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rnWO WAYS to ease the tight timI- ber supply are using substitute species like radiata pine and using engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber. But some companies have taken these a step further... producing radiata LVL.

Radiata pine is a fast-growing softwood being grown in and harvested from plantations in New Zealand, Australia and Chile in increasing quantities. LVL is structural wood members composed of veneers lami-

Story at a Glance

Laminated veneer lumber may be the ideal finished product for radiata pine nated to make a flitch from which specific-sized pieces can be trimmed.

New Zealand and Australia predict big growth.

Currently, only two companies are manufacturin g radiata LVL, Forwood Products in South Australia and Juken Nissho in New Zealand. Juken Nissho began LVL production in 1991 and has since expanded twice, more than doubled output and expects to add a third plant within five years. All of their LVL is now exported to Japan, where building codes have been changed to allow its use for structural applications. Both Juken Nissho and Forwood expect tremendous future growth in production and the export area for radiata LVL.

Ken Dixon, New Zealand Radiata Pine Remanufacturers Association, said, "With a population of 3 million (in New Zealand), domestic demand is remaining fairly stable. We have to look to expand world markets. As well, we're moving away from the commodity markets of the world to the value-added remanufactured markets. such as MDF and LVL."

The species and product seem a natural fit. LVL capitalizes on some of radiata pine's limitations, especially its lack of strength for many structural uses. Laminating radiata veneers vastly increases the wood's strength-to-weight ratio, even using lower quality logs. This is especially important as plantation owners, to improve cash flow, shorten harvesting cycles. Younger, smaller trees are not as dense, resulting in less structural grade lumber.

In addition, radi ata pine typically features a generous distribution of knots. LVL eliminates natural wood defects by distribut ing them randomly throughout the finished product.

And, of course, peeling logs to produce LVL results in a higher yield of product than sawing it.

As a plus for existing mills, manufacturing LVL is very similar to manufacturing conventional plywood, facilitating conversion.

Durand Raute research on radiata LVL showed its strength to be nearly the same as that of spruce LVL. Australian tests indicated radiata LVL matched the consistencv and reliability of steel, an advantage over traditional sawn lumber with its many variations.

Unfortunately, resin is a vital and expensive ingredient of LVL production, and resin prices have been climbing sharply. Further increases could neutralize the advantages of LVL.

Nevertheless, many expect radiata pine and laminated veneer lumber to increasingly provide solutions to supply crises across the world, whether together or separately.