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LAMINATED VENEER LUMBER: a UNITED STATES MARKET OVERVIEW Richard P

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LAMINATED VENEER LUMBER: a UNITED STATES MARKET OVERVIEW Richard P LAMINATED VENEER LUMBER: A UNITED STATES MARKET OVERVIEW Richard P. Vlosky Ph.D. Candidate Wood Products Marketing Program Paul M. Smith Assistant Professor Wood Products Marketing Program Paul R. Blankenhorn Professor Department of Wood Technology and Michael P. Haas Research Assistant Wood Products Marketing Program School of Forest Resources The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 (Received November 1993) ABSTRACT Laminated veneer lumber (LVL)is an all-veneer engineered wood product that has appeared in the marketplace as a replacement for increasingly scarce high quality solid-sawn lumber in structural applications. As one possible response to increasing environmental pressures, LVL is considered to be superior to recycled steel and plastic, concrete, stone, and brick in terms of energy requirements to produce. Because this product is a relatively new entrant in the family of engineered wood products, its rapid technological changes andfor new product-market development opportunities are discussed in the context of the product life cycle (PLC). Market growth for LVL is expected to increase, resulting from increased product awareness and acceptance and increasingly attractive in-use price/perfomance factors. Keywords: Laminated veneer lumber, engineered wood products, U.S. market overview INTRODUCTION created demand niches that outstripped sup- ply. Increases in production capacity have Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) made its grown quite slowly, with only the second half first appearance in the United States market- of the 1980s bringing a significant increase in place in the early 1970s under the name MI- supply due to expansion by existing companies CRO=LAM, developed by Tms Joist Corpo- and new players entering the marketplace. To- ration (now Trus Joist-MacMillan) (TJ day, Tms Joist-MacMillan produces the ma- International 1991). It took more than ten years jority of LVL marketed in North America. before the next North American company en- LVL is an all-veneer structural engineered tered the market. These first production lines wood product composed of thin veneers ori- had small production capacities but quickly ented in the same longitudinal direction for Wmd and FikScicm, 2M44).1994. pp. 456466 B 1994 by the Society or Wood Scieno and Tmhnolw Vlosky et nL-LAMINATED VENEER LUMBER MARKET OVERVIEW 457 future (Koch 1976), a projection that has be- come reality. LVL has been identified as superior to re- cycled steel and plastic, concrete, stone, and brick in terms of energy requirements to pro- duce (Anon. 1993). According to a study sup- ported by the National Science Foundation and conducted by the Committee on Renewable Resources for Industrial Materials (COR- RIM), steel floor joists and framing members were found to consume 50 and 13 times as much energy, respectively, compared to wood (Boyd et al. 1976). Moreover, aluminum fram- ing materials require 20 times as much energy compared to wood framing members, and brick veneer siding is about 25 times as energy-in- tensive compared to wood-based siding ma- terials (Boyd et al. 1976). Procedures such as lifecycle environmental accounting (LEA), also called life cycle analysis (LCA) are being used to compare the environmental impacts of solid wood and other building materials, such as engineered wood products, including net re- FIG.I. Typical LVL member (photo courtesy of Trus Joist MacMillan). source depletion, net energy consumption in manufacture, and energy efficiency in end-use (Mater 1994). Clearly, the environmental ad- maximum strength and stiffness. In the past vantages of wood, a biodegradable renewable fifteen years, considerable volumes of LVL material, are evident. The ability to utilize for- have appeared in the marketplace as a replace- est resources better via reconstituted wood ment in structural applications for increasingly composite technology provides further argu- scarce high quality solid-sawn structural lum- ments supporting optimistic market share pro- ber (Youngquist 1985). In industrial applica- jections (Boyd et al. 1976; Leonard Guss As- tions, LVL, unlike glulam beams, is generally sociates 1993). recommended for nonvisual applications that The majority of LVL is made by continu- are concealed or wrapped to achieve a desir- ously laminating rotary-peeled veneer in thick- able appearance (Fig. 1). Youngquist and Bry- nesses of either '/,, or Ih in. Like plywood, it ant (1979) suggested that the motivating in- is produced from 8.5-ft logs peeled to create centives that existed at that time for sheets that are clipped to 54-in.