OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

Success Stories

Recent Company Sponsored Projects:

  • Plyboo Durapalm:
    • The company stated that our assistance with determining the mechanical and physical properties of their new Durapalm product "...assured everyone on the project that the Indian sugar palm lumber possessed both the hardness and durability, as well as the weather- and rot-resistance needed for the application."  The application referenced is a Sugar Palm Suspension Bridge
  • SPEKPLY:
    • Dirk Wallace, Director of Product Development for SPEKPLY stated that, "In the months since SPEKPLY conducted our structural testing at OWIC we have made continuous progress in manufacturing logistics and gained traction in the design community at large. The data provided by OWIC has been instrumental when presenting SPEKPLY to architects, designers, builders and potential distributors. People are captivated by SPEKPLY's unique aesthetic, and OWIC's technical data helps tremendously in giving them the confidence they need to consider SPEKPLY for their projects... Most recently SPEKPLY has been selected as one of the key design elements for a new upscale Portland business."
  • 9Wood:
    • Kayla Wicks, Renewable Materials undergraduate student, assisted with the development of a series of time-lapse videos on wood movement. Charley Coury, President of 9Wood in Springfield, was discussing wood movement with a customer and stated, "Your time lapse video with the pencils tells the story in 37 seconds much better than a full length e-mail.”
  • Collins Companies:
    • Determination of mechanical and physical properties of Pacific albus (hybrid poplar) - test data were used to develop a ‘spec sheet’ for the species used in market development efforts.
  • Newood:
    • Seismic testing of wood wine racks - the firm was interested in marketing wood wine racks with improved characteristics to Southern California retailers. Following testing of their new shelf design, Newood is now using the results of the testing in their marketing literature.

What they are saying...

  • Following one of our quality control workshops, a manager at one of the mills stated, "I can easily say, without any reservation, that you have helped [the company] a lot with the Statistics class. People are using the tools you helped them with on a regular basis... I do not know how to quantify that but... I am positive it has had an excellent dollar return for us."
  • A southern Oregon producer of laminated pine products had been experiencing challenges with the wet strength of the adhesives used in their products. We recommended 5 adhesives to be tested and the company provided prototypes using these adhesives. After testing we recommended the best adhesive for their product. As the company stated, "We have been using the [new] adhesive since about May of last year. We have yet to see an issue with this adhesive and all of the testing we have done shows this product is far superior to the other adhesive we were using.  We are actually saving by using the product ...we saved about 15-20% on adhesive costs last year."
  • Excel spreadsheet to convert nominal sizes/costs to net and then to metric - "I want to take a moment to thank you and all your staff for assisting my company over the last several years. I have been an Oregon based lumber trader specializing in hardwoods for over 30 years... Anytime I have needed wood products based information, testing or assistance, I always have called upon [OWIC]... This [spreadsheet] will be, and is, one of the most valuable tools we have ever had next to the computer.  The future for wood products is ever changing in this now global market place. My son learned a great deal last spring at the Lumber Sales course OSU set up. Good to know the Oregon Wood Innovation Ctr. is there for my business. Thank you and keep up the great work."
  • Report on mechanical properties of second growth hemlock - "My efforts to put together a contract were greatly enhanced through the report you provided... [it] absolutely made a difference in our Customer's decision to purchase USA produced Lumber. We are a firm believer in providing our trading partners with honest and verified answers and that we have at our access an Entity such As Oregon State University, where sourcing detailed answers in reply to queries of this magnitude and significance, is an absolute essential vehicle to assist in Overseas Trading. ...the assistance we find with your information and resources, plays a major role in our efforts to compete on a world market scale."
  • Mechanical testing of black cottonwood - results enabled the sponsor company to obtain a tenfold increase in sales of the species.
  • Market assessment to evaluate hardwood plywood industry professionals’ acceptance of plantation-grown black walnut - The sponsor company stated, “We have used your report internally, in order to show investors and potential investors that plantation grown black walnut can be as desirable as wild black walnut. This is an important issue for us, since our business consists of growing black walnut in clonal plantings.”