12 minute read
LUMBER 411
from BPD Sept. 2021
A Special Series from Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association
Let’s learn more about: Tamarack
We’ve covered many tree species in this column over the last two years, to include the super-popular eastern white pine, SPFs, and even the newest belle of the ball, Norway spruce. This month let’s take a deeper look at a small, hardy, versatile species with which you may not be familiar: tamarack.
This little species that could has more names than you would expect. Tamarack. In Latin, it’s currently accepted scientific name is larix laricina. Then there are the larch family of names: regular larch, Eastern larch, red larch, black larch, and American larch. This unique species is steeped in Native American history, and they gave the tree the name of hackmatack.
The tamarack tree is unique in that it is a deciduous AND coniferous species, meaning it drops its needles in the winter. It grows into a medium- to large-size tree; when fall rolls around, the needles turn a lovely golden yellow hue and drop from the tree, to return in the spring. The cones are tiny and cute! During the year they begin their conical life a sweet pink color which eventually changes to a deep red, then a dark brown in the fall. Average lifespan of a tamarack tree is 200-300 years.
Slow growers, the tamarack tree is incredibly resilient. It grows well in an open area and needs dry soil
Tamarack Fun Facts
• Native Americans located within its growing range used tamarack for numerous medicinal applications, with the outer bark and roots used to treat aches and pains, while the inner bark was frequently applied to hemorrhoids, frostbite, and small cuts for relief. Its tender spring shoots were even used as food. • To aid in hunting, the Cree tribe created unique lifelike goose decoys from tamarack twigs. Handed down from generation to generation, these primitive handicrafts have become a coveted contemporary art form. • Tamarack trees have a huge, long history in Minnesota: we’re pretty sure woolly mammoths rubbed their backs on the trees to scratch an itch on their way to eat a saber-toothed tiger. … but also wet soil. It thrives in wetlands—also known as the good kind of swamps, or forested wetlands—and does well in both low-rainfall and high-rainfall areas. Tamarack grows well in full light and can withstand cold temps down to negative 85 degrees. If you have a bog or peaty section of land near you and you live in Minnesota, chances are you have some tamarack trees out there.
Want more tamarack trees? It propagates best via cuttings. Wet ground allows for amazing biodiversity of the area surrounding the tamarack: plants, birds, and other animals like red squirrels, snowshoe hares, porcupines, songbirds, even the great gray owl—all can be found in the tamarack neighborhood.
A warning: along with the cute forest animals, tamarack growths also bring the poisons: ivy, sumac, and hemlock, plus nasty stinging nettles, are often found near tamarack.
Where does it grow?
The tamarack tree has a huge growth footprint in North America, but not significant commercial volumes: it’s main area of growth is Canada and the northeastern United States and across the Great Lakes region. It has even been sighted all the way over to Alaska!
How is it used?
The wood is rather coarse-grained, hard, heavy, and relatively strong, with durable heartwood. It is used for planking, timbers, ties, poles, signposts, pilings and pulp. Historically, tamarack knees (the buttresses formed by large roots) were used in shipbuilding. Tamarack was also used for mud sills in home construction.
For construction uses, tamarack is graded under the National Grading Rule.
How much is used?
Annually, less than 10 million bd. ft. of tamarack lumber is manufactured by lumber mills located within the growing region.
– For more information on tamarack or other New England/ Great Lakes wood species, please visit www.nelma.org.
Nation’s Best Buys Into Arkansas, Northwest Florida
Nation’s Best, Dallas, Tx., has purchased two independent dealers— Hipp Modern Builders Supply in Mountain View, Ar., and Panhandle Lumber & Supply in Bonifay, Fl.
“With these newest stores, we’re quickly becoming the nationwide family of home improvement businesses we envisioned,” said Chris Miller, president and CEO of Nation’s Best. “In just under two years, we’ve grown our reach to now include 22 locations across seven states. We’re proud of our role in strengthening independent retail at the local level and we’re very happy to have Hipp Modern Builders Supply and Panhandle Lumber & Supply as a big part of that growth.”
“For three generations, our family has proudly served our community,” said Terry Hipp, owner of Hipp Modern Builders Supply. “I couldn’t be happier knowing that Nation’s Best will build on our traditions while growing the business.”
“We’ve been providing quality, competitively priced building materials and home improvement products to our customers in Bonifay since 1994,” said Jack Locke, Panhandle Lumber & Supply owner. “Nation’s Best represents the future for our business, ensuring that our team and our customers will benefit for years to come.”
