE, Wash.— Installation began Monday for Washington’s fourth mass timber modular classroom project. The four-classroom building at Greywolf Elementary in Sequim was erected in a single day. A pilot project, funded by the state Legislature and overseen by the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services, is pioneering the use of cross-laminated timber to build 20 classrooms at five schools across Washington.

The pilot project is creating a way to improve classroom conditions for students, while also supporting one of the Pacific Northwest’s most promising new industries. Washington State’s 2016 supplemental capital budget included $5.5 million in the state building construction account for the pilot project. The use of innovative contacting methods by the Department of Enterprise Services allowed the project to go from concept to complete in less than a year.

“We are very appreciative for the opportunity to manufacture these cross-laminated timber panels (CLT) for this pilot project”, said Valerie Johnson, D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations’ president.  “Our company was the first U.S. certified manufacturer of this product so it took a bit of a leap of faith to believe the market demand would grow. The Pacific NW is the best region in the country to lead this evolution of building with mass timber construction systems.  This project will be another important catalyst for similar projects that follow.”

The pilot project provides needed classroom space for K-3 students in Washington who would otherwise be served by temporary buildings—giving the state an opportunity to test and fine-tune multiple classroom designs. Additionally, it creates gives Washington designers, contractors and suppliers a chance to advance their skillset using this new building method.

“I’m so excited to see a school project like this showing off CLT. The team should be commended for their work to stimulate the market for this innovative wood product with its opportunities for manufacturing and rural jobs – all using locally produced wood,” says Hilary S. Franz, the state’s Commissioner of Public Lands. “The fact that the Sequim school project used lumber from the Olympic Peninsula, mere miles from the school site, is testament to this industry’s incredible potential.”

The cross-laminated timber panels were manufactured by Oregon’s D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations using lumber sourced from Interfor located in nearby Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula. Each panel was designed and cut to the architect’s specifications, easing the burden on the construction contractor during assembly.

“What we’re seeing in the Pacific Northwest is the creation of a closed loop; a ‘forest to frame’ ecosystem is taking shape,” said Joe Mayo, Mahlum Architects’ project architect. “The state’s investment in this pilot project is giving the Northwest an edge by allowing firms in our region to get up-to-speed quickly on CLT and demonstrate by example that building with mass timber is not only possible, but a key step forward in sustainable design.”

Unlike most other building methods, mass timber construction uses pre-fabricated CLT panels. This requires close collaboration among the contractor, design team, fabricators, and installers. All parties are equally important and affect how successfully the CLT will be installed. The design and planning completed during pre-construction pays off with a greatly reduced construction schedule.

“The ease of installation at the Sequim school project demonstrates that building with mass timber, regardless of project complexity, is still faster than traditional framing,” said John Gilson, Walsh Construction Co. project manager. “Installation that would take 4-5 days with conventional framing (or 2-3 weeks for a larger project) is easily achieved in half the time."

Key stats on the Greywolf Elementary School project:
•    Project team:
o    Project Manager and Contracts: Department of Enterprise Services
o    Architect: Mahlum Architects
o    General Contractor: Walsh Construction
o    Cross-laminated timber manufacturer: D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations
o    Lumber Supplier: Interfor
•    Funder:
o     The Washington State Legislature included $5.5 million in the state building construction account for the pilot project in the 2016 supplemental capital budget.  
•    Building description:
o    3,960 square feet
o    Four classrooms, two shared work rooms and two restrooms
•    Interesting design features:
o    Interior walls can be removed to promote co-teaching
o    All loadbearing walls in the buildings will be constructed from CLT and will be left exposed to view on the interior. As a result, students will be surrounded by natural wood, which provokes positive psychological responses similar to how trees elicit biophilic responses. Wood in classrooms has been shown to reduce stress and the heart rate of students, as reported by Planet Ark's 2015 study Wood - Housing, Health, Humanity.  
o    Modular design has the ability to be replicated on any site, allowing school districts to quickly respond to overcrowding and classroom demands.
About the Washington State pilot project:
The Department of Enterprise Services is overseeing a pilot project to build 20 kindergarten through third-grade classrooms using cross-laminated timber (CLT) in five school district sites in Washington.
The state's 2016 supplemental capital budget included $5.5 million in the state building construction account for the pilot project, which in addition to constructing the classrooms will measure how well using the engineered wood product creates efficiencies in the construction process, and achieves other environmental and economic benefits. Potential benefits include:
•    Reduced quantity of construction site waste due to prefabrication of panels.
•    Quicker construction time because services can be installed and finishes applied while panel installation continues.
•    Creation of local jobs, especially in rural communities.
•    Making it profitable to thin forests, thus reducing the danger of wildfires.
•    Reduced use of fossil fuels to manufacture using wood, compared to using structural concrete, masonry or steel.
Four modular classrooms are being built in each of the following school districts:
•    Western Washington
o    Seattle School District – Maple Elementary
o    Mount Vernon School District - Jefferson Elementary
o    Sequim School District Greywolf Elementary
•    Eastern Washington
o    Wapato School District – Adams Elementary
o    Toppenish School District – Valley View Elementary
For more information visit: http://des.wa.gov/about/projects-initiatives/cross-laminated-timber-pilo...
To watch a time lapse of the Mt. Vernon project: https://vimeo.com/209469432

