DR Johnson Wood Innovations: where EPDs could unlock wins
DR Johnson helped kickstart U.S. mass timber. Today their storefront leans hard into glulam, while spec teams keep asking for Environmental Product Declarations. Here is a fast read on what they sell, how broad the lineup is, and where EPD coverage stands so bid packages dont stall at the last mile.
Who they are and what they sell
DR Johnson Wood Innovations is the engineered‑wood arm of DR Johnson Lumber in Riddle, Oregon. The current product focus is custom glued‑laminated timber beams in Douglas fir and Alaskan yellow cedar, with design‑assist and install support shown on their site (drjwoodinnovations.com). They historically produced cross‑laminated timber panels, but recent trade coverage indicated CLT equipment was sold in 2023, so the commercial emphasis now reads as glulam.
How wide is the product range
This is a focused portfolio rather than a sprawling catalog. Expect one primary category in active production: straight and curved glulam beams across multiple grades and species. Job‑specific sizing and curvature create practical variety, so the number of SKUs sits in the dozens rather than the hundreds. Legacy CLT projects are highlighted in past case studies, yet CLT does not appear as an active product line on the site today.
EPD coverage at a glance
We did not find active, product‑specific EPDs publicly posted for DR Johnson’s glulam or CLT as of December 20, 2025. Industry EPDs for structural wood are widely available and current, including North American glulam and several other wood products that were valid through mid‑2025, with a wave of region‑specific updates rolling out in 2025 (WoodWorks, 2025) and newly released U.S. regional softwood lumber EPDs from AWC in July 2025 (AWC, 2025). These industry EPDs help at a portfolio level, but many project teams still prefer product‑ and plant‑specific declarations to keep embodied carbon accounting tight under LEED v5 proposals.
Why it matters for bids
On projects that reward or require transparency, submittals without a verified EPD often force modelers to apply conservative defaults. That can nudge a product out of consideration even when performance is solid. A credible, third‑party verified EPD lets specifiers pick the actual beam they want without accounting penalties and can shorten back‑and‑forth in the submittal cycle.
Competitors likely to show up in the same spec set
In mass‑timber packages, DR Johnson glulam may compete with Rosboro, Western Archrib, Anthony, and Boise Cascade on glulam scope. For CLT scope on hybrid frames, teams often consider Kalesnikoff, SmartLam, Element5, Vaagen Timbers, Nordic Structures, and Sterling Structural. Several of these peers publish product‑specific EPDs with stated global warming potential and expiry dates that specifiers can cite directly in carbon budgets, for example:
- Kalesnikoff CLT, EPD valid to March 16, 2027, reported 124.5 kgCO2e per m3. (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2025)
- SmartLam CLT, EPD valid to January 21, 2026, reported 126 kgCO2e per m3. (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2025)
- Nordic X‑Lam CLT, EPD valid to November 8, 2028, reported 69.96 kgCO2e per m3. (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2025)
Those numbers are what many AEC teams plug into their embodied‑carbon models. When a DR Johnson beam is competing head‑to‑head, an absent EPD can be the tiebreaker for a school, higher‑ed, or civic build chasing low‑carbon targets.
A likely best‑seller that needs an EPD
A straight Douglas fir architectural glulam sized for long spans in education and civic work is a probable volume driver. Today, comparable glulam or adjacent CLT components from peers can arrive with published EPDs and ready‑to‑import GWP values, which smooths approvals. The commercial risk is simple to picture: lose time to substitutions or lose the line entirely to a supplier with verified data ready to drop into the LCA model.
Fastest path to coverage
Glulam is a clean starting point. Inventory lumber species and grades by plant, capture adhesive and energy by line, and lock a clear reference year so data ties to production reality. Choose a program operator that aligns with customer expectations in the U.S. or Europe. A strong LCA partner will benchmark against the wood PCRs in use for peer products, flag upcoming PCR expiries, and handle the heavy data wrangling across purchasing, QA, and the mill floor so engineers stay on the tools instead of in spreadsheets. Publishing a plant‑specific EPD for core glulam SKUs first, then expanding to specialty profiles, typically delivers the quickest spec lift.
One more reason not to wait
Industry EPDs are a helpful safety net, and they are real and maintained. American Wood Council keeps glulam and softwood lumber declarations available and refreshed, including regional lumber EPDs posted in 2025 that project teams are already using in models (AWC, 2025). Still, product‑specific documents win tie games. When projects compare near‑identical beams, the one with a verified EPD often sails through procurement while the other stalls for clarifications.
Where to read more on their offering
For product pages and project snapshots, see their glulam hub at drjwoodinnovations.com. It reflects today’s emphasis on glulam over CLT and shows typical applications and services.
Bottom line for specability
DR Johnson’s brand equity in mass timber is strong. Turning that equity into frictionless wins means closing the EPD gap on their highest‑volume glulam first. That single move makes estimators faster, modelers happier, and keeps the beam in the building when LEED points and carbon thresholds are in play.
References for numeric facts in this article: WoodWorks list of current wood EPDs and 2025 update cadence (WoodWorks, 2025); Colorado Buy Clean mass‑timber table with EPD expiries and GWP values for CLT and glulam suppliers (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2025); AWC announcement of U.S. regional softwood lumber EPDs in July 2025 (AWC, 2025).
Frequently Asked Questions
What products does DR Johnson Wood Innovations currently emphasize for building projects?
Custom glued‑laminated timber beams in Douglas fir and Alaskan yellow cedar, with design‑assist services shown on their website. CLT appears as legacy project content rather than an active line.
Roughly how many SKUs do they offer?
Dozens rather than hundreds, driven by job‑specific sizing, species and curvature for glulam.
Do they have product‑specific EPDs today?
We could not locate active product‑specific EPDs publicly posted for DR Johnson’s glulam or CLT as of December 20, 2025. Industry EPDs for wood are widely available and current in 2025 (WoodWorks, 2025).
About the Author
Walker Ryan is a climate-tech entrepreneur focused on driving industrial decarbonization through better data. As the founder and CEO of Parq, he helps manufacturers generate high-quality, third-party–verified carbon disclosures at scale—accelerating a traditionally slow and expensive process. Before starting Parq, Walker led over $200 million in sustainability-focused investments as VP of Strategy & Growth at ReStream Solutions, following earlier experience in investment banking at Deutsche Bank. He brings a rare mix of capital markets expertise and hands-on sustainability knowledge to tackling the infrastructure of industrial emissions.
