Australasian Timber Magazine

JUNE 2014 The trade show for the cabinet, joinery, furniture, timber and panel industries

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PROCESSING • PRODUCTS • DESIGN • SUPPLIERS

Incorporating Australian and New Zealand Timberman – Established 1977.

• F RAME:

The future is ours (8)

• New product 'bridges' gap (3) • Boyer

has AdVantage (5)

• AWISA 2014 awaits (15) • L SL the new alternative for lumber (10)

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AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

NEWS

3 – June 2014

Engineered substitute for traditional hardwood decking offering an economically sound alternative

New product ‘bridging’ the gap B

IG RIVER Timbers, an all Australian-family owned company that has been supplying timber products for well over 100 years, has launched a new building product designed to provide a lifeline for old timber bridges.

Tens of thousands of ageing timber bridges throughout regional Australia are heading towards the end of their structural lives, leaving local governments and councils struggling to bring regional infrastructure to an adequate standard.

In the absence of plywood bridge deck systems, councils have been forced to reduce speed limits on the roads; however, this serves only as a patchwork solution for about 30,000 timber bridges that are currently deemed unsafe.

Until now councils have been relying on steel or concrete alternatives to replace and repair their timber bridges, which come at a significantly increased cost. Consequently timber bridges have continued to deteriorate with the volume of maintenance.

Timber bridges are also critical components of local transportation infrastructure; however, the dilapidated bridges are unable to meet the service needs of the users.

Burdened by maintenance costs, councils continue to struggle towards a solution that will save rural communities from being cut off entirely.

A solution to rehabilitate timber bridges that are in desperate need of repair or replacement is now available in the form of a new plywood bridge deck system called Bridgeply.

Launched recently by national timber specialist and major plywood manufacturer, Big River Group, Bridgeply

is an engineered substitute for traditional hardwood decking offering an economically sound alternative. Bridgeply can effectively extend the safety, lifespan and capacity of ageing timber bridges with considerable cost saving for councils and at a significantly reduced rate of construction.

The Bridgeply system can replace damaged and deteriorated timber without having to replace the bridge entirely, offering a more accessible solution to local governments and councils struggling to maintain these structures.

A retrofit solution that can help extend the life of timber bridges by decades, Bridgeply plywood bridge deck systems will not only provide significant cost savings of material in bridge rehabilitation work but the lightweight handling allows installation to be carried out without losing too much time and with minimal disruption to traffic.

The strength and sturdiness of Bridgeply components reinforce areas of weakness without having to replace the entire bridge.

Manufactured in Australia from sustainable timbers, Bridgeply plywood bridge deck system offers a reliable and economical alternative to hardwood, steel and concrete decks needed to repair, refurbish or replace ageing timber bridges.

Bridgeply plywood bridge deck systems will serve as a replacement for bridge decking where suitable lengths of solid hardwood timber are not available. Maintaining a width of 1200mm, lengths and thicknesses can be made to meet specifications offering great flexibility in design.

Particularly effective for

smaller bridges, Bridgeply is cross-laminated to ensure even distribution of longitudinal and lateral stiffness.

Bridgeply plywood bridge deck systems are lighter in mass than concrete and steel and therefore easier to manoeuvre and use; compatible with a variety of support structures; manufactured from Australian plantation pine; envelope treated to H4; and stress graded to F11.

which have Australian Forestry Standard Certification. Big River has Chain of Custody certification under Australian Forestry Standard AS 4707.

Big River Sydney Branch is Chain of Custody (CoC) certified under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification number SACOC-002336.

In line with the vision to maximise the value of every log processed, Big River has

Designed and manufactured to meet all relevant Australian Standards Bridge Ply products are designed and manufactured to meet all relevant Australian Standards, as well as our own internal quality control standards. BRG’s innovative pressure distribution system delivers rapid, stable and even pressure across glue lines maximising panel strength.

The Big River Group is an Australian family-owned company with a history of more than 100 years in the timber industry. Third and fourth generation members of the founding Pidcock family remain actively involved in the company. Big River is one of the largest private timber manufacturing and marketing businesses in Australia, with a diverse business servicing all Australian States as well as international projects.

All timber processed

by Big River is sourced from sustainably managed plantation and regrowth forests

installed an industry leading co-generation electricity plant, where manufacturing wood waste is used to create renewable energy on site, thereby greatly reducing the company’s requirement to source energy from the grid.

This power plant is officially registered with the Office of Renewable Energy, and

also qualifies for Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), an official recognition of the production of “green energy”.

Manufacturing operations are headquartered at Grafton, in northern NSW, employing some 160 people, where a range of hardwood and pine resource is processed into various timber products. The modern rotary veneer factory is Australia’s only valueadded processor of hardwood resource. In 2008, Big River also commenced steel roll forming at Grafton.

The Ausply plant at Wagga Wagga, NSW, was established in 1958 and is part of the Big River Group.

In 2007, the Ausply plant was extensively upgraded to provide the capability to develop the innovative and market leading custom plywood range of products.

All Ausply plywood is manufactured from managed regrowth and plantation forest timbers, with full Chain of Custody certification under AS 4707. Ausply manufactures structural plywood to AS/NZS 2269.

Products are manufactured and stress graded to the Australian Standards and certified by the Engineered

n Bridgeply ... the saviour of many old bridges.

Wood Products Association of Australasia (EWPAA).

Products carrying the PAA stamp are manufactured and product certified under the EWPAA’s third party audited quality control program.

Big River also owns and manages sales and distribution operations in Sydney, Illawarra, Brisbane, Townsville, Sunshine Coast, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, servicing the construction and building industry as well as the manufacturing sector with a diverse range of timber products and other associated construction materials. These products are sourced from Big River manufacturing facilities and from other leading manufacturers of timber and building products.

These operations employ some 100 staff, making the Big River Group a fully integrated operation, from the sourcing of logs from State Forests of NSW, through to the sale of the finished product to the end customer.

Capital expenditure in recent times has focused on state-ofthe-art processing equipment, which is fundamental to the future of the business and Big River’s determination to remain an industry leader.

FWPA

June 2014 – 4

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

Australian illegal logging laws to help legitimate forestry worldwide

By Matthew Lovering

I

N 2012 the Australian Parliament passed the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012. This was followed last year with the Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Regulation 2013 (Regulation) which takes effect on 30th November 2014.

The Act prohibits the import into Australia of illegally harvested timber as well as the processing of illegally harvested raw logs, and is similar to legislation operating in Europe and the United States. In Australian law, illegally harvested timber is that which is harvested in contravention of the laws of the country (whether or not in Australia) where the timber was harvested.

The legislation against illegally harvested timber products is promoted by the Australian Government as benefiting everybody in the Australian wood and timber industries. Whether companies are harvesting trees, producing wood products locally or importing timber and timber products into Australia the

legislation is designed to support legitimately harvested forestry by preventing undercutting by suppliers of timber products made from illegally harvested wood.

Nevertheless the legislation does require engagement from businesses who are importing most timber products as well as Australian processors of raw logs. In fact, the Act says that anyone importing illegally logged timber into Australia or processing illegally harvested raw logs can face a maximum penalty of five years in jail as well as fines of $85,000 for an individual and $425,000 for a corporation.

The subservient Regulation details due diligence requirements for importers of “regulated timber products” which includes all sawn timber, decking, mouldings, plywood, particleboard, MDF, joinery items such as timber doors and windows, most pulp, paper and cardboard products as well as most timber and timberframed furniture. Domestic processors will also have to undertake due diligence.

It is therefore vital that businesses understand their

australasian

magazine Incorporating Australian and New Zealand Timberman – Established 1977.

June Vol.22, No.4

Postal Address: 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9555 Fax: (08) 8369 9501 Publisher and Chief Executive: Hartley Higgins Suite 103, 486 Whitehorse Road, Surrey Hills, Victoria, 3127, phone (03) 9888 4822 General Manager: Elizabeth Bouzoudis Editorial: John Hudswell j.hudswell@ryanmediapl.com.au Adelaide: (08) 8369 9512 Out of office VOIP (08) 7127 6370 Advertising: Norm Nelsen n.nelsen@ryanmediapl.com.au Melbourne: (03) 9888 4820 Timber classified: n.nelsen@ryanmediapl.com.au Melbourne: (03) 9888 4820 Production: Nathan Grant Subscriptions:

obligations and what they must do to comply. As a result, the Timber Development Association (TDA), with support from industry via FWPA (Forest & Wood Products Australia), has developed a suite of tools and guidance for both importers and domestic processors.

The tools are based on compliance tools developed by industry in Europe and the United States, and have been extensively refined in consultation with Australian timber importers, domestic industry, their industry associations as well as the Federal Department of Agriculture.

To undertake due diligence, timber importers and processors must gather information about the timber they are importing or the raw logs they intend to process; identify and assess the risk

of the timber having been illegally harvested; and, if the risk isn’t low, mitigate against that risk.

The vast majority of timber imports into Australia should be readily identified as low risk and mitigating measures will not need to be undertaken.

Mitigation measures are not specified in the Regulation because business circumstances are very diverse. However they must be adequate and proportional to the risk. Mitigation may include simply gathering further information or, in other cases, may entail independent verification.

For importers an Australian Industry Timber Due Diligence (AITDD) system has been developed. This is a comprehensive, easy to use suite of specific guidance tools focused on setting up and implementing a due diligence

subs@forestsandtimber.com.au

Adelaide: (08) 8369 9522 Accounts: Adelaide: (08) 8369 9555 Conditions: Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editor/publishers; information is published in good faith and we do not accept responsibility for damage which may arise from any possible inaccuracies. All rights reserved, none of the contents may be used in any other media without prior consent from the publishers.

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n Front Page Photo: FRAME AUSTRALIA has taken on a truly international air. The Melbourne event attracted 390 people with not only the expected throng of New Zealanders and Australians but a large contingent from overseas. Photo courtesy Frame Australia. (more details on the event pages 8-14)

system for any importing business, and includes templates such as company due diligence manual, information gathering and risk assessment worksheets as well as a questionnaire for suppliers to gather additional information where it is lacking.

Complementary industry information sheets provide useful plain English overviews and supplementary guidance on aspects of risk assessment and risk mitigation. The tools have been designed to make the job of importing legally harvested timber as straightforward as possible.

All the guidance and tools are freely available via the web at www.timberduediligence. com.au as well as via the project report on FWPA’s website, www.fwpa.com.au.

It should be noted that many importers and domestic processors may choose to comply by extending the scope of their current use of voluntary internationally recognised forest certification systems such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) or Australian Forest Standards (AFS).

For businesses processing locally grown logs the risk of sourcing illegally harvested logs is widely recognised as being very low. To assist local industry the Australian Government has included in the Regulation State and Territory specific guidelines which domestic processors can use in assessing their specific risk of sourcing illegal harvested logs. These Guidelines are currently being prepared by

the Australian Government together with each State and Territory Government and will greatly assist compliance for processors who are not certified. The ‘Timber due diligence’ website also includes a Domestic Processors Overview and a Domestic Processor Due Diligence Summary to help such businesses document where their raw logs are coming from and that they have the relevant permission to supply logs to the processor. This will be able to be used in conjunction with delivery dockets and the relevant State (or Territory) Guideline to make compliance straight-forward.

While many Australian timber importers are well prepared for the commencement of the Regulation, ABARES have estimated that some 25,000 importers may be affected by the Regulation and will be required to undertake the due diligence. Most of these are importers of relatively small volumes. To help such importers, and many other stakeholders in the supply chain, come to terms with the Regulation and what needs to be done to comply, three one day workshops are being held in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane on 18th, 19th and 30th June, 2014 respectively.

They’ll be run in association with TFT (formerly The Forest Trust) and will include case studies, which makes things even easier to understand.

The program and registration details are available on the ‘Timber due diligence’ website (www.timberduediligence. com.au) shortly.

NEWS

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

Boyer Mill has the ad-Vantage!

Governments for supporting this project together with the significant capital investment by our owners.

This project is a key component of our regional strategy to transform the business from being wholly a newsprint producer to having a more diverse future in paper, fibre and energy.

“I congratulate the team at Boyer for their painstaking work in converting an existing machine through the addition of state-ofthe-art new equipment.

