This undated provided photo is a rendering of the planned Zaugg Timber Solutions factory at the Port of Portland's terminal 2. Zaugg is a manufacturer of engineered wood products and uses its own materials to build structures. Its Portland facility is set to open in 2026.
Courtesy of Zaugg Timber Solutions
A mass timber company from Switzerland has chosen Portland for one of its North American facilities.
Zaugg Timber Solutions is entering into a long-term lease with the Port of Portland to develop a manufacturing site at Terminal 2. Port commissioners approved the transaction this month.
The company is expected to be the anchor tenant for the port’s efforts to create what it describes as a mass timber housing and innovation campus at the terminal.
“Having Zaugg as this incredibly trusted international leader within mass timber really adds a lot of credibility to the vision,” Kimberly Branam, chief trade and economic development officer at the port, told commissioners. “It will bring the vision to life.”
That vision, Branam said, is to have manufacturing facilities alongside research and development sites.
Engineered wood, sometimes called mass timber, is increasingly being used in building construction. It’s a composite of wood material that, in some cases, can be used in place of steel or concrete. It’s the same material used for the new ceiling at the Portland Airport.
People navigate the remodeled main terminal of the Portland International Airport on opening day, Aug. 14, 2024. The remodel includes a new ceiling made of sustainably-sourced Northwest lumber, as well as skylights that help reduce the terminal's energy use.
Anna Lueck / OPB
Zaugg is a manufacturer of engineered wood products and uses its own materials to build structures. Those buildings are nearly completed at a Zaugg warehouse before heading to their final sites. The company’s buildings have been used for homes, businesses, museums, and places of worship in Europe.
“Our investment plans are a recognition of the incredible work already done to build the mass timber economy of the Pacific Northwest,” company chairman Stephan Zaugg said in a statement. “We hope we can be a small part of it by contributing our hard-won expertise around affordable modular and prefabricated mass timber elements.”
Zaugg has been in business since the 1930s. Company officials started exploring North American expansion sites in 2021. The site in Portland is expected to open next year.
When the Zaugg facility in Portland is fully operational, it will be able to produce around 700 manufactured homes a year. The company is also expected to hire 60 workers in the next handful of years.
“In Oregon we pride ourselves on our natural resources, on this wonderful source of lumber that we have,” Port Commissioner Katy Coba said as the commission unanimously voted to approve the lease. “To be able to take that, turn it into something that is good for citizens and good for the environment, is pretty exciting.”
