Metsä Wood, the Finnish quality wood products producer, has announced that it is rebranding its MasterPlank® laminated veneer lumber (LVL) products to become Kerto® LVL in the USA.
Kerto LVL products are made from 100% traceable wood from the northern forests of Finland, a sustainable raw material of the finest quality.
Metsä Wood’s newly rebranded range of products is the most diverse in the industry and can be used in all types of construction projects, from new buildings to renovation and repair. It includes a traditional LVL formulation for beam & header material, a low stress formulation for use in conventional wall framing, and cross laminated products for prefabricated roofing and flooring panels.
“The US housing market is growing at a rapid pace, and demand for sustainable and innovative construction solutions is surging. The rebrand of our LVL products is part of Metsä Wood’s ambition to continue to support our customers’ growth by providing them access to a readily available, high quality range of structural wood products under a globally recognized brand name,” explains Kirk Nichols, VP Sales, Americas at Metsä Wood. “Metsä Wood has strong growth targets for the USA and is perfectly placed to respond to an ever-evolving market with a need for faster and efficient building products in a sustainable world.”
Metsä Wood’s Kerto is produced from 3 mm thick, rotary-peeled softwood veneers that are glued together to form a continuous sheet. The sheet is cut to length and sawn into beams, planks or panels according to customer´s requirements. Kerto is incredibly strong and dimensionally stable which makes it ideal for load-bearing structures and buildings that require lightness and endurance. In construction this results in significant savings in time and money.
Kerto products were recently used as the main material in a redesign of the iconic Empire State Building. Part of Metsä Wood’s “Plan B” campaign, this project aimed to highlight the fact that wood should always be considered as a serious option in everything from design to construction – including buildings in which wood hasn’t previously been used. The design and construction plan for a wooden version of the Empire State Building was made by Canadian architect Michael Green and his firm MGW together with Equilibrium Consulting, an internationally recognized leader in timber engineering.
