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Print ArticleWith three months to go before California enacts the world’s strictest formaldehyde regulations on composite wood panels, Timber Products Company announced this week that its hardwood plywood and particleboard mills in Medford, Ore., have been certified to meet the California Air Resources Board (CARB) requirements.
With this designation, Timber Products becomes one of the first U.S. hardwood plywood manufacturers to have its entire product line CARB-certified.
The audit process was conducted by the Composite Panel Association, a U.S. agency authorized by CARB as an official third-party certification body.
“We have been working toward certification for some time, and our mills are now ready to supply the industry with panel products that meet the CARB regulations,” said Timber Products vice president Roger Rutan. “The CARB regulation goes beyond California. Any company that does business in the state or has customers who do business in the state can be assured that our products are CARB-certified.”
Timber Products’ hardwood plywood meets or exceeds CARB Phase I formaldehyde levels including panels made with MDF, veneer core and particleboard cores. Also certified are all raw particleboard panels.
The company’s mills in Grants Pass, Ore., and Corinth, Miss., are expected to be CARB-certified in the next 30 to 60 days, according to Rutan.
ADDED CERTIFICATIONS
The CARB achievement is the latest third-party designation Timber Products has earned in the past year. Earlier, the company’s Medford, Ore., particleboard plant achieved Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) status from the Composite Panel Association as well as recognition by the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association’s (KCMA) Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP).
ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP
Meeting CARB requirements is yet another example of Timber Products’ commitment to producing environmentally sustainable materials. The company last year introduced its GreenT line of hardwood panels that are manufactured with certified wood fiber and a special resin that meets most green building requirements, including LEED® and CARB.
GreenT Hardwood Plywood is available with an MDF, veneer core or particleboard core. The GreenT line also includes a panel with a hardwood face and decorative overlay back, a two-sided decorative overlay panel, raw particleboard panels and particleboard door core panels.
Customers looking for hardwood plywood that meets green building standards or indoor air quality regulations can order GreenT panels certified as FSC Mixed Sources or Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI stamp).
“The FSC label gives our customers another avenue to gain LEED points and shows our support to sustainable wood sources around the world,” said Rutan. “We’ve been longtime supporters of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and our additional commitment to FSC proves we are doing everything we can to meet the market’s demand for certified, sustainable materials.”
In addition, the company stewards 118,000 acres of forest under the strict standards of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program and was the first hardwood plywood manufacturer in the world authorized to carry the SFI label. All materials sourced from the company’s land are audited and certified as environmentally sustainable, ensuring healthy forests for future generations.
More information can be found at www.timberproducts.com.
