Weinmann - your machinery partner for efficient timber frame

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www.ttjonline.com
2/9 April 2011
Panel pioneer
Sheet materials producer Finsa focuses on
adding value and raising its UK profile
IT evolution
The software sector targets latest business
management system advances at timber
Inspired to inspire
THE TIMBER INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
AHEC’s David Venables (right) found his
vocation in changing attitudes to timber
Weinmann - your
machinery partner
for efficient timber
frame production
In the news – FW Mason & Sons in administration • Budget response • Wood Awards launch
Contents
16
18
News
5
Features
Up for sale
16
Administrators seek a buyer for FW Mason & Sons.
6
Industry welcomes housebuilding-boosting Budget policies.
Carrying on
DLH UK is to continue to operate as a separate company under
James Latham’s ownership.
8
30
Call for entries
Special Focus
International News
Emergency response
18
Japan’s demand for timber is expected to grow later this year
as rebuilding begins.
Low energy
Lol Summers Joinery reduces fuel and waste disposal costs
with the installation of an extraction system.
Regulars
4
11
Shaky ground
Viewpoint
TRADA’s Rupert Scott on Timber Expo and ConFor’s Stuart
Goodall on the role of wood processors in the protection and
sustainable management of forests.
The government spending cuts mean growth in timber’s end
markets remains uncertain. Peter Varley reports.
14
Editor’s comment
Attendance at the Wood Awards launch is a positive sign.
Market Intelligence
12
Software & IT
Developments in software and IT continue to help the timber
industry take time, effort and cost out of its operations, from
manufacturing through to buying and selling. TTJ’s focus looks
at dashboards, cloud computing and business intelligence, plus
design software.
Technical & Processing News
10
Face to Face
AHEC’s European director David Venables talks to Sally
Spencer about a career in the timber industry that has included
primary processing in Africa, international hardwood trading
and marketing.
The Wood Awards launch event draws a full house.
9
Value offer
Finsa, one of the world’s largest wood-based panel producers,
is boosting its profile in the UK and has focused on valueadded production, introducing a raft of new products, including
lighter boards. Steve Powney visited its headquarters in
Galicia, Spain.
Budget boost
7
24
Cost conscious
31
People
UK chipboard producers are raising prices more frequently in
response to increasing costs. Ian Martin reports.
27
Classified advertising
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The TTJ Awards
2/9 April 2011
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Timber &
Sustainable Building
www.timber-building.com
TTJ Buyer’s Guide
& Address Book
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3
Comment
2/4 April 2011
Volume 437 Issue number 6691
ISSN 1740-701X
Editor Mike Jeffree
e-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8269 7794
Managing editor Sally Spencer
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8269 7817
Markets editor Keren Fallwell
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News editor Stephen Powney
email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8269 7810
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Mike Jeffree Editor
Construction
crowd pleaser
I
f you’re after morale-boosting inspiration on
the future of timber in building, you could
have done worse than attend the launch of
this year’s Wood Awards (p8).
It’s all change for the UK’s annual contest
for the use of wood in construction, interiors
and furniture. TRADA has taken the
management under its wing and, rather than
their traditional venue, the impressive, but
somewhat austere Carpenters’ Hall in London,
the Awards presentations will take place at UK
plc’s brand new showcase, the Timber Expo
exhibition in September.
In line with other moves to reinvigorate the
competition and raise its profile (and it already
averages 200-plus entries a year), last week’s
launch was intended to be a real architectural
crowd pleaser. And it did the trick.
The Wood Awards organisers teamed up
with the Wood Talks series of seminars at
London’s Building Centre and together they
got key players involved with two previous
Gold prize winners – the Weald and Downland
Museum Gridshell and The Savill Building – to
talk about their projects and building with
wood in general. The combination of the
themes and the top-notch speakers clearly
struck a chord because the event was
standing-room only. The audience of 175 were
mainly architects and engineers. From where I
was sitting they looked mainly young and,
judging by questions from the floor, they were
hooked by the theme and keen to know more.
The message they heard was unequivocal:
timber is up to technically demanding building
applications, has spectacular design potential
and, with growing pressure on UK construction
to go low carbon, should be used more.
Rheinhold Schmaderer of Glen Howells
Architects, the practice behind The Savill
Building, focused on how it can produce
lightweight, but very strong structures. The
building is 90x25m, but the roof structure, a
lattice of finger-jointed larch laths floating on a
glass and steel wall, weighs just 30 tonnes.
“The design exploited the best capabilities
of timber, using the least to do most,” he said.
I was momentarily befuddled when timber’s
superior “torsional modulus of elasticity” was
raised by Richard Harris, structural engineer
on both buildings. But fortunately he explained
that this meant it could twist and bend at the
same time. The result on The Savill Building
was that, while 6,000 linear metres of laths
were used, only two broke during construction.
Steve Corbett, of timber contractor the
Green Oak Carpentry Company, described
wood as a “very forgiving” material, but one
that could also be used very precisely. He
acknowledged that, as The Savill Building
really pushed the technical boundaries, the
removal of the last bit of scaffolding was a
heart-stopping moment. “I was standing with
my head a couple of feet below tonnes of
timber,” he said. “But when the final support
went, the structure settled just 6mm.”
Overall, the evening was a ringing
endorsement from construction professionals to
construction professionals for the technical,
aesthetic and environmental merits of timber.
It also gave the Wood Awards 2011 a real kickstart. Not only did TRADA marketing manager
Rupert Scott use the platform to urge the
audience to enter their projects, the other
speakers gave the contest a big build-up too,
highlighting its record for attracting
“innovative, enterprising projects that don’t
turn up in other architectural competitions”.
It all boded well for a re-energised event.
That in turn should give Timber Expo an added
boost and the combination can only be good for
the wood industry as a whole.
What’s in the next issue of TTJ
■ Focus on US Hardwoods
■ Profile of machinery manufacturer Weinmann
■ In April 30/May 7 Focus on Tropical Timber
TTJ is a corporate
associate of FEI
Cover photo: David Venables
■ Face to face with BWF chief executive Richard Lambert
For editorial, contact +44 (0) 20 8269 7794
For advertising, contact +44 (0) 1795 589236
2/9 April 2011
News | UK
Administrators seek buyer for FW Mason & Sons
Administrators of longestablished timber products
manufacturer FW Mason & Sons
Ltd are working hard to secure a
buyer for the business and
expect to release a further
statement soon.
The £11m-a-year turnover
Nottingham company,
established in 1929, called in
the administrators on March 25
after being hit by fuel costs,
financing problems and a
reduction in sales.
“There is a good core
business and we believe that by
continuing to trade we have the
best chance of finding a buyer,”
said joint administrator Andy
Wood, of the P&A Partnership.
Nationwide timber products manufacturer FW Mason has had to call
in the administrators
FW Masons’ most recent
accounts show a £1.28m pre-tax
loss for 2009 from £10.75m sales.
Directors said the company’s sales
had been hit by a downturn in
consumer spending.
The family company had also
been unable to secure overdraft
facilities against its 12-acre
premises at Colwick.
Administrators said the
company had been hit by rising
fuel costs, a lack of finance to
modernise the business and loss
decision required the company to
refund the money for the deck, as
well as the costs of erection and
the TRADA report.
He said that he routinely
warned customers of the possibility
of hardwood decking moving.
Wolseley UK profits up
Trouble-free balau decking PHOTO: ROUND WOOD OF MAYFIELD LTD
Timber company to
appeal court decision
A Hertfordshire timber and fencing
product supplier is appealing
against a decision of a small claims
court to award £3,000
compensation to a customer whose
hardwood decking warped.
Steve Burleigh from Ware-based
414 Timber and Fencing said if the
decision stood and set a precedent
it could have “a very profound”
effect on the timber market”.
Mr Burleigh told TTJ he was
appealing against the decision
primarily as a matter of principle
and explained that the balau
decking in question had been in
situ for a year when it warped,
breaking off screws in the process.
The decking was installed in a
private domestic setting. The
customer paid for a technical report
from TRADA, which concluded the
balau had not been dried correctly.
Mr Burleigh said the court
Wolseley UK, which includes the
Build Center and Timber Center
chains, has seen its trading profits
increase by £18m to £51m in its
first half to January 31.
Sales were down to £1.22bn
(2010: £1.23bn) but the like-for-like
performance was up 6%.
Wolseley said markets had
improved, aided by 3% price
inflation, and the business had
experienced a continuation of the
gradual recovery in the more
resilient RMI sector.
“Build Center slightly
underperformed the market as we
focused on protecting gross
margins which were ahead of last
year,” it said.
Latvia on track for FSC and PEFC certification
Latvia should be in a position to
supply the UK with timber
certified to both FSC and PEFC
schemes in the near future.
Latvia State Forests’ (LVM)
FSC certificate was suspended
last year (TTJ July 10/17, 2010),
but the re-audit of two of its forest
regions has now been completed,
and the process will start in the
next two in coming weeks.
“We don’t know the outcome
of the initial audit officially and
may not hear for a couple of
weeks, but we understand it was
2/9 April 2011
satisfactory and are optimistic,”
said LVM communications head
Tomass Kotovics.
He predicted that all eight of
Latvia’s forest regions should be
re-audited and in a position to
supply FSC wood by the year end.
He added that the first two
alone would be able to meet
current market demand for FSCcertified Latvian material, and
also maintained that the
certificate suspension had not had
a major impact on the industry.
“We haven’t heard that one
customer has called to say don’t
deliver because of this,” he said.
“Demand has been stable.”
Following recent approval of
Latvia’s national PEFC standard,
Mr Kotovics said that the next
step would be the appointment of
a body to undertake the forest
certification, which would again
then be done region by region.
“Approval of the body may
take a month or so, then the first
certification could be completed
in about the same period after
that,” he said.
of long-standing customers to
the multiples.
The administrators said they
are preparing the release of an
updated statement and would
not comment further until then.
Last year FW Mason invested
in a Weinig moulder to support
the further expansion of its
“specials” mouldings range.
The company, which supplies
DIY stores, merchants and
manufacturers, has more than 20
moulders and planers with
annual capacity of 40,000m3.
FW Masons’ products include
mouldings, cladding, laminated
pine boards, PSE timber, cabinet
doors and bulk timber mini
packs.
“Growth trends were
encouraging, with market
conditions stronger than expected.
However, we remain cautious given
the potential impact of prospective
cuts in public sector spending.”
The trading margin for the UK
business was higher at 4.1%
(2010: 2.7%).
Group-wide, Wolseley plc
recorded £195m pre-tax profits
(2010: £261m loss). Sales reached
£6.6bn, 5% up on a year ago.
“The group expects to
continue to grow in the second
half of the year, though the
comparatives will now be much
more demanding,” said chief
executive Ian Meakins.
Home registrations rise
The highest number of public
sector new home registrations for
nine months was recorded during
February, according to the latest
NHBC statistics.
