Weyerhaeuser Integrates Willamette EWPs Into TJ

Weyerhaeuser Co. is folding Willamette Industries' enginered wood products business into its TrusJoist division.

tomer support will be based in Boise,Id.

Changes may be more visible at the wholesale level. since Willamette distributed its EWPs through a network of regional distributors, some of whom directly compete against Weyerhaeuser Customer Service Centers.

type, laminated

The most common veneer lumber, is created by layering dried and graded wood veneers with waterproof adhesive into blocks of material known as billets. Cured in a heated press. LVL is typically available in various thicknesses and widths and is easily worked in the field using conventional construction tools.

In LVL billets, the grain of each layer of veneer runs in the same direction, rather than cross-lamination which is typical of other engineered wood products such as plywood. The resulting parallel-laminated lumber out-performs conventional lumber when either face- or edge-loaded. LVL is a solid, highly predictable and uniform engineered wood product that is sawn to consistent sizes and is virtually free from warping and splitting.

Other types of structural composite lumber include parallel strand lumber and oriented strand lumber.

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Rim Boord

Rim board is a specially designed component that is engineered to work in concert with wood l-ioists to deliver nThe StrucJoist, Struclam and Easy Rim names will be phased out, and the I-joists, LVL and rim board will adopt TrusJoist's brand names.

According to Mike Hunsaker, former general sales manager of Willamette's engineered wood business: "The former Willamette brands, with the exception of glulam, will be folded into the TrusJoist structure and marketed under the TrusJoist name. Glulam is likely to utilize its existing brand recognition while reporting to the TJ organization."

A new glulam group will be formed that reports to TrusJoist. "The glulam business was a well-run business before, so we plan to continue sales operations as our customers are accustomed to," said Nate Jorgensen, TJ's v.p. of residential operations.

The glulam group will be led by former Willamette Southern Region sales manager Chris Degnan, who is currently assembling a glulamfocused sales and support team. Management, inside sales and cus- a complete engineered wood framing solution. Rim board fills the space between the sill plate and the bottom wall plate, or between the top plate and bottom plate in multi-floor construction. In addition to filling the void, rim board is an integral structural component that transfers both lateral and vertical forces. To function properly, the rim board must match the depth of framing members, and conventional solid sawn lumber typically does not match the new generation of wood I-joists.

APA Performance Rated rim boards can be manufactured using plywood, OSB, glulam or LVL. Depending on the product used, building material suppliers can deliver APA Performance Rated Rim Boards in lengths up to 24 feet. These engineered wood rim boards have greater dimensional stability, higher strength, increased structural reliability, more consistent quality and a lower tendancy to check or split than sawn lumber.

"By the end of the year, most of the former Willamette distributors will have switched either to the TrusJoist brands or to competing products," Hunsaker said. "It will be a mutual selection process. I anticipate the bulk majority (of those who remain) will be in the glulam product lines, however Weyerhaeuser is committed to honoring all distribution agreements Willamette had in place."

Willamette distributors in the South include Stringfellow Lumber in Alabama and Georgia, United Forest Products in the Carolinas, Sound Structures in Virginia and the Carolinas, Structural Connections in Florida, and TimberTech and Snavely Forest Products in Texas.

Months after acquiring Willamette, Weyerhaeuser seems well on its way to integrating it into its overall structure (see story, p. 24.

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