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Expanding Markets and Industrial Practices for Thermally Modified Wood Juan Jose Gonzalez Cordoba

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Expanding Markets and Industrial Practices for Thermally Modified Wood Juan Jose Gonzalez Cordoba Expanding Markets and Industrial Practices for Thermally Modified Wood Juan Jose Gonzalez Cordoba Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science In Forest Products Henry J. Quesada, Co-Chair Brian Bond, Co-Chair Kimberly Ellis Keywords: Thermally Modified Lumber, Yellow Poplar, Red Maple, Ash, Hardwoods, Lean Thinking, Mechanical and Physical Testing, Durability, Market perception. Expanding Markets and Industrial Practices for Thermally Modified Wood. Juan Jose Gonzalez Cordoba ABSTRACT Thermally modified wood (TMW) contains no toxic components and is recommended for its durability, levels of equilibrium of moisture content, and dimensional stability performance. A limitation of TMW is the lack of market acceptance and products due to insufficient information regarding the performance of commercially available products. The goal of this project was to improve the market penetration and industrial processes of TMW. The first objective was to study the perception of TMW products from architects in North America using a survey instrument. Results revealed that information regarding TMW is not reaching the audience for TMW, and that providing knowledge regarding technical and marketing aspects of TMW is essential to increase the market share. The second objective consisted of the evaluation of the variability of the physical and mechanical properties of three thermally treated species manufactured in North America. Results showed that the performance of the commercially produced material was similar among the three companies, where only in seven out of 24 properties had statistical differences. Properties that were significantly different, did not have large enough differences in means to be realistically noticed by customers and all were highly different from untreated wood. The final objective involved the implementation of Lean thinking to the manufacturing process of TMW with the goal of improving the process with a direct impact on cost and waste reductions. Three companies were used as case studies for the production process. The implementation of Lean thinking in the process proposed a reduction in lead times from 55.47 days to 23.20 days, with an increase in value-added activities from 1% to 6%. Most of these gains were obtained through a reduction in inventory levels. Expanding Markets and Industrial Practices for Thermally Modified Wood. Juan José González Córdoba PUBLIC ABSTRACT Thermally modified wood (TMW) contains no toxic components and is recommended for its durability, levels of equilibrium of moisture content, and dimensional stability performance. The current market for TMW encounters a lack market acceptance, due to insufficient information and performance measures. The main goal of this study was to increase market penetration and study the industrial processes for manufacturing TMW, using three specifics objectives. For the first objective, a survey was conducted to study the perception of TMW among architects. The results showed a that there was a lack of information regarding the technical and marketing aspects of TMW products, which needs to be addressed by distributors and producers. The second objective consisted of the evaluation of the variability of mechanical and physical properties of three thermally treated species manufactured in North America. The results showed that the performance from the commercial processes were similar, where only seven out of 24 cases showed statistical differences based on the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The final objective consisted of a Lean process strategy to produce TMW, improving the process with a direct impact on cost and waste reduction. To study the production process, three case study companies were used. The proposed Lean process reduced the lead times and value-added activities increased. The primary gain was seen in reducing inventory levels. Dedication I dedicate this thesis to my mother Sonia Cordoba Moya, for all her support, love and patience. iv Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank Dr. Quesada for providing me with this amazing opportunity to work on this project. Thanks for believing in me to take on this project, the support, advice, and patience that you had with me. Secondly to Dr. Bond for the support, patience, continuous guidance throughout the project and everything that you thought me as a professional as well as person. I hope I can get to see both of you again in the future. Thanks to the Wood Innovation Grants Program at the US Forest Service that made this project possible To the fellow Hokies, Nicolas and Paula who were with me this entire journey and supported me with friendship and advice since the beginning of my internship. As well as to Yu Yang for his friendship and helping me survive on that apartment. To Laura for helping me with the development of my project. I would never regret my decision to help someone even though it cost me something important. To my mother, Sonia, for all the support she provided me throughout this journey. I have never been the best son and this experience made me realize how to truly appreciate everything that I have. Thanks for all the values that you keep teaching me daily and everything that you have done to make me be a better person. To my father, Marvin, for letting me take on this opportunity and all the lessons that you taught me. I have not been the best son and my opinion, attitude and personality may not fit what you want, but I will always be there for you. Thanks for advice that you gave me all these years. To my brother Sebastian and Cristina for always supporting me. To Mariana Arias, even though we went through a lot, I will always have a soft spot on my heart for you. Thanks for the support and encouragement you gave me these years. I will always be grateful for believing in me when you did. I could have never gone through this without you and I wish only the best for you. My smile, heart and support will always be there for you…always v Table of Contents ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. ii PUBLIC ABSTRACT ............................................................................................... iii Dedication ............................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. v Table of Contents .................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ........................................................................................................ viii List of Tables ........................................................................................................... ix 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview .................................................................................................... 1 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................. 6 2.1 Classification of Trees. ............................................................................... 6 2.1.1 Hardwood Lumber ............................................................................... 6 2.1.2 Hardwood Industry and Markets .......................................................... 8 2.1.3 Type of Modifications ......................................................................... 10 2.2 Thermally Modified Wood ......................................................................... 14 2.2.1 Characteristics of Thermal Modification ............................................. 15 2.2.2 Status of Thermally Modified Wood Market in the US ....................... 16 2.2.3 Thermally Modified Wood Commercial Processes ............................ 18 2.2.4 Mechanical Performance ................................................................... 20 2.2.5 Physical Performance ........................................................................ 23 2.2.6 Treatment on Thermally Modified wood ............................................. 27 2.3 Lean Thinking ........................................................................................... 27 2.3.1 Value Stream Mapping (VSM) ........................................................... 30 3 Goals and Objectives ..................................................................................... 36 4 Methodology ................................................................................................... 37 4.1 Objective 1: .............................................................................................. 37 4.1.1 Methods ............................................................................................. 37 4.2 Objective 2: .............................................................................................. 45 4.2.1 Methods ............................................................................................. 48 4.3 Objective 3: .............................................................................................. 53 4.3.1 Methods ............................................................................................. 54 5 Results and Discussion .................................................................................
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