The project has also been strongly supported by paper machinery supplier Metso, our new on-site coating filler supplier Omya, design engineering partners Beca Amec plus many local Tasmanian contractors and suppliers. In addition we have drawn upon Norske Skog’s global knowledge and expertise.

“This has been a real team effort across our entire business and literally hundreds of people have been involved in one way or another to make it a success.

They can all be proud of their efforts”, Leighton said.

The machine conversion involved the addition of new coating, drying and

Smarter business for a better planet

calendaring equipment, the installation of a new state-of-the-art winder as well as extensive building works, upgrades to existing equipment and process changes to ensure the final product meets the high quality specifications and printing performance demanded by the Australian market.

Andrew McKean, Vice President Sales, Marketing and Logistics, said the project had generated significant interest and support from local printers, publishers and retailers across Australia all of whom were keen to see the return of a local supplier.

“Having locally produced LWC means our customers will benefit from shorter lead times which in turn means lower inventory, less delays and greater flexibility. They can also deal direct with people who operate in the same time zone and they can access support as required from our skilled technical support team.

“Vantage is a great product in its own right and when combined with all the local benefits we believe it’s going to be a real winner,” he said.

AFTER BEING named as corporate leaders in sustainability by the Banksia Foundation, Kimberly-Clark Australia and New Zealand has launched its 2013 online sustainability report highlighting the progress made towards its local 2015 sustainability goals.

Using the power of its well-known brands like Huggies®, Kleenex® and U by Kotex®, Kimberly-Clark Australia and New Zealand has transformed its substantial manufacturing and consumer goods business into a market leader in sustainability.

“We’re really pleased with how were tracking against our goals after a fantastic year across our three sustainability focus areas of People, Planet and Products,” said Jacquie Fegent-McGeachie, Associate Director Corporate Affairs and Sustainability.

“I’m thrilled with the progress we are making towards reducing our environmental footprint, while at the same time leveraging our brand partnerships to help to raise awareness of key sustainability and social issues.”

In 2013, Kimberly-Clark completed the installation of a cogeneration facility at its Millicent Mill in South Australia, making it largely energy self-sufficient, almost taking the mill off the electricity grid. It is expected to provide 100% of the mill’s steam and reduce

n Millicent Mill cogeneration plant.

TIMBERMAN, August 2012 – 6

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CT • PRODU SSING PROCE

OHN MITCHELL, chairman of buildingSmart Australasia looked around the room at the FRAME conference in Melbourne and asked if anyone knew what BIM was. Did anyone use BIM? The silence was telling.

Certainly there were people in the audience who had some knowledge while some like Claudelle Taylor of the Leighton Group had experience with BIM but mostly the audience was struck dumb.

As Mitchell went on to say, the building industry is not renowned for its affinity with and use of high tech computer software programs but it is time. Other industries have already embraced similar systems, and other countries are embracing Building Industry Modelling (BIM).

So what is Building Industry Modelling?

“BIM is 3D object model that is like a building database, easily visualized,” said Mitchell. “We can extract significant intelligence out of it.”

Currently there is a lack of integration along the supply chain linking parties and between project phases but it’s not impossible to fix.

As Mitchell said other industries such as the Australian Air Conditioning Manufacturers Association has already started supply chain integration.

Other issues that plague the building industry are its reliance on the lowest bid strategy rather than a value for money proposition. There is poor understanding of optimized and properly documented designs. According to Mitchell the “Getting it Right” study in Queensland in 2005 identified this problem. That was seven years ago and it still lingers.

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carbon dioxide emissions by up to 80,000 tonnes the equivalent of powering 36,000 average homes for a year.

“As an Australian manufacturer we have continued to be challenged by currency devaluation and the cost of energy, labour and raw materials. Yet, while other companies are being forced to close their manufacturing operations due to the challenging business landscape, I’m proud to say that our Australian operations are thriving as we invest in innovation to allow us to continue to make the best products for our consumers, increase efficiencies and reduce our environmental footprint and operating costs,” said Robbert Rietbroek, Vice President and Managing Director Kimberly-Clark Australia and New Zealand.

The Huggies brand continued its Hugs for Healing initiative with Children’s Hospital Foundations Australia, which aims to deliver support and care for the five children’s hospitals by raising awareness and much needed funding, involving an initial donation of $100,000, for high priority equipment. The company also remained a foundation partner of WWF’s Love Your Forests campaign, which aims to raise awareness of FSC® as the certification of choice, and the importance of sourcing tissue, paper and timber products from responsibly managed forests.

There is also inadequate and ineffective use of technology and a lack of appreciation of the benefits of open communication.

In 2010 Mitchell’s organization commissioned a survey with the Commonwealth’s help that looked at adopting BIM in the Australian construction sector.

Implementation Plan. The starting point was the outcomes of the MESH conferences in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in early 2011.

The roadblocks are these: • Lack of model building protocols • Little product data for BIM object libraries • Legal and insurance impediments

We do need it, we need to build better, we need to make better use of resources.

“The economic potential is extraordinary, extraordinary, a $4 billion potential per annum - $4 billion productivity potential per annum, this mirrors many other studies around the world,” said Mitchell.

“We do need it, we need to build better, we need to make better use of resources, we need to be more efficient and deliver higher value for money.”

The lessons from the 2D CAD current technology are clear, after 20 years there are still no common guidelines, no consensus in either government or industry and the documentation instead of improving is deteriorating.

“There is significant risk if we do not align with international BIM developments – it’s a worldwide turn to BIM,” said Mitchell. buildingSMART Australasia was commissioned at the end of 2111 to undertake the development of a BIM

• Poor standards for information exchange • Inconsistencies in information handover protocols • Skills gaps • Lack of strategic research focus • Industry resistance to process change The participants at the stakeholder consultation workshops conducted by buildingSmart proposed key recommendations. First and foremost was that a BIM adoption roadmap should be completed.

Commonwealth, State and Territory governments should be encouraged to require full collaborative BIM for their building procurements and they should develop procurement processes and assistance packages to encourage its adoption.

Legal and technical instruments needed to support the introduction of BIM should

7 - August 2012, TIMBERMAN

Lend Lease lends its might to CLT be developed and aligned with relevant international codes and standards. We must think globally.

Education is a must to enable the industry to meet the demands of technology for new workers and re-training for those already in the industry.

Easy access must be facilitated to building product manufacturer’s certified information for use in all types of modelbased applications through an Australian on-line BIM products library.

Open standard data exchange protocols should be established that support collaboration and facilitate integration of the briefing, design, construction, manufacturing and maintenance supply chain throughout the entire life of a built facility.

Governments around the world are seeing the advantage of BIM as it can be used to support automated code checking, ensure buildings meet environmental and energy performance requirements, make certain asset and management information is available at all tiers of government for operational, maintenance, fiscal and strategic planning.

The global construction software industry is well advanced in the change to BIM. All the major vendors Graphisoft ArchiCAD, Nemetscheck Allplan and Bentley Triforma have IFC certification, and now Autodesk Revit has committed to IFC compliance.

Only by adopting BIM, by accepting new processes and by sharing information will the building industry stay competitive.

A

FTER LISTENING to Andrew Neiland from Lend Lease it was difficult to understand why it has taken so long for Australia to embrace CLT, and even harder to understand why it has taken the major construction companies this long to make it all add up.

Initially it seemed odd that Neiland, who comes from the accounting side of the Lend Lease business, was presenting to a timberoriented audience at the Frame Australia conference.

That soon passed as he recounted the reductions that Lend Lease faced through the use of CLT in its new multi-storey Forte apartment building in Melbourne.

Admittedly it won’t be just reduced costs – but that’s the main take-away point, the other reductions relate to significantly lower construction noise, less occupational health and safety issues, and a smaller environmental footprint.

The big cost reduction will come courtesy of reduced construction time, reduced truck movements, less labour, reduced building weight leading to reduced foundation requirements and more.

“It’s lightweight, timber is roughly a fifth the weight of concrete,” said Neiland. “[with precast concrete] you only get a couple of pieces on a truck and that’s about it, you can truck a vast number of CLT panels in one go, so get a huge reduction in truck movements.

“In terms of how the site looks the general comments we have from our construction teams is clean, and how quiet and how orderly the site is,” said Neiland.

“One mobile crane, a couple days of CLT ready for installation and a crew of four guys putting it into place - very quiet and efficient process.”

Victoria Harbour was the instigator Melbourne’s Victoria Harbour has been a development hot spot for some time and Lend Lease was trying to make the most of the limited land available. On North Wharf the company was faced with a problem.

“The building conditions are not great, it’s on silt so we looked for a lightweight construction solution and came up with CLT,” said Neiland.

“That was most viable option and we found a lot more benefits than just light weight. So they assembled a team of designers and engineers to go and have a look at it.

“They saw the opportunity immediately – for an all expenses paid trip to Europe.”

It paid off, representatives from Lend Lease visited 14 projects in Europe, they visited the CLT producers and met with architects who had worked on similar projects and came away very impressed.

“They came away very impressed that it was a proven solution where the owners and occupiers really enjoyed the outcome, and really enjoyed living in these buildings,” he said.

Due diligence on the project took three years to complete.

What Lend Lease did discover and what the company has brought into play with the Forte construction in Bourke Street, Melbourne – only a few doors down from Lend Lease HQ – is that using CLT is a design process.

“It’s not taking a concrete building and replacing concrete with timber, it’s a new process. It’s about completing all your design up-front rather designing as your going,” said Neiland.

“It’s about a factory process where you sign off on the drawings, you work out all the crane movements, you work out the logistics, the truck movements then you manufacture. By doing

this we are minimizing waste and reducing errors and building faster.

“If you design it well it will last, if you design it poorly it won’t.”

Australia’s building code doesn’t take into account timber buildings taller than three storeys so for Forte Lend Lease had to undertake a fire engineered solution and that’s not something that everyone can do. It may be a barrier to highrise CLT construction in Australia unless it is addressed.

Forte is nine storeys tall (with a ground floor retail area) with 23 apartments and four townhouses.

Lend Lease was faced with a certain amount of dismay when it came to fire approvals.

“Melissa Chandler who is our building codes expert said it was the most interesting conversation she’s ever had with the fire brigade in her life.

“Saying we’re building 10 storeys of timber, the lift well, the fire stairs and we’re leaving the fire stairs exposed timber. The look on their faces was priceless. We convinced them it was a good idea,” said Neiland. “We did the fire testing of the CLT panels with the CSIRO to achieve our approvals.

“While it is not of a size that requires sprinklers we are installing sprinklers for this one,” he added.

As the ground floor is to be a retail space that floor is designed very differently to the apartments and so it is mounted on a concrete slab which was laid in February this year. The CLT installation started in June and it is anticipated that it will take eight weeks to put up and should be finished in August.

The whole building should be finished in October this year.

Neiland said that for his company it wasn’t just about building a building in CLT it needed to be a step change in sustainability and that is

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The same industry-leading news, views and ad’s you’re reading in this issue are now available on-line as well.

While we know print is the most convenient form for reading in the yard, lunchroom or highlighting an important point for the next reader, we also know that many of our readers want to go straight to websites or send emails or links from the articles and ad’s they’re reading.

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certainly what has happened. This will be the first 5-star green star building built in a residential environment.

Each apartment is dual aspect and will take 25% less energy to heat and cool compared with a typical apartment, which equates to roughly $300 a year saved. All apartments will have a smart meter to link to an in-home display, which shows real time and historic data on energy consumption.

Not only that, but simply by using timber 1451 tonnes of carbon is saved (cradle to site).

Like every new idea there were challenges, the biggest was the logistics of shipping a building from Europe to Australia. KLH in Europe is the manufacturer of CLT for the Forte construction and so the panels had to be shipped to Australia and then stored awaiting installation.

Out it came – 485 tonnes of timber, 759 CLT panels shipped in 25 containers in two ships.

Lend Lease then did some other due diligence on the project, at 32.17 metres tall was it the tallest timber building in the world?

“We came across Nikolai (Sutyagin) who was friendly old chap in Russia who was lonely and in 1992 he started to build a timber house for himself. He went a couple of storeys up and just kept going and he didn’t stop until he got to about 44 metres.

