Our work with heavy timber has always been about efficiency, craft, and stewardship. Prefabrication for qualified commercial projects is a specialized aspect of our mass-timber services.  

Our prefabrication for installation services assists our clients to develop a heavy timber structure that not only celebrates the beauty of wood, but provides efficiency and accuracy in the cutting, joinery, and logistics of their project.

As the timber for your project is cut for shipment we’re developing a roadmap for the project. Every single beam is milled, every joint engineered, and each component clearly labeled so that unloading and installation are clear and efficient. Because beams and panels are manufactured off-site at our shop using digital fabrication tools as well as hand finishes where appropriate they arrive ready for the site crew to assemble.

At our McMinnville, Oregon production facility, our NEWBeamery is armed with a six-axis robotic arm CNC machine giving us the capability to cut 12" x 48" in cross-section and 60' in length. With these cutting-edge capabilities, we are able to produce timber frame and glulam’s for any project no matter the scope.

A recent residential project on the Columbia River in Washington was kept on track with commercial style 50-foot curved glulam’s. New Energy Works West coast General Manager Dave Dean explains, “This Rivershore project was a good cut and ship candidate. We worked really closely with the contractor to figure out exactly what they needed.”

Our work on Acadia National Park's Gateway Center was recognized as a winner in Architizer's 14th annual A+ Awards!

https://winners.architizer.com/2026/Sustainability/built-3/sustainable-infrastructure-project/

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Over the past couple of decades, the construction industry in America has begun incorporating a structural material that is both old and new: mass timber. As this building technology has proliferated, New Energy Works has evolved alongside it and incorporated mass timber into our work. We’re obviously huge fans of building with wood for a wide variety of reasons. Now with mass timber, there are more possibilities than ever. Here’s what it is, why it matters, and why so many architects and developers are embracing it.

What Is Mass Timber?

Mass timber refers to a category of engineered wood products made by bonding layers of wood together to create large, solid structural panels, beams, and columns. Unlike traditional “stick framing,” which uses small pieces of lumber assembled on-site, mass timber components are manufactured in a controlled environment and delivered ready to install.

Common mass timber products include:

• Glue-Laminated Timber (Glulam) – Beams or columns formed by gluing together layers of lumber with the grain aligned in the same direction. Glulam members can be straight or curved.
• Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) – Large panels made by layering boards in alternating directions and bonding them with structural adhesives.
• Nail-Laminated Timber (NLT) and Dowel-Laminated Timber (DLT) – Panels assembled using nails or hardwood dowels instead of adhesives.
• Mass Ply Panels (MPP) – Similar in concept to common plywood, these panels are built out of many layers of wood veneer and adhesive.

These products create structural elements that rival steel and concrete in strength and stability, while offering unique architectural and environmental advantages.

The 27.7 million dollar Acadia Gateway Center is complete after four decades of planning. This stunning and substantial heavy timber entrance to one of the United States most beloved National Parks is the contributions of several partners and funding from private and public support including Friends of Acadia. 

With 300 parking spaces, 8 of them electric and 10 oversized, the purpose of the Acadia Gateway Center is to relieve the wear on the park from over 1.86 million visitors this year so far. “It’s a combination of providing a place of entrance and a first look of ‘hey, you’re coming to a great place in Maine.’ And, you also have options for transportation where you don’t necessarily need to drive,” Jarod Farn-Guillette, Region 4 & 5 planner for the Maine Department of Transportation, told Spectrum News. “It’s really a transit hub for locals and people visiting the great state of Maine.”

“Part of the goal of this is to mitigate traffic volumes on State Route Three into Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island,” continues Farn-Guillette. “But also, to showcase that there’s much to do in the larger region.”

The planning process for the building began back in 2002. “It’s one of the highlights of my 40-year career for sure because it’s been so long in the making,” says John Kelly, Management Associate at Acadia National Park. “It’s such a complicated mix of partnerships and funding sources and efforts that had to be made to get it built.”

A nice overview of the Acadia National Park Visitor's Center and our heavy timber contributions.

https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/acadia-national-park-visitors-will-be-greeted-by-a-new-gateway-welcome-center

In this episode of Bridging the Gap, our founder and CEO Jonathan Orpin joins host Todd Weyandt to discuss blending old-world craftsmanship and forward-thinking sustainability.

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The NEWBeamery has been full of finishing touches, though we’ve been running jobs through the Oikos X for the last few months. Timber frames plus fabricate & finish jobs for partners in the mass timber space. Now we’re taking a moment to celebrate some smaller things on the non-production side that make the shop feel like home.  

Timber Frame Entry
It wouldn’t be a New Energy Works space if it didn’t have a timber frame greeting. Back when we moved to McMinnville in the early 2000’s adding a truss to the front door was one of our first to-dos.

Same here, as The NEWBeamery gets an official raising of a timber frame entry and porch. It sets the stage for what’s to come inside and gives a taste to visitors of our roots. Though not visible from the road as a greeting, it certainly adds warmth and suggests respite for the mostly industrial complex.

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