MaterialsXchange Launches with First Raw Materials Transaction

MaterialsXchange’s digital marketplace streamlines the buying and selling of raw materials

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MaterialsXchange (“MX”), an electronic marketplace for buying and selling raw materials, went live on Monday with the first transaction executed shortly after the launch. The first listings on MX are wood products, specifically Oriented Strand Board (OSB), European Spruce (Euro Spruce) lumber, and Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) lumber. **This inaugural transaction on MX matched Binderholz Timber Inc. (seller) with Hart Lumber (buyer) for a first-ever deal between the two and consisted of a full truckload of 2×4 Euro Spruce from the Port of Houston.

This first transaction on the MX platform marks the beginning of a new and more efficient era for commodity materials markets. Historically, these markets have been impeded by a lack of price transparency and an inefficient “call around” structure. At the same time, payment processes have been archaic and fraught with credit risk for sellers. With its straightforward and intuitive platform, MX has provided a solution for these issues. The platform’s two-sided price format, with continuous updates of transparent data, gives all participants much-needed insight and enables buyers and sellers to easily place bids and offers in real-time without the time-consuming task of price extraction.

MX is first bringing its solution to the wood products market, where there is no efficient digital solution for managing the supply chain of the more than 3 million truckloads of North American softwood lumber and structural wood panels produced each year.

“MX has a team of individuals from the financial trading and technology industry who identified inefficiencies in the raw materials spot markets and built an innovative and easy-to-use solution,” commented Mike Wisnefski, CEO of MaterialsXchange. “The MX platform, with its combination of transparent market data, automated back-office functionality, and accessibility, provides market participants with meaningful gains of efficiency and cost savings.”

“MaterialsXchange’s platform is a natural fit for our company. Binderholz is an organization that believes being open to innovations is the path of progress,” commented Thomas Mende, President & CEO of Binderholz Timber Inc. “It is truly remarkable that by selling our lumber through MaterialsXchange we get instant access to a large, diverse group of buyers, while simultaneously lowering our marketing costs.”

Brandon Natale, VP of Purchasing at Hart Lumber, said, “The people of the Hart Lumber family are our most valuable asset, and we see the MaterialsXchange platform as a tool that our team can use to free up time for focusing on customer service. Because of our commitment to customers and employees, it is our duty to constantly search for best practices and implement innovation. We see MX as just such a modernization to help carry on our legacy as a conscientious industry leader.”

In the coming months, MX plans to expand the reach of the marketplace across the United States and launch new products from other industries on the platform. For more information, please visit materialsxchange.com.

**Normally user activity is strictly confidential, but the counterparties of the first transaction have volunteered to comment.

About MaterialsXchange

MaterialsXchange (“MX”) is an electronic marketplace for buying and selling raw materials. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, the company seeks to foster the evolution of commerce in commodity raw materials by implementing innovative technology that completes the digital supply chain. MX’s platform empowers its users by creating efficient transactions and real-time pricing for all market participants. The company believes that buying and selling raw materials should be easy and instant while allowing anyone to easily view pricing and make payment transfers quickly. MX’s technology can handle any product traded in a commoditized market environment and is built so that back-office functionality can grow in tandem. To learn more about MX, visit materialsxchange.comor follow MX on Twitter at @M_Xchange.

About Binderholz

Binderholz, a family-owned business, is the second-largest forest products company in Europe and the eighth largest in the world. It is a leader in solid wood products, including lumber, profiled timber, single-ply and multi-ply edge-glued solid wood panels, glulam beams, and cross-laminated timber (CLT). To learn more about Binderholz, visit binderholz.com or follow Binderholz on Twitter at @binderholz_com.

About Hart Lumber

Hart Lumber has been in business for 80 years and has grown to seven locations across Texas. It services the construction industry with building materials, including lumber, wood panels, and engineered wood. It also builds wood trusses and wall panels at its state-of-the-art component plant. To learn more about Hart Lumber, visit hartlumber.com.