11 minute read
Timber Expo – Back on Track
Back on Track
UK Construction Week (UKCW), the country’s largest built environment event, ended on a high after three days in October packed full of the latest innovations and products, networking opportunities and specialist seminars.
The first major live event of its kind since lockdown began, UKCW marked a turning point in the industry’s recovery post-COVID and provided insights into the future of the built environment, including how progress is being made to tackle the big challenges around skills shortages, diversity, health and wellbeing, quality, safety and sustainability.
The show was a great success and was attended by over 20,000 industry professionals and 300 exhibitors showcasing more than 6,000 products, which included timber frames and panel systems, fixings and fastenings, timber cladding, doors and windows, mouldings, skirtings, flooring and more. There has already been strong interest from the timber sector to attend UKCW’s show in London in May 2022, and a record number of exhibitor rebooks for UKCW at the NEC in Birmingham in October 2022.
Timber Expo – the part of UKCW dedicated to timber construction, wood products and related suppliers – saw particularly good footfall. This is the UK’s largest showcase event for wood and timber in construction. It brought together opinion-shapers, decision-makers and product innovators across design, build and supply. Timber construction was also a high-profile topic in seminars discussing modern methods of construction and sustainability.
Timber Expo exhibitors included Adkalis (a subsidiary of Groupe Berkem in France), one of the major players in the protection, treatment and decoration of wood materials, which used the event to promote its 100% organic microemulsion guaranteed to preserve wood’s natural state and longevity through bio-based materials.
DHS International from the Netherlands promoted its popular European Oak and Siberian Larch hardwood beams and boards, pine and spruce timber, and finished product wooden panels. Among the major UK brands at the show, PRO-TEK Flooring launched new products, with 28 new styles, including 12 herringbone patterns expanding its ever-growing range of designs.
One of the most prominent exhibitors at the show, Hanson Plywood, used the event to unveil its state-of-the-art virtual showroom, one of the first of its kind in the industry. Hanson won UK Construction Week’s ‘Best Open Space Stand’ award with its innovative stand and use of space.
Rebecca Walshe, marketing and media co-ordinator at Hanson Plywood commented: “This year’s event was probably one of the best years we have had in terms of engagement since we started attending the show in 2015. Due to the pandemic, we had longer to plan, and with the help of our new exhibition company we were able to create an innovative stand built from our own products that not only acted as an exhibition stand, but also as a sculpture dedicated to our products.
“We had our specification advisor on the stand all week to promote the Hanson RIBA Approved Plywood CPD and presented a sneak preview on how we target architects, designers and specifiers. We were also advertising our new virtual showroom this year, and had the showroom loaded onto iPads on the stand.
“A lot of visitors either scanned the QR code on the side of our stand to view the showroom or used our iPads to view it. The response we received was great: people were taking pictures, asking staff about the design, engaging with us, and ultimately showing real interest in our products and work. Our stand then went on to win the award for the best open space stand! We are very proud and honoured to have won this award, it meant a lot to us, and we will definitely be back showcasing at the show next year.”
Summarising this year’s show, Nathan Garnett, event director said: “This year’s show was an extra special one for me, and for many others that I had the pleasure of speaking to. We’ve had some really positive feedback and I’m incredibly grateful to all our guests that attended and helped to make it the success that it was. Timber and the use of wood in construction is, and will increasingly be, a major player when it comes to the future of sustainable construction, a key theme of this year’s event. The use of wood materials in construction and the calibre and innovative nature of products in the sector has made great strides over these last couple of years. It was fantastic to see some of them in action at Timber Expo, as well as the high levels of engagement and enthusiasm from visitors, all helping to really drive this change forwards.”
To find out more about 2022’s events go to www.ukconstructionweek.com
New Directions in Wood
At UK Construction Week 2021, WOODOLEX won the Best Innovation in Show Award for its unique Flexible Wooden Board (FWB) suitable for all types of interior decorative pieces.
U
K Construction Week 2021 saw over 6,000 innovative products from over 300 exhibitors across the world. The Best Innovation in Show Award is an annual prestigious award that recognises innovation, design and excellence within the UK construction industry.
With over 25 unique products, WOODOLEX is changing the future in the wood construction industry. Made for builders, carpenters, the film industry or DIY enthusiasts, WOODOLEX is a brand new approach to flexible MDF designed as a material for making various kinds of decorative elements. The material can be bent and shaped as desired by applying heat directly to its surface. It can thereafter be installed on furniture, walls, ceilings and doors.
WOODOLEX’s products are unlike anything the wood market has ever seen before. They are a true definition of innovation which makes the Best Innovation in Show Award a well-deserved honour for their hard work.
The inspiration behind WOODOLEX came from the belief that builders and DIY lovers should be able to make and finish anything they wanted with a single easy to use material. After years of research and development, WOODOLEX came up with its unique FWB that offers more options and makes creating and finishing easy and fun. The material is also a time and money saver when carrying out complex projects. Unlike other wooden boards, the FWB requires zero prepping and takes only 10 minutes of heating to become completely flexible. It will also cool down and set in less than 10 minutes.
What makes WOODOLEX truly stand out is its versatility and adaptability. All users have to do is to cut to length, heat up, bend to shape, fix in place and let it cool. From plain to profiled WOODOLEX, builders and DIYers have a variety of products to select from when planning a project. With plain WOODOLEX, users can make their own patterns using basic wood working tools such as saws and drills. Profiled WOODOLEX is available for builders and those who do not have their own working tools. WOODOLEX designed its FWB to deliver a perfectly smooth finish. The material works with all types of paints and primers and finishes as elegantly as is desired.
