Earlier this month, building products manufacturer Weyerhaeuser announced a solution to address concerns regarding its TJI Joists with the company’s Flak Jacket coating.
The firm determined that recent customer feedback regarding an odor in certain newly constructed homes is related to a recent formula change to the Flak Jacket protection that included formaldehyde-based resin. This issue is isolated to Flak Jacket products manufactured after Dec. 1, 2016, and does not affect any of the company’s other products.
Flak Jacket is a coating applied to I-joists to enhance fire resistance, and it is not widely in use. The product is present in the basements of approximately 2,200 houses in various stages of construction in limited markets. Most of the houses are not yet occupied.
Weyerhaeuser is working proactively with its customers to address this situation and will cover the cost to either remediate or replace affected joists. The company has halted all production, sales and shipments of the product, and is collecting unused product from customers.
“We deeply regret the disruption and inconvenience this situation has caused,” says Doyle R. Simons, president and CEO. “Our top priority is to take care of our customers and their customers. We are absolutely committed to doing the right thing and resolving this situation as quickly as possible.”
The company expects the before-tax costs associated with resolving this issue to be approximately $50 million to $60 million and a reserve will be recorded in the second quarter of 2017.
Weyerhaeuser notes that the company has sold a total of approximately $9.0 million of the Flak Jacket product since December 2016, representing less than one half of one percent of the company’s total Wood Products sales.