“So we couldn’t go out with the claim that it is the tallest timber building so we modified it with a clause that it’s the tallest apartment timber building,” said Neiland.

For the future Neiland said that Lend Lease is considering building up to 50% of its residential apartments using CLT. “For us Forte is not a one-off demonstration building,” he said.

You can see live webcam vision of the Forte building under construction at http://www. forteliving.com.au

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ORSKE SKOG Australasia has officially launched Vantage, its new catalogue and magazine paper. The announcement followed the successful conversion of one of the Boyer Mill’s two newsprint machines to the production of Light Weight Coated (LWC) paper. The converted machine will produce around 140,000 tonnes of LWC per annum.

The project took 18 months to complete at a cost of $85 million.

Norske Skog’s Regional President, Andrew Leighton welcomed the new product and thanked everyone associated with the machine conversion and the new product’s development.

“Vantage is the only locally produced LWC on the market and has already run successfully on a number of major printing presses.

It is a new and exciting product incorporating the latest advancements in paper making and coating technology. Vantage is truly a world class LWC that is ideally suited to the modern, high speed presses that operate in this region.

“I would like to thank the Federal and Tasmanian

5 – June 2014

Now available on-line ...and covering New Zealand

Visit www.timberbiz.com.au/atm today to view your copy online

FRAME

June 2014 – 6

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

Revised Timber Qld data sheets P

EAK INDUSTRY body Timber Queensland has completed a major revision of 30-plus technical data sheets (TDS) that provide timber related advice developed in Queensland for Queensland application – information you can’t obtain elsewhere.

Timber Queensland’s chief executive officer Rod McInnes said the TDS provided expert, straightforward and accurate advice making the selection, specification, and use of timber products much easier.

“TQ’s TDS are the go-to documents for architects, building designers, engineers, certifiers, builders and handymen who need timber related advice,” he said.

“They’re also all referenced by building authorities and Australia’s leading timber processors, fabricators and manufacturers - these are highly respected and sought after publications.

“The review, undertaken by respected timber engineer and Timber

Queensland’s Manager Timber Application & Use Colin MacKenzie, ensures the TDS reflect Australian Standards, State and national Building Codes and current best practice,” he said.

TDS topics include Residential Timber Decks & Fences, Timber Floors Recommended Installation Practices, Finishes for Exterior Timber and Protecting Buildings from Subterranean Termites.

Queensland’s building professionals have also thrown their support behind the revision and use of the TDS. “We regularly use and recommend the excellent data sheets. They have become default industry standard documents, which many of us depend upon. I regularly tell others about them, especially builders and engineers, as they represent the best knowledge available to our industry,” said Peter Latemore, Principal, Latemore Design. n Timber Queensland’s chief executive officer Rod McInnes.

Wholesale suppliers of quality pine & hardwood.

Timber preservation treatment facilities include, LOSP, CCA, MicroPro, H2f A full range of pine product is available ex stock, including framing, landscape, treated hardwood, F7 sections, decking, custom profiles, post, rail, paling, flooring, ply, export & domestic pallet, battens & all structural grades.

Since 1978 Tarmac has grown to provide a reliable supply of quality product at competitive pricing, call for best service.

113 Beatty Rd Archerfield QUEENSLAND 07 3277 5011 51 Kinkaid Ave Nth Plympton SOUTH AUSTRALIA 08 8295 8356 Tarmac Sawmilling 2902 Old Tenterfield Rd Busby’s Flat NSW

sales@tarmac.com.au

www.tarmac.com.au

Do you know about WWW? IF SOMEONE asked you what is the connection between lavender, specialist wood pieces and winter you’d probably be hard pressed to come up with a plausible answer.

Fear not, the answer is simple.

A few years back Annemarie Manders, of Warratina Lavender Farm fame, was giving some serious thought as to what could be done during the winter months.

“We have a perfect area for exhibitions and as we did not have anything organised in the winter months I decided three years ago to hold an exhibition that would be of interest to men as well as women. I thought of wood work and to hold it around Father’s Day, so, I came up with the title ‘Wood Working Wonders at Warratina’ ... an alliteration!

“Over the years the popularity has increased and is assisted by being given a large media release audience through regional tourism,

magazines, radio, newspapers, Tourism Victoria, and flyer distribution.

“Local artisans are involved and it gives these people the opportunity to display and sell their wares.

“Demonstrations of wood turning and woodcarving occurs on the weekends.

Items on display for sale include clocks, barometers, bowls, lamps, coffee tables, and carved items.”

Money raised from the event is donated to the local Fire Authority.

The award-winning lavender far, about an hour from Melbourne at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges in picturesque Wandin Yallock, will again this year be hosting Wood Working Wonders, from 6 to 21 September.

Instead of hibernating during winter head to WWWW, then you’ll know exactly where to go when the season changes, too!

Nikki joins Tarmac Queensland THE TARMAC Group of companies is pleased to welcome Nikki Scott to our sales team in Queensland.

Many years of experience within the timber supply industry, coupled with a vibrant personality and a determined attitude place Nikki and Tarmac in a great position to service and grow business.

A personalized and focused approach to the individual needs of clients is invaluable to providing not just the required product and support but a dynamic mechanism based in open and honest communication that has become all too rare.

Having the vast inventory afforded by the warehousing facilities in Archerfield

coupled with the ability to machine and treat onsite is one clear advantage that Nikki and Tarmac can offer. The stability in being a resourced backed operation (with Tarmac Sawmilling processing 80,000 tonne of softwood in the last year) is a security to ongoing supply that many customers value.

Tarmac enjoys a privilege in volume purchasing from other primary producers in that its long history (established 1978) has enabled it to grow through tough economic times.

Tarmac takes this opportunity to wish Nikki and all our valued customers every success for the future.

Please do not hesitate to contact Nikki or any of our

n Nikki Scott.

sales team for any timber supply opportunity.

Tarmac Queensland (07) 3277 5011. Tarmac SA (08) 8295 8356

Your news in brief Violence breaks out over plywood factory ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews)– A person was killed while six others were wounded when violence erupted between protesting residents and guards of a plywood firm in this city. The incident broke out amid tension in the past few days between residents of Purok 3 in Barangay Recodo and the Dacon plywood company.

The residents claimed the land being fenced by the plywood firm belongs to them, as it is part of a declared Muslim resettlement based on a presidential proclamation issued by then President Manuel Quezon in 1937. The residents also cited that the fence would block the passageway to the mosque. Officials of the plywood firm insisted they are fencing the property because they owned it.

Massive maintenance workforce More than 750 contracted workers, most from over 30 companies that operate in New Brunswick, are on the job at Irving Pulp & Paper and Irving Tissue in west Saint John. These workers are in addition to the team of 340 people that work at the Irving Pulp & Paper mill. Before the $450 million modernization project gets into full gear the company is completing its regularly scheduled maintenance shut which occurs every 18 months. The $13.5 million project involves upgrades to virtually every area of the mill but the big jobs include boiler inspection and repairs; the startup of new washing equipment and a new control system.

Anti-dumping duties extended Korea’s trade commission has extended its extend anti-dumping duties on Malaysian plywood to help protect local firms from price-cutting practices. The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) said it would impose anti-dumping duties of 38% on Malaysian plywood over the next three years. The decision follows a three-month review of business practices by importers and suppliers of the product.

FIMO

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

7 – June 2014

Multi-storey timber buildings offer flexibility of design If CLT and LVL were painted grey and you called it lightweight concrete everyone would be like – wow, how’d you get that done so quick!

D

YLAN BRADY of Studio 505 said exactly that at the Forest Investment & Market Outlook conference held in Melbourne recently.

Brady established Studio 505, which is a relatively small architectural practice based in Melbourne employing between 20 and 30 people. The majority of its work lies in South East Asia, Malaysia, Singapore and China, with the company starting to break into places like Indonesia and Vietnam.

“We work at all different scales ... we have been particularly interested in sustainability for a really long time,” said Dylan.

“The Pixel building (Melbourne) … is currently the world’s highest rated LEED green star carbon neutral office building and despite of all of those credentials it was made

by Grocon, which is a concrete company and in concrete. We developed a new concrete, which had 50% embodied carbon.

“However, had we done this building in timber we would have been able to make it carbon positive from the beginning rather than working through passive energy generation.”

The equation would have been very different had Studio 505 built Pixel in timber but at the time there were no multistorey timber buildings in Australia that could be used to sway Grocon to consider timber as an option.

However, in 2009 Studio 505 had presented Stadhaus to Grocon. At the time Stadhaus, which is a ninestorey residential building in

London, was the tallest timber residential structure in the world.

Twelve months later Grocon came back and said they wanted to complete a tower in timber so Studio 505 designed a 16-storey CLT and LVL composite timber building.

“We had great connections to Austrian timber manufacturers ... so we were engaged with this process in a way that we hadn’t seen done in Australia.

“Unbeknown to us at the time Lend Lease was also doing the same research because the Docklands has really shit soil so they needed a lightweight construction system,” Dylan said.

“So they were looking at CLT and they subsequently built Forte to their credit because when Daniel Grollo realised we had to import all the timber he said ‘Naa, let Lend Lease do it’”.

Still smitten with idea While it didn’t come to fruition Dylan is still smitten with the idea of being the architect of a multi-storey timber tower. He loves the speed that goes with that type of building.

Another benefit with building apartments and multistorey buildings in timber is the flexibility of design, as one of things that can be achieved is to design every apartment or floor differently, not something you can do using concrete.

It’s one of the things only possible with timber as you are able to use the space between the floor and the ceiling of the level below, which is essentially a pocket.

This means you can run pipes around anywhere underneath the floor area, whereas in a concrete building all pipes and ancillaries end-up being stacked forcing everyone to have the bathroom, kitchen or laundry in the same place.

“Suddenly you could put a bathroom anywhere you wanted inside an apartment,” said Dylan. “It allows you to have a core and shell and allows you to have your bathroom where ever you wanted, which was really exciting in terms of design.”

In terms of structural engineering, when you’re building a timber building with concrete frames you’re trying to pull all the load back to particular points like columns and lift shafts but with timber you are trying to distribute them all out to form the biggest network you can.

“One of the things we find is that there’s not a lot of intuitive knowledge about how you build with engineered timber,” he said.

Psychological, not financial “There’s not a lot of intuitive understanding in the market about what it means. The biggest problem that we find when we talk about timber is psychological, not financial - we know that the financials work.

“We know that it might cost you between 5 to 7% more for the actual material but you save such a significant amount of time.

“It performs better than concrete in a fire, it’s lighter, it’s easier to deal with ...

on my recent trip to New Zealand I was heartened to see the capacity in places like Nelson Pine who are turning logs and building LVL and manufacturing their own facilities to put this stuff together.

“We were very excited about timber, about what massive timber could do because of its fire rating,” he said.

Studio 505 has researched and understands char layers, surface ability and the capacity to repair timber buildings damaged by fire or other natural disasters.

When Studio 505 designed a fire stair in wood everyone was awestruck because no one understood why it was fashioned out of wood assuming it would burn before occupants could use it, but that is not the reality.

This fire stair made solely of timber was spiral in shape, basically it was a scissor stair -– two stairs together as a double helix, a shape not able to be made of concrete.

It also took up much less room and it had all the fire ratings of a big pre-cast concrete stair but with a much smaller footprint. According to Dylan that’s the moment when the developer saw the light, it would take up less square metres of room which pleased him no end.

Timber is a natural product and so there is an expectation that it’s going to be bit flawed, a bit natural, Dylan said. The building industry doesn’t necessarily understand that when you engineer timber you are engineering out a lot of the uncertainties. You are engineering out the issues of a knot or a hole or a fracture.

When in New Zealand he saw a sheer wall of CLT made out of pine but reinforced with LVL embedded inside the CLT. There were LVL strand panels as reinforcement in the timber so it was a timber reinforced timber panel.

Designing with wood has come a long way

n The Waratah Studio featured internationally as the focal point of the Trailfinders Australian Garden presented by Flemings at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in 2013, a design by Phillip Johnson Landscapes. It was also the centre piece of the Australian Garden at the 2013 China Flower Expo in Wujin, a further collaboration between Phillip Johnson Landscapes and studio505.

