Overview

The Maine Mass Timber Commercialization Center (MMTCC), based at the University of Maine, teams with industrial partners, trade organizations, construction firms, architects, and other stakeholders in the region to promote emerging wood technologies, such as mass timber and tall wood construction in Maine and New England. While the pulp and paper industry in Maine has experienced significant reductions in number of facilities, jobs, and economic impact, the regions tremendous wood resource remains, with supply now on the rise. Trees that would have been harvested as pulp, may now continue to grow and become higher-value saw logs. The challenge, then, is adopting a new mindset looking at how to merge our natural and human resources with emerging technologies in the sector, with advanced mills producing innovative products that have growth potential – mass timber, e.g. cross laminated timber (CLT) being a prime example. Formed in 2017, the MMTCC serves to educate stakeholders, and the general public, on mass timber through conferences, seminars, and in-person meetings, while promoting Maine as an ideal location for mass timber manufacturing facilities. The MMTCC also leads efforts on applied research and development projects on mass timber at the University of Maine with the goal of better utilizing our natural resources through innovative wood construction practices, and developing Maine-made mass timber products to be more competitive in the marketplace.