History of the MSR Lumber Industry
Post WWII forest products research looks at how non-destructive, static bending tests to measure modulus of elasticity provide an indicator of the structural properties of lumber.
There was considerable mechanical stress analysis activity in this period. European innovators were developing several machines and theories, including the Cook-Bolinder, the Timber Grader, and numerous others. In the UK, Edinburgh Napier University was at the forefront of developing the theory that stiffness correlated to strength. There was little coordination on this theory with academics in the U.S. at this time.
The industry was pressured by the building code agencies and the Federal Housing Administration to define and grade softwood lumber in more specific engineering terms due to the emergence of the plated truss industry and the use of commercial wood steel combinations.
Some agencies had arbitrarily reduced all lumber properties by ten percent and others were talking in that vein, as an indication of their dissatisfaction. Current development of assigned stress values was based on the USDA’s Forest Products Laboratory and old test data that might not reflect current wood growth environment and current harvesting activity.
Robert J. Hoyle takes a position in the wood products research department at Potlatch Forests Inc. in Lewiston, ID. Hoyle was especially responsible for developing a system for machine-grading lumber that became widely used in the U.S. and abroad.
Potlatch constructs a simple, portable machine that could be taken from mill to mill to make rapid tests on lumber in inventory and in production and had used it extensively in the Inland region. It had seen service under loan to Oregon State and Colorado State technologists as well as students in the Rocky mountain region. It was purely a stiffness testing program because that was the key property to joist and rafter performance. Out of this experience came several interesting facts. First, lumber was distinctly different in stiffness according to its grade, something not heretofore recognized as significant. The strength had always been understood to be variable according to grade, that is higher for the higher grades. It didn’t stretch the imagination much to see that if stiffness varied according to grade and strength had the same relationship, one might be used to predict the other. Stiffness could easily be measured very rapidly without damaging the wood in any way, so a grading concept seemed possible. Jim Snodgrass at Oregon State and Lyman Wood at the USFPL both dug out old data on beam tests to confirm this relationship.
Hoyle, Snodgrass, and Wood present findings at the Wood Products Clinic in Spokane, WA, where they place emphasis on the correlation between stiffness, grade, and strength, and commit to more research on the topic.
Stan Suddarth, a professor of wood technology at Purdue University, is also looking into this topic but has not yet published work at this time. His focus is on the performance of plated trusses and the wood products that make up the design. Suddarth is a key figure on the ASTM D-7 Committee on Wood, which early in his involvement establishes a new approach to standards development regarding the mechanical properties of wood.
R. Bolger and C. Ramussen of the Western Pine Association’s Research Lab began developing a theory for a stress-rating machine called the Stress-o-Matic. WPA merged in the 1960s with other western lumber companies to form the Western Wood Products Association (WWPA).
Hoyle publishes "A nondestructive test for stiffness of structural lumber" in Forest Products Journal.
Harold Keller invents the Continuous Lumber Tester (CLT) at Potlatch Forests, Inc. in Lewiston, ID. This mechanical stress-testing machine directly measures the stiffness of the lumber by taking a bending measurement of the modulus of elasticity along the length of the lumber and finding the lowest value and an average value. Keller’s U.S. Patent No. 3,196,672, “Means for measuring stiffness of lumber,” is granted in 1965.
Industrial Sciences in Portland, OR, and then Irvington Moore in Tigard, OR, manufacture commercial CLT machines based on the Keller patent. The machine consists of a series of rollers that propel and cause the lumber to be bent in the least stiff (flatwise) direction, first downward and then upward, as each piece progresses longitudinally through it. After the machines are available, the task of writing reasonable grade descriptions, establishing agency procedures for certifying that machines were in proper calibration, and providing quality control services and grade stamps were paramount issues, which required broad collaboration among lumbermen.
After the machines are available, the task of writing reasonable grade descriptions, establishing agency procedures for certifying that machines were in proper calibration, and providing quality control services and grade stamps were paramount issues, which required broad collaboration among lumbermen.
WWPA grants approval for the Stress-o-Matic, and Industrial Wood Working Machines in Garland, Texas manufactures the device. Weyerhaeuser Research and Development initially tested this equipment in the early 1960s.