-wide plies. commercialization included: 1) the diminish- Green veneer is dried, and sorted to conform ing supply of large logs suitable for manufac- to minimum C and D veneer grades described turing lumber of large dimensions; 2) the eco- in Product Standard PS- 1-74 for softwood ply- nomic feasibility of using a larger percentage wood (Kunesh 1978; Youngquist and Bryant of the forest biomass at the harvest site pre- 1979). At this point, the veneer is shipped in viously considered forest residue; and 3) the bundles to an LVL production facility. Indi- cost advantage of complete utilization of all vidual plies are successively stacked to achieve materials entering processing. The potential for the desired billet thickness. Plies within this using smaller logs was particularly attractive billet are coated with a waterproof adhesive, where log size was likely to diminish in the then consolidated with a hot press configura- 458 WOOD AND FIBER SCIENCE, OCTOBER 1994, V. 26(4) TABLE1. Summary of typical design values for commerical lumber composite products. big? Lkab "al".," MlUi" Dealgn DPjan compres- mmom- Lkrign "due big" "due vll"~in va1uc 8" lion pcm- .ion pcm- Dcsigl Mluc for extmmc in tension hori~mtsl bonrontsl dicular to dicvlar to in mmw- Mdulua of hkr in pdlei to shear, on shear, flat" grab". on grain, flatD tim mrallcl Lumk comw(iitC dastintv (t? bmding IFd main ff,) cdgc8 ff,) (F,) edge (F.1) (F,I) to grain IF:) LVL productsC 2.0~106 2,900 1,800 190 285 525 880 3,035 Parallam PSL 2.0~106 2.925 2.400 210 290 525 880 2,900 Timberstrand LSL 1.2xl06 1,500 1,250 150 285 335 570 1,450 Eds nfen to load application me1to the widc fa- of the stnnds (LSL PSL) or mlclto the glucliocr ILVL). Flat refers to ladamlieation pcrpndicular to the widc face oflhc rmdsBSL PSLI or pmmdieular lo the glvclincr BVL). D~aipnPTO- vll~es01 LVL are bad on the Tms Joist MacMillan Registered Pmducf Southern Rnc Mime-Llm. Tber mmdm8 will vq slightly foriv~ducts manufactured fmm Dovglasfir or other 8&es and other mmpodtc mnnufactuen. Soum: Janowiak 1993 (121. tion. A block or billet emerges from the press, monly used species. Studies have been con- which is generally up to a maximum 2-3/4-in. ducted examining the potential for using hard- thickness, and a maximum practical 80 ft long wood LVL as a substitute material for solid and 54 in. wide. The billet is then cut into wood parts in furniture manufacture. North- standard sizes or customer specified dimen- em red oak (Quercus rubra), sweetgum (Liq- sions. LVL is commonly manufactured for uidambar styracijlua), and yellow poplar (Lir- header stock by combining 1.75-in. thickness- iodendron tulipifera) were species researched es into a 3.5-in. header to match 2 x 4 framing for applicability in the production of bed applications. Because LVL is made from ro- frames, shelving, sofa frames, bookcases, bed- tary-peeled veneer, increases in yield of 25 to rails, and other applications that require parts 50% can be realized from each log since losses at least 46 in. in length. (Eckelman et al. 1987; due to squaring round logs and to sawdust gen- Hoover et al. 1987). Research is also being erated in the sawing operation are eliminated conducted at the Pennsylvania State Univer- (Kunesh 1978). sity on possible LVL applications using red An alternative method of production is batch oak, yellow poplar, and red maple (Acer ru- processing, where smaller billets are produced brum) (Janowiak et al. 1993). in single or multi-opening presses as opposed to a continuous press. Batch processing is typ- LVL PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS ically done in plants producing 12-32-ft-long AND END USE MARKETS members or in refurbished plywood mills that LVL is a versatile product with numerous produce thin billets up to 4 x 8 feet. This applications that take advantage of its unique process lends itself to producing specialty and predictable structural characteristics. Giv- products and pre-sized members for ease of en LVL's predictable strength and reduced installation as headers and small beams (Jan- variability, this material has excellent working owiak 1994). design stress values. Lumber laminated from veneer can be manufactured in longer desired SPECIES USED IN LVL PRODUCTION lengths and greater widths and thicknesses from Because LVL is generally purchased for its short or small diameter logs. structural qualities and not visual character- The product is tested on a manufacturer spe- istics, the species used is not of critical im- cific basis for targeted structural properties and portance to the end user. While Douglas-fir requires code acceptance for specific building (Pseudotsuga menziesiz? has historically been applications. Independent testing organiza- the predominant species used in United States tions provide product evaluations to deter- LVL production (Leonard Guss Associates mine conformance to industry standards, thus 1991), southern pine (Pinus spp.) is also a com- maintaining building code approvals. The Vlosky el d.-LAMINATED VENEER LUMBER MARKET OVERVIEW 459 1992~274Milllon Board Feet that are reported to be increasing their use of LVL in applications where strength and di- m% mensional stability are ofprimary importance. Non-Residential Other uses are also being targeted including truckbed decking, kiln stickers, concrete forms, and scaffolding. As previously mentioned, the product has been used by the furniture industry for many years to produce curved furniture parts and l-Joists .$ml*r Scamold Plan* Camrala Wrm.
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