Stoltze Timber Systems to Begin Production Emulating Europe’s Best Practices of Mass Timber Production

F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Company is joining forces with a group of key partners called Stoltze Timber Systems, Inc.– to build North America’s first mass timber production facility aimed at using small-diameter trees to build large format, cross-laminated timber panels. Stateside production is slated, to begin with, a phased-out, integrated manufacturing plan emulating Europe’s best practices of mass timber production while utilizing its existing sawmill to process the supply of small timber to produce large format mass timber.

Traditionally, this 108+-year-old family-run company has operated within the standard sawmill timber commodity market of processing board stock material to regionally service northwest Montana and beyond for decades. With this strategic move, Stoltze will significantly bolster the relevance of its existing sawmill, as it will then be able to adequately process and prep small-diameter timber, which will then be used in a wide variety of custom mass timber products offering a full system built solution.

Currently, Montana forests are saturated with small-diameter timber. In terms of resource management, this is proving problematic, as this over-supply is not matched by a readily available or economically viable marketable demand. Stoltze Timber Systems, Inc. intends to utilize Montana’s vast supply of small-diameter trees to create large format panels and, ultimately, green and efficient building systems with high demand. Tangentially, dominant wood buildings, coupled with new tree growth, together offer immense carbon sequestration opportunities.

“The timber industry has been struggling for years to find a viable matched end-use for our high-value wood coming out of Montana because we’ve been operating in a commodity-based market when in reality our Montana timber is far superior. With our new plant, we’ll be solving many problems across many interest groups as we’re helping to mitigate the overabundance of small-diameter timber in our forests that currently have limited marketable value, for one. Secondly, we’re offering a whole build system that is efficient to construct, sustainable for the resource, and fundamentally a better way to build. The effort of removing that small tree is now mirrored by a superior, high-value product with high demand.” says Paul McKenzie, Resource Manager at F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber.

Not only does this effort provide a marketable option for current Montana forests, but it also revitalizes the existing sawmill business and pivots smartly within its given industry into the mass timber industry, a tried-and-true building system hailing from Europe which has only begun to gain momentum in North America with real steam in the last 5-10 years.

Mass Timber is a category of large-scale, prefabricated, solid, engineered wood products that are lightweight, yet strong. Cross-laminated timber, or CLT, is part of the Mass Timber product mix and includes solid wood panels used in construction. CLT consists of several layers of lamstock arranged in alternating directions and provides load-bearing structural support, is capable of spanning long distances, and offers superior alternatives to a traditional build system.
Immediate benefits include:

– Carbon sequestration & lighter carbon footprint
– Construction efficiency because of rapid build time
– Fire and seismic safety

Pat Clark, a partner within Stoltze Timber Systems, Inc., has been building with European products in North America for the past 10 years. Pat has been importing panels per project while learning European production methodologies and working diligently to bring production stateside. “We’re at an ideal tipping point of what we need to launch this facility smartly,” says Clark. “Consumers, builders, suppliers, and our global economy are pushing for an efficient, collaborative, and sustainable build solution that Europe has already mastered. It’s time we put those best practices to use. We’re all pretty excited about this venture.”

Stoltze Timber Systems, Inc. is slated to begin production, starting with a Glue Laminated Timber Beam (“Glulam”) manufacturing facility and CNC machine (“Computer Numerically Controlled”). Stoltze will also begin importing European panels and machining per project with the intent to move into its second phase of manufacturing, whereby small diameter timber is fully utilized to produce a wide range of solid wood products to be used in a variety of different applications.

About Stoltze Timber Systems

Stoltze Timber Systems, Inc. is a mass timber production company based in Columbia Falls, MT. Focusing on whole build systems and high-level customer service, Stoltze Timber Systems, Inc. is a resource steward in management of timber, innovators in bringing a European-inspired product mix to the Northern Rockies, and offers a service-oriented team approach to help pave the way for a new build system in a revitalized forest economy.

Contact:

Sammi Johnson – Media Contact – sammi@stoltzetimber.com – (406) 890-1201

Source: Stoltze Timber Systems, Inc.