James D. (Jim) Logan begins work at Washington State College (now WSU) in the College of Engineering research division. He works in the Wood Research group, and they develop some non-destructive testing and quality control processes.
William L. (Bill) Galligan is also working on his Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at WSU during this time.
At the urging of their sales manager (Len Moyer) and engineer (Tom Haley), Frank Lumber in Mill City, OR, becomes the first lumber manufacturer to use a CLT machine to enhance grade recovery and log utilization. Their CLT was installed “in-line,” with 100% of what they manufactured going through the machine. Dennis Frank recalls that one of his first jobs at the mill was testing lumber.
Like many mills in the region, Hemlock was the primary species Frank Lumber was cutting at this time. As design values for visually graded Hemlock weakened in the gradebooks, the machine-grading process was a boon for moving the product. Once the lumber had an MSR grade stamp, the species did not matter as much because the design values had been measured by the CLT machine.
WWPA begins research for the addition of mechanical grades for addition to the grade rules and American Lumber Standards Approval.
Galligan joins Frank Lumber, where he serves as Technical Director for two decades.
James D. Snodgrass joins the wood products research department at Potlatch Forests Inc. in Lewiston, ID.
Hoyle publishes "Background to Machine Stress Grading" in Forest Products Journal. According to the FPJ abstract, in this paper, “It is clearly shown that visual grading for stress purposes and upgrading of product are possible by use of calibrated, high speed MOE sensing machines. The author presents a convincing case for the use of machines to measure modulus of elasticity as a means of grading structural lumber.”
Hoyle becomes a professor of civil engineering at Washington State University in Pullman, retiring in 1985.
Wholesale lumber salesman Harold “Red” Thomas and architect Art Troutner develop a bar truss with wood flanges on each side, or I-beam, that allow for longer clearspans as open floorplans become more popular. The two retire from Weyerhaeuser and start a new company called Trus Joist in Boise, ID (Tradename: TRUS=JOIST).
William Galligan and James Snodgrass publish "Machine Stress Rated Lumber: Challenge to Design" in Forest Products Journal.
Logan and Roy Pellerin receive U.S. Patent No. 3,513,690, “Method and apparatus for non-destructive testing of beams.” The invention measures a vibrating beams’ modulus of elasticity (MoE). They could simply rest the beam’s ends on the system’s supports, tap it, and allow the electronics to measure the beam’s vibrations and process complex mathematical equations to determine the board’s exact MoE.
Early in the year, Logan presents this non-destructive beam testing apparatus to a group of wood industry leaders at WSU’s Sloan Hall. Len Moyer from Frank Lumber Company and Ed DeKoning from Irvington Moore approach Logan about upgrading the world’s seven CLT machines in operation at the time. While these machines were the fastest and most accurate MSR lumber machines of the time, their data processing systems were insufficient and their mechanical parts wore out quickly, contributing to regular breakdowns. After an initial inspection of a CLT in action, Logan determines that a total data system replacement is the best path forward.
Moyer and DeKoning recruit investors and raise $21,000 to fund development. Investing companies include Frank Lumber Co., Simpson Timber Co., Boise Cascade Lumber Co., Pope & Talbot, Weyerhaeuser Co., Irvington Machine Works, and Willamette industries. Logan hires his two best students, and a few weeks of work in his garage results in a working prototype that Logan installs at Frank Lumber Company in Mill City, OR. The unit operates so well that the company President Dennis Frank asks Logan to leave it and build additional units based on his drawings. Frank recalls, “If the MSR machine is not running, the mill cannot operate.”
Logan builds a total of nine electronic units that summer to replace CLT machines, retrofitting them with an entirely new data system that used robust electronic load cells in place of force measuring rings to measure bending force in each bending span of the CLT. In this new design, which proved to be both reliable and accurate at the speeds required, Logan also used integrated circuit technology that was maturing with the space program.
Logan leaves WSU and starts Metriguard, Inc. with DeKoning, Moyer, and Pellerin in Pullman, WA. Logan says Stan Suddarth “occupied our first worn out rolodex page and was consulted whenever we had a technical question about wood structures.”