More at www.woodolex.com
FLEXIBLE WOODEN BOARD
Bend Using Electric Heat Gun Water Resistant Eco Friendly Reuseable
WOODOLEX
Flexible Wooden Board
CHANGING THE SHAPE OF UK CRAFTSMANSHIP
CaberDek is one of West Fraser’s flagship quality flooring products designed to ensure that, whatever weather befalls UK construction sites, work can continue cleanly and safely. This is especially important with today’s tighter than ever timelines. It is made from the same moistureresistant particleboard as the standard CaberFloor P5 and features a protective non-slip film applied to its upper surface. In most new-build projects, the upper floors of a residential property are installed before the roof goes on, with the inevitable result that the new floor is left open to the elements for days or even weeks. CaberDek’s protective film prevents rain and frost damage to the new floor surface as well as providing a safe non-slip working surface for the construction team. CaberDek can be left exposed, and remains BBA approved for up to 42 days without risk of damage, provided it is correctly installed with West Fraser’s CaberFix adhesives. Even after the building is weather-tight, the floor surface remains protected while following trades, such as plastering and painting, come onto site. When work has finished, the protective film is simply peeled off to reveal a pristine particleboard floor ready for covering. CaberDek comes in easy-to-handle 2400mm x 600mm panels produced in thicknesses of 18mm and 22mm. Suitable for fixing to traditional sawn timber or engineered-timber joists, including metal-web joists, it can be fixed with nails, screws, and with West Fraser’s own specially-formulated adhesives. West Fraser’s CaberFloor range is complemented by the CaberFix range of adhesives and tapes. The range consists of CaberFix T&G adhesive, CaberFix Joint&Joist adhesive and CaberFix Tape. CaberFix D3 is specially formulated to produce strong bonds between adjacent panels along the tongue-andgroove joint. CaberFix Joint&Joist is a high-strength polymer adhesive which remains flexible after curing and is designed to fix a CaberDek floor to the supporting joists. Replacing mechanical fixings, CaberFix Joint&Joist speeds up installation and produces a floor which is guaranteed free of squeaks and creaks. Its flexibility also contributes to noise attenuation, thus aiding in the floor’s conformity with Part E of the Building Regulations governing the passage of noise. To find out more about West Fraser’s products for housebuilders, get in touch with Dan Clarke – email Daniel.Clarke@westfraser.com or download product brochures from the housebuilder page of the West Fraser website https://uk.westfraser.com/housebuilders/
For further information, call 01786 812 921 or visit uk.westfraser.com
UK visit by ambassador helps promote Indonesian wood products
International Timber has launched a new product visualisation tool, which enables customers to select, view and explore products in-situ to see how they might work for their projects. The tool allows users to plan and review a range of cladding and internal timber finishes with the aim of saving time and simplifying the specification process. The visualisation tool also allows the user to view cladding in various positions, both horizontal or vertical, next to a window or around a doorway. Paul Martin, Managing Director of International Timber, said: “This new digital tool, now available to use on our website, ensures that our customers can review our cladding range and make choices based on their required aesthetic with the ability to visualise online. “Customers can select from our horizontal or vertical cladding profiles along with our range of internal architraves and skirtings, and view in a species of their choice.” “They then have the option to save the model they have created, take a picture or send it through to our sales teams to provide them with a quote.” International Timber’s visualiser is now available to view at https://designer.internationaltimber.com/
For more information, please get in touch by heading to our contact page https://internationaltimber.com/contact/
As part of their trip, the delegation enjoyed a visit of the Hanson Plywood warehouse where they inspected Indonesian Timber products. (L-R) Mochamad Rizalu Akbar, Trade Attache, Indonesian Ambassador to the UK, H.E. Desra Percaya and Adi Winarso, Minister Councillor of Economic Affairs
In a bid to encourage UK timber importers to increase their purchase of legal and sustainable timber from Indonesia, a delegation from the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia has visited a number of manufacturers across the country.
With FLEGT and legal and sustainable timber products at the top of their agenda - and led by Indonesian Ambassador to the UK, H.E. Desra Percaya - the delegation visited James Latham, Hanson Plywood, Lambson Building Products and Caravan manufacturer Willerby.
During his visit, the Ambassador reiterated his commitment to further strengthen the mutually beneficial partnership between Indonesia and the UK. “We should seize the momentum of the implementation of UK-Indonesia FLEGT-VPA by seeking creative ways to increase supply sustainability of legal and sustainable timber products from Indonesia and ensure that such high-quality timbers remain as the critical part of the UK industry’s supply chain”.
“Cooperation should be intensified to add more value to Indonesia’s FLEGT certified timber products and to replicate a similar mechanism with other forest and agriculture commodities. A holistic approach which involves all relevant stakeholders is indispensable. Business and industry associations, as well as consumers and NGOs, play a critical role in shaping perspective and demand, while governments and parliaments from both countries could provide regulatory and market incentives support as stated in the UKIndonesia FLEGT-VPA “.
UK sales agents and representatives for premium quality timber products from Indonesia, Pacific Rim Wood, who supply a number of timber products to these manufacturers, helped organise the visit. Managing Director, Shaun Hannan commented, “It has been an honour to host the visit, which has already been heralded as a major success in helping to raise awareness of Indonesian FLEGT licensed timber products as well as encouraging UK importers and stakeholders to increase their purchase of legal and sustainable timber products from Indonesia.”