During the month, a total of
8,917 new homes were registered,
up from 7,788 in January. Of those,
3,289 were in the public sector
(January: 2,304) – the highest since
May 2010, when 3,795 new homes
were registered.
Private sector registrations
rose to 5,628 from 5,484, but were
lower than the same month a year
ago (6,736).
“The recent Budget delivered a
welcome boost to the housing
industry with first-time buyers
given incentive to buy and
housebuilders given incentive to
build,” said NHBC chief executive
Imtiaz Farookhi (p6).
Figures for the December 2010February 2011 rolling quarter
showed no material change on a
year earlier.
5
News | UK
Budget boost for first-time home
buyers and fuel price cut welcomed
Budget moves to boost
housebuilding have been
welcomed by the timber and
wider construction industry, but
there’s been a mixed response to
other measures designed to
accelerate economic recovery .
The Budget announcement
from Chancellor George Osborne
that seems to be getting the most
positive reaction in the timber
sector is that the government is
launching a £250m FirstBuy
shared equity scheme to help
10,000 people onto the property
ladder.
“It could be very good for us,
though it will be interesting to
see how it works in practice,”
said David Gibbs, managing
director of Crawley Parker Ltd.
He added that the cut in fuel
duty was “too little”. “We haven’t
implemented any delivery
charges yet but we are talking
about it because it’s expensive,
especially on small orders.”
Jonathan Halford, chief
executive of Forest Garden plc,
said “any initiative to reduce the
cost of fuel is welcome because
we’re getting hammered with
increases in haulage costs”.
“Relaxation of planning rules is
also good,” he said.
British Woodworking
Federation chief executive
Richard Lambert described the
Budget as political firecrackers to
distract from reduced growth,
higher inflation, and the full impact
of the spending squeeze to come.
“The joinery industry will be
grateful for any help, such as the
slight reining back of the tax
increase on fuel, the measures to
encourage housebuilding and
support for apprenticeships, but
there’s no escaping that the next
12 months will be tough for both
employers and employees.”
Construction industry groups
welcomed FirstBuy but lamented
the lack of support for RMI work.
The Construction Products
Association praised planning
system simplification and a
presumption in favour of
sustainable development.
It commended FirstBuy but
thought it unlikely the scheme
would make much of a dent in the
100,000 annual shortfall in new
homebuilding.
The Federation of Master
Builders doubted whether it would
help the thousands of small house
builders struggling to survive.
“The Budget failed to ignite
the forthcoming Green Deal
programme to retrofit the nation’s
homes. No additional incentives
such as a cut in VAT for energyefficient repairs, stamp duty or
council tax were announced to
make Britain’s homes greener and
more energy efficient,” it said.
The Budget also included
plans to release more government
land to housebuilders, with a pilot
auction scheme for land with
planning permission. There is
speculation this may be on a “buy
now, pay later” basis to stimulate
growth. Some £350m worth of
Ministry of Defence land has been
identified which could lead to
20,000 homes being built. Moves
to speed up planning and
changes to permitted
development rights are also
included, allowing developers to
convert empty offices and
warehouses to houses.
For more on the budget see
www.ttjonline.com/budget2011.
Budget construction points
■ £250m FirstBuy shared equity scheme to help first-time homebuyers
■ Plans to release more government land to housebuilders. New
presumption in favour of sustainable development
■ Speed up planning applications
■ Changes to permitted developments rights
Timber frame sector told
to prepare for recovery
This week in 1982
The British Woodworking
Federation (BWF) sought a
temporary ban on door-making
in prisons as the recession
impacted on the joinery sector.
The BWF asked the home
office minister to suspend the
manufacture of hardwood
exterior doors, the assembly of
Canadian door stock, and for a
6
TTJ | www.ttjonline.com
moratorium on the release of
several thousand doors held in
stock. The prisons had a weekly
capacity of 1,650 doors.
The BWF suggested that
production be switched to the
manufacture of small kitchen
cabinet doors, the bulk of which
was imported.
(TTJ April 3, 1982)
Timber frame house manufacturers
need to ready themselves for when
demand picks up, say a new report.
The Trends in the Mix of UK
New Build Housing report by
consultant HobsonFord
Associates, in association with the
NHBC, cites a return to traditional
family houses and away from
apartments in 2010 – with the
former accounting for 54% of
housing, up from 40% in 2008.
In 2010 there was also a swing
towards brick and block, away
from timber frame.
“Changes in the mix have
implications for current production,
as demand for timber frame has
fallen recently, but it is also
necessary to prepare for the
future,” said Glen Ford, director of
HobsonFord Associates, who says
he had exclusive access to
previously unavailable NHBC data.
The share of timber frame in
the English private housing sector
IN BRIEF
Swedish supply
SCA’s global marketing director
Anders Ek will give an
overview of Swedish supply
when he speaks at the London
Softwood Club on Thursday
April 14. For tickets contact
Cindy Crancher, tel: 01708 758
662; [email protected].
Timber afloat
Timber left over from the
Olympic velodrome is to be
used to build a 9m boat which
will sail to the Olympic Park
from Emsworth, Hampshire, in
May 2012. Anyone who wants
to donate a piece of wood to the
boat can take it to Thornham
Marina or a series of donation
days which will be held across
the south-east.
Customs guide
The Timber Trade Federation
has published an online guide
to help members select the
appropriate code for their sawn
and planed timber. It stresses
that traders should always refer
to the current HM Revenue &
Customs tariff for details of
exceptions or special
arrangements.
(excluding London) was 19% in
2010, with masonry 70%. In the
public housing sector timber
frame was on top with 44%,
compared to masonry’s 21%.
“But we are already hearing
rumbles of discontent from the
building trade – the return to
traditional construction methods
has caused problems in supply of
both materials and skilled labour,”
said Mr Ford.
“The big players are anxious to
avoid a repeat – Persimmon is
continuing to invest in Space4, its
own timber frame system, with a
view to being ready when
housing demand takes off.
For more information visit
www.hobsonford.co.uk.
JELD-WEN takes pledge
Joinery giant JELD-WEN has
become the thousandth company
to take the Proskills “Sustainable
Workforce Skills Pledge”, which
commits it to focus on training.
Proskills, the timber industry
Sector Skills Council, said JELDWEN’s move underlined its
awareness that “a fully competent
workforce is required to boost
productivity, increase
competitiveness and ensure
business sustainability”.
2/9 April 2011
News | UK
On www.ttjonline.com
Tree disease Phytophthora ramorum, which
has caused the early felling of about two
million Japanese larch trees in the UK, has
now been found infecting the European
larch species for the first time.
www.ttjonline.com/larch
Wood panel producer Norbord has renewed
its call for a government rethink on biomass
subsidies. www.ttjonline.com/norbord
Norbord deputy managing director David
McElroy says changes are needed to
biomass subsidies
The European Commission is looking at a possible reduction in the
official occupational exposure limit to hardwood dust.
www.ttjonline.com/dust
TRADA has published a revised Wood Information Sheet, Specifying
timber exposed to weathering. www.ttjonline.com/weathering
Consultation on the London Assembly’s recommendations to
improve fire safety during the construction phase of timber frame
buildings will end on April 4. www.ttjonline.com/assembly
The Fire Door Inspection Scheme, the UK’s first professional training
and certification scheme for the fire door industry, is to launch in
May. www.ttjonline.com/inspection
A survey of small- and medium-sized builders has revealed that their
workloads have contracted for a 13th quarter in a row.
www.ttjonline.com/survey
DLH UK presents new
opportunities for Latham
Hardwood importer and agent
DLH UK will continue to operate
as a separate company under the
ownership of James Latham plc.
The company’s former parent,
Danish international hardwood
giant Dalhoff Larsen &
Hornemann A/S, said last year
that it was closing the business
as part of an international
restructure. But in February,
Lathams announced it was in
talks to buy it.
It completed the acquisition,
buying the entire share capital
for £1, on March 16.
In its stock exchange
announcement, Lathams said
that DLH UK made profits of
£86,000 in 2010 on sales of £15m.
It was the company’s biggest
customer, accounting for £4.5m
of turnover.
DLH UK had gross assets of
£6.3m, primarily comprising
stock and trade debtors, and
Lathams is investing £4.2m in
the operation, effectively to
cover these.
Chairman Peter Latham said
Lathams bought DLH UK to
“secure its supply position”. But
it also saw the acquisition as an
opportunity to “grow into areas
where Lathams don’t do much
business”.
New strategy to double
value of Scottish sector
The John Hope Gateway will be one of the case studies at In Touch
with Timber
Timber Expo 75% sold
Timber Expo is now almost
75% sold or reserved, with
new gold, silver and bronze
sponsors recently signing up
for the event (p11).
The exhibition and conference,
the only dedicated timber products
show in the UK, has signed up
WWF’s Global Forest & Trade
Network as a gold sponsor.
Lime Technology is taking
silver sponsorship and MBM
Specialty Forest Products bronze
sponsorship.
An exhibitor briefing day will
be held on April 7 at show venue
the Ricoh Arena, Coventry.
Meanwhile, speakers at the In
2/9 April 2011
Touch with Timber conference – a
core part of Timber Expo – will
include case studies on the John
Hope Gateway at the Royal
Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh by
Roddy Langmuir of Edward
Cullinan Architects. Tesco chief
architect Martin Young will also
speak.
Price & Myers is to reconstruct
its Kerto LVL Hy-pavilion at the
show to create the TRADA stand.
Timber Expo, to be held on
September 27-28 and backed by
TRADA, will also feature a Timber
Buyers’ Forum to link exhibitors
with timber buyers. For more
information visit www.timberbuyers.co.uk.
Scotland’s forest and timber sector
can double in value in the next 15
years, according to a new report.
Roots for Future Growth – an
ambitious industry strategy
published by the Scottish Forest
and Timber Technologies Advisory
Group – says the sector can add
£1.1bn of extra value to the Scottish
economy by 2025.
It says the industry – currently
worth £1.67bn and supporting
38,500 jobs – can sustain current
annual growth of 4%.
Its objectives include growing
the area of new productive forest
planting, expanding the market
share and value-added nature of
Scotland’s forest products and
boosting industry skills.
Chairman of the advisory group
John Kissock said the strategy
represented an important
milestone for the industry.
“Many years of sustained
capital investment have given
Scotland a solid base of
internationally competitive timber
“DLH has been particularly
strong in supplying African
hardwoods to the UK and we aim
to retain its position in this
market,” said Mr Latham.
“Another area where it has a
particular reputation is in
decking, particularly certified
products from the Far East, and
we’d like to grow that business.”
Lathams will retain DLH UK’s
seven-strong team, who Mr
Latham described as a“great
store of expertise in tropical
timber”. In the short term the
business will continue to operate
out of its current office in Kent,
although it is likely to relocate
when the lease expires this year.