“As you can see designing with wood has come a long way, but it has a long way to go.

“Studio 505 has wanted to make buildings like Forte for a long time, but so far the only opportunities have been designs and nothing more.

“We are working on doing an imaginary project because that’s all we seem to be able to get at the moment,” said Dylan. “We’re looking at a concrete residential tower of six storeys and doing it in CLT.

n The design of 3 Dudley Parade, Melbourne, responds to a unique location. The three level residence has its own specific relationship with the surrounding environment, creating a highly individual living experience in the heart of one of Melbourne’s most leafy and sought after neighborhoods. The residence incorporates sustainable features including the use of Europe’s best timber structural technologies, Cross Laminated Timber.

“We know that the CLT building we’re designing is a better building than the concrete building and we know we can build it faster and that it’s a smarter building to be in.”

Despite the lack of opportunities to actually build real life residential timber towers the company continues to learn and grow its understanding of the material and how it can be worked. In practice it is usually in a more traditional setting.

According to Dylan there is a conflux of material and technology.

“CLT is ultimately made up of softwood,” he said.

“There’s been some research

by Carter Holt Harvey to see what sort of strengths we get if we start to use eucalyptus and CLT gets a much stronger, much lighter and a much thinner panel and it starts to

blur the edge between LVL and CLT. “But the capacity we have with milling machines and the tooling and the computer technology that designed these buildings today is vastly, vastly more advanced than last time we were doing timber buildings.”

The type of technology Dylan has worked with includes water jet cutting, computer controlled cutting and other processes for transforming wood into artwood.

“This is the ultimate type of technology that can be used with wood, not lumber but engineered wood, plywoods, LVLs and CLTs,” said Dylan.

There are architects behind the push for timber towers, and the timber industry is certainly behind the idea, so now let’s get the developers on board.

FRAME

June 2014 – 8

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

The future is ours for the taking FRAME AUSTRALIA Conference director Kevin Ezard was justifiably proud of this year’s event for a number of reasons but, in an after-the-event talk he issued an industry call-to-arms to maintain the interest in wood products and its use in buildings.

“In the 16th year of Frame Australia it was very encouraging to see that timber prefabrication and wood products in building has continued its newfound momentum for both residential and commercial construction, and the conference topics followed a path through the complete supply chain of the conference theme,” Kevin said.

“This increased demand in Australia for more effective building methods seems to be following the established trends in Europe and other countries, and we can learn from their experience to secure benefits and efficiencies in using timber as a building material that can lower costs and improve financial returns.

“This was reflected positively in the 400 delegates and presenters, with 20% from the building design and construction sector, 30% from timber prefabrication, and 40% from the supply of timber and building materials sectors.”

Kevin said the line-up of speakers on supply and manufacturing topics was a remarkable group of the world’s leading companies and their most senior executives, providing a unique gathering of international expertise.

“They covered developments in timber and engineered wood products and the latest technologies in automated production of prefabricated components and panelised timber systems.”

He added that the participation by major builders such as Australand Property Group, Grocon Group, Metricon and others highlighted the keen interest for developers

and builders to gain a competitive advantage by using more timber products.

“To me this is the key issue. Will the timber products supply chain respond to this high level of interest and actively seek opportunities for value adding the process of timber and engineered wood supply to the construction markets?

“As said by Australand and Grocon, they see the future for both medium and high density residential building to be timber construction, and that the potential volume of wood required exceeds the current volume supplied to all detached housing construction in Australia!

“My hope is the supply chain does respond to this call and begins the process of meeting these future needs over the next decade. It will not happen overnight, but the expression of interest in making it happen is needed now, while the opportunity definitely exists,” he said.

FRAME 2014 gets with the program

By Mandy Parry-Jones Prefab timber and engineered wood in building construction FRAME AUSTRALIA has taken on a truly international air. The Melbourne event attracted 390 people with not only the expected throng of New Zealanders and Australians but a large contingent from overseas.

Ric Sinclair, managing director of Forest & Wood Products Australia (FWPA), said people attended because they believe in wood products, and they attended because the program reached out to a wide audience that needed to embrace and to learn new methods and processes.

Australians and New Zealanders are on a rapid learning curve.

Delegates from overseas included Charles Barnes (from APA in Washington) who had a stand in the foyer, and Grant Jelec (from Weyerhaeuser in Canada) plus a large group from Malaysia.

“It’s great to see a large contingent from the Malaysian Timber Industry Council here today; about 30 people,” Ric said.

“Malaysia is actually looking at how it could use more wood products in its

own domestic construction.

“In the past two months I’ve been approached by Chile and Brazil about how they can increase wood in their domestic construction.

“These three countries are countries that traditionally use masonry in construction not just in commercial or industrial buildings but in their detached housing.”

He said many countries around the world had a masonry approach to construction that was a challenge for them when trying to increase the use of timber.

According to Ric, using wood is seen as the cheap or the poor person’s building material, “so, we need to view things from a cultural or marketing perspective in order to change them”.

A shift in focus The one-day event has turned the corner and moved from a frame and truss-focused Australasian event to an international event that covers timber engineering in all its aspects. That is the future of the industry.

He said it was not just in Australia that things were on the way up for the wood products industry. “The US

market has picked up and other markets, too, but our industry needs promotion and marketing.

“Kevin [Ezard – organizer of FRAME] also needs to be congratulated because he was the architect of the FWPA wood solutions specifier marketing program,” said Ric.

running a program to train architects,” he said. “And more impressively the US Government has put up a prize of US$1m for a timber high rise construction.

“There have been positive words of support from Australia’s Federal Government, too, and the tide has turned in our

FWPA every 12 months) rates consumers on how they see the attractiveness of building materials.

“Again, you can see wood leads competitors. You have this real sense that people love the material,” said Ric. “Consumers feel warm and fuzzy about the material.

In their minds they see it as

Governments around the world are starting to ‘see the wood for the trees’ but some are more promotional than others “This was a document that Kevin developed about five years ago. We’ve been implementing it since then.

“What Kevin showed with his foresight was that he identified a number of building blocks that need to be developed to increase wood consumption.”

According to Ric, Governments around the world are starting to ‘see the wood for the trees’ but some were more promotional than others.

“The US Government - in conjunction with the woodworks program - is

n Charles Barnes (from APA in Washington) with Norm Nelsen (Australasian Timber).

favour, but it’s not just the politicians who are supporting wood products. “ Market responses to wood According to Ric and FWPA research, building specifiers, surveyors, architects and a host of others are seeing the benefits.

Market research conducted by FWPA last month indicated that 84% of specifiers rated wood as a preferred building material for aesthetics. The same survey said it did better against other building materials with regard to sustainability.

“It’s not just about aesthetics and sustainability,” he said. “In the end, building buildings is about making money.

“That same survey rates the installed value for money of building materials. Wood is not head and shoulders above other building materials but it is trending up.

“In the last survey 66% of specifiers were rating it as value for money on an installed basis.”

It’s not just specifiers supporting wood. Consumer research (conducted by

inviting and natural – there is a sense of emotion in how they respond to it.

“Biodegradable, environmentally friendly, renewable … these are attributes that wood owns.

That’s its strength.

“In terms of marketing what we are ensuring is that wood continues to own these attributes but also starts to creep into some of the territory of its competing materials,” Ric said.

“We have wonderful words -- we can use warmth, genuine, unique, versatile, practical. This is what people are actually associating with wood materials.

“This is where we, as a sector, and those supporting wood should be using and leveraging this research in their own marketing activities.”

Regulation Around the world regulators are displaying a more positive view of what can be done with wood and wood products.

According to the FWPA, Australia hasn’t kept up, it hasn’t changed much but other jurisdictions have certainly lifted.

Places like Switzerland, Canada, Italy, UK, Finland

and the US have all increased the amount of storeys that can be built with wood products.

It’s time for Australia to play catch up, and conferences like FRAME will help achieve that.

“There’s some good news ... as of the 1st May we secured, via the building code of Australia, a lift in Class 3 buildings,” said Ric. For about 10 or 12 years the limit was three-storeys in Class 2 buildings, now it’s three storeys for all Class 3 buildings. That’s hotels and resorts.

Ric said that was just the start and that we should utilize the overseas experience and go up even further to maybe six or eight stories.

Power of precedence “A precedence has power.

What Lend Lease has done for the wood product sector with Forte should be heralded, just like Australand has done with its five-storey building.

“These things show it can be done, and we have to promote and demonstrate to our key audiences that this can be done.

“We have some really strong champions for wood in Australia and we have them internationally as well.”

The FWPA is systematically trying to reduce the barriers to using wood by working with a number of bodies from regulatory to promotional.

Promotion and marketing – those words were the ones most often used throughout FRAME Australia 2014.

Only through positive promotion of the changes that need to be addressed within the industry and through marketing of the industry and products will Australia catch up to the rest of the world.

We are behind in our building methods and we need to ‘get with the program’.

FRAME

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

9 – June 2014

Products for every stage of residential and commercial building

Sourced from sustainably managed forests

loaded floor systems. hySPAN LVL is engineered to perform, produced straight, true and in long continuous lengths, hySPAN LVL has a solution for most structural applications. As hySPAN is precision manufactured to be both straight and dimensionally consistent it is a perfect product to be used in automated timber framing and panelisation.

Our hyJOIST engineered I-beams are precision manufactured to be straight, long and lightweight. Being lightweight they make for easy installation and with a wide range of sizes allows for an economical floor system.

The hyJOIST options range is ideal for residential and commercial construction.

HyJOIST delivers great design flexibility in economical floor systems and commercial structures as purlins or girts.

Carter Holt Harvey, along with providing a comprehensive range of engineered wood products, is also dedicated to providing software solutions to make specification easier. We have software packages ranging from handy smart phone apps for use on site to a range of design packages for safe use by all building practitioner.

For work on site designIT site app has been developed as a handy reference tool for the specifier or tradesman on the go. designIT site is a trimmed down version of a proprietary software called designIT for houses developed by Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts to support the specification and use of their Engineered Wood Products range for house framing. The app includes correct and up to date information on correct service hole locations in hyJOIST and the simple design programs for bearers, floor joists and lintels.

For all building practitioners doing design

n Residential Frame of LASERframe TERMINATOR® Blue, hySPAN H2-s Terminator and hyJOIST H2-s Terminator.

work from the home or office DesignIT for houses has been developed by Carter Holt Harvey. A tool for all building practitioners for the design of Carter Holt Harvey’s Engineered Woodproducts range and other selected materials which include MGP, visual and Glulam

grades. DesignIT is quick and simple to use yet deceptively powerful software for all framing based upon the timber framing code.

Carter Holt Harvey is constantly developing these software packages and recently released the new addition in designIT for

commercial floors. This quick, simple and deceptively powerful software has been developed to help specifiers to design commercial, industrial and other heavily loaded floors. To view and download free the entire Carter Holt Harvey software suite visit: www.chhsoftware.com

ENE

CO

– a renewable resource with recognised standards such as FSC and PEFC. We hold Chain of Custody (COC) certification at the majority, and shortly all, of our mills.

CHH currently offers COC certified plywood, engineered wood products and panel products upon request.

CHH’s leading brands of flooring STRUCTAflor® Particleboard Flooring, Terminator® Termite Protected Particleboard Flooring and R-flor® Radiant Barrier Flooring offer a practical, flexible and costeffective choice when building your new home or extension.

With an extensive range of options, they are ideal for: sub-floors, suspended floors in multi-storey construction, additions and extensions and commercial flooring; as well as a host of building applications. With over 25 years of reliable performance, STRUCTAflor is still the leading product in its class.

The proven performance of STRUCTAflor, STRUCTAflor Terminator and R-flor makes them the clear choice in flooring for more builders. And just as they were the first product of their kind on the market, they continue to lead the way in innovation and development of flooring solutions.

