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 Wood Residue Markets

Market Alternatives for Wood Residues in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
George Banzhaf & Company
May 15, 2000

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Abstract:  Northern Initiatives’ mission is to improve the competitive position of the Upper Peninsula’s economy by providing financing, training and consulting to firms across the region.  The forest products industry is the largest in the U.P. and consists of a wide variety of businesses ranging from major paper corporations to small family-owned logging and saw milling operations.  Production issues are a major concern, particularly among the smaller companies; however, there is also a significant industry-wide need for information and expertise in the areas of marketing and market development.  This project was aimed at developing the background information needed to help U.P. businesses become more successful in the marketing of their wood residue by-products

Composting Commercial Fish Processing Waste from Fish Caught in the Michigan Waters of the Great Lakes
Ronald E. Kinnunen, M. Charles Gould, Peter Cambier
May 5, 2005

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The disposal or reuse of fish processing waste has long been a challenge for Michigan’s fish processing industry. Approximately 5 million pounds of waste from commercially processed lake whitefish, lake trout and salmon are generated annually. In an effort to help the Michigan fish processing industry find better solutions to handle fish processing waste materials, a project was initiated to determine the viability of composting fish waste. The objectives of this project were to develop a compost marketing strategy, produce compost that met identified market specifications, and document the levels of mercury and halogenated hydrocarbons along the composting process to allay concerns about using composted fish waste.

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The Use of Red Maple in the Manufacture of Laminated Veneer Lumber

A major shift is occurring in the ecology of the country’s eastern deciduous forests.  This shift is in part a consequence of human interventions, and its result is evidenced in the aggressive proliferation of the red maple species.  Prior to the twentieth century, red maple habitat confined itself to the wet lowlands.  Urban sprawl triggered fire suppression and forest fragmentation enabling the red maple to become an increasingly significant component of the forest community. To properly manage these changing forests, markets must be found for red maple wood.

Engineered composite materials represent one of the fastest growing segments of the wood products industry. Wood composite I-joists are now used in over forty percent of new residential construction in North America, and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is a primary material used in their manufacture. LVL is an engineered composite that can be manufactured from a variety of raw materials. Today it is predominantly produced from southern pine and douglas fir. The purpose of this project is to develop the engineering and marketing information needed to support the use of red maple in LVL manufacturing.

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Hardwood Resource Impact Assessment
Al Schuler – USDA Forest Service, Princeton, WV

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Abstract:  There has been an accelerated shift to hardwood fiber consumption by the forest products industry in response to changes in National Forest management policies and the concurrent development of new manufacturing and conversion technologies, including improved binder/resin systems.  These changes have led to a significant reduction in the availability of softwood fiber, particularly from old growth fiber on Federal lands in the western United States. 

As old growth fiber disappeared, lumber quality fell and prices went up – a bad combination. Builders became disenchanted with decreasing lumber quality and increased price volatility.  Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) products can address both problems.  Because it is more homogeneous it has a more predictable performance record and because it performs well across the “board,” so to speak, price volatility is significantly reduced.

This research study considers the feasibility of using hardwood fiber in the production of LVL and considers the impact its utilization might have on the hardwood resource. Hardwood lumber producers, the hardwood pulp industry, the furniture industry, and the pallet industry are growing more concerned about the future availability and cost of hardwood fiber. The key question becomes whether or not there is enough hardwood to meet everyone’s demands for it.

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Marketability of Hardwood LVL
Al Schuler - USDA FS Princeton, WV
Revised February 7, 2002

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Abstract:  This document is a report of marketing research that examined the market opportunities for laminated veneer lumber (LVL) produced with red maple. Although there are some near term, overcapacity problems in the industry, the long-term market outlook for LVL is excellent. The largest market is and will continue to be North American structural applications, with much of the growth potential in header/beam type end uses.  On a volume basis, this won’t change noticeably the way houses are built here at least in the next decade or the fact that engineered wood products will continue to displace conventional lumber in many structural applications.    A note of caution - structural markets may be more difficult to penetrate due to code related issues/requirements.   The best opportunity for red maple LVL may be in the nonstructural area including furniture and fixtures, architectural moldings, and the kitchen cabinet industry.

