New wood products on the wayFriday 22 Jul 2011 Plain, genuine timber is still king of forest and wood processing, but for how much longer?An intriguing series of presentations at the BNZ Tech Clinics to be held in conjunction with the PF Olsen Forest Industries Expo 2011 in Rotorua in September will look at new and emerging products. LVL is already in use in construction and CLT is following closely, with Australasia’s first cross-laminated timber manufacturing plant due to open in Nelson late this year or early in 2012. Next up could be increased use of wood plastic composites and the development of wood hardening technologies to transform plantation-grown softwoods into viable competitors for hardwoods. One Tech Clinic will see Christchurch consultant Johann Betz and Robin Jack, managing director of W&R Jack, outline how CLT is ready to revolutionise construction small to medium buildings. In a second clinic, titled Emerging Wood Products, Mark Smith, Director of Smith Railey Consulting, will review progress towards large-scale industrial application of wood modification technologies to make radiata pine to make it harder, more stable and less prone to decay. In the same clinic Scion Business Development Manager Jeremy Warnes will outline the latest developments in wood plastic composites, covering the characteristic, applications and markets for these new materials. One question that he will raise is whether these composites are competition or complementary products to wood. To register for this Tech Clinic go to www.fi2011.co.nz |
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