For load bearing applications our structural range has the answers, whether you are after solid timber, engineered wood products or plywood. Our hySPAN LVL solutions range provides a structural solution with important predictable performance in residential, commercial and industrial construction applications. hySPAN LVL is a versatile engineering material suitable for numerous high load residential and commercial applications from bearers and floor joist to large span portal frames and commercially

R

C

A R T E R HOLT Harvey Wo o dp r o duc t s Australia is the nation’s largest wood products business, producing and distributing a comprehensive range of wood-based building products. CHH offers a comprehensive range of quality wood products, supported by some of the strongest and most trusted brands in the industry.

Brands like STRUCTAflor, YELLOWtongue, TERMINATOR, ECOply, PLYfloor, SHADOWclad, LASERframe blue, ALLseasons, IRONwood, hySPAN, hySPAN+ and hyJOIST. Whether your job is structural or decorative, internal or external, CHH’s wide range has not only been developed by listening to the building community’s concerns, issues and needs, it’s been achieved by proactively assessing market changes and different building practices. Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts offers a wide choice of solid timber, engineered wood products and wide range of plywood products for every stage of residential and commercial building.

Timber is one of the world’s most environmentally friendly building products.

It is natural, renewable and sustainable. As Australia’s foremost timber and engineered wood products supplier, Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts is committed to managing its business in a responsible manner. This commitment includes the environmentally responsible procurement of wood to conserving the natural environment and actively protecting Australia’s flora and fauna. So much so that all timber used in our products are sourced from sustainably managed forests

Q U A L I T Y & I N N O VAT I O N

• For 30 years, GILBERT has been the market leader in the design and manufacturing of planermill equipment with over one hundred installations.

• From moulding applications to high speed mills, the Gilbert Planer is very versatile and is the fastest planer in the world.

• AcoRA and GILBERT together offer single item solutions to complete turnkey projects.

AcoRA’s local knowledge is always on hand and with GILBERT’s depth of engineering, we offer a great solution for your operation.

Thank you for your trust!

n STRUCTAflor TERMINATOR® easy to identify sheet thickness by tongue colour Yellow = 19mm, Red = 22mm and Blue = 25mm.

PO Box 122 11 Government Road Eden NSW 2551, Australia

Tel: +61 (0)2 6496 1222 Fax: +61 (0)2 6496 3097 Email: info@acora.com.au

FRAME

June 2014 – 10

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

Dr Tony Pugel is a senior manufacturing technologist with LP Building Products, USA. LP Building Products is one of the world’s largest producers of engineered wood products with 24 mills and more than US$2 billion in annual sales. The company’s TimberStrand product is Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL) used for applications such as rim board, headers, beams, columns, wall framing, sill plates, and stair stringers. The manufacturing process combines technology and innovation to produce highperforming engineered lumber that uses small-diameter trees that are not strong or straight enough to be of structural value as conventional sawn lumber products.

LSL a new alternative for lumber L

SL HAS been around for some time but it is gaining a new following as LP Building Products is investigating and promoting new uses for the engineered wood. Basically, LSL is a technical definition that means that the strand is 150 times longer than it is thick, according to LP Building product’s Dr Tony Pugel.

“That’s just the definition in the United States,” he said.

“You take wood strands, add resin and wax and you press it in a press.

“The unique feature is that it is pressed in a steam injection press, which gives you a uniform density throughout the thickness.

“You can re-saw any piece of LSL and it will have the same properties as the mother piece.”

LSL was developed in the late 80s in Canada and went very quickly from the lab to commercial manufacture in 1992 with the first plant in Minnesota. The second plant was in East Kentucky, the third in Ontario, and the fourth in Maine. However, the plants in Minnesota and East Kentucky have since been closed, so only Ontario and Maine are manufacturing it.

One European plant in northern Spain makes LSL but it makes an industrial type for window and door components.

“You may hear talk about a product called OSL, oriented strand lumber. That’s simply a lumber that’s made using a OSB type strands,” said Dr Pugel.

“LSL is made largely from Aspen, a naturally regenerating tree.

“It starts again from the roots itself so there’s no replanting. When I was in school they told me Aspen was the most diseased tree in the world, as it has no natural ability to fight against fungus or termites or anything else.

If you want that kind of thing you have to add it in the manufacturing process.

We’re certified by both SFI and PEFC.” LSL is pressed in a configuration that is around 3m x 20m in single piece with a thickness that is anywhere from 75mm up to 100mm.

“This is probably E9 to about E14, E13 or 12. It’s manufactured to a uniform moisture content of about 5% to 8% and the density is anywhere from 600 kilograms per cubic metre to

up 800 kgs per cubic metre,” said Dr Pugel.

To produce LSL logs are put through a conditioning pond and then those logs are converted into strands.

The strands are screened to take out the small strands, and then dried again. They go through another set of screens and from that point they are blended with resin, wax and other additives such as a preservative or a fire retardant.

“After it gets blended it’s formed. In other words, particles are aligned along the machine direction so you have directional properties with this product,” said Dr Pugel.

“Then it goes into the steam injection press then cut and trimmed into individual sizes.

“The orientation of the strands is at seven degrees so the strands are deviated off straight to plus or minus

into the mat and that’s how it cures that mat and allows you to have a uniform density.

“This is a very efficient way of curing the mat – it’s about 20 times faster than it is for LVL of equivalent thickness.”

A 20m long billet comes out of the pressing stage and goes through a laser line that measures the thickness of the billet so it conforms to the target thickness before heading into a trim saw to cut off the rough edges.

By changing the fines and strands content or the strand length the product will offer different properties so you can find what suits an application.

seven degrees. You can alter that orientation depending on what product you want to make.

“The steam is injected through ports in the press and

From there it goes to secondary processing where it is cut into whatever size LSL is required.

“LSL offers faster installation, out-performs

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Why would you risk it?

• Legal action • Damage to your business • Possible loss of life • Media exposure

Consistent quality Structurally sound and safe Lowest emissions Wood from 100% legal forests Guaranteed to meet government standards Jobs security

It’s simple arithmetic.

Add it up and the safest choice is engineered wood manufactured by EWPAA members.

Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia Unit 3, 106 Fison Ave West, Eagle Farm 4009 Qld Tel: 61 7 3250 3700 Fax: 61 7 3252 4769 Email: inbox@ewp.asn.au Web: www.ewp.asn.au

traditional lumber, gives greater design flexibility … there are no knots or twists associated with it, so, every piece is useable,” said Dr Pugel.

“One of the best applications for LSL is for truss cords. The main reason is that the plate holding capability of LSL is much better than any other wood product. It’s a high density product, so when you drive those teeth in they tend to stay in. They can take off axial stresses much better than with LVL or lumber.

“The nailing ability of LSL is about 120 square mm (Dr Pugel pointed to a piece of wood) and it has 40 nails in it, each the full depth of a 90mm specimen and it hasn’t split in two.

“I don’t think there’s any other wood product that will take the type of punishment.”

“In a recent application we found in the States was that one of the problems with doing multi-level wood structures is the amount of shrinkage that occurs in the studs and the plates in a multi-storey structure.

“In this case all we did was take handbook values for estimating how much shrinkage you would get in a five-storey structure – you would get about 5mm of shrinkage.

“We had the opportunity to go out a measure a four-storey building and the shrinkage was actually 100mm. So when you replace all that with LSL your shrinkage goes down to almost nothing.”

According to Dr Pugel another application that’s common in the US is what’s called zone framing or target framing. In other words, you put the LSL product in the areas where you want straight studs to hang cabinets like in kitchens.

“Another place is if you have long hallway walls and don’t want to see a ripple in your wallboard as you look down that wall, you want to have straight studs. Those are guaranteed with the LSL product,” he said.

“Form boards are another good product because LSL doesn’t deform under the load of wet concrete and you can get various thickness and widths to build whatever form you need.”

With LSL there’s no problem getting lengths of 8000mm and longer so in a case of someone who wants massive windows looking out on a scenic view you can do that with the LSL.

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE GOLD SPONSORS

FRAME

11 – June 2014 BRONZE SPONSORS

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INDEPENDENT & AUSTRALIAN OWNED

Wood finally being seen as a more sustainable building material

By Kersten Gentle Executive Officer FTMA Australia

F

TMA AUSTRALIA and Frame have worked together supporting each-others conferences since 2009 where FTMA Australia holds an annual conference on the uneven years and Frame Australia is held every two years on the even years.

Frame 2014 was a great success for Kevin Ezard with an estimated 390 people representing the Building, Design, Prefabrication, Timber and Building sectors attending the conference on 19 May. Included in these numbers was an impressive 60 International attendees including 30 representatives from the Malaysian Timber Council.

Frame 2014 was titled Prefab Timber and Engineered Wood in Building Construction with an outstanding line up of speakers. The topics focused on Timber & Engineer Wood Products, Truss & Frame Manufacturing Plants, Supply of Timber & Wood Systems for Construction and Residential Building with Timber Panels to Lower Costs.

Engineered wood products such as panelised walls and floors were covered in most of the sessions which provided some great information for the FTMA Australia Prefabricated Lightweight Timber Floor Systems Market Implementation Group consisting of fabricators and suppliers.

As someone who loves wood it was fantastic to hear that timber engineered products were not only being used to solve problems in areas such as Christchurch NZ but that the tide was changing with regards to the way wood was looked upon by political leaders, builders and architects.

Ric Sinclair, Managing Director of Forest Wood Products Australia, spoke about a recent survey which showed that building specifiers not only identified wood as a preferred building

n Timber price increases.

material for visual aesthetics but also wood is finally being seen as a more sustainable building material.

Wood leads its competitors with the public as a product they perceive to be warm and natural however they see steel as strong whereas new technologies that were demonstrated at the conference highlighted how engineered building products were creating a stronger product that could compete with steel on all levels.

The presentation by Martin Smith, Managing Director of JJ Smith & Co (Modular Building Association), was extremely interesting as he looked at the future for automated production of timber framing and panelisation and outlined the products provided by frame and truss fabricators in different markets in Europe.

The Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia, for example, used mainly closed panels whereas Scotland, Ireland, England and France used open panels.

For me the most interesting presentation was from Ian Currie, Business Development Manager ANZ for Pryda Australia whose topic was Plant production requirements – Understanding the facts. Ian identified what changes are required to move into the panelised products, whether it could be done with the existing systems, what changes need to be done and the importance of training for people to not only build the products but also install the products as they have done

overseas. All in all it was an informative conference and congratulations must go to Kevin Ezard for organising this great event. The FTMA Australia conference will be held in 2015 as per our agreement and our conference ensures that every single topic is relevant to the frame and truss fabricator.

We have never shied away from who we represent and our conferences ensure direct benefits for fabricators as well as outstanding networking.

The 2015 FTMA Australia National Conference will be held in South Australia and more information on the date and venue will be distributed in the coming months.

Too many fabricators are working on extremely low profit margins and our sector cannot or should not

absorb these price increases.

Therefore, it is vitally important that promotion of the price rise is done by all but definitely led by the timber producers and merchants.

FTMA Member and Director, Clive Martella of MB Prefab Framing was recently going through old files and he found a pine price list from February 1994 – 20 years ago. The retail price of timber back then was 32c a metre dearer than today’s price – which equates to timber being 19.1% cheaper today than it was 20 years ago.

That would save you about $850, building a 15 square set of wall frames on today’s

n Kersten Gentle.

timber prices.

Imagine since 1994 the differences in the investment costs of equipment in mills, the cost of power, insurance, WorkCover, safety equipment and wages and it makes it easier to understand why prices are increasing which MUST result in an increase in price for frames and trusses.

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Another price increase of between 5% - 8% is also due in August and it is important that as an industry we unite to promote awareness and acceptance of these price increases.

FTMA Australia strongly believes responsibility for promoting these price increases are not just the role of the fabricator but of the whole industry. Timber producers and merchants should unite and promote this price increase through newsletters of HIA and MBA, for example, to ensure that builders are well aware of the price increases they can expect and the reasons why.

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FRAME

June 2014 – 12

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

gottstein trust applications for 2015 awards

the Joseph william Gottstein Memorial trust invites applications from interested persons for Gottstein fellowships and Gottstein industry awards.

1.)

2.)

3.)

4.)

5.)

6.)

7.)

8.)