The company will also
continue to hold stocks in the
London/Thurrock area and
Liverpool.
Mr Latham acknowledged
that some DLH UK customers
may be concerned that they are
“buying from a competitor” now
it is part of the Lathams group.
“But the response we’re
getting generally is very
positive,” he said. “And we will
establish Chinese walls between
the companies so Lathams staff
will not be privy to confidential
information about DLH’s sales to
other companies.”
processing facilities,” he said.
“The opportunity now is to
deliver sustained growth in the
establishment of productive forests,
allied to innovation in product and
process development which can
add value to the raw material
grown here in Scotland.”
“Despite the challenging
economic climate, we believe that
Scotland’s forest and timber sector
has the capacity to double over the
next 15 years and it is vital that the
industry works together to grasp
all of the available opportunities,”
said Alistair McKinnon, director of
forest and timber technologies,
Scottish Enterprise.
The industry advisory group
represents a cross-section of
Scotland’s forest and timber
industries including growers,
sawmills, manufacturers, timber
merchants, architects and academia
alongside representatives of four
regional industry groups.
It is supported by Scottish
Enterprise, Forestry Commission
Scotland, and Highlands and
Islands Enterprise.
7
News | UK
Wood Awards 2011 launch event attracts full house
A packed audience attended the
launch of the 2011 Wood Awards
call for entries last week.
The event in London’s
Building Centre attracted a full
house of around 175, including
architects, structural engineers
and local authority
representatives. It was co-hosted
by the organisers of the Wood
Talks series of seminars and
comprised presentations by key
figures involved on two previous
Wood Awards Gold prize
winners – the Weald and
Downland Museum and Savill
Garden gridshells.
The evening was chaired by
RIBA Journal editor Hugh
Pearman who underlined the
value of the Wood Awards to
construction.
“It’s a different scheme and
attracts innovative, enterprising
projects that don’t turn up in other
architectural awards,” he said.
The speakers highlighted how
both the Weald and Downland
and Savill Garden buildings
pushed the boundaries for timber
construction.
The former used small
dimension oak sections fingerjointed to make laths up to 50m
long and substituted wood for
other materials in a range of areas.
“It involved so much innovation
and evolved through an
inspirational level of collaboration
between client, designer and
maker,” said Roddy Langmuir of
architect Edward Cullinan.
Steve Corbett of Green Oak
Carpentry, timber contractor on
both buildings, said wood’s ability
to flex and twist made it the ideal
material for gridshells, which are
both very strong and lightweight.
A total of 6,000 linear metres of
larch lathes were used in the Savill
Building, but there were only two
fractures during construction.
Rupert Scott, marketing
manager of Wood Awards sponsor
TRADA, urged the audience to
enter their own projects this year.
“If you’re involved with a
building you think would be a
contender for one or more of
the categories, go to
www.woodawards.com and fill
in the entry form,” he said.
He added that the Awards
have a furniture category, as well
as those for wood in structural
and interiors applications, and
Proctor Group and
Beaumont in partnership
layer bonded to the underneath, as
well as timber battens bonded with
acoustic insulation.
Beaumont will also stock
Proctor acoustic floor products such
as Roofshield vapour and airpermeable pitched roof underlay
which has BBA approval for use
without a vapour control layer.
An extensive range of thermal
laminates will also be stocked by
Beaumont.
Proctor will offer help to
Beaumont customers, including
preparation of U-value calculations
and condensation risk analyses,
online technical support, SAP
calculations and acoustic testing.
A Proctor Group has agreed a new
partnership with Beaumont Forest
Products that will see the latter
stock Proctor’s range of membranes
and acoustic and floor systems.
Beaumont’s main product range
is construction timber, decking,
cladding and fencing products and
it has branches in Ascot,
Hoddesdon and High Wycombe.
Proctor’s acoustic flooring range
includes 18mm T&G flooring grade
chipboard with a resilient or foam
Wolseley rolls out
timber campaign
Wolseley is rolling out a timber
promotional campaign at its Build
Center and Timber Center chains
for the second year.
The company’s “Good for
Wood” campaign, which
champions timber’s versatility and
performance as a building material,
is being rolled out at all branches
Government panel decision an “insult”
to wood-processing industry, says UKFPA
The omission of the UK Forest
Products Association (UKFPA)
from a government-appointed
panel to examine English
forestry policy has been
described as an “insult” to the
wood-processing sector.
The new independent
12-member panel, set up by
environment minister Caroline
Spelman, includes just a single
representative from the forestry
and timber industry – ConFor
chief executive Stuart Goodall –
but a host of other organisations
covering land management,
wildlife and recreation sectors.
The UKFPA said it should not
have been excluded as it was
“the legitimate voice of the
wood-processing industry”.
UKFPA president Tony
Mitchell said the UKFPA had
8
been nominated for inclusion and
had been willing to play its part.
“However, the news that we
have been denied this
opportunity is hugely
disappointing and very worrying;
it is another slap in the face for
the industry by the government.
“This news is an insult to the
forest products sector in
England; how can a panel be
expected to produce meaningful
recommendations for the
minister if one very vital element
of the sector is not at the table?”
UKFPA executive director
David Sulman described the
exclusion as “disgraceful”.
“Only last week we saw the
Department for Energy &
Climate Change disregard
industry concerns about the
impact on the sector of the
The Weald and Downland
Museum
that the competition has waived
its entry fee.
“We wanted to get in as many
entries as possible,” he said.
The Wood Awards
presentations will take place at
the inaugural Timber Expo show
at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena on
September 27 (p11).
in conjunction with key suppliers
Finnforest and BSW Timber.
It also raises awareness of the
commitment Build Center and
Timber Center have to sourcing
sustainable products, as well as
investing in value-added services
and technical expertise to create a
one-stop shop for timber.
Paul Robertson, Wolseley UK’s
national timber development
manager, said the campaign would
help builders and tradespeople
make an informed choice when
sourcing products.
BSW Timber said its
involvement would help it reach a
wider audience.
All 12 dedicated Timber Centers
and more than 150 Build Centers
have FSC and PEFC chain of
custody certification and offer more
than 6,000 forest products.
Joinery industry urged
to prepare for change
David Sulman said UKFPA’s
exclusion was an “insult”
Renewable Heat Incentive and
now DEFRA has ignored
industry’s opinions – this is
simply not good enough.”
The panel was announced
following the government’s
decision last month to shelve its
plans to sell 85% of England’s
public forests.
“Preparing for changes to come” is
the theme of this year’s British
Woodworking Federation (BWF)
annual Members’ Day, open to
non-members for the first time.
Technical workshops and
industry analysis will form the
core of the May 19 event at
Loughborough University.
Delegates will hear about the
next round of changes to Part L
and CE Marking, as well as the
Equality Act 2010 and the shift to
pension auto-enrolment.
“We hope to help companies
with legislative challenges and
grow successfully,” said chief
executive Richard Lambert.
For more information visit
www.bwf.org.uk.
2/9 April 2011
News | International
Japan’s reconstruction
will suck in softwood
On www.ttjonline.com
Larger shipments of softwood
lumber from the Nordic countries,
North America and Russia to
meet an expected surge in
demand from earthquake-hit
Japan are “probable” later this
year, according to forest industry
consultant Wood Resources
International (WRI).
WRI has also reported
Japanese enquiries for glulam
and other pre-cut wood products
that can be used more quickly
than commodity lumber and
plywood in the initial rebuilding
efforts.
Japan was already the world’s
largest plywood importer and
third largest lumber importer
before the earthquake, which is
estimated to have destroyed
hundreds of thousands of timber
frame homes. Imports this year
could be the highest since 2008.
WRI’s Hakan Ekstrom said
short-term and long-term changes
in Japan’s importation of forest
products were still “uncertain”,
but there was no doubt of the
need for considerable volumes of
construction material in the
coming years.
“It is not likely that imports of
lumber, plywood and sawlogs
will increase much in the next
few months before ports and
access roads have been cleared
and the power has been restored
for at least the most basic needs,”
said WRI’s Hakan Ekstrom.
“But over the next 6-12
months it can be expected that
Russia’s national forest certification system has had its PEFC
membership terminated because of non-payment of fees.
www.ttjonline.com/russiaforest
Ilim increases
sawmilling muscle
Ilim Timber Industry has taken a
next step in its strategy to become
an industrial global leader in
sawmilling by agreeing to acquire
North American lumber producer
Tolleson Lumber Company.
The addition will increase
Ilim’s global production capacity
to beyond 3.9 million m3 and
broaden the product scope to
include southern yellow pine.
Ilim said it was committed to
support Tolleson’s strategy to
acquire additional capacity in
North America beyond its two
existing mills.
“Tolleson’s reputation in the
industry and management’s solid
vision for future development
became the key decision factors
for us in choosing this company in
North America,” said Ilim board
2/9 April 2011
Six men have been jailed for their part in the hijacking of timber
cargo ship the Arctic Sea. www.ttjonline.com/arctic
The top 40 North American lumber producers increased output by
13% in 2010, according to the latest Wood Markets annual survey.
www.ttjonline.com/output
Japanese importers are
contacting sawmills worldwide
for timber in the wake of the
March 11 quake and tsunami
there will be a rise in demand for
both lumber and plywood. This
will result in increased
importation of processed
products and logs to supply
domestic Japanese mills.
“Based on contacts already
established between importers in
Japan and manufacturers around
the world, it is probable that there
will be higher shipments of
softwood lumber from Canada, the
US, Russia, Sweden and Finland.”
Chinese, Malaysian and
Indonesian plywood exports to
Japan are expected to grow.
Shares in leading North
American lumber producers,
including Weyerhaeuser and
Interfor, rose sharply following
the earthquake as industry
commentators speculated on the
benefits for international timber
traders.
Timber frame houses are
common in Japan for their
earthquake-resistant properties,
though many were destroyed by
the tsunami.
chairman Boris Zingarevich.
“Tolleson will become a
cornerstone for further expansion
in the US which is a part of our
business strategy.”
Ilim said the Tolleson team had
implemented a unique
management system which had
enabled the company to lead the
industry in terms of efficiency and
to generate positive results
throughout the recent downturn.
“We are very impressed with
Ilim Timber’s global vision and
want to be an integral part of that
vision,” said Tolleson chief
executive Rusty Wood.
Tolleson, a family-owned
business based in Georgia, has an
annual capacity of more than 370
million board ft. Last year Ilim
completed the purchase of the
Wismar and Landsberg sawmills
from Klausner Timber.
