B.C.’s wood-first policy got a shot in the arm Thursday when Penticton-based Structurlam Products opened a brand-new cross-laminated timber (CLT) plant in Okanagan Falls.
The plant, which received $5.7 million in provincial and federal funding, will churn out a state-of-the-art building product that’s being advertised as a replacement for concrete.
“In the same that our glue-laminated beams offer an alternative to steel in long and complex spans, our CrossLam panels provide an alternative to concrete that uses local, renewable resources with compelling structural and environmental advantages,” said Structurlam president Bill Downing.
CLT panels are essentially pieces of lumber stacked in different directions and glued together to create a strong and airtight building material.
Structurlam said its plant is the largest of its kind in western North America, and its panels could be used for floors, walls and ceilings.
Business in Vancouver first wrote about CLT technology in April, noting that it was the primary building material for a 220-square-foot home that was built as an example of environmentally friendly living for the 2010 Winter Games. (See “Lamination innovation: Rebuilding building” – issue 1119; April 5-11.)
The development of CLT in B.C. comes at a time when the province is looking to bolster the use of wood as a building material in an effort to rejuvenate the forest sector.
The provincial government introduced its Wood First Act in the fall of 2009, requiring all provincially funded building projects to use wood as the primary construction material
Innovation Minister Pat Bell was on hand Thursday to welcome Structurlam’s new plant.
“The province’s Wood First initiative is about promoting the use of wood as the first choice resource in the construction industry, and looking for innovative ways to use on of our province’s primary natural resources and expand the wood market,” said Bell. “This plant will take the use and production of B.C. wood to another level.”
Joel McKay