From Forest to Beam

When a log arrives at a mill, it looks deceptively simple. It’s a tree trunk, debarked and cut to length. But transforming it into a cross-laminated timber (CLT) panel involves a choreography of sensors, saws, adhesives, and human judgment. Each cut encodes value, each decision carries economic and ecological weight.

Sawmills are where forests become standardized. Logs are scanned, rotated, and sliced into cants and boards. Artificial intelligence is already helping maximize yield, minimize waste, predicting where knots and cracks will appear. Veneers are glued, pressed, and cut again into the flat panels and beams we know as “mass timber.” It’s amazing space of moving boards, experts at controls, spraying water, and whirring machines.

Yet every step is tied to broader systems:

• Labor costs push production to regions with weaker worker protections.

• Global tariffs may boost competitiveness of US-sawmills, the machines and machine parts most likely facing high tariffs that can potentially nullify this gain.

• Automation increases efficiency but destabilizes mill jobs, especially with an increasingly rapid pace of development.

Behind each beam is a hidden geography of labor, law, and risk.

Maine is home to the only softwood basket for the east coast, with the potential to supply New York City and the rest of the region with mass timber products within a 100 mile drive. In 2018, SmartLam announced plans for CLT facilities in Maine, but abandoned Maine for Alabama, citing cheaper electricity and labor costs. However, the cost of development in Maine, the lack of incentives, and an existing fragmented supply chain regularly scare off investors.

Without designing the entire flow of materials, from the forest, through the factory, and into the homes of city dwellers, how do we expect to source locally and use carbon neutral materials?

Thankfully, there are groups building slow and steady momentum in this space, in regions rich with sustainable harvest culture and a deep knowledge of forest health. In the Pacific Northwest groups like Vaagen Timbers are rewriting what it means to be a local shop, integrating five generations of knowledge on everything from sapling to harvest, from Cross Laminated Timber panels to forest fire mitigation policy. I’m proud to share that they were a partner along with the Tallwood Design Institute and Softwood Lumber Board on our Tilt Pavilion. Go check them out!