Setra has announced a two-phase investment at its Skinnskatteberg
redwood sawmill which will increase production capacity to
350,000m3. www.ttjonline.com/setra
VIDA is closing its sawmill at Bello and transferring the production
to its nearby Hjältevad mill. www.ttjonline.com/bello
The market share of responsibly-sourced timber in Belgium is set to
increase following an agreement between the country’s government
and timber industry. www.ttjonline.com/belgium
Finnish forest industry timber purchases from private forests fell to
800,000m3 in February, one-fifth less than in January.
www.ttjonline.com/finnish
Germany’s carpentry and joinery industry has made a plea for the
country to use more timber. www.ttjonline.com/germany
Panels giant Pfleiderer has reached an agreement with banks and
hedge funds on a refinancing deal. www.ttjonline.com/refinance
A PEFC-certified beer flavoured with pine needles and cones has
won the “Anglo-American origin hoppy beer” category in the Sapore
beer festival in Rimini, Italy. www.ttjonline.com/beer
RusForest acquires
Nord Timber Group
Russian forestry and sawmilling
business RusForest is acquiring
the Nord Timber Group (NTG) in a
move which will “jump-start” the
former’s transition into a major
world player.
RusForest said the purchase
will increase its presence in northwest Russia, where it already
operates the LDK-3 sawmill.
Arkhangelsk-based NTG has
forest leases exceeding 1.1 million
ha of spruce and pine, said to be
of similar quality to those in
northern Sweden. It also has an
80,000m3 per year capacity
sawmill and a planing mill.
Following the acquisition,
RusForest will control an annual
allowable cut of about 2.8 million
m3, making it one of the largest
forest-controlling companies in
Russia in terms of cutting rights.
RusForest said the additional
raw material will allow it to
increase production at its LDK-3
mill from 100,000m3 to 200,000m3.
Group sawn timber output is
expected to grow to around
800,000-850,000m3 per year over
the next four to five years.
RusForest was impacted by
raw material supply problems last
year and recorded an annual loss
of SKr130m, with “disappointing”
sawn timber sales of SKr200m.
Stora Enso to close
Kopparfors sawmill
Continuing losses at Stora Enso’s
Kopparfors sawmill in Sweden
have forced the company to
announce its permanent closure
by the end of the year.
Stora Enso said there were no
feasible options for improving the
mill, which has an annual sawn
capacity of 310,000m3.
A 160,000-tonne capacity wood
pellet mill will also close.
“The slowness of the recovery
in markets combined with poor
operational efficiency, high raw
material costs, unfavourable
exchange rates and lack of cost
flexibility, have kept Kopparfors
loss-making,” said Stora Enso
Wood Products executive vicepresident Hannu Kasurinen.
The company is investigating
alternatives for supplying key
customers, including using
production from other group mills.
The closure will reduce Stora
Enso’s annual sales by
approximately €65m.
9
News | Technical & Processing
Lol Summers saves extraction energy
Lol Summers Joinery says it is
saving money on fuel bills and
waste disposal following
installation of an extraction system
from Dust Control Systems (DCS).
The Coventry architectural
joinery specialist operates a dozen
wood processing machines at its
25,000ft2 plant and previously
used two “paddle fans” for
extracting woodwaste, which
subsequently went to landfill.
Last year the company decided
to investigate the feasibility of
installing a complete woodwaste
to energy system and began
discussions with DCS at the W10
wood technology show.
DCS subsequently undertook
an on site survey and
TITECH creates wood
recycling first
A Belfast waste recycler has
become the first UK company to
use a TITECH optical sorting
system to extract wood from a
mixed commercial and industrial
waste stream.
TITECH estimates the system
provides Wastebeater with at least
98% purity of recovered wood.
In addition to providing
Wastebeater with increased levels
of saleable products, the
technology has helped the plant to
make significant cost savings,
while processing up to six times
as much waste per hour.
Wastebeater’s waste-sorting
requirement was so advanced that
there was no optical sorting model
to follow in the UK, so it worked
with TITECH to develop a solution.
The first installation phase
involved four TITECH systems
installed to sort the 2D fraction of
the plant’s waste stream and
target plastic film and paper.
In the second phase three
further sorting systems were
supplied, with one focusing on
heavy paper, one unit targeting
wood and the third unit providing
a clean-up on the wood line while
recommended one of its extraction
systems featuring its patented
Ecogate energy-saving
technology, plus a briquetting
plant to produce woodfuel from
the waste. A few weeks later DCS
engineers were installing the
equipment.
The technology comprises a
Schuko EcoVar Series 2030 dust
extractor unit which has a filter
surface area of 188m2 and an
18.5kW fanset with a capacity of
21,000m3 per hour. Alongside the
filter is a Schuko Compacto 800
briquetting press which can
process up to 45kg of chips and
dust per hour into 60mm-diameter
briquettes. The latter are taken
automatically to a bagging area
next to Lol Summers’ wood
burning heater.
The Ecogate technology in the
dust extraction system comprises
a motorised gate and sensor at the
ducting junction to each machine.
These are linked to a controller
which closes off one or more gates
when particular machines are not
in use, saving on power.
Managing director Lee
Summers said the combination of
this system and the briquetter
and burner meant that Lol
Summers no longer needed to
buy oil or pay for landfill and had
lower gas and electricity bills.
The company also secured an
interest-free loan from the
Carbon Trust for the installation.
also extracting plastics.
Targeting wood from the 3D
fraction was a new application for
TITECH in the UK.
Twin NIR sensing technology
gathers greater amounts of
information about what is on the
waste belt, providing an even
more accurate assessment of
materials passing through.
“The twin sensor system is
particularly good at identifying
materials that are traditionally
difficult to sort because they are
very similar to one another, such
as wood and paper,” said TITECH.
NBT believes the software,
developed by the Fraunhofer
Institute for Building Physics, will
enable architects and developers
to specify the correct materials to
safeguard buildings against
moisture damage.
The software takes the
properties of each individual
material within a designed
envelope into consideration, as
well as the building location,
orientation and local climate,
according to actual measured
weather data.
NBT chief executive Neil May
told TTJ that understanding about
the breathability concept was
“finally coming into the
construction sector”.
Installations of NBT’s wood
fibre insulation boards now
number in the hundreds of
housing projects.
“Wood fibre will be seen as
one of the prime products for
timber frame construction in the
future rather than in just niche
eco construction because of its
ability to prevent overheating,
moisture problems and thermal
bridging,” he said.
Joinery coatings
Remmers has launched an
exterior joinery coatings range
in the UK. The German
manufacturer of specialised
building, repair and protection
products has introduced opaque
and translucent exterior
coatings backed by a 10-year
maintenance-free guarantee.
Remmers recently joined the
Wood Window Alliance and
exhibited at Ecobuild.
Wood Safety Group
The Wood Safety Group is
planning an employer
engagement event on May 11 at
the DIDAC Woodwise Training
Academy, Bristol. For more
information visit www.ttf.co.uk.
Smaller machine
WUFI software aids
insulation specification
WUFI advanced moisture
modelling software has been
purchased by Natural Building
Technologies (NBT) to help it
further demonstrate the benefits
of breathable building envelopes.
NBT said the software would
allow it to demonstrate the
“prolonged integrity” of its wood
fibre insulation systems –
particularly important for timber
frame buildings and for internal
insulation applications where the
risks of trapped moisture were
greatest.
TITECH technology is boosting wood waste extraction at Wastebeater
10
IN BRIEF
WoodMac China
grows by a fifth
The latest WoodMac China timber
technology show was a fifth
bigger, both in attendance and
exhibition space and, said the
organisers, underlined China’s
move into higher quality, more
value-added timber processing.
The biennial exhibition, which
took place in Shanghai from March
1-4, attracted a total of 16,730
visitors, a 22% rise on 2009. Most
came from mainland China, but
there was also an increase in
Timber frame house production
technology supplier Weinmann
is introducing a smaller version
of its WEK 120 unit in response
to customer demand. The WEK
100 machine, to be launched at
Ligna, can produce wall and
gable elements.
Moelven investment
Söderhamn Eriksson is
upgrading the 135,000m3 saw
line at Moelven Soknabruket AS
in Norway in an investment
which will increase the mill’s
recovery rates.
overseas attendance to 1,950.
The improved visitor figures
“reflected a considerable upturn
in the market from 24 months
ago”, said the organisers.
The recovery in demand for
stands boosted the exhibition area
by 20% to 35,000m2. This was
largely accounted for by an
increase in exhibitors from the
European wood panel technology
sector and from Chinese producers
of everything from joinery, flooring
and panel-processing equipment
to forestry machinery.
The Europeans comprised the
biggest overseas exhibitor
contingent, with the German and
Italian wood technology
associations both taking pavilions.
The organisers said the show’s
success demonstrated “beyond any
doubt that the Chinese market for
woodworking technology is back”.
It also highlighted that
Chinese wood products
companies had “matured”, were
less fixated on price and “now
recognise the benefits of
employing quality technology ”.
2/9 April 2011
Viewpoint
Industry Update
Stuart Goodall is chief
executive of ConFor
The recent
consultation on
the English state
forest provides
important lessons
for our sector.
Faced with a
popular revolt the
government
lacked a clear
argument to
counter claims
they were
Stuart Goodall
presiding over
the destruction of England’s forests. The
mainstream media fuelled a populist
campaign based on state ownership and
protected public access versus private
ownership and lost forests. Attempts
ConFor made to talk about issues of
security of wood supply or the problem of
unmanaged forests were simply ignored.
The media narrative for our sector was
that we were businesses – UK based or
international – who simply wanted to get
their hands on the timber and could not be
trusted. And securing and retaining trust is
a key lesson I take from this, whether it is
with media or politicians.
Over half a million people signed a
petition because they trusted in state
ownership to protect forests. They did not
trust industry. Private businesses were not
viewed as contributing to the stewardship
of the forest, but instead were commercial
loggers out for short-term gain.
Though good progress is being made,
we still have a way to go to inform key
audiences about the symbiotic relationship
between forests and the use of wood.
Single-issue campaigns on illegal logging,
recreating native woodlands or other
habitats have defined narrow attitudes to
forestry and distracted from what is needed
to make forest management sustainable.
We know that management needs to be
paid for and that, whether it is public or
private forest, wood sales provide the biggest
overall contribution. But many people don’t
appreciate that using more wood can mean
more and better managed forests.
The more we provide well-supported,
consistent messages the better, whether
promoting wood or in lobbying.
Governments want a simple, clear industry
message they can put in the mix with all
the other voices out there.
For example, ConFor was asked to brief
the minister from a cross-sector perspective,
shortly before the consultation was pulled.
He asked for it straight, got that and took it
on board. We need to be in the room
delivering the message and not be one of a
hundred voices lost in the crowd outside.
● TTJ Industry Updates are a forum for
trade bodies to address key issues.
2/9 April 2011
Guest Column
Rupert Scott is membership and marketing manager of TRADA
T
he growing importance of exhibitions
within the construction sector makes
this the prime time for the industry to
seize the day and allow timber to take its
unique place in the built environment of the
future. Timber’s exciting presence at Ecobuild
last month proves beyond doubt that it has
both the will and the way to do just that.
