RIDDLE, OR – Today’s announcement by U.S. Secretary Tom Vilsack of the successful projects in the Tall Wood Building Competition was met with enthusiasm at D.R. Johnson, manufacturer of CLT panels and glu-laminated beams.

“We have tremendous respect for the team of the Oregon project that was named, the Framework, a 12-story urban + rural project in the Pearl District area of Portland,” said Valerie Johnson, President of D.R. Johnson. “We have been anticipating this announcement for several months, and are very appreciative of the USDA and the Softwood Lumber Board for this major incentive to accelerate the development of building with mass wood components “With one of the project winners right here in our own state, we look forward to learning more about their design and plans for this building.”

Announced in October 2014, the competition is a joint initiative of the USDA and the forest industry designed to support rural communities by creating a market for wood in larger and taller buildings.  “The goal of the prize competition is to link rural U.S. technical expertise and products with evolving domestic and international market opportunities…” said the USDA announcement. The USDA Tall Wood Competition’s primary purpose is to advance the development of U.S. buildings constructed with mass timber components, which includes CLT and glu-laminated beams.

D.R. Johnson announced last week that it is the first and only U.S. manufacturer to receive ANSI certification from APA-The Engineered Wood Association to produce structural grade cross-laminated timbers. CLT are engineered wood panels typically consisting of three, five, or seven layers of dimension lumber oriented at right angles to one another and glued to form structural panels with exceptional strength, dimensional stability, and rigidity.

D.R. Johnson is currently manufacturing CLT panels for the first two orders for their product, The Albina Yard project, an office building in North Portland, and the Richard Woodcock Education Center at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.

“Our company is confident that this revival of building with wood is going to grow,” said Johnson.  “It is good for beautiful buildings, great for the environment and critical for the economies of rural Oregon.  This announcement is one more confirmation that we are on the right track.”

For more information about D.R. Johnson or CLT, please visit www.oregonclt.com. For more information on the USDA Tall Wood Building Prize competition, please visit https://tallwoodbuildingcompetition.org.