The largest timber laminating factory in Canada has been officially opened by British Columbia’s (BC) forests minister Pat Bell.

The new “South plant” at Okanagan Falls, one of two lamination factories run by Structurlam, has a capacity of more than 60,000 board feet per day.

Mr Bell praised Structurlam, saying it was expanding the market for wood in commercial and institutional construction both in BC and around the world.

“This new plant is a great leap forward for our company, both in terms of capacity and productivity,” said Structurlam president Bill Downing.

The company has become well-known for its work on the timber roof of the Richmond Oval – the speed skating venue of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The building features 90m-long glulam arches.

It is also currently constructing the largest wood roof in North America at the Raleigh-Durham Airport in North Carolina.

“We recognised long ago that to remain competitive in the wood products industry, we must invest substantially in technological innovations,” said Mr Downing.

“We were the first heavy timber company to invest in European technology, such as modeling software and robotic machinery, and it has paid off in terms of the work we’ve done.”

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