TRADA’s timber tours were virtually fully
booked over the three days of the show. We
were able to demonstrate to visitors that timber
is maturing as an industry, with new
engineered products, building systems and
processes. Timber is no longer restricted to
new build housing and gridshell roofs, however
breathtaking. Structurally, it can now compete
with steel and concrete frame and, used alone
or in conjunction with other materials, timber
can inspire outstanding design.
Importantly, the shape of the industry is
also changing, with new entrants to the sector
pitched somewhere between the traditional
supplier and the contractor. These specialist
timber sub-contractors are taking the natural
material and designing engineered systems.
Then, by shouldering the technical burden and
installing complete systems on site, they avoid
delays and problems and ensure that timber is
easy to specify and use to its full potential.
The time is absolutely right, therefore, for
this industry to have its own show, an event
with breadth and depth that both informs and
inspires. The demise of Interbuild came as no
surprise – it had run its course. It clears the
way in the exhibition calendar for Timber
Expo, the TRADA Technology-backed show to
take place at the Ricoh Arena on September
27-28. Now, with six months still to go, Timber
Expo is 75% sold or reserved and has gained
the backing of several new sponsors and
exhibitors in the past fortnight.
It is part of
TRADA’s vision
to engage more
closely with
architects and
engineers to
encourage them
to work
increasingly
with timber.
Timber Expo
will help us to
do that, by
showing the
best the timber
Rupert Scott
industry can
offer, the
products and services that can help bring
construction projects to life.
It will also provide a forum for easy
knowledge transfer. TRADA’s In Touch with
Timber conference will be an integral part of
the show, but in a new format, offering four
different half-day modules, for up to 1,000
delegates, who can personalise their visit by
booking the sessions most relevant to them. In
addition, the winners of the Wood Awards
2011 will be announced at the Ricoh, with a
display of all the shortlisted entries. A unique
part of Timber Expo is the Timber Buyers’
Forum, offering a simple way for buyers to
meet exhibitors in a structured manner.
Timber Expo is an event created for the
timber industry, by the timber industry and it
will show unequivocally to buyers, designers
and specifiers that timber – spectacularly – has
come of age.
An exhibitor briefing day will be held on
April 7 at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry. Potential
sponsors and exhibitors are also welcome.
Contact [email protected].
Letter to the Editor
Renewable Heat Incentive adds insult to industry injury
No-one should underestimate the seriousness
of the threat of irreparable damage being
done to the sawmilling and panels sector in
Britain as a consequence of additional
government subsidies to encourage
renewable fuels, following confirmation of
new subsidies provided by the Renewable
Heat Incentive. For the UK wood-processing
sector, this simply adds insult to injury,
following the existing and generous public
subsidy provided by Renewable Obligation
Certificates to the energy industry.
There are increasing fears that we will now
see even greater market distortion, as wood is
displaced from traditional processors to the
renewable heat and power sector, supported
and encouraged by public subsidies.
Organisations such as UKFPA and WPIF
have tried to convince successive governments
of the potential damage to wood processors,
yet the Department for Energy & Climate
Change does not appear to want to listen.
The government’s latest sop that it would
be prepared to take action if it sees
inappropriate material being used for biomass
seems pretty hollow; by the time they wake up
to the problem it may be too late for our sector.
The message is simple: wood that is
suitable for product manufacture should be
used for that purpose in the first instance.
Our efforts to get the government to see
sense must be redoubled. There has been
further coverage recently about generic timber
promotion. With the increasing threat of
displacement of wood from the woodprocessing sector, perhaps those who espouse
promotion should refocus their attention on the
political arena; once we have won that battle
we can return our attentions to promotion.
Tony Mitchell
President, UK Forest Products Association
● For the unabridged version of this letter,
visit www.ttjonline.com/mitchell
11
Market Intelligence | End User
Manufacturing drives growth
There has been some growth in manufacturing but government
spending cuts mean the situation is still fragile. Peter Varley reports
B
usiness surveys and official figures
released in March confirm that the
economy recovered at the start of 2011
from the weather-related slowdown at the end
of last year.
Nevertheless, growth in timber’s key end
markets of construction and furniture will be
challenging over the coming months in the face
of government cutbacks, mounting pressure on
household budgets, and weak consumer
confidence.
The recovery was driven by manufacturing
output which rebounded strongly in January. A
survey by Markit Economics and the Chartered
Institute of Purchasing and Supply suggests
that activity also rose in February – at the
fastest rate since the poll began in 1991.
The survey that looked so good for
manufacturing was equally upbeat for
construction. There the measure of overall
activity rose to 56.3 in February, from 53.7 the
previous month and 49.1 in December (where a
reading above 50.0 indicates growth).
This is the strongest expansion since June
2010, and all sectors contributed, with a
marked increase in residential construction
which ended a six-month period where activity
was the weakest of the areas monitored.
Commenting on the survey David Noble,
chief executive officer of CIPS, warned that,
“The situation is still fragile, however,
considering the likely impact of government
Retail prices
Output
10
100
Wood & wood products
95
Furniture
6
90
4
85
2
80
0
75
Index: 2005=100
70
8
J F M A M J J
2010
Source: National Statistics
A S O N D J
2011
-2
-4
Furniture
% change on year
J F M A M J
22009
DIY materials
J A S O N D J
2011
In the three months to January total UK
manufacturing output rose 1.3%, on the back
of a 1.1% rise in January, and 5.5% on the same
period last year. Wood and wood products
output fell 3.1% in the latest three months and
0.1% year-on-year. Furniture production
expanded by 1.5% in the latest three months,
and was 3.8% up on the same 2010 period.
The yearly increase in the retail price index for
furniture jumped to 4.7% in January (1% in
December). DIY materials’ prices rose 8.6% on
the year. The January all-items retail price
index rose by 5.1% annually (4.8% in
December). Excluding mortgage interest
payments, the January index was 5.1% higher
annually, up from 4.7% in December.
Furniture producer costs and prices
Builders’ carpentry ! joinery and
wooden pallet prices
9
8
7
6
Producer costs
5
Producer prices
4
3
2
1
0
-1 % change on year
-2
F M A M J J A S O N D J F
2010
2011
During February the cost of furniture
manufacturers’ materials and fuel rose 0.4%
and was 7.9% higher annually. In January costs
were up 8.1% year-on-year. Manufacturers’
selling prices for wooden bedroom, dining and
living room furniture were unchanged in
February, but 0.3% up on a year earlier – the
same annual price increase rate as in January.
12
16
14 % change on year
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
-2
-4
Builders’ carpentry prices
-6
Wooden pallets prices
-8
-10
F M
M A M J J A S O N D J F
2010
2011
Builders’ carpentry and joinery products
factory gate prices rose 0.7% during February,
and were 4.5% up on a year earlier. In the 12
months to January prices rose by 4.6%.
Manufacturers’ prices of wooden pallets fell by
0.1% in February, but were 14.5% up on
February 2010. In the year to January factory
gate prices of wooden pallets rose 13.5%.
cuts”. This concern is echoed by the
Construction Products Association, which
notes that estimates of new construction
orders by the Office for National Statistics for
the fourth quarter of 2010 reveal that the
industry remains dependent on public-sector
spending on social housing, education, health
and infrastructure.
The figures show that the total volume of
new orders rose by 18% in the latest quarter
compared with the third, leaving new orders in
2010 overall just 1% higher than in 2009.
Private sector housing and commercial building
orders each rose by less than 1%, although
orders for industrial buildings were up 14% in
the fourth quarter.
A poll by the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors finds some stabilisation of the
housing market. In February new buyer
enquiries halted a six-month slide, although
Wood and wood product producer
costs and p
prices
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
Producer costs
% change on year
Producer prices
F M A M J J A S O N D J F
2010
2011
Wood and wood product manufacturers’ raw
materials and fuel costs rose 7.1% annually in
February, down from 7.3% in January, while
costs rose 0.2%. Factory gate prices of wood
and wood products held steady at 5.9% in the
year to February, but rose 0.6% on the month.
Overall, manufactured goods’ prices rose 5.3%
in February, while input costs were up 14.6%.
Furniture retail sales
20
16
Volume of sales
12
Value of sales
% change on year
8
4
0
-4
-8
-12
-16
J F M A M J
2010
J A S O N D J
2011
The volume of furniture retail sales rose 13.2%
in January and was up 15.9% on a year earlier.
In the latest three-month period volumes fell
4.5% year-on-year. The value of furniture sales
rose 19.3% in the year to January, after an 8.7%
rise during the month. In the three months to
January the value of retail furniture sales fell
2.5% against with the same 2010 period.
2/9 April 2011
Thousands
the number of sales was broadly unchanged
and price expectations continued to fall.
Housebuilders are also reporting a strong
rise in the number of site visits and deposits
paid by prospective buyers although the
improvement has a strong bias to London and
the south-east.
Sales of furniture, which bounced back
strongly in January, with yearly growth of
nearly 16%, came under pressure in February.
The British Retail Consortium says high street
sales dropped overall to well below the level a
year earlier, adding that fitted kitchens,
bathroom and bedroom furniture were hit by
renewed consumer caution.
Meanwhile, forecasters at Oxford
Economics expect construction output to grow
by an average 3% annually between 2010-2014,
led by residential work.
Output of wood and wood products is
forecast to grow by a yearly average of around
2.5%. But that was before the still-uncertain
impact of events in Japan and northern Africa
could even be guessed at. ■
12
11 Starts
10 Completions
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
F M A M J J
2010
Source: NHBC
A S O N D J F
2011
Private-sector home start registrations rose
3% in February compared to January, to 5,628,
according to the NHBC. In the three months to
February starts fell 3% compared with
February 2010, to 16,101. During the same
three months private-sector completions fell
10% on a year earlier, to 14,811, despite a 33%
rise between January and February.
5.0
Starts
4.5
Completions
4.0
Thousands
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
F M A M J
2010
Source: NHBC
J
A S O N D J F
2011
NHBC registrations of public-sector home
starts in February were 43% higher than in the
previous month, at 3,289. In the three months
to February starts increased by 7% compared
with a year earlier, to 7,989. During the same
three-month period public-sector completions
rose by 11% on a year earlier, to 7,509, after
rising by 25% between January and February.
2/9 April 2011
Exchange rates
February 2011
Currency units per £1
This
month
previous
month
Euro* (€)
1.18
1.18
Malaysia (ringgit)
4.91
4.83
4.97
Russia (rouble)
47.19
47.57
49.51
Sweden (SKr)
10.38
10.53
10.90
1.61
1.58
1.60
US ($)
3 months ago
1.17
*includes Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain.
