The Softwood Forest Products Buyer - March/April 2024

SLB COLUMN —Continued from page 2
Think Wood featured a project profile of Amazon’s HQ2, which includes
an event center built with cross-laminated timber and glulam to
create a warm, appealing space for employees that was also quicker
to construct. Photo credit: Magda Biernat
A.W. Stiles Contractors, Inc.
A.W. Stiles provides a full line of Modern Day Equipment serving both Softwood and Hardwood markets. New Installations
and Complete Rebuilds on Existing Equipment: High Temp Track Kilns, Hardwood Package Kilns, Predryers, Walnut Steamers
(Right) Charles Ingram Lumber in Effingham, SC. A.W.
Stiles Contractors fabricated and installed a patent pending
dual path kiln consisting of a 60’ center chamber and 40’
extension chambers. The engineering firm over the project
was Tinsley Consulting Group of Hot Springs, AR.
Complete Rebuilds Including:
• Roof Replacements/Complete Reskins
• Heating Coils and Complete Steam Systems
• Energy Efficient Upgrades -
controls, insulation additions, wind flow,
heating capacity, door seals, etc.
(Left) T. R. Miller Mill Co. in
Brewton, AL. A.W. Stiles Contractors
fabricated and installed two
steam-heated patented dual path
kilns each kiln consisting of 94’
center chambers and 62’ extension
chambers. The engineering firm over
the project was Tinsley Consulting
Group of Hot Springs, AR.
• Doors and Carriers
• Structural Repairs
• Protective Coatings
• Complete line of replacement parts
Lee Stiles Cell: (931) 409-0144
Email: lee@awscontractorsinc.com
Glenn Thompson Cell: (615) 372-4261
Email: glenn@awscontractorsinc.com
Casey Miller Cell: (931) 607-7451
Email: casey@awscontractorsinc.com
Office: (931) 668-8768 • Fax: (931) 668-7327
286 Bass Lane, McMinnville, TN 37110
awscontractorsinc.com
sionals on wood topics ranging from sustainable forestry to building codes, as
well as expanding wood design instruction in postsecondary architecture and engineering
programs. For example, the SLB funded three faculty workshops in 2023,
training 52 faculty on how to integrate education about wood systems into their
own academic programs. These investments help to inspire the next generation of
design professionals to build with wood.
The American Wood Council is the industry’s program for the development of
codes, standards and regulations, design tools, and guidelines for wood construction.
By identifying obstacles to wood specification and opportunities where new
design standards would expand the market, the AWC can provide research and
expertise to ensure codes and standards remain favorable to wood. The AWC has
helped to integrate tall mass timber code provisions into building codes in 28
states including, most recently, Ohio, where the AWC was a regular participant in
the Ohio Building Codes Committee meetings supporting the development of the
approved code package.
WoodWorks supports and influences wood projects by working directly with
design and construction teams, with the goal of facilitating a shift toward wood
within firms. The program provides free one-on-one project assistance on commercial
and multifamily wood building design, with WoodWorks design professionals
serving as trusted assets to minimize the learning curve on unfamiliar designs
or overcome hurdles with local building authorities. WoodWorks also hosts
events/educational events that help build relationships with design professionals.
For example, WoodWorks hosted
or spoke at 129 events in 2023
featuring innovative light-frame
topics that attracted a total of
13,143 attendees, propelling
the program to a total of nearly
80,000 education hours.
Think Wood is a marketing
and communications program
that builds interest and intent to
specify wood in those audiences,
and it has evolved in recent
years to become a sought-after
educational resource for the
design and construction industry.
Design and construction are
fields where innovation involves
“early bird” risk, so professionals
need reassuring examples of
successful wood projects that
inform and demystify building
with wood. For example, retail
giant Amazon’s new headquarters
in Arlington, Virginia, was
covered by major media outlets
like Bloomberg, Fortune, and
the Washington Post—but those
articles overlooked the project’s
use of wood. Think Wood filled
the gap to show how the architect
used cross-laminated timber and
glulam to create a warm, appealing
space for employees that was
also quicker to construct.
What does it take to
change a market?
Coordination between these
programs and with other industry
partners can move markets
to embrace wood. In New York
City, for example, the SLB
is supporting an accelerator
program called the NYC Mass
Timber Studio that will help increase
the use of wood products
in the city with the goal of reducing
the embodied carbon in new
construction. The project is a
collaboration with the New York
Continued on page 34
Page 32 Softwood Forest Products Buyer • March/April 2024