Stoltze Timber Plans CLT Facility

Montana-based F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. is teaming with a group of partners to form Stoltze Timber Systems, Inc., which plans to build a cross-laminated timber (CLT) facility adjacent the F.H. Stoltze sawmill near Columbia Falls, Mont.

The venture intends to process small-diameter trees, which reportedly are in abundance and underutilized in regional forests.

Pat Clark, principal in Wooden Haus Supply in Whitefish, Mont., is reportedly a fixture in the new project. His firm was awarded a grant in 2018 by the USDA Forest Service for “Utilization of Small Diameter Timber to Manufacture Engineered Wood Products for Use in Commercial and Residential Building Construction.” Clark brings considerable experience in European mass timber production and construction.

One mass timber industry observer noted that this project could involve narrower width lumber used in the manufacture of CLT than is typically used in North America if it can meet “economies of scale.”