LP Building Solutions has announced that the first LP SmartSide products will be manufactured at its Houlton, Maine facility on March 24, followed by the first APA-approved SmartSide board on April 19.
To meet growing customer demand for SmartSide siding, LP announced in early 2021 a multi-year phased plan to increase siding production capacity, beginning with the conversion of LP’s Houlton facility from the manufacture of oriented strand board (OSB) and laminated strand lumber to SmartSide siding.
LP successfully completed the first phase of Houlton’s conversion to a siding mill in less than a year, culminating in the pressing of the mill’s first siding board in late March.
LP Houlton is now providing APA certified and trademarked siding after confirmation testing by APA – The Engineered Wood Association (an organization established by the American National Standards Institute to develop national consensus standards for engineered wood products).
LP Houlton will initially create soffit and LP ProStruct Flooring with SmartFinish, with SmartSide lap and trim beginning production at the end of the second quarter of this year. The site anticipates reaching full operational capacity within a year.
“Customer demand for LP SmartSide Trim and Siding is at an all-time high,” said Jason Ringblom, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Siding. “We will always look after our customers, which is why siding capacity expansion projects, such as the conversion of LP Houlton, are extremely strategic and important to LP.”
Following its initial ramp-up period, LP Houlton will add about 220 million square feet of SmartSide operating capacity to LP’s siding business, bringing the company’s total siding operational capacity to roughly 1.9 billion square feet.
“Our Engineering, Operations, and local LP Houlton team contributed to the on-time, successful completion of LP Houlton’s conversion,” Ringblom concluded. “We appreciate their hard work, grit, and determination to complete the task.”
Houlton was chosen as the next siding facility to enable the company better reach the East Coast’s repair and remodel and new-home construction sectors, as well as for its access to a plentiful and sustainable aspen wood basket.
The conversion of the mill to siding manufacture will raise the mill’s yearly fiber consumption by 30% and significantly boost estimated export volumes.
This will benefit all supply chain providers, including local firms. Modern technology and better efficiencies within the facility’s production line should also minimize ambient noise and improve wood fiber consumption, lowering the site’s overall environmental footprint.
Houlton, which opened in 1981 as an OSB mill, is the company’s second-oldest operation. This is the company’s second major capital expansion project at this location, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to the facility and the community.
Later this year, LP will begin the next phase of its siding production capacity expansion plan by converting its Sagola, Michigan facility from OSB to SmartSide production. The first quarter of 2023 is projected to see the start of siding production at LP Sagola.
