Opportunities are opening up for BC to lead in the global hem-fir glue-laminated timber market and value-added manufacturing.
The global market for mass timber is growing and, with it, BC’s potential to be a leading source of this more sustainable building material. An emerging opportunity for made-in Canada engineered wood products may be glulam beams and glue laminated timber panels composed of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and amabilis fir (Abies amabilis), known as hem-fir.
“In Coastal BC, dense stands of mixed western hemlock and amabilis fir dominate almost one million hectares of forest land,” states UBC Forestry Prof. Frank Lam (PhD(Forestry)’92), Senior Chair of Wood Building Design and Construction, who is conducting research on the design strength properties of hem-fir glulam. “However, the obstacle to the use of glulam made from BC/Canadian hem-fir comes from both the lack of technical evidence on the strength properties of hem-fir glulam and limitations stemming from current CSA Group standards.”
Canadian CSA Group — formerly known as the Canadian Standards Association — stipulates that hem-fir can only be used in the inner parts of beams and in combination with Douglas-fir and larch. Alternatively, western hemlock can be used in glulam beams in limited capacities, but not in combination with amabilis fir.
Glulam is an engineered structural wood product made from a process of gluing together multiple individual layers of dimension lumber — solid sawn wood of 1.5 inches or less in thickness. Commonly used to make beams, girders, columns and heavy trusses, among others, glulam is a popular alternative to steel and concrete in post and beam construction, along with in mass timber structures and wood bridges.
Room to grow
According to the BC government, global demand for engineered-wood, including mass timber, is expected to grow by 40% by 2027 — from a value of $285 billion in 2019 to $400 billion by 2027 — with the province forecasting the BC mass timber market ramping up to $403 million by 2035.
If approved for use in Canadian builds, BC-sourced western hemlock and hem-fir glulam can position the province as a world leader in sustainable and innovative wood-based products and building systems.
“Hem-fir can strengthen BC’s capacity to create and respond to market demand,” says Frank. “It is also important for value-added timber manufacturing, changing the business model from one of exporting lumber to exporting engineered wood products, which can translate into more jobs and revenues created and kept in BC.”
Industry investment
Western Forest Products (WFP) is collaborating with Frank on his research to test novel applications for hem-fir, particularly in key growth product categories, such as glulam. With the 2022 purchase of Washington-based company Calvert — one of the longest-standing manufacturers of glulam in the US — WFP broadcasted its intent to enter into the expanding mass timber market.
“The tree species mix and age profiles are changing in BC for several reasons, which will result in a larger proportion of available stands of western hemlock,” states Mark Dubois-Phillips, Director of Marketing and Product Management with WFP.
“Hemlock is part of our long-term thinking in our engineered wood products division,” adds Mark. “We believe that one of our differentiators will be the vertical integration of hemlock literally from the forest floor to the glulam plant.”
Standards hurdles
“There is a lot of interest in the use of wood in mass timber construction and as a means to store carbon in building materials,” states Frank. “However, we need more options for certain structural components in buildings, such as alternatives to concrete and steel columns and beams. Hemlock and hem-fir glulam could fill this market niche.”
With support from BC-based Forestry Innovation Investment funding, Frank and his team are developing technical data on hemlock and hem-fir glulam — currently approved for use in the US — in hopes of securing CSA Group approval of the products in Canadian public and private builds.
“Glulam made from hem-fir has competitive cost/performance advantage compared to the Douglas-fir–larch and spruce–pine glulam currently available in North America,” says Frank.“The outcome of our work will help to promote the value-added timber manufacturing industry in BC, and ensure BC’s future leadership in mass timber production.”
This article was originally published in Branchlines Magazine. Read the magazine here.