About Mahlum Architecture
Established in 1938, Mahlum iscommitted to creating healthy and enduring communities to support the lives of future generations. The firm is focused in three primary market sectors: education, healthcare, and student housing. In 2014, Mahlum was recognized with the Firm Award by the AIA Northwest and Pacific Region. Learn more: mahlum.com Follow us on Twitter:  @MahlumArch
About Walsh Construction
Walsh is dedicated to creating innovative solutions for our clients and communities. Since 1961, the company has served building partners throughout the Pacific Northwest, with an emphasis on academic, housing, and medical/healthcare facilities. Walsh has been recognized in 2014 with Associated General Contractors’ Safety Excellence Award; and by ENR’s list of Top Green Contractors in the US. Learn more: walshconstructionco.com, or twitter.com/WalshConstCo
D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations began manufacturing wood products in Riddle, Oregon in 1951. Its Cross-Laminated Timber  manufacturing business, D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations, is the first company in the U.S. to receive APA/ANSI certification to manufacture structural CLT panels.  It has several projects under development, making it the only certified U.S. manufacturer of CLT panels currently serving the domestic market.  For more information, please visit http://www.oregonclt.com.
 

• Decore-ative Specialties VP Todd Shapiro  and Bacci America’s Joe Berry recount the two-year joint development of custom CNC cabinet door sanding system. 
• Sauder Woodworking’s Jonathan Zublena and other 40 Under 40 panelists address reshaping corporate culture. 
• Timberline Cabinetry & Millwork’s Kent Swinson and software expert Roger Shaw recount tailoring Production Coach enterprise software following a plant audit. 
• RCS Millwork’s Dan Keller and Innergy’s Marc Sanderson cover development of a plant-wide management system to integrate machinery.

PORTLAND, Ore.– A 12-story building is on its way to becoming the first mass timber tower in the United States.

The Framework Building, approved this week for construction by Portland and the State of Oregon, will measure nearly 150 feet tall and will be constructed of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated timber (glulam).  

Project^, developer of the building, expects construction to begin this fall. The goal for completion is Winter 2018.

The Framework tower will feature retail space on the ground floor, five stories of office space, and five more of apartments. The building will house an estimated 60 homes.

Portland-based CLT pioneer D.R. Johnson will supply many of the building’s CLT panels. D.R. Johnson is the first U.S. company to receive APA/ANSI certification to manufacture structural CLT panels. The company worked with USNR to build a custom CLT panel press for its Portland operation.

ARTICLE Timber construction has lumber milling machinery rolling D.R. Johnson is ready to serve a new market spawned by a recent boom in worldwide timber construction.

Portland State University and Oregon State University performed extensive testing on the proposed building to make sure it met U.S. code for seismic, fire, and acoustic requirements.

Cross-laminated timber has been gaining popularity as of late, due to its lightness, sustainability, and ease of use. Planks of timber are glued and orientated at 90 degrees to each other and are then cross-laid in layers. Those pieces are then shipped to construction sites and can be assembled by just a few workers - even for large buildings.

Its use in tall wooden buildings has also been growing. London, Stockholm, and Quebec are just a few of the cities who either already have large timber towers or have one in the works.

Building codes are being adjusted in Oregon and Washington State to permit the tall wood structures.

D.R. Johnson CEO Valerie Johnson and Oregon TallWood Design Institute Manager Iain MacDonald will speak about cross-laminated timber at the Woodworking Network Leadership Forum at AWFS 2017.

