Louisiana-Pacific Corporation , commonly known as "
LP", is a building materials manufacturer. It was founded in 1973 and is currently based in
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
,
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
. Key products are
oriented strand boardOriented strand board, or OSB, or waferboard, or Sterling board or SmartPly is an engineered wood product formed by layering strands of wood in specific orientations. In appearance it may have a rough and variegated surface with the individual strips Oriented strand board, or OSB, or waferboard,...
,
moldingMolding
or moulding
is a strip of material with various cross sections used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
and other trimming materials, and
woodWood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...
sidingSiding is the outer covering or cladding of a house meant to shed water and protect from the effects of weather. On a building that uses siding, it may act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly impact its property value....
, and other
engineered woodEngineered wood, also called composite wood, man-made wood includes a range of derivative wood products which are manufactured by binding together the strands, particles, fibers, or veneers of wood, together with adhesives, to form composite materials. These products are engineered to precise...
products.
As of 2005, LP has 29 manufacturing plants in the U.S. and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and one near
MalalhueMalahue is a town in the commune of Lanco located northwest of Panguipulli, Chile. The main economic activity of the zone is the manufacturing of oriented strand boards at Louisiana-Pacific's a manufacturing plant near the town. The town lies along the 203-CH route that connects Panguipulli with...
in
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
LP was founded in 1973 as part of a court-ordered monopoly breakup of
Georgia-PacificGeorgia-Pacific LLC. is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp, paper, packaging, building products and related chemicals...
.
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation , commonly known as "
LP", is a building materials manufacturer. It was founded in 1973 and is currently based in
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
,
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
. Key products are
oriented strand boardOriented strand board, or OSB, or waferboard, or Sterling board or SmartPly is an engineered wood product formed by layering strands of wood in specific orientations. In appearance it may have a rough and variegated surface with the individual strips Oriented strand board, or OSB, or waferboard,...
,
moldingMolding
or moulding
is a strip of material with various cross sections used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
and other trimming materials, and
woodWood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...
sidingSiding is the outer covering or cladding of a house meant to shed water and protect from the effects of weather. On a building that uses siding, it may act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly impact its property value....
, and other
engineered woodEngineered wood, also called composite wood, man-made wood includes a range of derivative wood products which are manufactured by binding together the strands, particles, fibers, or veneers of wood, together with adhesives, to form composite materials. These products are engineered to precise...
products.
As of 2005, LP has 29 manufacturing plants in the U.S. and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and one near
MalalhueMalahue is a town in the commune of Lanco located northwest of Panguipulli, Chile. The main economic activity of the zone is the manufacturing of oriented strand boards at Louisiana-Pacific's a manufacturing plant near the town. The town lies along the 203-CH route that connects Panguipulli with...
in
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
History
LP was founded in 1973 as part of a court-ordered monopoly breakup of
Georgia-PacificGeorgia-Pacific LLC. is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp, paper, packaging, building products and related chemicals...
. LP was headed by company president Harry Merlo for the first 22 years, who was known for his flamboyant style and generous civic contributions. For its first 33 years, Louisiana-Pacific was based in
PortlandPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
,
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
; the LP headquarters were moved to Nashville in 2004.
During the 1990s, LP was the defendant in a major class-action lawsuit over its
OSBOriented strand board, or OSB, or waferboard, or Sterling board or SmartPly is an engineered wood product formed by layering strands of wood in specific orientations. In appearance it may have a rough and variegated surface with the individual strips Oriented strand board, or OSB, or waferboard,...
sidingSiding is the outer covering or cladding of a house meant to shed water and protect from the effects of weather. On a building that uses siding, it may act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly impact its property value....
product known as Inner Seal, manufactured from the early 1990s through 1996, due to its poor performance in humid environments.
Much of LP's growth in the 1990s came through acquisition of other building materials companies, such as ABTco in the eastern United States and Forex in eastern Canada.
Over the years, LP has been associated with professional sports in different manners. From 1975-82, the company owned the
Portland TimbersThe Portland Timbers were a team in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1982. The name has been used by two other soccer franchises: the Timbers of the WSA/APSL and the current team of the USL.-History:...
soccer club in the defunct
North American Soccer LeagueNorth American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
(NASL). Today it owns the
naming rightsNaming rights are the right to name a piece of property, either tangible property or an event, usually granted in exchange for financial considerations. Institutions like schools, places of worship and hospitals have a tradition of granting donors the right to name facilities in exchange for...
to
LP FieldLP Field is a football stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County....
, the stadium which houses the
Tennessee TitansThe Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the then-Houston, Texas, team began play in 1960 as a...
and
Tennessee State UniversityTennessee State University is a land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee...
football teams in Nashville.
Engineered Wood Siding (SmartSide)
Louisiana Pacific operates several engineered wood siding mills that produce many 50yr limited warranty siding products.
These include 4x8 panel sheeting, 5,6,8,10, and lap siding, and many different sizes of engineered trim products.
Siding products made by the siding group are different from OSB (oriented strand board) in that they include more of certain ingredients (blend is proprietary) to make the board stand up to mother nature better than a sub-floor product.
Siding boards are also denser and more rigid than traditional OSB to help the board remain structurally sound throughout the
term of its warranty.A new product has been added to the siding/specialty group in the past year and has been met with great enthusiasm by the building community; SmartSide vented soffit is on the market now and comes in a variety of sizes and thicknesses.
External links