Both businesses will retain their existing names with their management teams overseeing operations alongside Nation’s Best, which will provide strategic and financial support to achieve optimal growth and profitability.
Culpeper Purchases Maryland Treating Plant
Culpeper Wood Preservers, Culpeper, Va., has acquired Eden Wood Preserving and Coastal Wood Industries in Fruitland, Md. The location— Culpeper’s twelfth treating plant—will be renamed Culpeper of Fruitland.
“Culpeper of Fruitland will primarily treat wood for our marine division, allowing us to add to our portfolio of products and customers,” said president Jonathan Jenkins. “As our company grows our focus still remains on the partnerships we have forged with both our vendors and customers.”
Port Lumber, which is owned by the Latham family, will remain in business. “Although our family has sold our operations in Maryland, Port Lumber will continue offering our customers the same service and quality they have come to expect from us. We look forward to sourcing our products from Culpeper of Fruitland and building that relationship moving forward,” said Jim Latham, owner of Port Lumber.
Russin Acquires Factory Finishing Equipment
Russin Lumber, Montgomery, N.Y., has purchased the production assets of Golla Enterprises, a factory finisher formerly located in Toms River, N.J.
Russin has been offering factory finishing since 1997 and is currently constructing a new state-of-the-art facility, expected to open in December. Located across the street from its headquarters in Montgomery, it will provide improved efficiency, workflow and easier access to Russin’s materials. Tibbetts Lumber Co., St.
Petersburg, Fl., agreed to purchase all assets of 67-year-old roof/floor truss manufacturer Florida Forest Products, Largo, Fl.
Tuckerton Lumber Co.,
Ocean County, N.J., was acquired by Tom Dwier and Keli Lynch on July 28, ending 90 years of family ownership.
Spahn & Rose Lumber
Co., Dubuque, Ia., has completed its purchase of Metro Building Products, Marietta, Ga.
Yoder’s Building Supply
forecasts a January start-up of its new 22,500-sq. ft. Top Edge Components floor/roof truss plant in Townville, S.C.
Wellsboro Building Supply,
Wellsboro, Pa., lost one building in a July 31 fire of undetermined origin. Its main store was spared.
L&W Supply opened a branch in Beltsville, Md., on Aug. 2 (Brian Aeschlimann, branch mgr.).
Compton Ace Hardware will
open its ninth store in November—a 10,395-sq. ft. branch in Montevallo, Al.
Parkside True Value Hard-
ware, Kenosha, Wi., is being remodeled and converted into an Ace Hardware store, following its purchased by JC Licht, Addison, Il.
Park Ace Hardware is liqui-
dating its 23-year-old Orland Hills, Il., branch after being unable to renew its lease.
YKK AP America opened
a showroom for residential doors, windows and commercial facade systems in Atlanta, Ga.
A Few Cool Hardware
Stores, with 13 locations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., is being sold to the staff through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Builders FirstSource, Dallas,
Tx., has authorized repurchase of up to $1 billion of its common stock.
Martco Bringing a Second OSB Facility to Texas
Martco LLC’s Texas subsidiary, Corrigan OSB, will build a second oriented strand board manufacturing facility near its current, state-of-the-art OSB plant in Corrigan, Tx.
Construction is scheduled to begin this year, with start-up anticipated in 2023. The new facility is expected to signifi cantly increase production capacity at Corrigan, while focusing on existing and new value-added OSB products. The project will bring construction jobs to east Texas later this year and create additional, permanent jobs once completed.
As the country and the world make their way out of the pandemic, home starts are on the rise, and a growing number of millennials and their families are entering the housing market. “With this new OSB plant, we will be well positioned to meet the backlog of demand for quality building products, produced from renewable, sustainable resources abundant in our region,” stated RoyOMartin president and COO E. Scott Poole.
Since its start-up in 2018, Corrigan OSB, L.L.C.’s existing OSB facility has been a successful investment in the people, natural resources, and markets in Corrigan, as well as the entire East Texas region. “Our growth in East Texas has given us an infl ux of talent with a tremendous work ethic, a longterm, sustainable, raw-material base, and access to a growing and vibrant residential market,” explained Poole. “I could not be prouder to further expand our footprint in the great state of Texas,” Poole said. “We remain steadfast in investing in our people, our forestland, quality manufacturing, and our growing customer base.”