Stan Suddarth develops the Purdue Plane Structural Analyzer to analyze trusses to carry loads. Frank Lumber used this analyzer on their prescribed glulam beams.
Suddarth often brought Purdue students out to Frank Lumber to help him evaluate beams. Jim Logan met one such student at numerous ASTM meetings. He and Jean later marry and have five children.
Kay Kahus begins work at Weyerhaeuser. His focus is on adding value to the current commodity product Weyerhaeuser is producing and the emerging engineered products for the residential and commercial markets (i.e., floor and roof trusses). Weyerhaeuser develops a team of structural and quality control engineers and designers to fit Weyerhaeuser’s timberline and mills in the southern and western regions of Canada and begin influencing the MSR approval process for grading agencies, code jurisdictions, and the development of marketable volumes and grades with the design engineers. They also assist in forming a WWPA MSR committee within the grading department of the lumber grade rule guidelines for MSR inclusion.
Dr. Friend K. Bechtel, Director of Research and Vice President at Metriguard Inc., and others begin work on a quality program for MSR lumber production. Logan uses repeatability analysis work by Bechtel and Warren, as well as data developed by R.R. Prairie of the Sandia Laboratories, to develop a Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) program. Based on this CUSUM program, some MSR producers begin collecting and analyzing data from mill tests, which are presented to mills using Metriguard, allowing for confidential comparison to its own machine performance at previous times as well as with other machines operating elsewhere.
Frank Lumber Company instigates a quality control process where they took 10 samples per shift and hand tested them for bending stiffness and strength using a device built by Stan Pelster. These machines were known as the Pelster Tester. This was a simple dead weight bending apparatus, and there were some discrepancies between units as noted by Jim Logan in his work. One version at Pope and Talbot mill in Port Gamble, WA had the dead weight suspended from the ceiling, raised and lowered by means of a chain hoist, and it gave the theoretically correct value for the aluminum test bars used to calibrate the CLT. This observation led Logan to design the Metriguard Model 440 Static Bending Tester, which incorporated a stress-free yoke to mount the deflection measurement device so shifting forces from moving the dead weight to the test position would not interfere with the bending deflection measurement. Use of these machines accumulated a lot of good data over time.
Weyerhaeuser installs its first CLT-1 at its mill in Snoqualmie, Washington to supply TrusJoist with MSR flange material. Weyerhaeuser’s R&D, John Kerns, also worked with Metriguard and Bechtel to improve the quality control aspects in a mill environment and sharpen the analysis based on the initial production and limited data collection. The results of this coordination was the beginning of MSR QC requirements using CUSUM analysis required by the grading agencies.
Weyerhaeuser organizes a meeting in Phoenix with lumber end users to make the connection between engineered design and accurate grading for their products and usable MSR supply volume. Attendees included representatives from Littfin Truss (Jack Littfin), Imperial Truss (Dave Chambers), Schuck Component Systems (Craig Steele), Metriguard (Jim Logan), Trus Joist, Perfection Truss, TruTruss, and other users of stress rated lumber products. Mill attendees included Weyerhaeuser, Simpson Lumber, Pope & Talbot, and Boise Cascade.
Some of the larger MSR producers dispatch field engineers to work with truss plants and truss plate designers throughout the U.S. to improve understanding of how and why using MSR would be to their advantage – increasing accuracy and using less lumber for overall savings.
Logan negotiates purchase of the design of a prototype bending proof tester from Simpson Timber Co., which evolves into the Metriguard Model 312 bending proof tester. Over the next few years, the bending proof test is incorporated into the routine daily quality control testing of MSR lumber.
Weyerhaeuser begins producing MSR lumber in the U.S. in an effort to diversify offerings away from commodity products. Other MSR producers at this time include Simpson, Boise Cascade, Gulf Lumber, and Pope & Talbot. Weyerhaeuser was the first producer of Southern Pine MSR at its mill in Arkansas.
Schuck Component Systems in Glendale, Arizona, is the first truss plant to produce its own MSR using a Stress-O-Matic.
Weyerhaeuser begins producing MSR lumber in Canada (Princeton, Okanagan, and Kamloops).
Hoyle presents "The Genesis of Machine Stress Grading" at a workshop on machine stress rating held at Metriguard, Inc. in Pullman, WA.
