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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 13 A U G U S T 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 F O C U S G R E AT E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E director of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine. "LP's willingness to invest in the future of Maine's forest economy and continue to provide a market for Maine wood is a hopeful sign for the logging industry," Doran said. Second expansion is is LP Houlton's second major expansion in recent history. As the parent corporation's second-longest- running mill, it was commissioned in 1981 and has been producing "oriented strand board" since 1982. In 2008, the mill added a "laminated strand lumber" line, which represented a $140 million investment at the time. e two lines are used in the con- struction of the "innards" of a house, as Whitney said. Oriented strand boards are a type of plywood used primarily as wall sheathing, roof decks and subfloors in residential construction. Laminated strand lumber, developed to compete with traditional dimensional lumber, is primarily used as structural framing With the latest investment, the mill is focusing on the building's exte- rior with the exclusive production of the siding and trim line, which is one of the fastest-growing siding brands in the U.S., said Breeanna Straessle, LP's director of corporate communi- cations based in Nashville. e investment and conversion is expected to increase LP Houlton's consumption of local and sustain- ably sourced wood fiber by about 30%, which is expected to benefit providers across the supply chain, including local businesses. "Aside from the logs, which will benefit landowners and truckers, we do a lot of business with local com- panies for supplies and repairs," said Whitney. "For example, tires for our equipment come from local vendors. We use local companies that supply steel. Even the local market that sells pizza and subs benefits." 100,000 homes per year Up to now, LP Houlton has been buy- ing about 250,000 tons of primarily aspen logs per year. With the conver- sion, aspen consumption will increase to 350,000 tons, which will produce 220 million square feet of SmartSide. At full capacity, that's enough siding for about 100,000 homes per year. "We purchase 8-foot logs, primar- ily from within 60 miles of the mill in northern Maine," said Whitney. Some is also purchased from New Brunswick. At the mill, the logs go into a pond to soften them up and make them eas- ier to flake. e bark is then removed and the logs go through a big machine, appropriately called a flaker, that makes small flakes about 3 inches long and less than an eighth-inch thick. e flakes are dried to correct moisture content, then layered in sheets with a topping of fine sawdust. e resulting boards serve as a sub- strate for SmartSide, which incorporates www.bowmanconstructors.com 207.368.2405 Haley Ward, Inc. Offices - Bangor, ME With over 30 years of commercial construction experience, the team at Bowman Constructors will take your vision and transform it into a view! Let's Connect! C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Louisiana-Pacific Corp. has 12% share of the $6.4 billion engineered wood, vinyl, stucco, fiber cement and wood siding and trim market. Overall, Louisiana-Pacific has 10 siding manufacturing facilities with capacity to produce 1.65 billion to 1.7 billion square feet of siding in the U.S. and Canada. With LP Houlton's conversion, that will increase to roughly 1.9 billion square feet. BY THE NUMBERS S O U R C E : Louisiana-Pacific Corp. $1.7B $1.9B

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