DOTHAN, Ala.– Florida-based International Beams, a manufacturer of high-quality, pre-fabricated i-joists, will convert a General Electric building as its new 227,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Dothan, Alabama.

The City of Dothan approved several tax abatements for the factory conversion, including $632,000 and four annual payments from July 2018 to July 2021 “to meet obligations with the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority to facilitate the project,” reported the Dothan Eagle.

EVENTS Technology for tall wood construction expands in U.S. market  At the Leadership Forum, Iain MacDonald from the TallWood Design Institute and Valerie Johnson, CEO of DR Johnson Lumber, explain the phenomenon leading to Portlands 14-story wood high rise.

The number of jobs created and more details about the expansion will be announced next week, Dothan officials said. It is reportedly unknown precisely what International Beams will manufacture at the facility, but the state said the company made sure the facility was highly-specialized.

At its other plants, International Beams produces solid-sawn i-joists - strong, lightweight, "I" shaped engineered wood structural members that meet demanding performance standards. I-joists are comprised of top and bottom flanges, says the APA, which resist bending and provide outstanding shear resistance. The flange material is typically laminated veneer lumber (LVL) or solid sawn lumber, and the web is made with plywood or OSB. The robust combination of structural characteristics results in a versatile, economical framing member that is easy to install in residential and light commercial projects.

International Beams is headquartered in Sarasota, Florida and runs two manufacturing facilities, one in Pohenegamook, Quebec, and the other in Tillson, Ontario. The company employs 95 workers across the two sites.

Find more about International Beams here.

Regular readers may have noticed a cast in my most recent reporting - a good deal of it is about a single day this summer: July 18.

That's when the day-long Woodworking Network Leadership Forum will take place, at the Las Vegas Convention Center - the same place the AWFS Fair takes place in four days that follow. While the show has plenty of compelling attractions for any woodworking business, there was no forum to look at what lies ahead in business, and how it will look when we get there.

I have been working on just such a program that will distill some of the most interesting trends happening in the wood manufacturing industries - trends in technology, business management, and materials. Designed as a TEDx-style program, this  for the wood manufacturing industry, this top-level conference is aimed at executives from North America’s 300 largest woodworking companies, the Leadership Forum will examine business, technology, and material trends that will impact the design and production of cabinetry, furniture and interior millwork over the next decade.

How do we know these are interesting trends? Because they are based on the site traffic at Woodworking Network.com. On any given day thousands of visitors swarm through the articles at the website, drawn by bookmarks, driven by the Daly Brief newsletter, or guided by links found in online - mostly Google - searches. 

So in putting together a conference program that would would be most interesting, we built the proceedings with a strong dose of information hat has been proven popular online. This includes:

1. Getting people to work in wood manufacturing

2. Making those workers more productive

3. Creating solution-specific new technology 

4. Digitally imaged panel and Flame-finished lumber

5. Integrated, modular room manufacture and Wooden Skyscrapers

SAN DIEGO - A two-story cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure was subjected to seismic forces produced by a 1994 6.7 Northridge earthquake. The engineered simulation is expected to reveal ways in which tall wood buildings could survive damaging earthquakes.

Workers constructed a 22-foot tall wood test structure on UC San Diego's shake table, a device for shaking structural models or building components with a wide range of simulated ground motions, like earthquakes.

SLIDESHOW Katerra CLT panels tested for earthquake resistance A manufacturer of cross laminated timber panel recorded seismic testing of its material in a two-story building placed on a giant shake table.

Led by the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), the new test will examine the viability of constructing quake-resistant CLT buildings that could be as tall as 20 stories high.

“We are working to minimize the amount of time buildings are out of service after large earthquakes," CSM engineer Shiling Pei said in a statement. "We are also focused on cutting the costs required to repair them.”

• Under medium intensity the system experienced no damage
• Under large and extreme intensity, damage occurred, but only at the connection devices

A series of briefings will detail joint technology developments between suppliers and manufacturers in creating new materials and equipment. The event is followed by the Leadership Reception, at which the 2017 Wood Industry 40 Under 40 Awards will be presented.  The event runs Tuesday, July 18, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pricing: $299 early bird before June 30; $350 afterward.

