Perennial Wood Decking being tested at Lowe’s

An executive from Eastman Chemical discussed a test of a new treated wood product  at Lowe’s in its northeastern stores this month. Speaking at the JP Morgan Diversified Industries conference on June 5, senior VP and CFO Curt Espeland told analysts that Perennial Wood, a treated (also described as “modified”) wood product launched at the Builders' Show, was being made available at 50 Lowe’s stores that same day. The product is also being sold through independent lumberyards.

“We can go to a full U.S. launch with a larger facility, if the market data suggests, with [a] 75 million board foot plant,” Espeland said. ”I can time it depending on how the market data tells us and what the economic environment is.”

Harvested from U.S. Southern pine, Perennial Wood is processed using heat, pressure and an organic compound in what the company calls TruLast Technology. The proprietary process permanently expands the wood's cell walls to a fixed position, helping to minimize water absorption and making the wood more resistant to shrinking and swelling, according to the manufacturer.