Mass Timber: The Future of Forestry
In a world facing the continued pressure from climate change and urbanization, forests provide part of the solution. Trees in growing forests suck carbon dioxide from the air and convert it into carbon within usable solid wood – like lumber, telephone polls, plywood, wood furniture and more. This organic process of absorbing CO2, trapping the carbon in wood and releasing oxygen is known as carbon sequestration. As architects, developers and engineers look for solutions to lower the carbon footprint of their buildings, managed forests offer a unique solution, and as a society, we can capitalize on this process by growing markets for forest products.
Mass Timber is a state-of-the-art technology that uses glues and/or nails to join together wood into beams, columns, and panels. Joined together, mass timber has comparable tensile strength to steel and compressive strength of concrete. The market for mass timber has grown primarily in Europe and the Pacific Northwest, and it is gaining steam among architects, engineers and developers who are searching for ways to reduce the carbon footprint of their buildings.
Recently, the Forest Business Network and WoodWorks hosted the 7th International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, OR. This conference attracted over 3,000 attendees, exhibitors and speakers from around the world to learn more about mass timber. While at the conference, Keeping Forests was able to interview a handful of these attendees to learn more about their perspectives on the future of mass timber.
IMAGE: Rendering for the new 619 Ponce construction project currently being built in Atlanta, GA.
“I’m excited to be here talking with people from across the supply chain to hear their perspectives on the industry and to share what we’re doing through our Seedlings to Solutions project,” said Troy Harris, Managing Director of Timberland & Innovative Wood Products for Jamestown LP. Harris is also a SAF-certified forester. “I know at this conference, I may be one of the only foresters in the room. They want to know where the wood is coming from and that it’s being managed sustainably.”
Currently, Jamestown is building a “first of its kind” mass timber building in Atlanta, GA, next to Ponce City Market, one of the most popular retail locations in the state. Joining together with Keeping Forests partners Georgia-Pacific and the Georgia Forestry Foundation, Jamestown’s 619 Ponce building will be built with lumber that was sourced and manufactured right here in the U.S. South. Harris and the Jamestown team are pioneering the use of locally-grown mass timber in one of the biggest cities in the U.S. South, which will be important for growing the market for mass timber.
IMAGE: Research from USDA Forest Service FIA data reporting Southern growing stock volume.
Sustainability can be a big buzzword, but forests in the U.S. South are really a success story. Increased demand for forest products means more investment in managing forestland and potentially converting land from other uses to forests. While some critics may argue that forest products are harmful to the environment, forests in the U.S. South are actively managed and are replanted for a continuous cycle of growth. The USDA Forest Service reported Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data that shows southern forest volume is increasing. This is in part due to improved management techniques being adopted across the U.S. South. However, as urbanization continues to put pressure on converting land, illuminating the value of locally-sourced wood for mass timber can be beneficial to increasing or maintaining investments in forests and ultimately keeping forests as forests.
If a market for mass timber is to expand into the U.S. South, developers, architects and engineers will need to better understand the benefits associated with using mass timber. That’s why Tyler Malouf, an architect from Wier Boerner Allin Architecture in Jackson, MS, attended the conference. .
“I’ve always been interested in mass timber,” said Malouf. “Being immersed in the forestry industry my entire life has made me really excited to pursue mass timber projects. You can see the sustainable product and the economic growth it provides to rural Mississippi.”
Malouf’s family is rooted in the timber business, owning a sawmill in Alabama. Using that background, Malouf is now the project manager of a new mass timber construction for the Mississippi Forestry Association headquarters.
IMAGE: Rendering of the Mississippi Forestry Association’s headquarters, built from mass timber, in Jackson, MS.
The U.S. South has seen a few new manufacturing facilities pop up including SmartLam North America, Sterling Lumber, and Texas CLT. These facilities are taking advantage of the niche market and leaving their mark on the industry.
“The industry is growing exponentially,” said Derek Ratchford, CEO of SmartLam North America. “Jobs are getting bigger and we’re investing in opportunities to improve our facilities so that we can provide jobs in a timeframe appropriate for our customers.” SmartLam North America recently spent $74 million building a glulam beam facility and to automate the Dothan (Alabama) facility. SmartLam has also reported annual growth up 375% from the previous year.
It’s clear to see that the mass timber industry is growing in the U.S. South. But how long will this trend last? To ensure that the mass timber market doesn’t burn out, we need to help expand capacity. The forestry sector needs to collaborate to educate more people about the benefits of using mass timber and its ability to lower greenhouse gas emissions, lower costs due to quicker construction, and support of southern forest landowners.
At Keeping Forests, our goal is to support the U.S. South’s private forest landowners who are managing 86% of the 245 million acres across a thirteen-state geography. We believe that by creating and sustaining markets for our landowners is the best way to ensure forestland retention.
The success of this approach depends on a strong foundation of collaboration and the ability to understand and engage with the complex network of stakeholders involved in this critical mission. To learn more about Keeping Forests - visit our ‘About’ page here.
Zach Clifton
Keeping Forests Communications Specialist
Zach supports Keeping Forests via its partnership with the Georgia Forestry Association. Zach and the other communications staff at GFA lend support to the partnership both strategically & tactically.