 

SEE WHOS TALKING: SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES>>

Manufacturing FutureHAUS

Joe Wheeler, Professor of Architecture + Design at Virginia Tech University shows a revolutionary prototype for the home of the future, with designs that lend themselves to modular cabinetry and furniture manufacture. Over the past four years, prototypes for the kitchen, bath, living room, bedrooms and home offices have been developed and shown at KBIS, with 25 industry partners, including Sherwin Williams and California Closets, providing design expertise. 

Wood Skyscrapers: CLT &  High-rise Buildings

DR Johnson Lumber's Todd Black detail the exciting developments in wood materials supporting a supply chain for timber towers. Eighteen-story buildings and massive condos, hotels, and schools have already been built in North America, including a 50,000 square foot warehouse nearing completion. 

Growth and insight from Manufacturing Data 

Initiatives to mine manufacturing data are providing insight into production issues, far more analytically than casual observation. This data, increasingly gleaned from the Industrial Internet of Things, provides a basis for business strategy and sales growth, and supports initiatives such as Industry 4.0. Wood industry data expert Mick Peters and author of Love Thy Data presents an overview.  

Joint Technology Development In Action

Going beta with suppliers, these wood manufacturing managers will relate first-hand the development of new technology for their operations.

• Decore-ative Specialties VP Todd Shapiro and Bacci America’s Joe Barry recount the two-year joint development of a custom CNC cabinet door sanding system, versions of which are now on the market. 

• Timberline Cabinetry & Millwork’s Kent Swinson and software expert Roger Shaw recount tailoring Production Coach enterprise software following a plant audit. 

• North American Plywood GM Donald Kuser details joint-development with Fuji on its Inca Onset high-speed digital staining, that turns 5x10’ plywood sheets to a high-def oak veneer look in 90 seconds.

• RCS Millwork’s Dan Keller and millwork firm Wilkie Sanderson president Marc Sanderson, will talk about the development of a plant-wide management system with Innergy to integrate machinery and processes. 

Trending Materials

Among the most popular subjects at Woodworking Network are new developments in materials. In addition to digital staining and cross laminated timber and panel, hear about: 

 

• One-off Digitally Printed Laminates - Stephanie Richardson, Design Manager, Schattdecor, will explain the technology and applications behind global decorative surfaces leader Schattdecor's move into its emerging digitally printed surfaces. Schattdecor operates its major U.S. production facility near St. Louis.

 

• Flame Finished Wood – Andy Hehl, head of Kebony USA and Delta Millworks have developed a new line of stylish wood that is finished using the trending Japanese Shou Sugi Ban technique.

Changing Workforce: 40 Under 40s Take Charge 

Moderated by Dean Mattson, director of the new MiLL National Training Center, this prequel to the evening Wood Industry 40 Under 40 Awards program (sponsored this year by Stiles) will poll some of the industry’s best and brightest rising talent. You'll learn how differently they think, and pain points they encounter as they try to change their organizations, and their industry. On the panel are (from left):

• Jon Wenger, CEO of Genesis Products; • Tyler Bell, VP Marketing & Sales, Bellmont Cabinets; • Jonathan Zublena, Marketing Manager, Sauder Woodworking; • Moderated by Dean Mattson, Director, the MiLL

Register for the program at AWFSFAIR.org

VANCOUVER - The Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in collaboration with the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) will lead a technical tour to Austria December 2-9, 2017.

The tour will start in Vienna with a visit to the construction site of the world’s next tallest wood building, the 24-story Ho Ho Tower. The next three days will be spent traveling through Austria visiting manufacturers of prefabricated energy efficient homes, modular building systems fabricators, and innovative mass- timber components manufacturers.

The tour will culminate at the 23rd Holzbau Forum, the world’s largest international conference on wood building and design, in Garmisch Partenkirchen (Holzbau Conference Program) The aim of the tour is to give participants the chance to see modern timber structures, state-of-the-art prefabricated home, and modular home manufacturing facilities, as well as innovative mass-timber component manufacturers.

These products are important in modern timber construction, demonstrating innovative use of advanced energy efficient materials, and mass- timber products for single family, multi-family, and non-residential construction.

For more information about the Holzbau 2017 Building Tour to Vienna, please contact Jason Chiu,  jason.chiu@ubc.ca, Tel: 604 822-0082 or Jorn Dettmer, jorn.dettmer@ubc.ca, Tel: 604 822-6131.