Bullock impressed by SmartLam visit

The future of a Columbia Falls startup company begins in the woods that surrounds the business — the Douglas fir and western larch that grow slowly and make some of the strongest lumber in the world.

SmartLam takes 2-by-8s produced from those trees, runs them through specialized finger jointers and other equipment, and then presses them together with glue. The resulting cross-laminated panels are strong and durable and proving especially attractive to the oil and gas industry, which uses them for temporary roads and drilling rig platforms.

Last week, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock toured the plant with general manager Casey Malmquist and workers at the plant.

Montana has a stake in the future of the 40,000-square-foot facility behind Super 1 Foods in Columbia Falls. SmartLam was awarded a $380,000 Community Development Block Grant for economic development, a federally-funded program aimed at creating or retaining jobs for low and moderate income people.

The company also was awarded $206,000 by the state’s Big Sky Trust Fund to promote jobs and long-term, stable economic growth in Montana.

SmartLam is currently the only manufacturer of cross-laminated timber products in the U.S. While the immediate demand is in the oil and gas industry, the long-term goal is to build a second plant to produce architectural-grade panels for building construction. The new plant would be constructed from the same cross-laminated timber panels.

The plant currently employs more than 20 people, and when it reaches full production by the end of this month, it could employ upwards of 40.

While the plant uses equipment imported from similar facilities in Europe, the big hydraulic press used to create the final product was built locally by Columbia Construction. The plant also uses the largest numerical-controlled machine in the world. The massive machine carves the panels to complete specifications.

Bullock was impressed with the work to-date.

“This really does have the potential to be a one-of-a-kind facility in the U.S.,” he said.

Bullock said the state would also be interested in helping the company with its future expansion plans.

The wood panels SmartLam produces have distinct advantages over other wood products, plant manager Jason Herman said. Because fir and larch grow slowly here, they’re an inherently stronger product.

Panels made from other types of wood — notably pine and red oak — have a much shorter life span. A panel from SmartLam can last 10 to 15 years in the field. Wood is also gaining popularity as a construction material because it’s ecologically more sound.

Wood is a renewable resource, company officials point out, and far more environmentally friendly than steel or concrete.

The company also supports local mills. F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. supplies two-by material, and SmartLam could represent as much as 10-12 percent of Stoltze’s business.

When in full production, the plant will use about 1 million to 1.5 million board feet of lumber a month — all of it Montana grown.

“It was grown in Montana, milled in Montana and made in Montana,” Chuck Roady, vice president and general manager of Stoltze, said during the tour. “It’s about as Montanan as you can get.”

Malmquist has been duly impressed by the quality of the products coming from local mills.

“I’m amazed at the culture and the work ethic coming out of Stoltze and Plum Creek,” he said.