In May, Friend Bechtel of Metriguard publishes "MSR’s Promise for the Wood Products Industry," which provides an overview of the MSR process and shows it is taking hold in the industry.
Based on market supply forces and standardization of grade levels, producers begin organizing the need for a trade group to address market issues and code acceptance requirements.
A precursor to the formation of the MSR Lumber Producers Council, representatives from all of the mills producing MSR gather for a meeting in Spokane, WA. Industry leaders in attendance include Ferg Evans, Sam Crowe, Griffin Jones, Kay Kahus, Stan Suddarth, Jim Snodgrass, Jim Logan, Dennis Vaagen, John Branstetter, Craig Steele, and Aaron Anderson.
Articles of incorporation for the MSR Lumber Producers Council (MSRLPC) are adopted and executed at an October meeting in Spokane, WA. They are signed by James D. Logan, William Luke, Dennis Vaagen, Bill Condratow, John Thorlakson, John Betenia, Michael Casey, Ken Pickerell, Paul Caba, Richard Riley, Craig Steele, and Aaron Anderson. On November 9, the State of Washington recognizes the Council as a non-profit corporation. Bill Luke from Crestbrook becomes the first MSRLPC President in December and serves through November 1989.
MSRLPC By-laws are adopted at February meeting in Spokane, WA.
Dennis Vaagen from Vaagen Brothers Lumber is elected president of MSRLPC and serves through May 1991.
Weyerhaeuser purchases Trus Joist, a Fortune 500 company with annual revenues nearing $1 billion.
The Council begins exhibiting at the Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC) to promote use of MSR lumber to truss manufacturers.
In October, Friend Bechtel of Metriguard presents "Machine Stress Rating with the CLT Continuous Lumber Tester" to the Machine Stress Grading Seminar sponsored by the Maritime Forest Ranger School in Fredericton, NB.
Aaron Anderson from Lignum Ltd. is elected president of MSRLPC and serves through the end of 1992. At the November meeting, the group votes to start advertising in Automated Builder Magazine and continue exhibiting at the BCMC show.
At the annual meeting in Las Vegas in November, MSRLPC adopts its mission statement, “The MSR Lumber Producers Council has been formed to promote the benefits of Machine Stress Rated (MSR) lumber for the purpose of increasing the usage and acceptability of our product. It is the intent and mission of the Council to improve, promote and advance the common interest and general welfare of all phases of the Machine Stress Rated lumber industry. We intend to engage in market promotion, collection of information, product research and aid our grading agencies in forming proper rules and standards which will further the business of the general membership of the Council.”
Weldwood of Canada, West Fraser, Donohue, and Lignum begin producing MSR for the U.S. market.
Rick Riley from F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. serves as president of MSRLPC. The group welcomes Don Hershey from the Wood Truss Council of America (WTCA), who invites discussion of a cooperative relationship between MSRLPC and WTCA.
The tagline “We Stress Quality” is added to the MSR Lumber Producers Council logo. The Council decides to start including a design value table in its educational mailer. To date, no one else had published a comprehensive list of values for MSR lumber.
Tom Rogers from Weyerhaeuser Co. serves as president of MSRLPC.
Dave Gromala develops the first volume survey to distribute to the membership, and the Council begins tracking the progress of the Machine Stress Rated lumber industry with the publication of its first annual production survey. Including responses from all the major MSR producers in North America, this annual production survey becomes a tool for monitoring the progress of the MSR lumber industry in North America and promoting the use of MSR lumber worldwide. The species group designations reported in the survey are Douglas Fir-Larch (DFL), Hem-Fir (HF), Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF), and Southern Yellow Pine (SYP).
Griffin Jones from Lignum Ltd. is elected president of MSRLPC and serves two years. During his term, the first MSR Workshop is held in May in Vancouver, BC, with 141 attendees.
MSRLPC donates funds to the Wood Truss Council of America’s Framing the American Dream for inclusion of MSR lumber in the project and approves budget for Kathy James of Metriguard to handle management activities for the Council.