GOTTSTEIN FELLOWSHIPS Fellowships are awarded to people from or associated with Australian forest industries to further their experience, education or training either within or outside Australia by undertaking a project. Appropriate project topics are listed on the Gottstein website (www.gottsteintrust.org).

Candidates will be selected on the focus of their project, and on their ability to complete and disseminate the information acquired.

GOTTSTEIN INDUSTRY AWARDS These awards are available to assist workers in the Australian forest industries to improve their industry knowledge and work skills.

Applications focusing on small group study tours will be favourably viewed, although any relevant project topic may be proposed.

Candidates will be selected on the value of the project.

INTERVIEWS Applications for each category will be considered by the Trustees and promising applicants will be selected for interviews in October 2014.

FURTHER INFORMATION Further details may be obtained from the Trust’s website at www.gottsteintrust.org, or from the Secretary.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS The closing date for applications is 19th September 2014.

Applications should be forwarded to: Dr Silvia Pongracic, Secretary, J. W. Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund, Private Bag 10, Clayton South, VIC 3169 Telephone: 0418 764 954 Email: secretary@gottsteintrust.org

n 1.) Trevor Riddle (CHHWP), Scott Millis (CHHWP) and Danny Lake (Bretts Frame & Truss). n 2.) Tynan Murray and Dean Harris from Airco/Senco Display. n 3.) Nick Cui (Pryda), Paul Adams (Fairweather Homes) and Peter Ward (DWTT Future Fit). n 4.) Dave Lewis (Spantruss WA), Paul Gaiardo (Pryda) and Clive Martella (MB Prefab Framing).

n 5.) Rob Mansell (Hyne Timber) and Warren Tharle (Enduroframe) n 6.) Stefan Moehringer (Moehringer) and Craig Nagal (MSP Group). n 7.) Darren Harris (Porters Truss & Frame), Paul Gaiardo (Pryda) and Cameron Jones (CHH). n 8.) Chris Rogers (Estim8) and Brian Aulsebrook (South Coast Timber Supply).

Photos courtesy FTMA

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

FRAME

13 – June 2014

A quiet achiever speaks up

Saving up to 25% on build costs over conventional concrete construction styles

By Mandy Parry-Jones

E

VER SINCE Lend Lease started building Forte it has been the headline grabber for the industry. On one hand that’s good, but on the other projects such as Australand’s Parkville apartments have missed out on their share of column inches.

Not any more.

FRAME Australia invited Kase Jong, Australand’s senior estimating manager, to talk through hybrid construction and the company’s Parkville project.

“I’ve been there (Australand) for the past five years but Australand has been promoting potential savings for building domestic construction techniques that deliver a build form of up to five- or sixstoreys since 2008,” he said.

“We’ve been just quietly developing our systems, and our processes, and methodologies about delivering these sorts of buildings.”

What is hybrid construction?

According to Mr Jong it is multi-residential timber frames delivering up to fivestoreys and using the domestic labour force and domestic supply chain.

In Australia, and particularly in Victoria, there are two labour forces – there’s the full commercial labour force that is very much trade unionbased and work mainly in the city, then there’s the domestic labour force that builds homes out in the suburbs -- that’s the trade base that Australand is tapping into to build hybrid projects.

“We understand the challenges of domestic labour and the fragmented state of the domestic trade base,” said Mr Jong, “so what we do is introduce commercial disciplines to manage that.

“We introduce commercial site disciplines and procurement methodologies as part of hybrid construction.

“It’s very much design focused. In order to deliver hybrid construction you need to understand the limitations of the materials. It’s timber; it has its limitations, parameters.”

Mr Jong said the company had changed its design approach to a very structured approach trying to get that influence into the construction arm and estimating arm and into the design process to get the smarts in there.

So why hybrid construction?

Hybrid construction extracts cost benefits by using

domestic labour force while it simultaneously extracts the cost benefits of the supply chain.

“From our current results from the 270 apartments that we’ve built to date we’re saving up to 25% on our build costs over conventional concrete construction styles,” said Mr Jong.

He says that this type of construction will bring more medium density, more low rise building out to suburbs, making more affordable housing choices.

“With the introduction of our panellised flooring system ... we’re able to at least achieve the same time frames as conventional concrete construction with regards to the erection structure.” He said the added advantage was that workers were able to “get in there” 24 hours after a floor was done to start roughing out the services.

“It creates opportunities and we’ve been trying to promote this for quite some time … we want to promote building opportunities for the domestic trade,” he said.

Mr Jong travelled to the US and he says that they’ve been building in this fashion for quite some time. “They’ve built up that trade base, which is what Australand is trying to do in Victoria.”

“It also encourages innovation in the supply chain because you have opportunities for manufacturers and supply merchants to showcase materials,” he said.

And what of the future for hybrid construction… “That’s what we’re doing at Parkville,” said Mr Jong. “It’s about replicating it and putting it into the suburbs for affordable housing.

“We need to showcase that it’s been done,” he said. “We want more interest from the developers in Victoria, and nationally as well. We want to upskill the domestic labour trade.

“We need to continually innovate that’s why we have great guys here from our suppliers to give us that opportunity to tap into their knowledge base and be able to get them to drive some innovation from their end as well.”

“For us it was always about increasing the capacity of our IP to build this,” said Mr Jong.

“But it was also important to not reinvent the wheel because there was so much work in the background.

“The majority of our projects prior to this were anywhere from two- to fourstoreys and we knew that there would be added risks by going to the fifth storey,” he said.

“We identified areas that needed improvement and that was at the design and development stage to ensure construction and supply continued on page 14.

 

ENGINEERED FOR FUNCTION BUILT TO LAST

The Parkville project Mr Jong believes that the company’s five-storey timber frame construction is probably the first to use the cassette system in this large scale.

The project has 57 apartments with one basement car park.

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FRAME

June 2014 – 14

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

A quiet achiever speaks up continued from page 13.

n Kase Jong, Australand’s senior estimating manager, talks about hybrid construction and the company’s Parkville project.

involvement and that the right consultants were engaged.

“It was about the right material selection. It’s got to be cost-effective but at the same time it’s got to be ease of construction onsite. We knew we had to improve on our delivery time.”

Safety was also a high priority as was partnering up with the right people and the right companies, the right suppliers and consultants.

“We introduced a transfer slab over the carpark that just gave a bit more confidence in design for our fire engineers and acoustic engineers, not only that but it simplified the structure,” said Mr Jong.

“We introduced a little bit of structural steel to capture any cantilevers as part of the architectural expression of the building but we kept that to an absolute minimum.

“Beyond that the entire building was designed around prefabricated wall frames, trusses and floor systems.

“To build the five storeys the company deconstructed its construction techniques and looked at the weak links.

It found there was a long time spent installing floor systems

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and came to the realization that just increasing the number workers to install the floor joists wasn’t going to solve that problem. It was just going to create OH&S risks.

Offsite system The solution was to create a system that could be made offsite and then landed finished onsite.

In November last year Australand called a meeting with all its key suppliers, and consultants and set a mandate.

A solution had to be found by April this year.

“We needed to get a cassette flooring system that was not only going to meet the performance criteria we were after from an acoustic and engineering point of view but also from an insulation point of view,” said Mr Jong.

“We actually went to a lot of expense. This was a first in our industry. I’m sure there was a lot of angst from our suppliers and engineers.

“We made sure we treated and tested and tested to make sure we were comfortable taking this out to the site.”

What they came up with was a cassette floor system that was turning over floor cycles every 11 days.

It was roughly an eight-day process to get wall frames up, get it plumbed get it ready to land a cassette.

“It was so crucial to make sure those RLs were met, and to have critical dimensions along the top of the walls to land these cassettes,” said Mr Jong, “while at the same time making sure the scaffolding was coming up to eliminate the fall from height risk.

“It was roughly 850 square metres per floor.” The entire project was run on mobile

n Floor cassette at Parkville.

cranes using a 50 tonne crane, not because of the weight of the cassettes, but because of its reach capacity.

Once they got into the swing of things, it was a one and a half day process to land 800 square metres of cassettes then there was another day to lay the additional strength flooring just to tie everything together.

All up the structure took 12 weeks to get to the roof truss. It was an extremely successfully project.

The cassette floor saved roughly a week per floor, so that comes down to about a saving of one month for the project.

“The suspended slab we used was about 400 cubic metres worth of concrete,” said Mr Jong.

“In the balance of the fourstoreys we built in timber we used just under 500 cubic metres of timber so you can see the difference in the volume of material between concrete and timber.

“It was quite a good contrast and there was a real benefit from using timber. You not only saved on material but you saved on foundation costs because you’ve got a much lighter structure.”

Australand’s Parkville project could be said to be a well-rounded package in terms of innovation. It is extending the capabilities of everyone involved from the developer, through the supply chain and even as far as upskilling domestic trade people.

2014 World Conference on Timber Engineering THE 2014 World Conference on Timber Engineering (WCTE 2014) is to be held August 10-14 in Quebec City, the birthplace of Canada’s wood industry.

WCTE is the most prestigious international event in timber engineering, engineered wood products and design of timber structures, which is held biannually in different parts of the world and attracts researchers, engineers and architects, code consultants and building officials, contractors and project managers, fabricators and suppliers from all continents.

Timber construction has a rich history. We are rediscovering what our predecessors had accomplished and we are striving to surpass their level of ingenuity by capitalizing on the past achievements and modern wood-based products and systems, design tools and technology developed at the forefront of the research, design and construction communities.

The conference co-host is the annual Forest Products Society International Convention, the premier event for professionals in the forest products industry.

The convention brings together hundreds of scientists, design

professionals, managers, decision makers, and others from academia, government, nonprofit, and private industry sectors to discuss the state of forest products research and learn about innovations in the field. Attended by Forest Products Society members and non-members, the Convention is the perfect venue to build new professional connections with top researchers from around the world and reconnect with colleagues and friends in the field.

Gather and disseminate the latest information on innovative timber construction, and demonstrate how to use wood to design better and become a wood champion. Develop greater collaboration between stakeholders focusing their agendas on environmentally responsible and sustainable construction. Motivate engineering and architecture students and junior professionals to work in the spirit of innovation and respect to the heritage and the best practices WCTE 2014 will take place in the Quebec City Convention Centre located in the heart of the World Heritage city across from the Parliament Building and a few steps from tourist attractions.

AWISA

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

15 – June 2014

n Brisbane city at night, with the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre at South Bank on the right.

AWISA 2014 – time to start planning your visit A

NYONE WHO is looking to see what’s new in woodworking machinery, be it basic machinery or the most sophisticated and automated CNC machinery, should be starting to plan their trip to AWISA 2014.

Likewise, anyone wanting to learn about the latest in hardware, decorative products and software should be looking to visit the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre from 6-9 August this year.

AWISA 2014 occupies 15,000 square metres of the centre. All the major

machinery companies that supply the Australian market are in the show, as are all the major hardware and software companies. AWISA is one of the largest trade shows in Australia and has become an internationally renowned success.

It’s a great chance to gather information and stay in touch with important industry trends. By getting away from the office and the factory, attendees can spend undistracted time learning about developments in machinery, materials, fittings and services that might help make their businesses

run more efficiently and effectively – and profitably.

There’s a lot to do in Brisbane while AWISA 2014 is in town. The show venue is located at South Bank, where visitors will find a mix of cafes, restaurants, boutiques and cultural experiences.

Lots for visitors to do in their spare time and after hours. The Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland Museum and Science Centre, and Queensland Conservatorium are all within a short walk of AWISA 2014.

And Brisbane’s CBD is just across the river with attractions such

Brisbane-based business has “the edge”

BRISBANE SAW Service, with its large showroom in Toombul Road, Virginia, Brisbane, was established in 1960.

The business originally specialised in sharpening saws for the sawmilling and timber industries, however, advances in technology along with the growth of new, broader spectrum manufacturing processes have resulted in the diversification of the business which includes not only tooling for furniture, cabinet making and board plants but also for aluminium, steel and plastics cutting.

BSS offers one of the most advanced saw-sharpening services in Australia for all TCT and HSS cutting blades. Vollmer robotic equipment is used to provide very high precision and fast turn-around. Technicians are fully trained and experienced in providing custom made tooling and re-sharpening of all modern

manufacturing tooling.

