Mass Timber, CLT, and Solid Wood are all terms that you have been increasingly hearing. As the Virtual International Mass Timber Conference is approaching (March 30 – April 1), let’s take a closer look at Mass Timber and how Stiles Machinery continues to strengthen and position itself as a strong partner for those looking to expand or start new within this market.
Mass Timber is a generic term that encompasses a few different products, such as LVL, Glulam, and Cross Laminated Timber (CLT). Growing in popularity in the US, CLT is a prefabricated, solid engineered wood panel that consists of several layers of kiln-dried lumber stacked in alternating directions, bonded with adhesives and pressed.
The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, waste, pollution, and the elimination of concrete and steel costs from the construction process has launched CLT’s growth. It is structurally strong, and it performs well in fire. Importantly, due to the size of the panels made, it also reduces building assembly time. Globally, the Mass Timber market is projected to grow 15% through 2025. As this market continues to grow and evolve, Stiles Machinery will continue to do the same by providing our customers with the best support, solutions, and resources available.
Changing Places
As I’ve mentioned in my previous articles, our partners Charles Martin and MINDA NA provide mechanization solutions for the solid wood industry. In an effort to continue to serve our customers in solid wood, Stiles veteran Robert Slater is moving from “our side” of the team to “their side” of the partnership. Instead of focusing on building automation, Robert will now be applying his vast experience to our solid wood sales team. Robert’s thirty plus years of sales experience in the wood manufacturing industry will provide our customers with expert sales support. Another Stiles veteran, Jim Stube, is also moving from building automation to solid wood as a Product Specialist to support Robert from the technical side. Both Robert and Jim will be leveraging and working with our partners, MINDA, Hundegger, and System TM, to provide the best service and support you know and expect from Stiles.
Please join me in wishing them well in their new positions, and be sure to contact us with your questions about growing your business with our team. I will continue to support our customers in building automation with world class solutions from Stiles Machinery and look forward to introducing you to more team members in upcoming articles – stay tuned!