First industrial CLT manufacturer in Japan starts in April

Japanese laminated timber manufacturer Meiken Lamwood, Maniwa, is expanding its production of cross-laminated timber. By April 2016, a new factory with a capacity of 30,000 m³/yr will take up operation. The wood type that will mainly be processed is Japanese maple, and smaller batch sizes will be dedicated to Japanese larch and Hinoki cypress. The enterprise expects these two wood types to be added to construction standards by next year.

For pressing, Meiken will employ a hydraulic press by Suzuko using EPI adhesive and producing at a maximum format of 3 by 12 m. European equipment will also be installed in the factory: Innovative Vision for instance will supply a Woodeye 5 scanner, and a Uniteam-system is used for joining.

The amount to be invested is in accordance with the CLT roadmap the Japanese government published in 2014. This strategy paper recommends increasing production from 10,000 m³/yr (2014) to 50,000 m³/yr (2016) as a first step, and eventually aiming for a volume of 500,000 m³/yr by 2024. In other words: Further investments are to be expected.

Further reading: Intriguing insights into the beginning of Japanese CLT production can be found in the following blog entry by the American architect Alex Zelaya who visited the Meiken factory in October.