LP Building Solutions announced the first production of LP SmartSide products at its Houlton, Maine facility on March 24, 2022, followed by the production of the first APA-approved SmartSide board on April 19, 2022.
To meet growing customer demand for SmartSide siding, LP announced in early 2021 a phase, multi-year plan to expand siding production capacity, starting with the conversion of its Houlton facility from the manufacture of oriented strand board (OSB) and laminated strand lumber to SmartSide siding. In less than a year, LP completed the initial phase of Houlton’s conversion to a siding mill, culminating in the pressing of the mill’s first siding board in late March.
Following confirmation testing by APA—the Engineered Wood Association—LP Houlton is now producing APA-certified and trademarked siding.
In the initial phase of its conversion, the LP Houlton facility will produce soffit and LP ProStruct Flooring with SmartFinish, with SmartSide lap and trim starting production at the end of the second quarter of 2022. The site expects to achieve full operating capacity within a year, according to LP.
“Customer demand for LP SmartSide Trim and Siding is at an all-time high,” executive vice president and general manager of siding Jason Ringblom said in a news release. “We will always take care of our customers, which is why siding capacity expansion projects, like our conversion of LP Houlton, are incredibly strategic and important to LP.”
Once the Houlton facility reaches full capacity, it will add approximately 220 million square feet of SmartSide operating capacity to LP’s siding business, bringing the company’s total siding operating capacity to approximately 1.9 billion square feet.
“The on-time, successful completion of LP Houlton’s conversion is thanks to our engineering, operations, and local LP Houlton team,” Ringblom said. “We are grateful for their hard work, grit, and determination to get the job done.”
According to LP, Houlton was selected as LP’s next siding facility to help the company penetrate the repair and remodel and new-home construction markets on the east coast, as well as for its access to a sustainable aspen wood basket. The mill’s conversion to siding production will increase sustainability and locally-source annual fiber consumption by 30%, according to LP.
Later this year, LP will initiate the next phase of its siding production capacity expansion plan with the conversion of its Sagola, Mich., facility from the manufacture of OSB to SmartSide. Siding production will begin at the Michigan facility in the first quarter of 2023.
