Panel Of The Future

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Manufacturers are mass producing high quality boards with a very high degree of efficiency. Change the process, manipulate resin content and strand orientation and flexible or stiffer panels can be produced. Board dimensions also can be customized from the factory floor to fit the needs of builders, homeowners and valueadded product manufacturers.

Bight - Marketing & Branding

An interesting trend, with farreaching ramifications, has companies installing whole engineered flooring systems, combining I-joists and OSB panels into a single branded product. There is no end in sight to the expansion of this value-added approach. Firms will race to supply entire OSB roofing, flooring and wall systems in which multiple components will be branded as value-added single products with 25- or 5O-year guarantees. No longer can OSB, in this context, be considered a commodity product. tlT.

lllne - Engineered Wood Boom

The boom in engineered wood will further increase OSB demand and accelerate value-added OSB use. A striking example involves wood Ijoists. Composed of a thin OSB web that is bonded to top and bottom flanges of lumber or LVL, I-joists are commonly used in roof and floor systems. From virtually zero market share in the early 1990s, it is estimated that in several years half of all new homes in North America will be supported by wood I-joist floor systems. Energy efficient structural insulated panelsfoam sandwiched by OSB panels-are beginning to catch on, and may make the same sort of impact as I-joists over the long run.

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t en - Housing Fundamentals Still Strong

Despite concerns about housing starts slowing, there are no signs of a dramatic downturn. If starts do begin to slow, due to interest rate hikes, the home repair and the remodeling market would take up some of the slack, since potential new buyers would be motivated to hold off on purchases and renovate existing homes. The popularity of engineered wood is dovetailing with shifting residential needs: homes and garages are larger, so more materials, including OSB, are required for each residential unit.

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