Where did your home grow?
Have you ever wondered where the material came from that was used to build your home? The reality is there are many places around the world that we source building products, but there are some countries that supply most of the market with certain materials.
FRAMING:
Even though the United States is a major supplier of framing material, we rely on Canada for 80% of the material used. Other countries we supply from include Chile, Brazil, New Zealand, Germany, and Sweden.
SHEATHING:
(OSB) We do import OSB from other countries like Canada, and even Ireland but the majority is produced in the USA. In fact, it could very well be from our own state of Minnesota. We have manufacturing plants in Grand Rapids, Bemidji, Cook, Solway, and Two Harbors.
TRIM:
Most of the hardwood trim we use is considered "imported" but many of the trees were grown in the US and sent to other countries like Canada for milling then imported back. The more exotic wood sources are from China, Indonesia, Brazil, and Malaysia.
Another fun fact is that logging companies plant far more trees than they harvest and the net forest area in the USA (Southeast Asian countries, and Brazil not as much) has been stable for nearly 100 years making trees one of our most prized renewable resources.
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