Maine has millions of acres of forestland, a rich legacy in paper and wood products, and growing demand for sustainable building materials. Yet when it comes to cross-laminated timber (CLT) — a product seen as a greener, stronger alternative to steel and concrete — the state remains on the sidelines.
For builder Millard Dority, the problem is personal. Dority, who came out of retirement to oversee the expansion of Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, wanted to showcase Maine wood as part of the project. The environmentally friendly material is made by gluing together layers of solid wood boards with alternating grain patterns for strength and stability.
But Maine doesn’t have a single CLT factory. That meant eastern hemlock harvested from New England had to be shipped to Illinois, processed into CLT panels, and then trucked back to Bar Harbor.
“When you consider we have all of these paper mills that are laying fallow, if one of those was a CLT manufacturer, it would make life a whole lot easier,” Dority said.
The experience underscores what experts describe as a gap in Maine’s economic strategy. By failing to capture part of the emerging CLT market, Maine risks losing an opportunity to reinvent its forest economy and keep more value from its own timber supply.
Two companies once promised to fill that void. In 2018, LignaTerra Global of North Carolina and SmartLam of Montana announced plans for CLT facilities in Maine. Both deals collapsed.
LignaTerra shifted plans after financing problems, while SmartLam abandoned Maine for Alabama, citing cheaper electricity and labor costs. Neither firm has shown recent signs of returning.
Industry leaders say Maine continues to attract inquiries from CLT manufacturers — “four or five times a year,” according to Ellen Belknap of SMRT Architects & Engineers — but companies pull out after researching Maine’s costs, incentives, and fragmented supply chain.
“I feel like we’re still building the market,” Belknap said. “CLT is a great environmental benefit, but the dollars and cents case is harder to make.”
Globally, CLT is seen as a breakthrough for green construction. It is lighter than steel, comparably strong, and can cut a building’s carbon footprint. In Europe, CLT has been widely adopted for large-scale structures. In the U.S., however, it is still emerging. Maine only added CLT to its building code in 2021.
But costs remain a barrier. CLT structures currently run 10–30% more expensive than steel or concrete. Advocates believe that widespread adoption — and local manufacturing — could narrow that price gap.
Despite the higher costs, CLT is slowly gaining a foothold in Maine. At least 27 projects have been built, are underway, or are in design, including Bowdoin College’s Arctic Studies building, the Portland Museum of Art expansion, and improvements at the Portland Jetport. The Jesup Library addition is one of the most prominent.
The wood panels used there — made from spruce-pine-fir and eastern hemlock from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont — highlight how underutilized regional species could find new markets. “Supply chain efficiencies will determine whether it’s a viable product longer term,” said Andy Fast, forestry expert at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.
Other states are moving faster. Massachusetts invested $3 million to lure a CLT plant. Boston launched a timber accelerator program. Similar initiatives have sprouted in Atlanta and New York City.
Maine has taken steps too. Its Dirigo Business Incentives program provides workforce support and capital investment credits. The state has also funded demonstration projects, like the Jesup expansion and the Island Falls pedestrian bridge.
“Large-scale projects, such as major commercial or infrastructure developments, are most often the market drivers for establishing new production facilities,” said Charlotte Mace, director of the Maine Office of Business Development.
But experts say Maine still needs a signature investment to prove the case. Shane O’Neill, a University of Maine forestry development manager who authored a 2023 report for lawmakers, concluded that collaboration, stronger incentives, and a workforce strategy are critical. “It all comes down to what the incentive package is that we can put together,” O’Neill said. “We’re not a very rich state.”
A proposed $50 million bond bill could finally give Maine the leverage it needs. Sponsored by Rep. Sam Zager, D-Portland, the measure would finance construction or retrofitting of a CLT manufacturing facility using Maine timber.
The Maine Forest Products Council is backing the effort. “I don’t think we’ve missed the mark yet,” said executive director Krysta West. “But if this facility is located in Maine or elsewhere it still will be beneficial to Maine’s forest industry.”
For Dority, who is racing toward a December completion of the Jesup Library expansion, the issue feels urgent. Maine has the forests. It has the workforce. It has the demand. But until the state can align incentives, supply chains, and market forces, builders like him will keep watching truckloads of Maine-grown wood leave the state — only to come back at a premium.
Originally reported by Lori Valigra in Bangor Daily News.
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