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Ultrasonic Veneer Grade Yields for Red Maple
Steven A. Verhey, John R. Erickson, John W. Forsman, Xiping Wang, Peter E. Laks,
Robert J. Ross, Brian Brashaw, Robert Vatalaro
Revised October 8, 2002

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Abstract:  The study described in this report was undertaken to assess the potential for using red maple saw logs to manufacture laminated veneer lumber (LVL). Its primary objective was to determine the ultrasonic grade yield of veneer from the red maple logs.

A sample of fifty-six logs was obtained from six states in the Eastern and Lake States Regions of the United States.   The logs were visually graded and shipped to a plywood manufacturing facility in Northern Michigan where they were debarked, steamed for seventy-two hours, and then rotary peeled into nominal one-eighth inch thick veneer.  Special care was taken to ensure that each veneer sheet could be traced back to the log from which it came. The veneer sheets were dried to approximately twelve percent moisture content at the plywood mill, shipped to Madison, Wisconsin (the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory), and stress waved timed in a Metriguard Model 2600 ultrasonic veneer grader. The average stress wave speed and density of each sheet was used to compute its modulus of elasticity (MOE).

Veneer yields and MOE comparisons were made based on geographical region of log origin:  Lake States (Michigan and Wisconsin) and Eastern States (New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia).  Veneer yield was tabulated based on 4 categories: 54-inch wide sheets, 36-inch wide sheets, strips, and fishtails.  The only major difference in yield between the two regions was observed in the #2 logs – the Eastern State logs yielded approximately thirteen percent more of the original log volume in the form of 54” sheets. The MOE comparisons were based on results from the 54-inch wide sheets because the yield of 36-inch sheets was low. It was found that the results were best considered as a whole, rather than as data from two regions. When grouped, the yield of 54” veneer sheets was similar for the #1 and #2 logs, but the #3 log yield was lower.  Decreases in the total veneer yield corresponded with decreases in log quality. The MOE values of veneer from all logs had a mean of 1.80 Mpsi and a standard deviation of 0.33 Mpsi.   

Red Maple LVL Manufacturing and Testing
John R. Erickson, John W. Forsman, Steven A. Verhey, Xiping Wang, Peter E. Laks, Robert J. Ross, Brian Brashaw, and Robert Vatalaro.
Revised October 11, 2002

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Abstract:  This work was completed in order to demonstrate the properties of billets manufactured using red maple veneer.  The red maple veneer produced through yield studies was pressed into billets at Michigan Technological University.  This supplemental report provides some limited data concerning the lumber produced from the billets and MTU’s experience with the process of pressing the laminates into lumber billets.

The work revealed problems with delaminations that, although not severe, do require additional testing in order to apply the variables necessary to determine causation.  There appears to be a positive correlation between veneer MOE and the layup of veneer and lumber produced.

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Utilization of Hardwood Lumber for Structural Applications

This project is designed to strengthen the manufacturing sector in the upper Lake States region by making better use of low-value wood products. 

Specifically, the objective of this project is to implement the use of low-grade, underutilized red and/or sugar maple as visual, graded, and machine stress rated (MSR) structural lumber in metal plate trusses.  Testing and demonstration projects have shown that hardwood lumber can be successfully utilized in engineered wood products like trusses, wood I-joists and glue-laminated beams.  A significant project goal is to identify a Michigan hardwood sawmill interested in producing structural web components for trusses. This mill will be linked with a truss manufacturer to manufacture trusses for commercial use, allowing both parties to assess the benefits and challenges of using hardwood lumber.  The project team will interact closely with both the identified sawmill and truss manufacturers to facilitate the use of structural hardwood lumber for this purpose.  The results of this partnering will allow hardwood lumber mills to add more value to low or under valued lumber products, thus improving their profitability and the number and security of jobs in the industry.  It will benefit the truss industry by creating an additional, regional lumber resource.

We will utilize the results of structural hardwood research and technology development that has been completed by the project team over the past several years.  Research completed to date includes the following:

• Determination of lumber yields and recovery information.
• Evaluation of engineering properties of lumber from hardwood species including sugar and red maple, yellow birch, and aspen. 
• Development of appropriate/cost-effective drying schedules. 
• Assessment of truss plate fasteners.
• Development of engineering designs for trusses and I-joists.
• Fabrication and testing of hardwood trusses for both deflection and ultimate load.
• Demonstrations of prototype trusses and I-joists. 
• Preparation of preliminary financial assessments. 
• Construction of several homes and garages with hardwood lumber trusses.

