Cross-laminated timber demonstration project aims to expand forest market
COURTESY / UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
Forestry and biomanufacturing using wood are the focus of four business initiatives receiving $2.5 million in federal money.
As new timber technologies emerge for the construction industry, Dirigo Center Developers in Westbrook is preparing to build a cross-laminated timber tower and retail demonstration that will expand markets for Maine’s new forest products.
The company was recently awarded $250,000 for the project, from the U.S. Forest Service’s Wood Innovations Grant program.
Dirigo Center Developers was one of four Maine businesses to be awarded nearly $2.5 million from U.S. Forest Service’s Wood Innovations Grant program and Community Wood Grant program.
The goal of the federal funding is to strengthen Maine’s forest products sector and expand markets for the industry.
“With new technologies like cross-laminated timber and biomass energy, the historic sector has a chance to overcome the obstacles of the last few decades and restore jobs in our state’s logging communities,” said U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King. I-Maine, said in a joint news release.
The money will provide support to the four companies, which are finding new customers for their wood products, which include cross-laminated timber, new pine resources and wood biomass fuels.
The funding, requested by Collins and King earlier this year, aims to build on the work of the state’s Forest Opportunity Roadmap initiative, also called FOR/Maine, which has worked to expand economic opportunities for the forest products industry.
“This grant will be instrumental in getting the maximum value out of the white pine resource, keeping Maine manufactured lumber competitive in the global market, and retaining good paying, foundational jobs in our area,” said Alden Robbins, vice president of Robbins Lumber and chairman of the North Eastern Lumber Manufacturers Association.
Wood Innovations Grants were awarded as follows:
• $250,000 for Dirigo Center Developers in Westbrook to build a cross-laminated timber tower and retail demonstration that will expand markets for Maine’s new forest products.
• $250,000 for Maine Woods Co. in Portage to generate high-efficiency steam energy from wood biomass.
Community Wood Grants were awarded as follows:
• $998,588 for Standard Biocarbon Corp. in Enfield for two pyrolysis units that can produce wood biomass for use in steam kilns.
• $1 million for Robbins Lumber in Searsmont to help them maximize the forest product opportunities of white pine through advanced value-based scanning.
The Wood Innovations Grant and Community Wood Grant programs work with state and local partners to support projects that reduce fuels, improve forest health, reduce forest management costs, and promote the economic and environmental health of communities.
In 2019, $8.1 billion in economic impact and 31,822 jobs were tied to Maine’s forest products sector, or about one out of every $25 of Maine’s gross domestic product and one in 25 Maine jobs.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments