WWPI celbrates 75th

ORIGINALLY FORMED as the Western Wood Preserving Operators Association in 1947, the organization became Western Wood Preservers Institute in 1963. WWPI’s membership today extends to 17 western states and two Canadian provinces.

WWPI celebrates 75 years serving western treating industry

Like the industry and the products it represents, Western Wood Preservers Institute looks remarkably solid as it turns 75 years old this year.

WWPI started in 1947 when a dozen companies met in Portland, Or., and agreed to pool together $22,000 to begin promoting pressure-treated wood. The objective was to capitalize on a post-World War II surge in construction and infrastructure expansion.

From those humble beginnings, WWPI has become one of the leading associations in the preserved wood industry. Its membership features 25 wood treating companies—many operating multiple plants—and 49 other companies involved in the industry, from preservative manufacturers and sawmills to equipment makers and consultants.

In 1947, creosote and pentachlorophenol were the dominant preservatives, used to treat utility poles, rail ties, marine pilings, bridge timbers and highway guardrail posts. As a result, the original staff of the association were engineers borrowed from the American Wood Preservers Institute.

Fire retardant-treated wood was a fledgling product for the industry in the late 1940s, coming from the military where it was used to protect ship decks and structures from fire. Fire-retardant treated Douglas fir timbers were used to build massive blimp hangers that still stand today in California and Washington.

After two decades focused on industrial and infrastructure uses of preserved wood, WWPI and the industry sought to create new markets—residential construction with do-it-yourselfers. This tracked with the migration to the suburbs, where people had larger yards and a desire to spend leisure time outdoors.

What started with a handful of dealers in the Chicago area in the mid1970s exploded into a national boom of decks, fences, gazebos and retaining walls constructed with wood treated with CCA, or Copper Chromated Arsenate. CCA-treated lumber remained popular for outdoor construction for the next three decades, before it was voluntarily removed for residential construction in 2003 due to perceptions about the potential impacts of arsenate in the preservative.

In the early 2000s, new copper-based preservatives moved in to replace CCA for residential preserved wood products. These preservatives include copper azole, or CA-C, in the West and micronized copper azole, or MCA, in the South.

To assure regulators and buyers of the quality and performance of preserved wood, WWPI developed the CheckMark program. The CheckMark on treated lumber end tags indicates it was produced to national standards and meets code-mandated requirements.

WWPI also pioneered the Best Management Practices, or BMPs, for preserved wood used in aquatic and sensitive environments. The BMPs are intended to reduce the amount of preservative that can move into the environment and WWPI’s work included development of an online modeling tool to determine any potential impacts from commercially available preservatives.

Protecting preserved wood markets from excessive regulations has been a top priority throughout WWPI’s history. And the Institute has scored a number of victories. In 2015, WWPI successfully sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to overturn a ban on the use of preserved wood over or in contact with wetlands in the Pacific Northwest.

Most recently, WWPI earned ap-

proval for emergency legislation to reestablish standards to allow disposal of treated wood waste in California.

Dallin Brooks, WWPI executive director, says the future looks promising for the preserved wood industry.

“The public is discovering how important preserved wood is to our infrastructure. We’re responsible for the utility poles bringing electricity to our homes, to the marine pilings, rail ties, guardrail posts and timber bridges that ensure the movement of essential goods,” said Brooks. “Preserved lumber is the board installed on every home protecting the rest of the structure. Millions of homeowners entertain and relax on decks, gazebos and outdoor furnishings built from preserved wood.”

Brooks, only the fourth individual to lead WWPI in its history, is confident that the Institute’s long legacy will continue in this digital age.

“We protect wood so it lasts for decades in service, taking that carbon out of the environment and locking it in place. Our raw materials are sustainable and by pressure treating, we can make the wood last long enough to grow a new tree to replace it,” he said.

“Preserved wood is a great story for the 21st century and we are working hard to tell it.”

EARLY PRESERVED wood promotions focused on industrial products, such as treated wood utility poles, before moving into consumer markets such as decking and outdoor structures. Today, the PreservedWood.org website keeps users up to date on all applications for the wood products.

Western treaters support PTW research

Research on preservative-treated wood at Oregon State University (OSU) got a big boost from industry with two major donations.

Western Wood Preservers Institute (WWPI) has donated $100,000 to the OSU College of Forestry to support construction of a pressure treating facility on campus. The repurposed facility will enable more versatile treated wood research, particularly into how to improve the treatment and durability of preserved wood, from sawn lumber and timbers to utility poles, railroad ties and marine pilings.

In addition, the facility will function as an educational resource, allowing students in wood science to gain handson experience with the process of wood treating.

In addition, Stella-Jones, Inc. donated an experimental treating cylinder for the new facility, saving the univer-

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WWPI presented a check to OSU for its new treating facility on campus. From left to right: Eric Hansen, OSU; College of Forestry dean Tom DeLuca; Gerald Presley, OSU; Kyle Cassidy, Stella-Jones; Phil Schumock, Stella-Jones; WWPI executive director Dallin Brooks.

sity some $300,000 in equipment costs.

OSU manages two industry cooperatives that conduct research on treated utility poles and the use of preserved wood in aquatic and sensitive environments.

“This donation enables us to advance science related to pressure treated wood and wood products,” said Gerald Presley, the OSU assistant professor who directs the two research cooperatives. “OSU is now wellequipped to improve preserved wood products for better performance. With these donations, we will be better able to equip the next generation of leaders in wood science and engineering.”