Source: Bank of England
Timber Market Statistics
Latest month
% change
on previous
month
% change on
on previous
3 months
% change
on year
PRODUCTION
Output (Volume)
All manufacturing
Jan
1.1
1.6
6.8
Consumer durables
Furniture
Jan
Jan
Jan
3.5
2.8
0.2
6.1
-3.5
4.7
2.7
6.2
2.0
Feb
Feb
14.5
30.2
-9.5
-26.4
-6.7
-0.8
Jan
Jan
3.5
13.2
-0.8
-0.7
9.9
15.9
Jan
Jan
1.5
-5.7
3.8
-0.7
8.6
4.7
Construction (Volume)
House starts, NHBC registered
House completions, NHBC registered
RETAIL SALES (Volume)
Household goods stores
Furniture & lighting
RETAIL PRICES
DIY materials
Furniture
INDUSTRY COSTS AND PRICES
Raw material & fuel costs
Furniture
Manufacturers’ prices
Sawn, planed wood
Particleboard
Veneer sheets, panels & boards
Feb
Feb
0.2
0.4
0.7
1.9
7.1
7.9
Feb
Feb
Feb
Feb
0.6
0.4
1.4
1.1
0.6
-0.2
2.3
1.8
5.9
5.5
12.1
11.5
Builders carpentry, joinery
Windows, doors & frames
Feb
Feb
0.7
1.8
0.6
2.0
4.5
5.1
Wooden pallets
Furniture
Wooden shop furniture
Kitchen furniture, wooden
Bedroom, dining
& living room furniture
Other wooden furniture
EU imports of sawn, planed wood
Non-EU imports of sawn,
planed wood
Average Earnings
Whole economy, incl. bonuses
‘Manufacturing, incl. bonuses
Feb
Feb
Feb
Feb
-0.1
0.4
0.2
0.1
-0.2
1.2
0.3
0.4
14.5
3.1
0.2
1.4
Feb
Feb
Feb
0.0
0.9
-1.3
0.0
0.6
-4.5
0.3
2.2
7.2
Feb
0.4
0.4
na
Jan
Jan
-0.7
0.6
0.2
0.0
3.5
1.8
Sources: National Statistics and National House-Building Council
13
Market Intelligence | Chipboard
Costs remain major
issue for producers
Rises in chipboard prices have almost become a regular event, but still
producers are barely covering increases in costs. Ian Martin reports
C
hipboard price increases have become
“almost a monthly event” in the UK,
while several distributors have been
increasing their asking prices “virtually on a
weekly basis”, TTJ was told this week.
Significantly higher price levels on the
Continent, rising production and transport costs,
decent levels of domestic demand, and the
tightening availability of many chipboard
products have been combining to provide
manufacturers with the ammunition to push
through significant increases on a seemingly
ever more regular basis.
At the start of this year, prophets of doom
were warning that the economic downturn
would bite even more deeply in 2011. To date,
however, “the sense of caution and lack of
confidence are not reflected in the volumes [of
chipboard] going out the door”, said one leading
UK producer. “The market is fairly healthy.”
It seems double-digit price increases are no
longer a source of surprise for the market. One
UK manufacturer said this week that a February
increase of 6-8% in its building products prices
was due to be followed up with hikes of “12% or
more” in early April. In other parts of its
chipboard product portfolio, the second quarter
is scheduled to begin with increases of around
10% in certain instances, according to a
spokesperson for the company. But he was quick
to add: “Even with these price increases, we are
still not covering the full impact of the cost
increases. There is still a certain amount of
catch-up to be had in 2011 given the costs
thrown at us in the last 12 months.”
A counterpart at another UK production
operation said that his own company had
implemented “double-digit price increases
across the board” in mid-January and that, over
the course of late March and early April, further
hikes averaging around the 10% mark would be
imposed on raw board and melamine-faced
chipboard. He described overall chipboard
demand in the UK as “buoyant”, adding that
sales volumes in the first quarter had been
“double-digit percentages” higher than for the
corresponding period of last year.
But even against this largely positive
backdrop, one or two industry experts said
some companies have been prepared to offer
chipboard to the UK market at prices that are
SUMMARY
■ Rising costs are pushing up chipboard
prices.
■ UK demand is buoyant.
■ Lead times are normal, except for T&G
which is in shorter supply.
■ It is estimated that 4 million m3 in
European capacity was closed in 2009-10.
■ European producers are selling very little
to the UK market.
the final quarter of 2010, his company’s
melamine costs had jumped around 30% while
the bills for methanol and urea had climbed
some 25% and 15% respectively. Transport and
haulage costs had also risen around 15% since
the beginning of 2011, while wood costs had
surged some 40% higher over the last 12
months, he added. The same contact also
reported a slight drop-off recently in the
availability of recycled material.
While cost increases are widely pinpointed
as the major driver behind seemingly relentless
chipboard price rises, one domestic producer
also acknowledged that “tighter availability will
help in pushing the increases through”. And he
emphasised the importance of customers now
“We are not covering the full impact of the cost
increases. There is still a certain amount of catch-up
to be had in 2011 given the costs thrown at us in the
last 12 months”
“out of step with what is generally viewed as
required levels”.
In terms of costs, chemicals have been a
particular concern during the first quarter of
2011, with one UK chipboard producer pointing
to “double-digit” increases for methanol and
urea since the start of the year. He also said that
his energy bill in March was around double the
cost of that for the same month last year.
A fellow UK chipboard producer said that,
when comparing the first quarter of 2011 with
passing on chipboard hikes via their own pricing
schedules. “Customers are struggling to get this
wave of increases through. We keep telling them
it is something they must do because these
waves haven’t stopped yet.” Global uncertainty
– exacerbated by recent events in Japan, New
Zealand, the Middle East and North Africa –
tends to result in higher prices across the
commodity spectrum, he pointed out.
Indeed, none of the industry experts
contacted this week was anticipating an end
to chipboard price escalation any time soon.
Supply and demand balance
No manufacturers are expanding capacity at present
14
Domestic demand for chipboard is broadly in
kilter with supply, despite the fact that, in the
first quarter, the UK has not witnessed full
capacity utilisation. Lead times on most
chipboard products appear to be within normal
tolerances – with the exception of T&G, for
which lead times are as far out as 12 weeks,
depending on the producer. A major upturn in
domestic T&G orders “would be a problem”,
several contacts said, because availability is
showing every sign of becoming tighter.
On the Continent, recent capacity cuts have
fuelled an upward spiral in prices which has
been even more precipitous than that seen in
the UK. It is estimated that around 4 million m3
of western European chipboard production
capacity was closed in 2009 and 2010 alone.
Price acceleration has been particularly rapid in
countries like Germany, where the postdownturn economic recovery has been robust
and where, therefore, material shortage fears
have become especially acute.
In this context, a combination of capacity
2/9 April 2011
Producers are continuing to raise the price of raw and melamine-faced chipboard
reductions and price increases in Germany has
ensured a return to the black for major
chipboard producer Pfleiderer since the
beginning of this year. “The business
development of the group came in above the
company’s own expectations in the first two
months of 2011, not least due to the
effectiveness of the operational restructuring
now becoming apparent,” the group has stated.
The scale of the supply issues in the
European market traditionally would have
prompted producers into considering capacity
expansions. However, “poor returns” on
chipboard investments over recent years have
helped dissuade most companies from this
course of action, according to a senior figure in
the UK production sector. “Nobody is adding
capacity because they haven’t made the returns
or because they fear they are not going to have
the wood to feed it,” he said.
The price differential between the Continent
and the UK has extended to between 10-20%,
despite substantial price increases implemented
on this side of the Channel. As a result, UK
imports have been restricted almost exclusively
to products not produced in this country. “These
products are relatively price insensitive and so
the imports are likely to carry on at around
current levels,” TTJ was told. As a general rule,
however, “UK manufacturers really have nothing
to fear from imports at the moment”.
One leading company supplying into the UK
market has orchestrated two price increases –
6% and then 5% – since the start of this year.
However, with the financial returns available
from Continental customers at least 10% higher
than those paid by in the UK, a spokesperson
said that flows to the UK are under severe
competitive pressure. “Any non-standard item of
chipboard is short on the Continent due to
capacity being taken out,” he said. “Chipboard
is not there in major quantities so people will
have to pay the price to get it. Supply is more
volatile and is changing everything.”
Helped by the cross-Channel price gap, UK
chipboard producers have continued to secure
business not only on the near Continent but
also, in at least one case, outside of Europe.
In a final look back at 2010, Norbord has
confirmed in its latest financial results that its
chipboard production volumes in Europe edged
1% higher last year. “European panel markets
showed increasing strength throughout 2010 as
housing construction picked up and repair and
remodelling demand remained robust,” it noted.
In the UK, where the majority of its European
assets are located, “housing starts increased by
30% over 2009” compared to 8% in Germany.
European chipboard prices ended the year 5%
higher to reflect “the recovery of higher input
costs”, Norbord also pointed out. ■
Chipboard in the news on ttjonline
Norbord attacks government biomass
policy, March 22
Pfleiderer “back in black” and close to
refinancing, March 14
Heavyweight performance, February 19
Falco achieves CARB certification,
February 11
Ke y P r o v i d e r s o f
Timber Engi neerin g Sof tware
ROOF AND
TRUSS
FRAMING
®
ECOJOIST®
STAIRCON®
MATRIX
Gang-Nail Systems Limited
www.gangnail.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 334691 Fax: +44 (0) 1252 334562 Email: [email protected]
© Gang-Nail Systems Limited. Gang-Nail Systems, an Eleco plc company.
In Focus | Finsa
Pilgrim’s
progress
GreenPanel lightweight board was
shown at Ecobuild in an illuminated
staircase storage system
The Santiago factory is the
largest in the Finsa group
Spanish panels manufacturer Finsa has embraced
change and invested heavily to remain competitive
in its markets. Stephen Powney visited Finsa’s
headquarters and largest factory site in Santiago
de Compestela
V
isiting Santiago de Compestela in
north-west Spain is like taking a step
back in history.
The city, the capital of the Celtic region of
Galicia, is one of the three most sacred places
in Catholicism due to its iconic, soaring
cathedral being the reputed resting place of
St James the apostle.
Every year crowds of bustling pilgrims
make their way along the Camino de Santiago
– “The way of St James” – to the medieval city.
Amid this tourist hub and history is the
headquarters for Spain’s (and one of the
world’s) largest wood-based panel producers –
Finsa, which has six plants in the province.
From its humble beginnings in 1931 as a
sawmill near Santiago, Finsa has grown steadily,
adding chipboard production in 1965; MDF, MFC
and glue in the 1980s; veneered boards in the
1990s and other products since then.
The acquisition of outstanding shares in
Spanish panel manufacturing joint venture
SuperPan is the
subject of new
UK distribution
arrangements
16
Utisa two years ago increased the size of the
company considerably and it now has
operations in nine countries, 22 production
plants and employs 4,319 people.