Brisbane Saw Service is a one-stop-shop with over 50 years experience servicing the woodworking industry.

It provides high quality,

n Little Stanley: AWISA visitors will find lots to do in the evening.

as Treasury Casino. Visitors looking for what their favorite winter sporting code is up to during the weekend of the show should visit their code’s website. For example, in the NRL, the Broncos

will play the Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium (day to be confirmed), and in the AFL, the Brisbane Lions will be playing the Adelaide Crows at the Gabba on Sunday 10 August.

Admission to AWISA 2014 is free.

However, visitors are asked to register.

This can be done in the venue foyer on arrival, but it is best to pre-register at www.awisa.com.

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AWISA

the show for wood and panel processing AWISA 2014 is the international exhibition of machinery, materials, fittings and services for the Australian and New Zealand cabinet, joinery, furniture, timber and panel industries.

6-9 August 2014 Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

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AWISA

June 2014 – 16

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

Focus firmly on design and diversity W

ITH A focus on design and diversity, and a continuing commitment to product development, Admonter will present its Elements range comprising wood panels and wall cladding to the strong architect, interior design and joinery audience expected at this year’s AWISA exhibition in Brisbane.

n Bayern House.

Austrian company Admonter is Europe’s largest high-end producer of sustainably forested and engineered wood floors and panels. They specialise in wide-plank flooring and raw wood panels for interiors.

The product ranges are on trend with colour, custom finishes and sizing. The flexibility to tailor individual products makes the range appealing to both the domestic and commercial markets, with product integrity being of paramount importance. The entire range carries the PEFC certificate - Europe’s quality seal for wood products made using sustainable forest material.

Admonter is looking forward to showcasing the best of their new product ranges at AWISA this year. With new surface textures and production techniques used in their raw wood panel and wall cladding

products and boosted by positive feedback from the European market, Admonter are keen to build new business contacts in the Queensland marketplace and further develop relationships that were formed at AWISA in 2012.

“Sydney was a fantastic way for us to introduce Admonter to the Australian market and the response since has been fantastic.

We are looking forward to presenting our new range of wood panels and wall elements and to receiving feedback from industry representatives attending the exhibition,” said Jane Lindsay from Admonter Australia.

On show will be Admonter’s CUBE interior cladding system and new wood panel additions such as the Reclaimed Wood Hacked Panel recently specified for the interior fit-out of Falkensteiner Hotel, Schladming Austria.

AWISA exhibitors AWISA 2014

n Interior fit-out Falkensteiner Hotel.

6 - 9 AUGUST STANDS

Forestry Tasmania

3509

Admonter Natural Flooring

3211

Form-tek Products Pty Ltd

3216

Advanced Timber Systems

2314

Furnishing Industry Association of Australia

Airtight Solutions Ltd

2316

Gabbett Machinery Pty Ltd

4416, 4511

3214 4101, 4205, 4211

Gregory Machinery Pty Ltd

4517

Andstine Services

2506

Hafele Australia Pty Ltd

3301

Austech Saw & Tooling

4201

Hawley’s Pty Ltd

4430

Austedan Fabrications Pty Ltd

2416

Hettich Australia

3505, 3513

4414

Hideaway Bins

3603

Hodge Systems Pty Ltd

3105

Altendorf Asia Pacific Pty Ltd

Becker Pumps Australia Beyond Tools Biesse Group Australia Pty Ltd Blum Australia Pty Ltd

4517, 4424 2117, 2219, 2319, 2214 3419, 3613

Holz-Her Homag Australia Pty Ltd

2107, 2111 2201, 2301, 2313, 2501

Boge Compressors (Australia) Pty Ltd

4427

Hordern & Company Pty Ltd

Briggs Veneers Pty Ltd

3606

HPP Group

Brisbane Saw Service

4217

Idacs Pty Ltd

C.R. Kennedy Survey Solutions

3103

Impact CNC

2508

Cabinet Makers & Designers Association

3614

Integrated Joinery Solutions

3609

Cabinet Makers Insurance Brokers

3102

Internetit Pty Ltd

3104

Cabinets Online

3124

IVA Distributors

4429

Camco Cutting Tools International

4110

Kaeser Compressors Aust Pty Ltd

2102

Carb-i-tool (Aust) Pty Ltd

4221

Kockums Bulk Systems Pty Ltd

4413

CDK Stone Pty Ltd

2401

Laminate Innovations Australia Pty Ltd

3607

4305

Leda Machinery Pty Ltd

4319

2103

Leitz Tooling System Pty Ltd

2417

DMK Forest Products

3619

Lematic

2514

Elite Publishing Pty Ltd

3621

Leuco Australia

2105

Elumatec Australia

4415

Linak Australia Pty Ltd

3504

Empower Software

2420

Lincoln Sentry

3219

Epac Productions Ltd

4109

Materials Handling Pty Ltd

4327

Eurofit Hardware Pty Ltd

3215

Micronair

2213

Ezi-Duct Pty Ltd

2101

Microvellum Software Pty Ltd

4202

Fein Power Tools Pty Ltd

2402

Millsom Hoists Pty Ltd

Felder NSW Pty Ltd

4521

Multicam Systems

Finlease (Aust) Pty Ltd

2418

New Age Veneers Pty Ltd

3213

3610

Planit

4301

Polytec

3404

Precise Precut Pty Ltd

3112

Pytha Partners Australia

3602

QST Systems Pty Ltd

3207

Compusoft EQ Pacific Pty Ltd DKSH Australia Pty Ltd

Flex Corporation

TIMBER VENEER PANELS Readily available from TVAA members To find a supplier check “About Us/Industry Members” at www.timberveneer.asn.au

4330 3122 3116, 3121

4419 4306, 4313

Recycling Technologies Group

2414

Rhino Panel Equipment

2422

Sharp Plywood

3117

Slice Veneers

3507

Stefano Orlati

3201

Surteco Australia

3206

Tasman Sinkware Pty Ltd

3501

Thatcher Engineering

2422

The Wood Tech Group

4401, 4501

Titus Tekform Pty Ltd

3110

Tooltechnic Systems (Aust) Pty Ltd

4203

Tuckwell Machinery

2405, 2411

Ville-Tec

2405, 2411

Weinig Australia Pty Ltd

2107, 2111

Wilson & Bradley Pty Ltd

3519

Woodtron

2505

Xtreme Doors

3204

AWISA

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

17 – June 2014

Choosing the right dust collector for your factory

By Grant Stevens BE (Mech) M/D of Polex Environmental Engineering and Wayne Dockrill M/D of Ezi-Duct who between them have nearly 50 years of industry experience.

C

HOOSING THE right dust collection equipment is a major decision and investment for any business. The health and safety of your employees is at stake, and the profitability of your company depends on it.

In many cases the efficient

operation of your valuable machinery depends on good dust collection and clean factory air. That is why you need a dust collector manufacturer that does more than just take your order.

You need a company that has the expertise and experience

n MDC 1800 S. Shaker Dust Collector

required and also takes the time to understand your dust collection and clean air requirements.

There are many different types of dust collectors with various types of filters and methods for cleaning the filters. The most efficient and proven dust collector unit for woodworking sawdust applications is a unit with high quality cylindrical needle felt filter bags. The filter bags are cleaned with either an automatic reverse pulse cleaning using clean dry compressed air or with a shaker or vibration motor.

The reverse pulse dust collector cleans the filter bags continually while the unit is in operation and ensures that the filter bags are clean and free from dust all the time, while the shaker type of dust collector cleans the bags whenever the unit is switched off. Shaker units lose airflow / efficiency as the unit operates due to the bags becoming blocked or “caked” with dust.

Shaker Dust Collectors are fine in most cases except in applications where there is a high load of sawdust. A “high load” application could be where there is a large wide belt sander that produces a lot of very fine dust or if there are several CNC machines that require continual

high air volumes. Another consideration is if there is a long duct run that causes a pressure drop in the system.

Other important features on a new dust collection system are: • Dust collector units should be fitted with a high efficiency “clean air “ fan. This means that the dust collector works under negative pressure and that no “dirty air” passes through the fan. Other benefits are that the fan lasts longer, uses less energy and the chance of a blockage is eliminated.

• Dust collectors should be fabricated from 1.6mm galvanised steel material to ensure strength and corrosion resistance.

• The dust collection unit should also be fitted with a VSD to save on energy costs.

The VSD lowers power to the motor when machines are not being used and Blast Gates / shut off dampers are closed.

• A rotary valve “or airlock“ should also be fitted so the dust collector does not need to be turned off when the

n MDC 36000 P. Reverse pulse collector

waste bin is emptied (causing the factory to stop work).

• Modular or clamp together smooth bore ducting should be used with 30 deg takeoffs in branches and pressed smooth bore bends from 300mm dia and below.

Huge range of Energy Efficient Dust Collectors

Show site was really ‘buzzing’ AS THE biggest exhibitor at the fair, once again this year attendance at the HolzHandwerk HOMAG Group has paid dividends for the HOMAG Group. With machine technology on show over an area of 1,700 square meters to suit any size and scale of woodworking shop, HOMAG City proved a magnet to trade visitors at the show.

Under the trade fair banner “Growing with the HOMAG Group”, the company provided tangible proof of how joinery firms and woodworking shops can grow with the utmost simplicity using individual technology modules from the HOMAG Group: Whether furniture and window

Call either Grant Stevens at Polex, Wayne Dockrill at Ezi-Duct or any of their teams for advice, or look for them at the AWISA Exhibition in Brisbane stand 2101–2104 at the front of hall 2.

production, software solutions or energysaving ecoPlus technology. There were 30 machines demonstrating in continuous operation live at the show.

“The Holz-Handwerk is buzzing and we are the one setting the trends. With visitor numbers at over 108,000, this year’s fair has broken all previous records. We welcomed visitors from 46 countries to “HOMAG City”, and the value of new orders received was more than 10% up on the last show two years ago. The visitors were enthused by our innovations and our trade fair concept,” said head of central marketing Alexander Prokisch.

See us at AWISA Stand 2101-2104 or call 1800 673 828

Multi-rip saw with progammable saws and auto infeed LEADING THE way in the solid wood range at AWISA will be Advanced Timber Systems with the new Fullpower MRS-340M2 multi-rip saw with programmable saws and automatic infeed table. With high power lasers on each saw and a servo-controlled line bar on the infeed table the operator can not only choose the board width combination but also the angle and position of machine entry giving the best possible optimization of the work piece. The MRS-340M2 has one fixed and two programmable saw stations that can each be fitted with single or multiple saws depending on the work required. The automatic infeed table allows the operator to align the wood for machine entry and automatically feed once the position is selected. The MRS-340M2 is the answer for those customers requiring the very best recovery on short batch runs.

Established in 1996 Advanced Timber Systems sells and services a full range of solid timber woodworking machines throughout Australasia from their premises in Darra, Queensland. Work will commence in July this year on a dedicated sales and service facility in Raceview with a 300m2 workshop complete with general engineering machinery and 500m2 of showroom, office and spare parts. This will allow us to stock, display and demonstrate and broader range of equipment and improve on our already highly regarded service support.

Ezi-Duct / Polex is Australia’s largest & leading company in the field of dust & fume collection equipment. We have branches in 3 states & manufacture the largest range of products including Modular Steel & Flexible Ducting, Fans, Rotary Valves, Auto & Manual Dampers The New Dust Collectors features include

• Fully Automatic self cleaning filter bags • The Dust Collectors have no dirty air going through the fan • High Efficiency Fans & Available with VSD = big energy saving • Waste feeds directly into a 3m3 bin • Unit can run while bin being emptied • Low noise levels for cleaning & general operation • Economically priced

www.eziduct.com.au

www.polex.com.au

ASSOCIATIONS

June 2014 – 18

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

You just can’t beat knowledgeable staff

By Eric Siegers Executive Officer Timber Merchants Association

T

HERE IS a lot of debate about the longevity of bricks and mortar retailing in this era dominated by the rise of online shopping. It’s very easy to draw carte blanche conclusions based on the increasing statistics offered by the internet-selling giants.

The reality is the situation is much more complex.