Metriguard renders the CLT obsolete with its new Model 7200 or HCLT (High Capacity Lumber Tester) machine, capable of speeds exceeding 15 m/s (3,000 ft/min) and able to receive lumber in-line directly from all but the very highest speed modern planers. The first one is installed in February at the Anthony Forest Products glulam plant in Washington, GA, by Dan Uskoski. U.S. Patent No. 5,503,024, “Apparatus for testing lumber stiffness” is granted in 1996.
The second MSR Workshop is held in April in Seattle, WA. The event includes 149 participants and an MSR lumber plant tour at Weyerhaeuser in Snoqualamie Falls. Based on survey results from this Workshop, the MSRLPC Board decides to make it an annual event and to engage with Qualtim, Inc. as consultants in planning the 1997 Workshop.
MSRLPC members are invited by WTCA to participate in a Breakout Session at the BCMC held in Louisville, KY, in October.
In December, Qualtim begins producing the MSR Newsletter for MSRLPC.
Mike Casey from Weldwood Ltd. serves as president of MSRLPC. The Workshop is held in April in Vancouver, BC, with a record-setting 160 attendees.
The Workshop is held in May in Vancouver, BC, with 133 attendees. It includes tours of both a 747 aircraft maintenance facility and the UBC Research Forest.
Jim Kaake from Georgia Pacific Corporation becomes president of MSRLPC in June.
The first version of the MSRLPC website is launched in February at www.msrlumber.org.
The Workshop moves east to host 123 attendees in Atlanta, GA. The group tours the Weyerhaeuser facility in Barnsville, GA.
Start dates for presidential terms shift to coincide with the Workshop (April/May), and Mike George from Weyerhaeuser is elected president of MSRLPC.
Ferg Evans, Griff Jones, and Dave LeBreton open Canadian Engineered Wood Products (CEWP) to supply MSR and related products to the truss industry.
The Workshop is held in May in Quebec City, QB, with 96 in attendance. Tours include the Maibec Sawmill and Forintek.
Jim Kaake from Georgia Pacific Corporation begins a second term as president of MSRLPC.
The Workshop is held in April in Kelowna, BC, in conjunction with meetings of the Interior Lumber Manufacturers’ Association (ILMA) and the Canadian Wood Council (CWC). Tours include the Weyerhaeuser facility in Okanagan Falls, the Canwood Furniture Factory, and Structurlam.
Blair Buchanan from Weyerhaeuser is elected president of MSRLPC and serves until 2003.
The Workshop is held in early April in Biloxi, MS, in conjunction with a Southern Pine Inspection Bureau (SPIB) meeting. Attendees enjoy mill and forestry tours as part the event.
Jim Logan of Metriguard is the winner of the MSRLPC Annual Award. Stewart Garden from Canfor Wood Products Marketing is elected president of MSRLPC and serves a two-year term.
The Workshop, which was scheduled to be held in May in Quebec City, QB, is cancelled due to the SARS situation in Toronto and travel restrictions issued by various companies.
In July, a small group of members met to revise the MSRLPC Mission Statement. The result of the meeting was a more effective and condensed mission statement that reads: “Promote the benefits of MSR lumber for the purpose of increasing market share and position as a premium product with higher visual and strength characteristics.”
The Workshop is held in April in Vancouver, BC, and includes a tour of Interpretive Manufacturing.
The Workshop is held in June in Point Clear, AL, in conjunction with an SPIB meeting. The tours include TR Miller Mill and International Paper Mill.
Peter Lys of Weyerhaeuser Canada is elected president of MSRLPC.
The Workshop is held in February in Montreal, QB, prior to the Canadian Lumberman’s Association Convention.
The Workshop is held in March in Phoenix, AZ. Attendees enjoy tours of a MiTek plate stamping facility and the University of Phoenix stadium.
Reed Trull from Pope & Talbot Inc is elected president of MSRLPC.
The Board decides to cancel the 2008 MSR Workshop due to the current market conditions.
Wood and Fiber Science publishes "Estimating Local Compliance in a Beam from Bending Measurements Part I. Computing ‘Span Function’" by Friend Bechtel (Issue Number 2/April 2007), in which he derives the applicable span functions that illustrate how each part of a beam within a bending span contributes to the measurement. This work is essential for the subsequent analysis of the data.
