Coming Soon: Plyscrapers made from Mass Ply Panels
LYONS, Ore. — There are many ways to glue bits of wood together. Cross-Laminated Timber is the lumber du jour, and is often described as “plywood on steroids” but it isn’t plywood, it’s made from dimension lumber like 2x6s laminated together. Plywood has been made in the USA since the 1880s and Freres Lumber of Oregon has been making the stuff since 1959. It’s well-established technology that uses wood very efficiently, peeling it off logs as small as 5 inches in diameter.
World’s first mass plywood panel approved for 18-story buildings
Located in Lyons, Oregon, Freres Lumber has been in business for nearly a century. After starting out producing standard lumber projects, the company moved into wood veneers some 60 years ago and in 1998 purchased a plywood plant. Now, it’s made another step: getting U.S. and Canadian patents on its mass plywood panel , the first veneer-based mass timber panel in the world, and fire approvals to build up to 18 stories high with the panel.
Freres Lumber named to annual list of most innovative companies
LYONS, Ore. — Freres Lumber Co. has been named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019, ranking as the fifth on the Most Innovative Company List in the Urban Development/Real Estate category.
Ted Freres awarded Lumberman of the Year
The Lumberman of the Year award for 2018 has been posthumously awarded to Ted Freres, former president of plywood and veneer manufacturer Freres Lumber Co.
Ted Freres, President
Freres Lumber’s massive panels get Canadian patent, pass fire safety test
Freres Lumber has just received a Canadian patent for its mass plywood panels . The panels have also passed fire safety tests. Freres’ massive panels, which Woodworking Network covered last year, are assembled by combining densely layered, extremely thin layers of Douglas Fir veneers. Mass Ply would be used for floors and walls in multi-story commercial buildings, and they could be made to order.
Oregon’s Freres Lumber grows mass timber market
The website North American Forest Partnership (NAFP)’s website shares stories from its members, a diverse coalition of forest industry professionals, organizations, and government agencies (including the USDA Forest Service) that focus on relevant, responsible, and innovative efforts for forest management, conservation and sustainable harvesting.
After Peavy Hall construction collapse at OSU, Freres Lumber steps up with new product
Peavy was envisioned as a showcase for engineered wood products and a beacon for the burgeoning industry in the United States, but a 20-foot section of cross-laminated timber sub-flooring collapsed. Kyle Freres knew he had to do something. His family’s company — Freres Lumber Company of Lyons — had $35 million invested in its own new engineered wood product.
Tyler Freres, Rob Freres and Kyle Freres of Freres Lumber Co. pose with the SEDCOR Manufacturer of the Year award.
Freres builds for the future with new mass plywood panels
Tyler Freres, vice president of sales for Freres Lumber Co., walked through a new manufacturing plant between Mill City and Lyons, off of Cedar Mill Road, and pointed out a stack of wood panels destined for Oregon State University this week. “I don’t even think we’ve started to tap the products and the projects we can make out of this,” Freres said.
Tyler Freres, vice president for Freres Lumber Co., talks about the new mass plywood panels at the company's new $30 million facility between Lyons and Mill City. Credit: Mark Ylen, Mid-Valley Media
Freres Lumber VP makes bold predictions for 2017
After a year that saw log prices increase dramatically and finished wood product prices remain subdued, at best, wood-products industry professionals in the U.S. speculate what will unfold in 2017. Freres Lumber Company’s Vice President of Sales Tyler Freres published his predictions for the 2017 wood products market on the Freres Lumber Co. blog.
Tyler Freres