AC Kearney undertook analysis of the retail market and what it shows is that people have definitely changed the way they shop, but importantly the message

is clear – adopt appropriate strategies depending on customer need. Importantly 80% of customers want to buy a product locally and really don’t want to travel to the big box store if they can buy locally.

The research showed that depending on the category of product people place different experiential requirements dependant on the importance to their needs. For instance, with products related to the home only about 35% of respondents undertook investigations for products online with nearly 90% of people requiring an in store transaction. Compare this with cosmetics, where

the situation is completely reversed. If I was a cosmetics company I would be concerned about a bricks and mortar strategy. In home and hardware products the need to offer a more efficient in store experience is increasingly expected.

This is further confirmed by unrelated research into retail employment, where florists and bookstore employment have shrunk by nearly 70% while home and hardware stores have increased by 35%. This confirms the maxim that if it’s important to the customer, they want to experience the product directly, not just through the internet.

Finally, one added piece of research confirms what consumers expect. More than anything people want to interact with a knowledgeable person when it comes to understanding the products on offer. A business insider confirms this in Australia quoting that 54% of all customers want knowledgeable sales staff.

There are a number of implications for the retail approach of the timber and hardware stores. First is making certain you are visible on line. It surprises me how many businesses are not visible on line in their own area! When was the last time you did a search on your own company and tried

to confirm how easy it is to do business with you at your local level?

Secondly, staff trainingstaff need to be product knowledgeable and aware.

If staff do not have the information at hand, they need to be able to access it easily. It seems that the biggest asset in the internet era is well trained knowledgeable staff!

Finally, don’t assume you know what is going on. The current market is dynamic and requires constant monitoring its why the TMA is working on so many fronts to help members stay on top of the information that defines the current business environment.

Troubleshooting: Peaking FIRST WE need to discuss what peaking is and how it differs from cupping, as in many instances the two can look similar. Cupping in boards can be present in the manufactured product or it can, for example, be the result of moisture beneath the floor. The common aspect here is that cupping is brought about by an uneven distribution in moisture that has caused upper face of the board to shrink or the lower face to swell. This difference

n Have you ever seen a floor with a cupped appearance and wondered why? Well, cupping as many of us know, can come about from a moisture imbalance through the board, but as David Hayward ATFA Technical Manager explains, this is not the only reason for a cupped appearance in a floor that we need to be aware of.

in movement causes the cupped shape. In the first case it can occur as the result of very dry conditions above a floor and in the second case moisture being absorbed into the bottom of the boards. However, with peaking although it may have the appearance of a floor that has become wet from beneath and cupped, the moisture content in the lower surface of the board is not significantly higher than the top of the board.

There are two aspects that are distinct about peaking. Firstly, the floor has expanded to some degree after installation, but often not excessively and secondly the machined profile of the boards is such that when the floor expands all the pressure occurs in the top shoulders of the boards. The forces as boards press together are enough to create the appearance of cupping in the floor. There is generally no gapping at board edges and often minimal reduction in the width of any intermediate expansion joints present.

As such, moisture meters will not indicate abnormally high readings in the flooring that could be associated with moisture uptake from beneath the floor. The moisture meter readings will seem quite normal from top to bottom of the board.

There can be a number of contributing aspects to peaking and the following factors have to be considered. Firstly, some board profiles are more prone to peaking than others. Those with greater undercut will be more prone to peaking. Undercut refers to the bottom cover width being narrower than the top cover width. Secondly, consider whether the floor is expected to experience moderate to high expansion after installation. Here,

No problem with future veneer supplies FURNITURE AND cabinetmakers have been assured there is no problem with the future supply of veneered board following receivership action on Amerind.

One of Australia’s largest suppliers of veneered board, Amerind, was recently placed in receivership.

Customers of Amerind in the furniture and cabinetmaking sectors have expressed concern about the future supply of veneered board and the industry’s capacity to fill the gap, but

Rod Sharp, President of the Timber Veneer Association of Australia, has put those fears to rest.

“TVAA’s panel producer members would welcome inquiries from former customers of Amerind”, he said. “Other producers in the TVAA membership can supply all the products that Amerind previously handled.

“Anyone looking for a supplier of veneered board is invited to visit the TVAA website at www. timberveneer.asn.au and go

to the section How to Find Us where there is a list of panel producers and veneer suppliers in all States.

“TVAA also has a number of technical publications available for download which will be helpful to architects, specifiers and people in the industry,” said Rod. For ideas and examples of outstanding use of veneers TVAA has a sister website at www.uniquelyveneer. com.au which is also well worth a visit.

you need to ask, how close is the average moisture content of the supplied timber to the expected average in-service moisture content. If we consider that the floor is likely to expand because of locality (high humidity location), siting of the house (bushy gully) or flooring supplied at low moisture content (particularly with some imported prefinished flooring) then there will be a greater risk of peaking. Peaking occurs with product manufactured in Australian, manufactured overseas and also with related flooring products such as bamboo.

As with a number of flooring issues subsequent problems can often be avoided with proper assessment prior to the laying of the floor. Know the flooring that you intend to lay and ensure that you assess its moisture content and profile in terms of undercut. Similarly, assess where the floor is to be laid and the locality. By doing so, you can assess the level of risk. With many floors the risk will be minimal. Internal conditions being such that if anything, you would expect the floor to shrink after installation. Gaps that develop in these floors, closing to some extent during wetter weather do not place the floor under significant expansion pressure. This includes floors laid in drier climates, where the internal environment during the moist

time of the year is modified by heating or cooling systems (that dry the air) and upstairs floors that generally remain a little drier than lower storey floors. Where the risk of peaking is greater it is important to consider acclimatisation and intermediate expansion allowance, to account for the conditions that will induce expansion.

Well, what if we have a floor that has peaked? In a lot of instances it has been found that re-sanding and finishing has solved the problem to produce a floor that remains flatter. In a few instances the observable peaking has returned.

Finally, be aware that peaking generally occurs with the higher density hardwoods.

Medium density timbers tend to crush at board edges rather than change the shape of the board.

So next time you see a cupped floor don’t jump to the conclusion that the floor has got wet as it may be peaking and the ways to deal with each are quite different.

ASSOCIATIONS

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER MAGAZINE

19 – June 2014

TIMBER Proposed changes to Classifieds the Fair Work Act 2009

To advertise in the Timber Classifieds call Norm Nelsen on: (03) 9888 4820

By Brian Beecroft Chief Executive Officer Timber Trade Industrial Association

T

HE FEDERAL Government has introduced into the Parliament its first proposed amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Amendment Bill 2014 (Cth) proposes a number of changes concerned with payment of annual leave loading, individual flexibility agreements, accrual of leave during absences on workers compensation and union right of entry.

Although the proposed amendments have passed the House of Representatives, the Senate has referred the Bill to a Senate Inquiry. Submissions to the inquiry closed on 24 April 2014.

The Bill is not expected to gain support in the Senate at least until the composition of the

Senate changes on 1 July 2014.

Tools to manage absenteeism One of the most common issues raised on the TTIA Enquiry line is the subject of absenteeism. Clearly, excessive absenteeism creates significant challenges for employers in regard to work schedules, morale and financial cost.

Below are some suggestions to approach this area: Record all absences and measure absenteeism.

Employers need to know their employees’ attendance levels and when absences occur.

Trends often emerge amongst employees.

Employers who have a designated attendance management policy display lower absenteeism rates.

Develop a policy that states clearly the standards of attendance expected and the responsibilities of both employees and managers.

It is crucial to enforce a policy.

Make sure that managers enforce company policies and communicate effectively with absent employees.

Schedule return to work interviews.

This gives employers the opportunity to welcome an employee back, to address any causes of absence that may be work related and improves employee engagement.

Healthy employees are generally contented employees.

Implement a health and wellbeing program at work.

Initiatives can range from something as simple as organising an exercise or sporting group, providing subsidised flu injections or access to a company paid Doctor.

Members are advised to contact the TTIA on (02) 9264 0011 if they need to seek assistance on any personal / sick leave issue relating to their workplace.

Partnership with Wood Innovations 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN leg of the Wood Innovations 2014 event is to be run by FIEA in partnership with TPAA (Timber Preservers Association of Australia).

The event is to be held in Melbourne on 23-24 September.

“Wood Innovations will incorporate sessions covering developments in wood preservation both in Australia and overseas, along with a range of other innovations in the wood products business,” said TPAA President Wayne Lewis when announcing the partnership .

The event will appeal to a wide range of Australian timber treaters, producers and distributors of wood products.

“TPAA will conduct Technical and Council Meetings, along with its Annual General Meeting at the event venue on 22 September.

This will provide an opportunity, after the day’s meetings, for TPAA members to meet with some of the event speakers over refreshments.”

Further details can be found on the event website, www.woodinnovations2014.com

Opportunities through innovation AUSTRALIA’S FORESTRY and timber industry is at the cusp of great opportunity and growth. As the Prime Minister noted in his address to the ForestWorks ISC/AFPA Industry Gala Dinner this year, forests are indeed “the ultimate renewable resource,” with huge potential to contribute to quality jobs.

In developed economies across Europe and North America, the value of wood products as carbon-storing, multi-use, renewable materials is recognised. Important economic and environmental benefits flow from that recognition.

While the industry in Australia continues to look at ways of gaining similar high levels of recognition, ForestWorks is also focusing on benefits that can be gained through innovation.

Research tells us (perhaps obviously) that innovation requires industry to hold suitably high levels of innovation skills, for example: • The capacity to analyse new business opportunities; • The ability to develop and implement new products and services; • The ability to change the way business activities are carried out and, importantly; • The ability to collaborate with customers and the whole supply chain.

• The development of the above skills is part of what ForestWorks exists to achieve.

• What support is available following the new Federal Budget?

The recent Federal Budget confirmed that ForestWorks ISC’s Innovation Skills Program would continue to operate through to its planned conclusion in June 2015. This good news is the same for a number of other projects that ForestWorks is involved in, such as the National Workforce Development Fund (NWDF) and the Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) fund.

However, the budget also announced that these programs, plus eight others, will wind up after this time. They will be replaced with two larger programs, including a new $460 million Industry Skills Fund that will commence in January 2015.

ForestWorks will be working with the Department of Industry as more detail on this change becomes available.

Additionally, the Federal Government’s VET Reform agenda will open opportunities and has the potential to encourage many more bright students to take up non-university based paths into skilled and satisfying jobs in our evolving industry.

“We encourage you all to make the most of the Innovation Skills Program while it is still available. The success of this project may influence whether we are able to provide similar programs to industry in future,” said Michael Hartman, ForestWorks ISC chief executive officer.

“There’s never been a more important time for the future of Australia, and for us to invest in our workforce and future workforce.”

FOR SALE • Moulder Weinig

22B,4 sided moulder, 8inch X6inch, 8 head.

• Knife Sharpener Weinig model R911.

Serial number 221/313(81) • Knife Sharpener ,Weinig model R931.

Serial number 945/1548(83)

Contact Greg on 0414 447 700

Yes – It’s true, Whittakers Timber Products is closing down!

Our Sawmill at the Greenbushes site in Western Australia has already closed and the dry mills and kilns will close towards the end of this year.

All plant & equipment is being offered at super low prices on an as is where is basis!

The Company Directors say, “SELL IT ALL” Complete near new 2006 MEM sawmill 2 x other comprehensive hardwood mills 3 x moulding lines 15 x conventional kilns Kiln sawdust/thermal oil heating system 2 x optimising docker lines 2 x chipper lines Loaders & forklifts Edgers Cherry picker, scissor lifts Tool grinding shop Log debarkers Compressors Gang saws Maintenance work shop equipment & spares Weigh bridge Large clam shell storage bin Dust extraction systems Comprehensive sawshop Office equipment & furniture Huge inventory of materials handling gear Everything must go! We are even selling the buildings!

View our website www.whittakersequipmentsale.com.au or telephone Geoff on (08) 9302 2022 – mobile 0409 302 200 or Chris on (08) 9459 6877 – mobile 0409 083 977

The cornerstone project Multinail offers tomorrow’s software today The cornerstone project a fully working version available April 2014.

Contact us for a demonstration

www.thecornerstoneproject.com