Forest Product Journal publishes "Estimating local modulus of elasticity in a beam from bending measurements: An overview" by Friend K. Bechtel, Chin S. Hsu, and Timothy C. Hanshaw (January 2007/Vol. 57 No. 1/2). This article illustrates concepts for bending equipment, with two almost identical quality control machines in function to demonstrate that one small change of where deflection is measured yields different span functions. (First results using a Kalman filter are in this paper. Later, results using an algebraic solution may be preferred.)
Reed Trull resigns as president of MSRLPC in January, and Christian Gilbert of Tembec Forest Products is named acting president. An informal meeting is held in February to determine the future of the Council. A lively discussion results in renewed focus and energy for the future of the MSRLPC and the promotion of MSR lumber in the market.
In October, the Board announces a transition to new association management staff at Qualtim, Inc. in its new monthly newsletter for members called MSR Council Matters. The Board suspends all advertising and exhibiting until a new, comprehensive marketing plan is put in place. Staff conducts an MSR Quick Poll to gather feedback from component manufacturers about how MSR lumber producers can better serve them as customers and receives helpful feedback.
Steve Hardy from Canfor Wood Products Marketing becomes president of MSRLPC. The Board votes to suspend collection of dues and assessments for the year.
The Council returns to exhibiting at BCMC at the show in Phoenix, where Board members take turns staffing the booth and hold a Component Manufacturer Focus Group.
In November, due to Steve Hardy’s resignation from the Board, Dan Uskoski from Metriguard steps up from his role as vice president and serves as president of MSRLPC until 2013.
A group of former executives of Trus Joist Corp., along with Atlas Holdings LLC, purchases the commercial division of Trus Joist from Weyerhaeuser and moves headquarters back to Boise. The new firm is called “RedBuilt,” in tribute to Trus Joist co-founder Harold “Red” Thomas and the company he built. Thomas is among the investors in the new firm.
In October, Friend Bechtel presents "Local Modulus of Elasticity – Intuition and Ramifications" at the 16th International Symposium on Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation of Wood in Beijing, China.
The evolution from visually graded lumber to MSR can be seen in the transition in housing over the last 50 years.
The Board votes to suspend collection of dues and assessments for another year to preserve membership.
Ongoing work out of the CM Focus Group focuses on reinforcing the structural integrity of MSR lumber and creating resources to explain both sides of the lumber quality issue. An article on this topic runs in SBC Magazine. The council exhibits at the BCMC show in Charlotte, NC, and holds an MSRLPC/SBCA Focus Group.
MSRLPC Board members participate as panelists in the lumber session at BCMC in Indianapolis. The Council also sponsors the BCMC Poker run and 5K for BCMC Build.
A new method of calibrating the Model 7200 and CLT machines is patented by Jim Logan, Jim Allen, and Tony Lee at Metriguard. This new method eliminates a calibration shift that resulted from adjustment of deflection in these machines. This invention also enables a thing Logan calls “fleet calibration,” in which all machines of this type may be set to produce matching readings.
MSRLPC enters into a formal agreement with Forest Economic Advisors, LLC (FEA) to exchange information and expertise on MSR Lumber.
The Board adopts a new membership and dues structure to implement when the Council begins charging for dues again.
A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) is reinstated.
MSRLPC is invited to participate in the annual industry update on engineered lumber for the post-frame construction industry published in the August issue of Frame Building News.
The MSRLPC Bylaws are amended to make the role of Past President official.
Dues billing resumes after a four-year hiatus to allow members to better weather the unfavorable market conditions. A new online request form for locating MSR lumber is added to the Council’s website.
John Branstetter from Vaagen Brothers Lumber Co. is elected president of MSRLPC and serves for three consecutive two-year terms (through 2018).
New design values for Southern Pine take effect on June 1, with potential benefits for the MSR/MEL lumber industry. SBCA drafts an MSR-MEL policy that establishes the value MSR-MEL represents to the structural component industry and a date by which all structural components should be produced with machine evaluated lumber.
The Council holds its first MSR Workshop in seven years in April in San Diego, CA. Attendees tour California TrussFrame, Smart Components, and a commercial construction site.