Last year it sold 2.2 million m3 of products
worth €837m (2009: 2 million m3; €824m), down
from a 2007 peak of €1.2bn and 3.42 million m3.
The figures show Finsa’s performance
improved last year but the reduction in sales
and production output from the 2007 peak is
symptomatic of the turbulent times affecting
European panel manufacturing in recent years
due to reduced demand, overcapacity, raw
material and energy price increases and
competition from biomass.
“In the last two years we have adjusted our
production capacity in line with market demand
and as a result we decommissioned some of our
old production lines,” said Finsa UK managing
director Rafael Willisch.
“The result of this rationalisation was a
reduction in the manufacture of products
considered commodities with very low prices
and negative margins,” he said.
Finsa has adopted Japanese Kaizen
methodology to improve manufacturing,
engineering, management processes, logistics,
product development and marketing.
Value-added production and integrated
processing have become more important, with
a raft of new product developments, including
lightweight and speciality boards such as
SuperPan (woodchip core and MDF surfaces)
and Greenpanel, consisting of MDF top and
bottom surfaces and a thin MDF grid core.
At the expansive Santiago plant, the largest
factory in the group at 2.2 million ft2 and 700
staff, it’s easy to get an appreciation for this
SUMMARY
■
■
■
■
Finsa started as a sawmill in 1931.
Sales were €837m in 2010.
The company is increasing its UK profile.
SuperPan, GreenPanel, Compacmel and
Fibracolour are newer Finsa value-added
panel products.
expansion into value-added products.
At one end of the spectrum there is
manufacture of volume commodity chipboard
panels on a 38.5m-long Siempelkamp ContiRoll
press producing 6-40mm thick boards. Then
there is the MFC operation, with six different
presses, the latest a 2200-5800mm
Siempelkamp unit installed five years ago and
designed for very flexible operation.
Downstream processing
A short walk from these operations into another
vast building reveals a huge downstream
processing operation where the panels are cut
to size on Holzma technology and then
machined and edged into a variety of processed
or semi-processed furniture components for the
professional and DIY trades.
Products include edged panels, machined
boards, postformed doors, worktops, kitchen
carcases, and flat-pack furniture kits –
produced on an army of Homag technology,
including five edging lines with two- and foursided capabilities. Profiline, Optimat and
Weeke machines sit alongside Bargstedt
handling technology.
Finsa also operates a full-blown sawmill on
site, again with extensive downstream
2/9 April 2011
operations delivering solid wood products,
some of which are available in the UK.
Local maritime pine logs are sawn on a
Ciris sawmill line, producing a range of sawn
and treated products for the construction,
garden and packaging sectors.
Weinig machining centres process wood for
applications including wine boxes, shuttering,
cladding, decorative fencing, decking and
planters. Even laminating is carried out for
some products.
With this extent and scale of manufacturing
capabilities, it’s perhaps surprising that the
Finsa name has not had a greater prominence,
especially in the UK, which is regarded as a
strategic market by the company.
Furniture component production
Brand awareness
This, Mr Willisch said, is something the
company is looking to change with a new
brand awareness drive.
Liverpool-based Finsa UK, operating since
1978, has been busy securing new distribution
agreements, sponsored a design competition
and attended the Ecobuild show in London. A
new website is now up and running.
“In all these years we have moved from being
a supplier of a limited range of commodity items
to our position now as a leading manufacturer
supplying the widest range of MDF in the market
from 1.8-70mm,” said Mr Willisch.
Last year the lightweight range was
launched in co-operation with distributors IDS,
James Latham and Arnold Laver.
Three new products profiled in the furniture
trade included Compacmel – an alternative to
solid laminate and which is basically a
fibreboard panel with a density of more than
1,000kg/m3, Fibracolor – through coloured MDF
– and SuperPan Decor which is a product
which Finsa has patented.
“During 2011 we will launch new products
which we are working on at present and we
will increase our profile in the timber and
furniture trade press with the presentation of
our new website as well as a new agreement
with leading distributors throughout the UK for
the distribution of the new SuperPan Decor,”
said Mr Willisch.
At Ecobuild it promoted the lightweight
panels range and the stand featured the
winning project of its design competition with
Decking panels produced in the sawmill
2/9 April 2011
the School of Architecture of the John Moores
University, Liverpool – an illuminated staircase
storage solution made from GreenPanel.
“Not many of our customers are aware of
this but Finsa is a leading supplier of laminate
flooring in the UK and we are very proud of
being one of the top suppliers of B&Q and
Howdens Joinery through our FAUS Floor
brand,” said Mr Willisch.
“This part of our business has been
strengthened lately with new personnel with
the view of promoting our FAUS brand to many
other customers in the UK. We are in the
process of expanding the network of
distributors throughout the UK.”
All this momentum feels significant for a
private, family company which has kept a
lower profile than many of its competitors over
the years.
Finsa still retains that family feel and the
majority of the company’s shares are still
owned by the original family, which takes an
active interest in the business.
A short drive away from Santiago brings
you to where it all began for Finsa – the site of
the original 1930s sawmill at Padrón.
Today there is no sawn timber production,
but the site has grown massively to encompass
an MDF and veneered board hub of some
considerable scale on the banks of the River Ulla.
Finsa stopped cutting logs in the veneer
mill a year ago. It now finds it more costeffective to buy in the veneers and then
classify them before cutting, gluing, edging
and stitching them together on several
Fisher+Ruckle machines.
Three lines produce 25,000m3 of veneered
board every year, with operations currently
running at 60% capacity. Total group
production is 150,000m3.
Veneers being applied during TTJ’s visit
included sapele, European white oak, American
white oak and wenge. Substrates include
chipboard, MDF, plywood and blockboard.
Veneers are applied on a 130cm-wide press,
before being cut to size and sanded on Egurko
and Heeseman technology to create the Natur
range of veneered boards. Boards at the Padrón
factory are produced in 2-55mm thicknesses,
though the Portuguese plant, a more flexible
operation, can manufacture 250cm-wide boards.
The adjacent MDF plant, like the chipboard
Flat-pack furniture
plant in Santiago, sources its raw material from
the maritime pine and eucalyptus forests
covering Galicia. About 80% of forests in the
province are made up of these two species,
which Finsa says gives it a better quality board
than using spruce.
Lighter boards
Many of the newer Finsa MDF innovations
focus on lighter boards, which consume less
raw material, are easier to transport and are
easier to handle.
FinLight, which consists of two thin Fibranor
MDF faces (Fibranor) with a 300kg/m3 lowdensity MDF filling (Iberpan 300), was included
in the resource efficiency category of the 2010
edition of the Construction Products Innovation
and Achievement guide. Applications include
interior doors, furniture, worktops, kitchen door
fronts, screens and wall panelling.
SuperPan is effectively a new type of board
in its combination of chipboard core and two
MDF faces. It can also be used in engineered
flooring, postforming and structural elements.
The GreenPanel ultralight board further
reduces raw material use with its MDF top and
bottom surfaces and thinner MDF grid core. It
can be made in 28-100mm thicknesses, with a
density as low as 160kg/m3 at 100mm.
Suspended ceilings, partitions and furniture
are typical end-use applications.
Other areas include its decorative paper
business Decotec.
What is clear from visiting Finsa, is that the
company is not putting all its eggs in one
basket, but has created a broad product portfolio
with an increasing emphasis on added value. ■
17
Special Focus | Software & IT
Computer systems are an everyday
part of timber trading
PHOTO: PROGRESSIVE SOLUTIONS
A hand-held device linked to Progressive
Solutions’ bisTrack system simplifies stocktaking
Widening the net
Thanks to advances in software, the timber industry can look
forward to more internet-based ways of controlling stock and
sharing information. Robin Meade reports
S
ystems suppliers agree the heart of
timber trading remains controlling stock,
selecting, pricing and delivering orders
on time and without errors. Mining and
sharing data with customers and linking into
design packages are also key, as well as being
able to access the masses of information from
beyond the back office and trade counter.
However, internet commerce is again
moving centre stage as timber traders look to
buy and sell to whomever and wherever the
potential customer may be, and have instant
access to every detail of their business. The
latest signpost to the future points away from
hardware and software installed within the
business, to computing capability hosted
centrally within a data centre and accessed
via the internet on any PC, laptop or a handheld device.
Cloud computing (p20), where users tap into
external computer resources, provides for very
fast transactions with guaranteed security
without the cost of installing and maintaining a
server and software on the premises. Ten-25
Software, which has more than 70 installations
ranging from two to 200 users, is rolling out just
such a system based on its flagship UniTrade
product. Its latest release, available this month
ahead of a major product launch in the summer,
replaces servers at the customer site.
Concept evolution
UniTrade 360 is borne out of the seventh
generation of the company’s core UniTrade
system and coincides with Ten-25’s 30th
anniversary. Ian Oldrey, Ten-25’s sales and
marketing director, said web and hosted
systems are an evolution of the original concept.
18
“This is a fairly mature market for a core
trading system – most companies have
something in place. From our point of view there
is an awful lot more that can be done as to how
someone can perfect their daily job and we are
constantly evolving that,” he said. “Online and
through a web shop is one of those ways.
There are different parts of that which will suit
different businesses. Some want the full web
shop capability while others decide it’s not
suitable for them, but want to allow customers
to look up information on sales. Everyone is
taking a different approach.”
Blue Rock Systems, the Southampton-based
systems supplier, has gone live with a webbased hub system for the National Buying
Group (NBG). The contract catapulted Blue
Rock, which acquired Sense Computer Systems
in Nottingham in 2009, to a wider merchant
audience.
NBG comprises 83 independent partner
merchants with 271 outlets generating a
turnover of £750m-plus. It now operates a
bespoke, multi-business, electronic trading
system which, through the web, allows for
constant detailed analysis of all NBG members
and their purchases from more than 240
approved suppliers.
“Allowing our category management teams
this level of information allows for much more
dynamic management of our deals and our
purchasing,” said a spokesperson for NBG.
“This will help ensure our partners remain as
competitive in the market place as they always
have been.”
US-based Spruce Computer Systems has 12
timber installations among its UK builders
merchant customers. Spruce director Terry
SUMMARY
■ Internet commerce is moving centre
stage.
■ Cloud computing is the next new concept.
■ There has been a move towards
Windows systems and a more userfriendly dashboard concept.
■ Hand-held stock control devices are
becoming more widespread.
O’Reilly said the need for information had forced
a move away from large systems towards
Windows systems and a more user-friendly
dashboard concept.
Windows environment
“About five years ago many customers started
looking for sophistication, and the nice little
things that were coming along to enhance the
use of computers are Windows-based,” said Mr
O’Reilly. “And, of course, everyone can operate a
Windows environment because we all use
Windows. That set the pace for us. Everyone is
able to buy and sell and manage stock control.
It’s those frontline customer-facing things that
are being driven at the moment, along with the
reporting functions.”
