Structural Wood Corporation

Structural Wood Corporation (SWC) has supplied Engineered Wood Products (EWP) to the building and construction industries in the upper Midwest since 1964. Our facilities include offices, 600,000 cubic feet of warehouse storage space, plus 30,000 square feet of fabrication and a finishing area on about 60 acres at 4000 Labore Road in the St. Paul suburb of Vadnais Heights, MN.

We believe in and are dedicated to the proper use and installation of EWP. In 1968, we assembled a manual of information on these products. Structural Wood Corporation's manuals have been updated since then and distributed to building officials, architects, engineers, building material retailers, contractors, builders, designers, and other construction professionals. This web site represents the next step in convenience and usability of the SWC manual. The photos attached to this web site illustrate some examples of SWC engineered wood products and installations of those products. All of our EWP are available from your building materials retailer.

History

Structural Wood Corporation is a wholesale distributor of Engineered Wood Products that are used primarily as structural members to support roof and floor assemblies in buildings. These products allow the architects, designers, and engineers the [Racks of stock in SWC"s yard]  freedom to create more open space with longer spans, and to incorporate the beauty of exposed wood where it is appropriate. EWP's are used in residential, commercial and industrial construction and are chiefly used in construction protected from direct exposure to the elements. However, outside applications are possible using preservative treated wood. Another popular exterior option is to use wood species that are resistant to decay such as cedar, western red, port orford, or alaskan yellow.

Historically, Structural Wood Corporation was the first to introduce open web trusses with wood chords in 1964. These products were used for floor spans of up to 40' and roof spans up to 75'. I-Joists became part of our in [SWC's huge warehouse loaded with EWP] ventory in 1969. We added Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) to our product line in 1972. The use of glulam was introduced in the USA in the 1930's and we take pride in being a major participant in the continued development of new ways to use these products. These include the application for use as garage door headers in the 1970's. We delivered some 103' span beams, weighing 53,000 lb. each, for construction of a church in Rosemount, MN. Our industrial building projects include large fertilizer storage buildings such as a 180' clear span x 880' long facility in Toledo, OH, and many smaller buildings throughout the USA.

The design of buildings is constantly changing due to a combination of new products becoming available, frequent code revisions, architectural innovations, and environmental concerns. All of us in the business of supplying materials and the construction of buildings, are continuously challenged to sort out the "good" from the "not so good". SWC is constantly looking at new products that are improvements in the process of constructing buildings safely.

One of our goals is to work with professionals in the building industry to assist them in specifying Engineered Wood Products in ways that meet the design objectives on each project. Obviously, the next goal is to meet the standards with the products specified. Then, SWC maintains a flow of inventory so that delivery is made when needed to keep the construction process on schedule. Finally, SWC is available to review questions raised by building officials and other concerned parties about the installation and performance of the products supplied. How can Structural Wood Corporation help you? To find out, please contact us.