Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette An example of mass timber, cross-laminated beams used in the construction of a local church.

HOUGHTON – Last week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland to strengthen cooperation on clean technologies, advanced mobility, defense, and significantly for the Upper Peninsula, sustainable forest bioeconomy, among other industries.

The agreement is an extension of an MOU established in 2020 to promote collaboration between Michigan and Finland on clean technology growth and development.

A March 18 release from the Governor’s Office says, in part: The partnership supports the state’s priority of workforce development through the collaboration with the Michigan’s leading research universities, helping to prepare the next generation of forestry professionals and strengthening the research that supports sustainability and growth in both Michigan and Finland.

Marty Fittanti, CEO of InvestUP, said he is excited about MOU and is grateful to the governor and the state for extending the agreement. “I think there is a rich cultural connection between Finland and the western Upper Peninsula,” Fittante said. “I think in extending the MOU, it extends opportunity along side it, and whether that is around forestry and bio-economy, particularly around mass timber, or whether it’s for further exchange in research between (Michigan Technological University) and what they’re doing over in Finland, or what the SmartZone has done, I think we’re really well-suited, particularly in the Keweenaw, to take advantage of the opportunity.”

METC SmartZone CEO David Rowe said the 2020 MOU included a group from the western U.P. visiting Finland with a focus on biomass, mass timber and cross-laminated timber (CLT) and related research.

The group included Patrick Visser, METC SmartZone chief commercial officer and Mark Rudnicki, professor of practice in forest biomaterials, director of MTU’s Ford Forestry Center, and coordinator of Industrial Research, Innovation, and Commercialization at Michigan Tech. State Rep. Greg Markkanen was also on the team.

Mass timber, an umbrella term for engineered wood products, includes CLT, designed for structural, high-strength construction.

“Typically, mass timber, or cross-laminated timber is made of softwood,” said Rowe. “The U.P. has a lot of hardwood and that’s very typical of Finland, in terms of species trees that grow. (there).”

There is a need to enhance the market for hardwood fiber now that the demand for pulp and paper is declining in North America and Europe, lower grade hardwood fiber is important to the overall economy.

“There is a large volume of lower grade hardwood material and utilizing that lower grade hardwood material for cross-laminated timber would be great,” Rowe said.

Rowe said hardwood CLT had not been a proven concept until Rudnicki became involved in conducting research and demonstrated that hardwood fiber can be utilized in making CLT and use it to help improve the economics of the U.P.’s hardwood industry.