Company Profile
APA - The Engineered Wood Association
Company Overview
The Voice of an Industry
APA is a nonprofit trade association that has grown and evolved with the engineered wood industry. APA was founded in 1933 as the Douglas Fir Plywood Association and was later recognized as the American Plywood Association. In 1994, APA changed its name to APA – The Engineered Wood Association to better reflect the range of products manufactured by APA members and the international scope of the Association.
APA members are comprised of well-known industry leaders, whose mills produce the majority of the structural wood panel products manufactured in North America, plus a host of engineered wood products that include glued laminated timber (glulam), cross-laminated timber (CLT), wood I-joists and structural composite lumber.
APA represents approximately 175 member mills in 23 states and seven provinces. APA income is based on member dues and other client fees. APA is governed by its members through a Board of Trustees and several member advisory committees that set policy, review strategy and oversee implementation of strategic plans and programs.
Company History
APA – The Engineered Wood Association is the nonprofit trade association of the U.S. and Canadian engineered wood products industry. Based in Tacoma, Washington, the Association is comprised of and represents manufacturers of structural plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), cross-laminated timber, glued laminated (glulam) timber, wood I-joists, and laminated veneer lumber (LVL).
APA was founded in 1933 as the Douglas Fir Plywood Association to advance the interests of the burgeoning Pacific Northwest plywood industry. Adhesive and technology improvements eventually led to the manufacture of structural plywood from Southern pine and other species, and in 1964 the Association changed its name to American Plywood Association (APA) to reflect the national scope of its growing membership.
The Association’s membership expanded again in the early 1980s with the introduction of oriented strand board (OSB), a product the Association helped bring to market through development of new panel performance standards. A decade later, APA accommodated manufacturers of non-panel engineered wood products, such as glulam timber, wood I-joists and laminated veneer lumber.
To better reflect the broadening product mix and geographic range of its membership, the Association changed its name again in 1994 to APA – The Engineered Wood Association. The acronym “APA” was retained in the name because it was so widely known and respected in the marketplace.