Page 33 - Flathead Beacon // 12.31.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 33 YEAR IN REVIEW
BUSINESSMONTHLY Business of the Year
SmartLam Cross-laminated timber company continues to see major expansions,
expects huge increases in production | By Molly Priddy
FROM LEFT: Kendra Chevez, quality control; Casey Malmquist, general manager; Jason Herman, production manager; Scott Blair, maintenance supervisor. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
COLUMBIA FALLS – The plant at SmartLam near U.S. Highway 2 here smells of timber, friction heat, and sometimes, glue. But underneath these power- ful scents, there’s an undercurrent of something else, something precious and rare for a business only in its sec- ond year of operation: the smell of success.
In the last year, SmartLam, a cross-laminated timber pro- duction company, has started making profit, bumped up to full production, and made plans for a massive expansion that will increase production by at least four times.
And the good news doesn’t stop there. The company is put- ting together some new patentable technology to put its cross- laminated timber – extremely durable panels made from in- dustrial lumber stacked together at strong angles and glued together – into new areas of demand.
“We have a product that is going to drive markets,” gen- eral manager Casey Malmquist said. “There are so many possibilities.”
SmartLam started up in 2012 at its current location in a WBC warehouse, and began commercial production in Febru- ary 2013. The panels they create are so durable and mobile that they are popular as oil drilling rig pads, pipeline construction platforms and temporary roadways and bridges.
The company is one of only three cross-laminated tim- ber (CLT) facilities in North America – the other two are in Canada – and has products in the Dakotas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Alberta, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.
Malmquist said there is a chance that SmartLam might even expand to South America in the future.
CLT is a popular building method in Europe, and America is just starting to catch on. The panels can be used to construct incredibly strong buildings and bridges; anything structural can use the panels.
See SmartLam PAGE 35