The plywood industry works hard to maintain high standards, and at USply, we’re even more strict when it comes to the quality of the wood we acquire.
The sourcing process is complex, with many steps and people involved along the way, but it helps us ensure that our customers can use every piece of plywood every time they make a purchase.
The first step in plywood sourcing is choosing the type of wood we’re looking for, whether it’s an Asian Oak or a Russian Birch. At USply, we’ve spent countless hours sourcing and selecting wood mills that provide a high-quality product from North and South America, Russia, or Asia and align with our core values of quality, integrity, value, consistency, and relationships. We also place inspectors in the wood mills so that we can monitor the wood throughout the sourcing process.
After we’ve picked the type of wood we’re sourcing, it’s time to choose our logs. We pick only the best logs we can find, and once they’ve been selected, we can determine the lengths we need and prepare the wood for a little hydrothermal therapy.
By soaking our logs, we soften the wood to make it easier to process and use. The water temperature and the length of the soak are both dependent on the type of wood being used. After they are finished, the debarking, peeling, and drying process begins, in which the tree is stripped down and transformed into plywood. Then, if needed, veneer repairs are made, and scarfs are joined.
Once that’s done, sheets of plywood are selected and put together to form bundles. These bundles are pressed together and trimmed. Now, they’re ready to be sorted by our quality control officers and are graded.
Our quality control tests are thorough and can take several hours to complete. Once they’re finished, the wood is ready to be packaged and sent to the distributor. From there, the distributor will sell the plywood directly to his customers, and then it will go on to serve whatever purpose it was purchased for.
At USply, we understand the enormous impact the wood industry can have on our economy and our environment. We also know that plywood is in demand and will remain so for years to come.
That’s why we’re dedicated to finding responsible and morally conscious partners who can help source or sell our wood products. We also give back and limit our carbon footprint by working with the National Arbor Day Foundation. Starting as a tree, we monitor our products from day one so that we can always live up to our reputation and keep our distributors and their customers happy.