Quick Facts
- The APA trademark is your highest possible assurance of product quality
- Performance Panels are manufactured to North American product standards
- Rigorous quality auditing and inspection program
- Predictable, dependable from one lot to the next
- Well established domestic production and supply channels
- APA is your complete source for technical information and product support
The APA Mark of Quality for Plywood and OSB
Always insist on engineered wood products bearing the mark of quality – the APA trademark. Your APA engineered wood purchase is not only your highest possible assurance of product quality, but an investment in the many trade services that APA provides on your behalf. The Association’s trademark appears only on products manufactured by member mills and is the manufacturer’s assurance that the product conforms to the standard shown on the trademark.
Certification Standards
APA has a long and extensive history in building codes and standards development activities. These standards are internationally recognized and time-tested. Voluntary Product Standard PS 1, Structural Plywood, Form L870, and Voluntary Product Standard PS 2, Performance Standard for Wood-Based Structural-Use Panels, Form S350, provide requirements for producing, marketing and specifying structural plywood, overlaid panels and oriented strand board (OSB) for construction and industrial uses.
APA Quality Assurance Program
Performance Panels are manufactured under the most stringent, state-of-the-art quality assurance programs in North America, the APA quality services programs. Many imported panels never undergo product qualification testing. Without such tests it is impossible to determine how the panel will perform for the intended use. As an internationally accredited testing laboratory, APA put imported hardwood plywood panels from China and Brazil up against the PS 1. Test import results indicated inferior mechanical and connection properties, severe failure of bond durability, and only one tested sample would have met the formaldehyde limits imposed by CARB when compared to domestic plywood certified to PS 1.
Availability
A nationwide distribution network for Performance Panels ensures a consistent supply for all your industrial needs. Approximately 100 mills in North America manufacture Performance Panels while hundreds of distribution centers throughout the continent inventory a wide selection of these products. They are never far from where you need them. Find an APA Member manufacturer.
Industry Support
Along with the PerformancePanels.com website, APA offers a phone-in or email-in help desk, a 42,000-square-foot testing facility manned with a team of structural engineers and wood scientists, as well as a trained field staff located in most major metropolitan areas across North America. We are only a phone call away.