NEWS RELEASE
Media Contact: Dianira Piceno
Phone: 503-951-2145
Email: dianira@wordsoutpr.com
Freres Wood now selling 9′ and 10′ long and 1.5″ thick plywood panels and more
LYONS, Ore. June 13, 2024—Freres Engineered Wood has expanded their product offerings in response to customer demand. New products include 9’ and 10’ long plywood panels, 1.5” thick laminated veneer lumber (LVL) products, 2.1E and 1.9E material stiffness grades for LVL products and additional appearance grade options for Mass Ply products.
Freres Wood has produced 9’ and 10’ veneers for many years and felt it was a natural progression to expand their plywood offerings to 9’ and 10’ panels in response to growing market demand. “The 9’ and 10’ panels are important additions for us to diversify our product offerings to the market and allow us to take advantage of portions of the market that we haven’t accessed before,” says the company’s Vice President of Sales, Tyler Freres. “It’s consistent with our long-term goals of utilizing the materials that we produce through our veneer plants more efficiently.” Freres Wood initiated test runs of the new 9’ and 10’ long plywood panels in early 2024 and will begin offering the products in August 2024.
As for the LVL product mix, Freres Wood now provides up to 1.5” thick plywood and LVL products in single laminations, as well as 2” thick or greater LVL products with a secondary lamination. The first project to use the new 1.5” product is the Onan House with TimberBLDR, a single-family, residential building in Dripping Springs, Texas, built entirely with a Mass Ply light framing technique. Additionally, Freres Wood can now produce 2.1E and 1.9E material stiffness grades for any beam or header needs, such as 3.5”, 5.25” or 7”. These new product offerings will allow Freres to make thicker fully laminated beams and headers through the same innovative process that Mass Ply Products are manufactured.
The leading engineered wood products manufacturer presented their expanded product mix at the 2024 Mass Timber Conference (MTC) on March 26-28. Freres Wood also debuted a sample of their new appearance grade for Mass Ply products, as well as some additional options for an “edge grain” appearance. Unlike the company’s current visual grade selection, the latest appearance grade option is designed to mimic the appearance of cross-laminated timber (CLT) rather than plywood.
For more information about Freres Engineered Wood and their new product mix, call 503-891-2121 or visit www.frereswood.com.
# # # #
About Freres Engineered Wood Products
Freres Engineered Wood, formerly Freres Lumber Co., Inc., has a 100-year history of innovation in the wood products industry, beginning in 1922 when T.G. Freres started a small sawmill in Oregon’s Santiam Canyon. Today, Freres’ operations include finished plywood, lumber, veneer and structural composite lumber, Mass Ply products, biochar, and a cogeneration facility that supplies renewable power for the local area. Known for being traditionally innovative, Freres is deeply committed to its community and to sustainable forest management practices. The company uses 100% of the wood it processes throughout its three operations—Freres Engineered Wood Products, Freres Timber and Evergreen BioPower LCC—and six wood products facilities. Freres provides family wage jobs to nearly 500 employees. For more information, visit www.frereswood.com or call 503-859-2121.