First we traveled to the Weyerhaeuser OSB Plant in Heaters, West Virginia on Thursday.
The Heaters plant accepts the tree tops and other undersized trees that otherwise would be waste that is left in the forest. |
Trees are washed, debarked, dried and then enter a cylinder that strands them. Stranding is the process of cutting the wood up into strands pieces that are 5-7 inches long. |
The strands then come together in mats. The mats are layered, 7 inches here for a OSB board that will be 23/32 thick. The process involves using glue, heat and pressure to compress the strands and create a product that is similar to plywood in its strength. |
Every step of the process is monitored by highly trained workers. Here we see an employee monitoring the OSB boards as they are pressed to the desired thickness. |
Freshly compressed OSB, ready to be cut into 4x8 sheets. |
The finished product ready for transport. |
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