10th Largest Forest Product in the World Enters the US Through the Port of Baltimore
10/10/2009
Known in the United States as Master Plank® (marketed under the name Kerto in Europe), the Finnforest USA product is a laminated veneer lumber that is stronger than ordinary wood yet more workable and lighter in weight than steel.
Jim Gilleran, Managing Director of Finnforest USA, explains that the engineered wood, made of Norway spruce, originally was developed in the 1970s as a scaffolding material. Gilleran was already in the timber industry and was dealing with Metsäliitto Cooperative, which represents Finnish forest owners, when he saw the possibilities of the engineered wood. He showed a sample to representatives from Metsäliitto and asked if they could make it. "One guy at the mill said, 'Yeah, we can, but it sounds like a crazy idea,'" Gilleran recalled.
Master Plank quickly grew from scaffolding to be used in "very safety conscious" areas such as nuclear power plants and shipyards. It became widely used in all types of construction as structural beams and headers. "We have all the code approvals and structural integrity," Gilleran said, noting that Master Plank is particularly successful in modular home and panel home construction because it is the lightest beam on the market.
Now, the company is expanding the use of the engineered wood into the interior design market. "We happen to be the player that's able to bring that product to them," Gilleran said.
"This has been a constant, growing business," said Rick Schiappacasse, a Maryland Port Administration (MPA) trade development director specializing in forest products. "Through careful and quality handling at Dundalk Marine Terminal, this customer has been very happy with the Port."
Master Plank is shipped here from Finland on board Atlantic Container Line (ACL) roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) vessels in panels that are 48 feet long and 4 feet to 8 feet wide, with varying thicknesses from 3/8-inch to 3 inches. The panels are wrapped in coated paper, but the underside is left open to allow the package to breathe and to minimize condensation. Two truckloads of Master Plank LVL fit on a Mafi roll trailer.
ACL, which has been calling on Baltimore for more than 40 years, operates liner transportation services for containers, project and oversized cargo, heavy equipment and vehicles between the European ports of Liverpool, Antwerp, Hamburg and Gothenburg to Baltimore. This service is operated with five of the world's largest G-3 combination RO/RO container ships.
After the Mafi roll trailers are unloaded from the ships, they're stripped and two forklifts lift the panels. Because the material is so flexible, it requires skilled forklift operators to make sure it doesn't bend too much. As forklifts hold the panels aloft, a flatbed truck maneuvers into position. Once loaded, the product is ready for convenient transportation to a large percentage of the nation that is in close proximity to Baltimore.
The process is "very well managed," Gilleran said. "The Port of Baltimore has been superior to work with. It's a people game, and they understand what we're doing. They have learned how to handle it."
View the PDF of the complete article by Nancy Menefee Jackson from The Port of Baltimore magazine.