Wood Products Extension Shifts to Virtual Support

Wood Products Extension faculty and staff offered a number of virtual workshops this summer to support the community in key industries, during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the approximately 380 participants statewide, these workshops led to an estimated economic impact of $4.1 million in upgraded product quality, improved understanding of markets and better processing efficiency. From Zoom to YouTube to one-on-one video consultations, support channels differed vastly from last year to this. Even chemical analysis was brought to the digital space through workshops conducted by Dr. David Tilotta for both graduate students and industry representatives.

Widespread Enthusiasm for Mass Timber

North Carolina Natural Science Museums’ Science Cafe brings weekly talks on various scientific topics to the public.  Dr. Frederik Laleicke was Science Cafe’s featured speaker on June 18th, discussing mass timber, its growing popularity around the world and how it has pushed the limits of wood construction. “Mass timber is the cutting edge of wood construction. It’s the perfect combination of traditional wood construction and modern engineering.” explains Laleicke. Specifically, “Tall wood buildings are typically higher than six stories. Until new buildings codes were adopted over the last years, this was the typical limit for code-compliant wood construction.”

Products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) push beyond wood’s perceived boundaries in terms of strength, stability and design flexibility. Laleicke says there are “many plans for new production facilities all over the U.S. The most common application for CLT will be mid-size construction, so anywhere between 7 and 10 stories.

Laleicke adds, “Currently, most mass timber projects are high-end, custom projects, typically intended to make a statement. Hopefully soon, we can start seeing projects that demonstrate other advantages of mass timber construction, such as modular housing and emergency sheltering. With tall wood buildings, we can modernize and renew an industry and improve the perception of a sector that is sometimes not recognized up to its actual importance. They will add to the attractiveness of our cities and towns. I personally think that it’s also extremely useful in hybrid construction, where you combine concrete, steel and wood to use the advantages of each material.”

Tall wood building and cross-laminated timber are growing in popularity and it’s no wonder — the environmental and economic benefits are great. “Wood harvested from sustainably managed forests represents an environmental friendly alternative to steel and concrete, the most common materials currently used for tall buildings. Carbon sequestration is an important aspect of wood construction that can help address pollution and climate related issues. Not only do tall wood buildings reduce the environmental impacts of new construction, but they also save time and money using local resources in the U.S. A major advantage of wood construction is that it can be sourced and manufactured locally. For the manufacturing industry of the Southeast this is a good opportunity to foster local economies and address the needs of municipalities. Mass timber products, such as CLT are made from dimension lumber, an industry well established across the nation. There is an opportunity to build and expand on a more than century old industry.” says Laleicke.

For NC State and the Department of Forest Biomaterials this is an important field to engage locally and nationwide.

Marketing NC Forest Products

Extension specialist Harry Watt has been instrumental in supporting and consulting with wood product firms across North Carolina. When the pandemic first hit, Harry issued a guide on how wood products business can survive COVID-19. Commencing in May of 2020, he began hosting a series of informative and networking online meetings as part of a $249,739 US Forest Service Grant, “Marketing NC Forest Products”.  This includes at least 30 statewide meetings with a variety of businesses: landowners, loggers, log yards, sawmills, lumber drying operations, and firewood, cabinet, furniture, mill work, flooring and composite manufacturers.

The project is an outreach effort by Wood Products Extension to support the forest and wood products industry in North Carolina by working in a cooperative manner to identify problems and opportunities for forest and wood products businesses in an effort to grow sales, profitability and employment.

Fundamentals of Lumber Drying

The Dry Kiln Operator’s Short Course is and industry-oriented workshop hosted by Wood Products Extension each summer and accordingly, this year, it was moved online. The annual event has been taught by Wood Product Extension for over 50 years, being offered previously at Haywood Community College in Clyde, NC.  It was brought in-house to NC State in 2014.  

In June, the online workshop was attended by 24 people from 14 states, with attendees from large and small industry, government and education, and home hobbyists.  The approximately six hours of instruction was delivered over six different days. Traditionally a hands-on, lab-based workshop, Dr. Phil Mitchell says, “We recognized that the virtual workshop would be limited and decided to focus on the fundamentals of lumber drying.  We gave the students homework following each lecture, and gave them virtual lab assignments as well to practice moisture content calculations, a basic ability required to dry lumber effectively without degrade. For the student it was a low cost venue to learn the fundamentals of lumber drying.” 

Why Urban Wood?

Reclaiming urban and community trees for a second life is another area of importance for the wood products industry in North Carolina. Instead of a waste problem, trees removed from urban municipalities can be reclaimed for a variety of uses.

This summer, Dr. Frederik Laleicke guest lectured with the North Carolina Society of American Foresters to discuss urban wood. “Urban wood is an interesting branch of the wood products industry because it combines the traditions of wood craftsmanship, the needs to make better use of our natural resources and avoid waste, and developing local economies and chains of production and consumption,” explains Laleicke.

Urban wood can be defined as “all of the wood growing in towns and cities. Trees in urban environments are typically not grown for the wood. Their history, irregular shape and the variety of wood defects are some of the characteristics that make urban wood special. Urban wood is typically processed at a small scale and made into various types of custom furniture. Live-edge tables and countertops have become very popular in the hospitality sector, such as breweries and coffeeshops. The rustic design can be regularly found in all retail environments. Urban wood furnishings are also used in high-end homes, as mantles, tables and countertops.” say Laleicke.

With new challenges in the industry, Wood Products Extension continues to adapt and to serve the needs of it’s community. Although virtual meetings may not be a substitute for in-person workshops, they are a safe way to continue serving the Wood Products industry in North Carolina during the coronavirus pandemic.