Montana
and Oregon could soon have company with Washington in the fast-growing manufacture
of cross laminated timber, spreading the hope that the sustainable wood product
could further revive Northwest timber jobs and meet the needs of an
increasingly green-conscious building industry.
Vaagen
Timbers, a subsidiary of long-established Vaagen Brothers Lumber in Colville, has
announced plans to build a cross laminated timber, CLT, facility in its northeastern
Washington home base 70 miles north of Spokane.
The
lumber company has already been working across the northern border to supply finished
lumber to Penticton, BC based StructurLam, a leading CLT manufacturer in Canada
which has supplied product for construction in Oregon, Washington and other
states.
Vaagen’s plans have the attention of the state’s
Department of Natural Resources, which views CLT production as a potential tool
to improve health of the state’s forests by removing smaller diameter trees,
while also providing new revenue.
The
DNR has asked the state legislature for $15 million in the biennial budget for
forest management that would include thinning and restoration, especially in
areas with high wildfire potential.
In
Washingon revenue from the sale of state-controlled timberland supports the
public school system. Already several schools have used CLT for construction of
new classrooms through a 2016 state capital fund budget that earmarked $5.5
million for 20 CLT-built elementary facilities.
With
Vaagen’s entry to the market in 2018 as now planned, there would be an in-state
CLT source competing with the only other US based suppliers, DR Johnson of
Riddle, OR and SmartLam of Columbia Falls, MT.
