Annual Report 2020

The Oregon Wood Innovation Center continues to emphasize connections to assist Oregon wood products firms solve challenges and pursue new business opportunities. We work to connect entrepreneurs and industry personnel with our resources and technical information, help connect buyers and sellers of Oregon forest products, and enable industry professionals to network with one another.

Below are highlights of our activities and accomplishments in 2020 and brief details on where we are headed in 2021.

2020 Activities

Workshops: The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to our in-person workshops.  However, in early Spring, before things shut down, we managed to squeeze in one on-site Quality Control in Wood Products Manufacturing course.  The following online courses were also offered: How to Dry Lumber for Quality & Profit Wood Composites Science Distance Education series Oregon Forest Industry Directory We contacted all of the primary (log-buying) mills listed in our online industry directory to get updated information

Applied Research: Development of Composites from Western Juniper Residues - Several years ago, we reported on the development of design values for western juniper lumber. This was a big step forward in market development for juniper enterprises. However, another major hurdle they face is the lack of viable markets for the large volumes of residues/byproducts.  Sustainable Northwest and Business Oregon provided funding to explore development of products from these residues.  In 2020, we developed and tested the mechanical and physical properties of strandboard (image to the right) from the larger/coarse residues and particleboard from the finer residues.  Details on the findings can be found at http://owic.oregonstate.edu/western-juniper-composites.

Contract projects - as has been the case the past several years, 2020 was a busy year for assisting firms with their new product development efforts:

• Mass timber - 3 projects were conducted on new mass timber products in our MCMEC in the Green Building Materials Lab; testing included UV exposure, water spray, as well as temperature and humidity extremes
• Siding - a company's new line of composite lap siding was also tested in our MCMEC chambers
• Millwork - 4 projects were conducted to evaluate several new products including closet poles, interior doors, and flooring
• Reclaimed materials - evaluation of 5 new products lines produced from reclaimed materials; properties tested included hardness, bending strength, screw withdrawal, moisture resistance, and internal bond

Work In Progress

We also continue to focus on both short-term problem-solving technical assistance as well as longer-term efforts to assist Oregon firms remain competitive in the global marketplace. Examples of work-in-progress include:

• Reclaimed materials - we will conclude our testing in 2021 to assess performance of composite panel products produced from reclaimed building materials
• Wood Coatings - our work related to testing exterior coatings continues in 2021; we wrapped up the analysis for materials exposed in Corvallis in 2020 and will analyze the materials exposed in Madras in 2021
• Veneer Checking - we have conducted several research projects related to checking in hardwood plywood; in 2021, we plan to follow-up on findings from Elijah Wilson's MS project by seeking to understand why checking sometimes occurs in the form of a few, relatively large (visible to the naked eye) checks whereas at other times, numerous fine checks develop that are too small to be seen without magnification.
• Oregon Forest Industry Directory - in 2020, we updated all of the primary industry listings in the directory; in 2021, we will focus on the secondary/value-added manufacturer listings as well as service providers
• Workshops
• Quality Control for Mass Timber - an online educational module as part of the Tallwood Design Institute's certificate program in Mass Timber Manufacturing and Construction