Louisiana-Pacific (LP) has officially opened its new laminated strand lumber (LSL) facility in Maine.
The factory, which has an annual capacity of seven million ft3, is LP’s first LSL production unit.
The Houlton site originally opened in 1982 as an OSB mill. Its expansion and conversion to an LSL mill represents an investment of more than US$140m.
First products rolled off the production line in March, while the first rail-car of LSL was shipped from the mill on June 4.
“LSL builds on LP’s strength in strand technology with an engineered, consistent, environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional lumber that our customers have been asking for,” said LP executive vice-president Curt Stevens.
LP will market the product under the SolidStart and LSL Line brands.
The product is used as headers, beams, wall studs, rafter, truss chords, rim boards and stair stringers.