The Workshop is held in April in Atlanta, GA, where attendees have the opportunity to tour Truss Systems and West Fraser Mill.
The Board approves funds to develop a new website for MSRLPC that includes a search engine of MSRLPC Regular Members to help potential customers find producers of specific MSR grades and sizes. Plans also include an easy search of mills by member company, as well as span tables and other helpful information in order to make the MSRLPC website a one-stop shop for MSR.
BCMC includes a session called “How MSR Saves Me Money.” Presented by four experienced component manufacturers, the panel focuses on addressing three topics for CMs: how MSR allows for less waste, more optimized component design and more efficient production; how MSR has earned customer loyalty through consistent structural and visual quality; and how MSR has reduced exposure to risk through more reliable lumber design values.
The Board approves a revised mission statement for the Workshop: “The MSR Workshop brings together members of the entire lumber supply chain, from production and grading to sales and distribution to end users, and offers a unique opportunity for participants to directly network and gain a broader perspective on the MSR market and opportunities for growth.”
The Workshop is held in April in Minneapolis, MN, in conjunction with SBCA’s CM Executive Leadership Summit. The group tours Littfin Truss, one of the first component manufacturing companies in the U.S. to use MSR lumber in truss production.
The Workshop is held in April in Seattle, WA, in conjunction with SBCA’s CM Executive Leadership Summit. Attendees tour The Truss Company.
Metriguard, Inc. is purchased by Raute Corporation of Lahti, Finland, and continues to operate from Pullman, WA, but is now known as Metriguard Technologies. Jim Logan retires at the age of 77.
The Workshop is held in April in Phoenix, AZ, and welcomes 97 attendees. The group tours Katerra.
Joe Castleberry from Canfor Southern Pine is elected president of MSRLPC.
The Workshop is held in April in Nashville, TN, where attendees enjoy a tour of the Nissan facility.
The Workshop, which was scheduled to be held in April in Salt Lake City, UT, is cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
George Hamilton from Canfor Southern Pine is elected president of MSRLPC in August.
In December, the Board votes to cancel the 2021 MSR Workshop because of travel disruptions due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19.
MSRLPC invests in the Council’s website, www.msrlumber.org, to add an image gallery of professional photos, additional educational resources, and other useful content. The site is also upgraded to improved security and mobile-friendliness.
The Board agrees to submit articles to Component Advertiser Magazine in 2022 in an effort to reach component manufacturers. The group nominates an Articles Committee to head up this initiative.
The Board agrees to hold an annual meeting at the 2022 Workshop and that, in future years, if no Workshop is held that an annual meeting is scheduled for the third week in April for elections.
The MSR Workshop makes a successful post-pandemic comeback in April. Seventy-seven attendees gather in Salt Lake City, UT, and tour Burton Lumber.
The Council publishes six articles in Component Advertiser Magazine over the course of the year:
- February: Networking Made Easy
- March: Workshop Tour Adds Layer of Unique Learning for All
- April: MSR Workshop Sessions Deliver Value for All in Supply Chain
- July: Component Manufacturers Enjoy Valuable Networking & Learning Opportunities at 2022 MSR Workshop
- October: Because Good Ingredients Matter
- December: Building Confidence: Understanding the Technology Behind MSR Lumber
The Council adds a Design Value Comparison Tool to the website to allow users to easily compare machine stress rated lumber reference design values with visually graded dimensional lumber.
The Council holds one of the most successful MSR Workshop in more than 20 years as 91 participants gather in San Antonio, TX. Attends enjoy both a golf outing (new this year) and a tour of the Toyota facility.
In June, Mark Thompson of Weyerhaeuser SPF is elected president of MSRLPC. He steps down in September due to a change in his position, and Brandon Contradow from Canadian Engineered Wood Products becomes president of MSRLPC.
The Council publishes four articles in Component Advertiser Magazine over the course of the year:
The Workshop is held in Charlotte, NC, and the group tours Roseburg’s LVL plant.
The Council publishes two articles in Component Advertiser Magazine:
The Articles Committee begins a project to compile history of both the MSR lumber industry and the MSRLPC.
Hem-Fir North Values are reduced by 5-15% as of April 1.