Chain Adds Two Friends
Arlington Coal & Lumber Co. of Massachusetts has agreed to purchase the assets and real estate of two-unit Friend Lumber Co., Hudson, N.H.
Founded in 1945, Friend Lumber is a third-generation dealer with yards in Hudson and Burlington, Ma. Established in 1923, Arlington Coal & Lumber Co., a fourth-generation lumber and building materials dealer owned by the McNamara family, has fi ve locations in Massachusetts.
Mark Jaff e, the current owner and president of Friend Lumber, will retire after the sale is fi nalized, ending 47 years with the family business. The deal was set to close by early September.
“After three generations of our family operating Friend Lumber Co., now is the perfect time to fi nd a new steward to bring the company into the future.” Jaff e said. “Our employees should experience a seamless transition, and our customers will receive the same quality service they have known since our humble beginnings.”
Hunt, Tolko Team for 2nd Mill
Hunt Forest Products, Ruston, La., and Tolko Industries, Vernon, B.C., have formed a joint venture to build a $270-million state-of-the-art sawmill near Taylor, La. The 225-acre site encompasses the former site of a Weyerhaeuser iLevel plant.
“This sawmill will provide a local outlet for the massive inventory of southern yellow pine that exists in this state,” said James D. Hunt, co-owner of Hunt Forest Products, which controls 75,000 acres of Louisiana timberland.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2022, with operations to start up in early 2023. The mill will produce an estimated 320 million bd. ft. annually.
Tolko will own a 50% share in the mill; Hunt will own the other 50% and manage and operate the mill on a dayto-day basis.
Hunt and Tolko similarly partnered on LaSalle Lumber Co., a $115-million SYP mill in Urania, La., that opened in 2018. “Our fi rst venture into the United States was in partnership with Hunt Forest Products, a family-owned company like ours, and that has been very successful,” said Tolko CEO Brad Thorlakson. “So, we are looking forward to working with the Hunt family again to bring another state-of-the-art sawmill, and jobs, to Louisiana.”
HDI Acquires Novo
Hardwoods Distribution Inc., Langley, B.C., acquired millwork specialist Novo Building Products, Zeeland, Mi., from Blue Wolf Capital Partners.
Novo Building Products is a leading manufacturer and distributor of stair parts, mouldings, doors and specialty millwork, along with a variety of board products. It operates Ornamental Decorative Millwork, L.J. Smith Stair Systems, Empire Moulding & Millwork, Southwest Moulding & Millwork, and Novo Direct.
HDI is one of North America’s largest wholesale distributors of architectural building products to the residential and commercial construction sectors, operating a network of 70 distribution facilities.
Cameron Ashley Building
Products opened a new distribution center Aug. 2 in Springdale, Ar.
Eagle Forest Products, Eagle,
Id., opened a new distribution facility in Montgomery, Tx., handling both industrial and commodity lumber, and fencing products.
Interfor will invest up to $8 million to revive the idled Georgia-Pacifi c sawmill near DeQuincy, La.
With an annual capacity of 200 million bd. ft., the operation is targeted to restart in the fi rst half of 2022.
Interfor will also invest $30 million expanding the capacity and product mix at its Summerville, S.C., mill.
P.J. Clark Lumber, Coppell, Tx.,
is on track for to begin producing kilndried softwood and hardwood lumber this fall at the former Little River Dry Kiln facility in Cadiz, Ky. The operation will include 11 dry kilns, planer/grading facility, and warehouse.
B&N Sawmill submitted plans to operate a small hardwood mill in Harrodsburg, Ky.
BlueLinx is now distributing Regal ideas’ premium aluminum railings in Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska from its distribution centers in Omaha, Ne.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Minneapolis, Mn.
Charles Grey, Winston-Salem, N.C., is now distributing Vista Railing Systems railings to dealers in the Carolinas and southern Virginia.
Atlas Roofing Corp.’s
production on a new state-of-the-art shingle laminating line at its Ardmore, Ok., facility is on track for completion in the fourth quarter of 2021.
RoyOMartin, Alexandria, La., on Aug. 2 reached 14 years without an OSHA-recordable injury for its land and timber operations.
Britton Lumber Co., Fairlee,
Vt., is celebrating its 75th anniversary. In addition to its eastern white pine sawmill, the company also operates a wholesale division from locations in Fairlee and Gray, Me.
THE POSSIBILITIES KEEP GROWING:
Nature’s majestic pillars.
