The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. announced that SmartLam, LLC was the first manufacturer of cross-laminated timber (CLT) in the United States (U.S.) to earn the SFI 2015-1019 Chain-of-Custody Standard. Additionally, the company was the very first to produce (CLT) in the country.
CLT, hailed as the next-generation of engineered wood products and tested exhaustively, is already widely used in Europe and currently manufactured for a wide range of applications, including bridging, construction, industrial matting, and wall, ceiling, and floor systems. To that end, the SFI Chain-of-Custody Standard aids companies in addressing the increasing demand from many customers and governments alike for responsible sourced forest products.
Architects and builders are turning more and more to wood in light of its broad aesthetic appeal, and many environmentally-friendly characteristics, including its renewability and ability to store carbon. On top of all that, it is also not difficult to work with.
“At SmartLam, we make CLT, but we like to tell our clients what we really sell is time. CLT increases construction speed and reduces a project’s cost and carbon footprint,” President and General Manager of SmartLam, Casey Malmquist, said. “Now, with certification to the SFI Chain-of-Custody Standard, we can also offer our clients supply chain assurance that our products are soured from well-managed forests that are third-party certified to SFI’s vigorous standards.”
SmartLam manufactures and produces their CLT at its facility in Columbia Falls, Northwest Montana, and contributes to the global movement encouraging the use of wood in tall buildings. Technological advancements also play a large role, producing more engineered-wood products and mass-timber products that boost wood’s capabilities in construction.
In Whitefish, Montana, a multipurpose, multi-storey building still under construction will boast an elevator shaft made of SmartLam’s CLT, with F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co., an SFI Programme Participant also from Columbia Falls, supplying the lumber used.
“We are excited for SmartLam to be the first CLT manufacturer in the U.S. to be certified to the SFI Chain-of-Custody Standard,” Jason Metnick, Senior Vice President of Customer Affairs at SFI, said. “Our chain-of-custody standard is a rigorous environmental accounting system that tracks forest fibre content through production and manufacturing to the end product.”
Source: Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc.