This research has demonstrated that structural lumber can be generated from hardwoods. It also shows that trusses and I-joists manufactured from hardwood lumber have properties that are equivalent to or better than softwood lumber.  The combination of improved resource utilization and technical success has moved this project to the implementation stage.  To successfully commercialize the use of hardwood lumber, partnerships must be developed between sawmills and truss manufacturers. This would allow companies to penetrate the market and develop the experience necessary to ultimately demonstrate that using hardwood lumber in the manufacturing of truss web components does result in a viable product. 

The final objective for this project is to assimilate the entire body of technical research and define a universal hardwood truss product for submission to the National Evaluation Service (NES).  An NES evaluation report, referred to as a National Evaluation Report or NER, provides a defensible basis for compliance with U.S. model building codes. This submission would encompass sugar and red maple lumber and include the truss plate design values that have been established to date. Issuance of an NER report would provide a general one-stop national approval for hardwood truss components.

This project is being implemented by Northern Initiatives in collaboration with the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, the School of Forestry and Wood Products at Michigan Technological University, and the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin.

Download the Powerpoint Presentation to learn more.



Structural Truss Components from Low-Quality Hardwood Lumber

Microsoft Powerpoint Show

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Composting of Wood Mill and Fish Processing Residues

Michigan commercially harvests 14.8 million pounds of fish from the Great Lakes annually, generating about 7.4 million pounds of fish processing waste.  This waste often contains micro-contaminants such as halogenated hydrocarbons, (i.e. polychlorinated biphenyls, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin), and heavy metals, specifically mercury.

The legal disposal options for the fish processing industry are limited. One option, composting, is not being practiced due, in part, to uncertainty in the industry about levels of resulting contamination in the finished product, applicable state regulations, and the value of end markets for the compost.

The forest products industry sometimes lacks low cost alternatives for the disposal of mill residues; especially this is the case with the more geographically isolated mills. The combination of fish waste as a source of nitrogen with the carbon source in the wood residue provides a composting alternative for these materials in both industries.

Northern Initiatives conducted a pilot-composting project, which has resulted in the estimated recycling of 15000 pounds of fish waste using sawmill residues to provide the necessary carbon input. The project could eventually result in the use of a large portion of the 7.4 million pounds of recycled waste for various compost and planting mix products.  Important partners in this project include the Michigan State University Extension Service, the Sea Grant Extension Program, Kinross Township, and Soils Solutions (a private producer of compost products).

Composting Commercial Fish Processing Waste from Fish Caught in the Michigan Waters of the Great Lakes
Ronald E. Kinnunen, M. Charles Gould, Peter Cambier
May 5, 2005

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Great Lakes Wood Manufacturing Partnership

The Great Lakes Wood Manufacturing Partnership will enhance the competitiveness of the wood products industry in the western Great Lakes region of Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. To accomplish this goal, the Partnership will link private wood products manufacturers with the University of Minnesota Duluth, Michigan Technological University, Northern Initiatives, the Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources, and the USDA Forest Products Laboratory with the vision and goal of enhancing the economic growth and stability of these companies.

Two researchers, Treacy and Wiersema¹,  suggest that a successful manufacturing strategy can be reduced to these three elements:

• Operational excellence
• Product leadership
• Customer intimacy

Sustaining a manufacturing operation requires that a company perform well in two of these areas and that it excel in the third.  The intent of this project is to use an innovative team of service providers, together with best manufacturing practices borrowed from other sectors, to assist a the forest products industry (a hard-pressed, mature industry) in maintaining and, in some cases, regaining its competitive position.

During the first phase of this project, fifteen companies from these states will participate in company specific manufacturing process improvement and/or product and market development projects in cooperation with wood products specialists from the Partnership. In the second phase, an additional twelve or more company partners will be identified for projects.  Further outreach to wood products companies in the Great Lakes Region will take the form of a one-day short course covering topics such as manufacturing improvement processes and the discussion of relevant case studies.  These activities will be evaluated to document improved competitiveness, using indicators of improvements in employment and profitability among the participating firms.

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¹ Treacy, M. and Wiersema, F., The discipline of market leaders, Diane Publishing Co., 1995, p.17.

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