The opening of a roof truss manufacturing facility in Langfang City is driven by the growing success and demand for wood truss roofing systems in China, Minister of Forests, Mines and Lands Pat Bell announced today.
"Building roofs with wood is starting to take off in new regions around China – the Langfang facility is the first of its kind in the Province of Hebei," said Bell. "With a little transfer of technology and know-how, the facility will show the Hebei government how easy it is to manufacture the roof trusses locally. This, in turn, will drive further demand throughout northern China."
The Hebei government owns the truss plant and is responsible for the land, factory setup and all other equipment and labour.
A key step in manufacturing a roof truss is the use of a roller press, a large piece of machinery that completes the assembly process. Forestry Innovation Investment’s China office provided a $30,000 roller press to the facility and Canada Wood Group will provide technical training to operate the press.
"We are very excited about our progress tapping into the roof renovation market," said Bell. "The more familiar they become with lumber, the more they recognize how easy wood is to work with, as well as its lower building costs and faster construction times."
The plant has the capacity to manufacture 400 roofs per year from structure-grade lumber.
British Columbia worked closely with Chinese officials to design a wood truss roofing system that meets the building conditions in northern China. The resulting system is now being installed by the government of Hebei on 150 buildings, with a total roof area of about 69,700 square metres.
Forestry Innovation Investment’s China office has also signed an agreement with Tangshan City and the Province of Hebei to produce 100 roofs, with construction starting in 2011.