Element5, Ontario’s first and only Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) manufacturer, announces that their new factory in St. Thomas, Canada has received certification from PFS TECO of Cottage Grove, WI (USA) for the production of CLT under the ANSI/APA PRG 320-2019 Standard for Performance-Rated Cross-Laminated Timber.
The ANSI/APA PRG 320 standard covers the manufacturing, qualification, and quality assurance requirements for CLT in Canada and the United States. Now that the testing and certification process has been successfully completed for V2 Grade 5-layer CLT made from Spruce-pine-fir (SPF), certification of the company’s other panel layups will be quickly completed in the coming months.
Element5 began construction on their new 137,000 ft2 manufacturing facility in the second half of 2019, prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the unforeseen challenges arising from the pandemic, the factory was constructed on schedule and the highly automated, state-of-the-art manufacturing line was installed, commissioned, and certified on the company’s originally projected timeline.
Element5 manufactures CLT and glulam from sustainably sourced SPF lumber. Its new plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, produces CLT panels up to 16m long and 3.5m wide – the widest available panel in Canada.
