Nordic Structures: mass timber lineup and EPD reality

Who they are and where they play

Nordic Structures manufactures engineered wood out of Quebec and markets design‑assist and project delivery services across North America. The brand’s primary website is nordic.ca, though the nordicstructures.com domain referenced here is currently inactive.

Products at a glance

Nordic focuses on three structural families used in commercial, multifamily, education, and civic work.

• Cross‑laminated timber panels sold as Nordic X‑Lam
• Glued‑laminated timber beams and columns under Nordic Lam and Lam+
• Engineered wood I‑joists branded Nordic Joist Across thicknesses, grades, and cut patterns, that adds up to dozens of SKUs, likely into the hundreds once length and custom machining are considered.

EPD coverage today

Coverage is solid across the core. Nordic lists EPDs for X‑Lam, Lam and Lam+, and I‑joists in its technical library, which is exactly where specifiers look on submittal day. See the company’s EPD page here for quick access to current files: Nordic EPD documents.

Two helpful public benchmarks also show currency. Colorado’s Buy Clean materials list shows Nordic X‑Lam with an EPD valid through November 8, 2028 and includes a declared GWP value, alongside other mass timber producers in the region (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2025) (Colorado DOR, 2025). LEED v5 was ratified on March 28, 2025, and continues to reward product‑specific, third‑party verified disclosure as teams pursue lower embodied carbon in materials packages (USGBC, 2025) (USGBC, 2025).

What looks covered vs. what might be missing

The structural backbone is covered. CLT and glulam have current declarations. Nordic also indicates an EPD for its I‑joists in the same document center, which helps on hybrid projects where light‑frame floors meet mass timber cores. Potential blind spots are specialty accessories and pre‑assembled modules, where EPDs are less common. If a spec calls out connectors, coatings, or packaged classroom modules, ask early whether the project team will accept product‑level EPDs for the primary structural elements.

Why this matters commercially

On many carbon‑accounted projects, a product without a product‑specific EPD triggers conservative default factors. That adds friction in the model and makes substitution more likely. Having current EPDs on the core lines means Nordic’s bids are judged on performance and availability, not on a paperwork penalty. It sounds simple, yet it is definitley where specs are won or lost late in the game.

Competitive set you’ll see on bids

Mass timber buyers often pull alternates from Kalesnikoff, SmartLam North America, Element5, and global players like Stora Enso. Public sources list active CLT and glulam EPDs for several of these manufacturers, which makes them credible alternates in carbon‑sensitive procurements. Examples include Kalesnikoff CLT and glulam entries on Colorado’s Buy Clean list, and a current Stora Enso CLT EPD registered with the International EPD System that is valid to October 6, 2028 (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2025) (Colorado DOR, 2025) (EPD International, 2025) (EPD International, 2025). In some applications, mass plywood panels from Freres or LVL rib systems can be proposed as functional alternates to CLT for long spans or composite decks.

EPD scope and PCR choices that set teams up to win

The PCR is the rulebook of Monopoly. Ignore it and the game falls apart. Structural wood typically references EN 15804 or ISO 21930 Part A rules with wood‑specific Part B or c‑PCR guidance. A smart move is to align with the operator and rule set most common among competitors in the target market. That keeps submittals smooth and avoids re‑work when owners compare like for like across bids.

Getting from interest to a published declaration

Winning teams move fast on three things. First, confirm which SKUs drive revenue and lock the bill of materials and cut patterns for those variants. Second, pull one clean reference year of utility, production, and waste data per facility, then map any significant process changes. Third, pick a program operator your customers already trust and budget lead time for external review. The quality of data collection is what determines speed later.

The takeaway for manufacturers eyeing mass timber specs

Nordic has credible EPD coverage in its structural core, which reduces friction in carbon‑scored projects. The remaining opportunity is breadth and refresh cadence, especially for accessories and packaged systems. If your catalog looks similar, landing more specs often starts with one step. Publish product‑specific EPDs for the top sellers first, keep them current, and you stop competing on price alone when LEED v5 targets are in play (USGBC, 2025).