Preserving the Past

Soon after its founding, PPA took on the role of recording the histories of the industry’s earliest plywood mills in a series of historical monographs. Some two dozen such monographs have been authored over the years. Among those in the collection are Portland Manufacturing Company, the industry’s first plywood mill; G-P Fordyce, the industry’s first southern pine plywood mill; Simpson Timber Company; and The Westfir Story. Together, the monograph series provides a fascinating record of the industry’s early development and maturation, and historical preservation continues to be a primary activity of the society.

A current priority is to add histories of later-period engineered wood product manufacturing companies as well as historical narratives of leading industry supply firms. A complete list of the monographs can be found by clicking on the link found under History.

What We Do

Funding Scholarships

Another function of PPA is financial support of university scholarships for students working toward degrees leading to forest products industry careers. PPA contributes $3,000 or more annually to the scholarship programs of Oregon State University and Mississippi State University, or other institution selected by the PPA Board of Directors. This function is a valuable contribution to the education of future industry career professionals and leaders. It also helps cultivate an important link between the manufacturing sector and acedemia.

Fostering Fellowship

As in the beginning, fostering friendship and fellowship among wood products industry career professionals – both retired and active – remains a primary and vital purpose of PPA. To that end, PPA holds an annual meeting, usually in Washington or Oregon, for the reuniting of old friends and the making of new ones. These meetings typically include specially arranged tours of local attractions, rounds of golf for those interested, and a reception/dinner with guest speakers.

PPA also participates in other industry events in support of advancing the bonds of fraternalism within and across generations. For example, in 2005 it cosponsored with APA – The Engineered Wood Association the centennial anniversary celebration of the founding of the softwood plywood industry, which was marked with a gala dinner event in Portland, Oregon and the dedication of an historical plaque at the site of the first plywood mill in the city’s St. Johns district.