Progressive Solutions’ bisTrack customers
include Arnold Laver Timberworld, Premier
Forest Products, Ridgeons Forest Products (p21),
James Latham, North Yorkshire Timber and
Continental Wood Products. The system can
manage stock in different units of measure as it
is traded, making it possible to buy per pack,
stock per 100m, price per 10m and sell per
metre. Figures can be produced quickly for
stock takes and there is constant, year-round
access to accurate visibility of all stock,
including timber still on the quayside and stock
already allocated or being processed in-house
and by third parties.
“With access to accurate live data, potential
problems can be revealed and new areas of
interest opened up,” said a spokesperson. “For
example, some bisTrack users have set up Smart
Views on their dashboard which highlight slow-
2/9 April 2011
moving stock, or to keep an eye on stock levels
of particular products across multiple branches.
“For smaller companies the key benefit of
total visibility might be simply a reliable record
of what stock is held, while larger companies
trading on a national level can guarantee nextday deliveries to site or track stock on order and
sell from shipping documents before the stock
has arrived.”
Solarsoft, whose customers include
Staverton Building Supplies, has a Management
Information Option (MIO) to improve reporting.
“Most business owners know what their topselling product is, but which products
contribute the most margin and which
customers are buying those products?” said a
spokesperson. “MIO presents data in a graphic
dashboard, giving instant access to margin by
product, supplier or customer, supplier price
and delivery performance, patterns of sales by
region or between products, stock turn, ageing
and outages.”
Increased efficiency with an eye on web
trading was the message Monmouth-based
Border Merchant Systems, formed in 1990 by a
consortium of independents, took away from its
recent user group conference. Its in-housedeveloped CounterAct software is used by a
number of timber customers including Beers.
“We still develop in-house and it’s vital to
hear from our customers,” said head of sales and
marketing Phil Davies. “Trackage is something
everyone is looking to run more efficiently; proof
of delivery and collections, what rebates are
due, product waste information – that kind of
thing. Generally, it’s KPIs (key performance
indicators) to see how their business is doing
and what can be done.
“Web trading is getting bigger and we are
working with a number of customers who have
their own websites and want to link with their
trading system,” he added. “It’s a natural
progression. Cloud computing is on our list of
things to do, but for the moment you have to
ask at what point it becomes economic. At
what point does low cost of ownership
outweigh hassle?”
Digital signature
capture from
Kerridge
Data capture and display
Simplifying the way data is captured and
displayed is a relatively new development for
the timber industry. Progressive Solutions has
integrated hand-held, wireless count devices
to its optional Mobile Stock and Counting
applications. This enables perpetual
stocktaking/stock verification, reducing annual
or biannual stocktaking costs. Staff can count
stock in individual or quiet areas as often as
required. The data is entered directly into
bisTrack, avoiding paper count sheets and the
manual re-entering of figures.
Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), the
Hungerford-based IT specialist with its K8
system, has also introduced its digital
signature capture capability with a range of
four hand-held devices. Rather than signing a
printed form, the transaction is confirmed on a
digital signature capture pad connected to K8
and held digitally. Through KPrint, advice notes
can be output on single-sheet laser-printed
form as an alternative to pre-printed
continuous stationery.
Like Border, KCS has been staging a series
of roadshow events to promote the importance
of IT and to discuss the challenges faced by
merchant businesses when selecting and
implementing a computer system. The agenda
also includes industry best practices, customer
case studies and first-hand customer
experiences from Howarth Timber & Building
Supplies. Programmes in the UK conclude on
April 6 at the Heritage Motor Centre in
Birmingham.
Ramtac, which recently installed its timber
trading module at Chilton Timber in Hemel
Hempstead and at Young’s in Dymchurch, Kent,
has its Intact Software designed for use by every
type of merchant, and wholesalers and
distributors. However, the company, from
Berkhamsted, Berks, recently released Sharp-ax
specifically for the timber industry.
“We have put in more than 300 systems in
the past five years; waging war against the
lever arch file,” said chairman Mike Munnelly.
“They have been distribution systems – order
processing, stock, nominal ledger, credit control
data drilling, KPIs – now we are looking at
developing further into manufacturing with
Sharp-ax. We believe it is vital to keep acquiring
and developing with the technology.” ■
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2/9 April 2011
19
A cloud of many
silver linings
Ten-25’s Ian Oldrey explains how cloud computing, in which the
service provider hosts an application in a data centre rather than
the customer’s own site, can save time, effort and money
I
remember when ADSL, SDSL and “always
on” lines became broadband and cell
phones became known as mobiles. Well it
feels like there is another change in the
technological air, and that’s cloud computing.
When my father started Ten-25 Software,
developing trading systems for the timber
industry, in the 1970s, bureau computer systems
were the thing of the moment. A computer cost
a fortune, so companies would have a couple in
a big dust-proof, air-conditioned room with
users at the end of an expensive and dedicated
network. Then the personal computer brought
the cost of the computer down so dramatically
that it became more logical for everyone to have
their own computer, loaded with the software
they needed on it.
The use of the personal computer has
stayed in that model, led by Microsoft, for the
past 20 years, but a quiet revolution is starting
to take shape.
As broadband connections get faster and
more reliable we are all doing more of our
computing online. While using the web is part
of everyday life now, the ability to store more
information and use advanced software
applications is getting easier and cheaper –
and this is cloud computing.
Cloud computing has broad meanings,
covering a range of web-hosted applications
and services. I was at a presentation by one of
the largest software companies in the world in
December and in a room full of IT people
(there’s a party you want to go to!) it was
difficult to pin down a clear explanation of
what cloud computing was. So I am going to
focus on one specific area of it – software as a
service, delivering your trading and stock
control system via the cloud.
an expensive addition to a server-based
system.
In addition, as the system provider doesn’t
have to install the hardware and software for
each new user and can pre-build much of the
configuration, you realise value from the
software more quickly and with less call for
staff training.
Your staff will also spend less time
maintaining infrastructure, allowing them to
focus on business processes and data to drive
your competitive advantage. And because you
receive regular and seamless updates to the
system, you immediately benefit from features
and performance instead of waiting for a long
software release cycle, or the budget to
upgrade.
The final benefit to cloud computing is its
security. Look at the server that has your
trading or financials system on it – the
computer that holds all the information about
your customers, products, stock, buying
agreements, quotes, invoices, and the list goes
on. How secure is the room it is in?
Looking at the fans round the back, are they
sucking more dust through the guts of your
server than a turbocharged Dyson? What
happens if the power fails? A cloud-delivered
system has power back-ups, fire protection, onsite security, back-up data, back-up network
SUMMARY
■ With cloud computing the system
provider hosts applications in a data
centre.
■ The customer has a network connection
and pays for it on a subscription basis.
■ Cloud systems can give access to
advanced software functionality.
■ Data is backed up and secure.
A cloud-delivered system
has power back-ups,
fire protection, on-site
security, back-up data,
back-up network
connections – everything
needed to keep your
data safe and delivering
your system to those
that need it
connections – everything needed to keep your
data safe and delivering your system to those
that need it. If you have a power cut you can
still access a cloud system via any device that
can still connect to the web, such as a
smartphone.
There will be many businesses that still
value having their company data in a box at
their office. But for those looking for more
software features, delivered where you want
them, at a better price, and with less effort to set
up and run – the cloud revolution is coming.
Licence to use functionality
A cloud-deployed trading system is one in
which your system provider hosts their
application in a data centre, and gives
customers a licence to use this functionality
over the internet. Instead of installing the
application on a server on the customer’s site,
they have a network connection and pay for it
on an as-needed subscription basis, often
based on a number of users.
This cloud model offers several benefits: a
smaller initial investment in both software and
hardware means that it is easier to fund your
project in tough economic times and with less
risk. It may even be possible to get the latest
features from a new system for no more than
you are paying to maintain your current
system.
Cloud systems can also give access to
advanced software functionality that would be
20
Ten-25’s UniTrade 360 cloud system
2/9 April 2011
To visibility and beyond
Progressive Solutions’ bisTrack has been rolled out to 600 users
across the Ridgeons group. Alison Hopkinson reports
P
rogressive Solutions’ bisTrack software
was first implemented three years ago
at Ridgeons’ Forest Products Division
during the early stages of a 12-month exercise.
This has culminated in 600 users across the
Ridgeons group using the system to manage
every aspect of its operation.
Around 25,000m3 of timber moves through
the division’s Suffolk site every year. Seventy
per cent of sales are to branches within the
Ridgeons group, and bisTrack processes 1,500
or so sales transactions for the division every
month.
One of the responsibilities of the division’s
new general manager, Jem Slee, is to ensure a
return on the group’s investment in IT and he
says that the Microsoft Windows-based
bisTrack has already delivered huge
efficiencies through time and cost savings.
Mr Slee uses Smart Views (bisTrack’s
standard or customisable snapshots of
pertinent data in the system) to access live
sales and margin information, which he can
export to Excel for manipulation and reporting.
Smart Views save time, as the user doesn’t
need to go to separate sources in the system
for the information. Office manager Annette
Wait also uses them to pick up irregularities in
order inputting, pricing, stock receipting and
EDI documents, so she can track these
documents back and rectify them.
Better customer service
Basic functionality, such as being able to copy
from Word or Excel into orders and quotes, and
having more than one Window open so you can
move quickly from quote to sale when talking
to a customer, helps the team to work faster
and provide better customer service.
Sales development manager Stephan Wait is
another Smart Views fan and to help develop
sales to external customers he has created a
view that shows the ‘daily order intake’ for
sales outside of the group. “We can already see
orders coming through the system but I
wanted something which showed this more
specific activity on a daily basis and which
gives us a better feel for the level of external
business coming in each day and over the
month,” said Mr Wait.
“We have a lot more transparency now
through ‘related documents’ which is very
powerful. Just being able to find work quickly
on the system, through the order monitor,
where we can review margins and see sales
that have gone through, is so much better.”
■ bisTrack processes 1,500 sales
transactions a month at Ridgeons’ Forest
Products Division.
■ Smart Views provides snapshots of data
in the system.
■ The software also simplifies chain of
custody audits.
■ The system gives total stock visibility.
Purchasing process
In the purchasing department, Peter Wittish
said that day-to-day purchasing is much easier
now because of the way the software allows
the user to break down product information.
“We can look at products by size, grade,
length, individual pack number, which mill
supplied the product, stock that is on order,
stock that is allocated and the stock location of
each pack,” he said. “This helps immensely in
reducing the time wasted looking for certain
packs to machine or order pick in a large yard.
“The ability to produce reports in relation to
purchase/product analysis is significantly
faster than previously, and they can be broken
down over any period from one month up to
multiple years for each individual product
code,” he continued. “This process really helps
us with the forecasting of volumes required.
“We can also set minimum and maximum
stock levels to trigger purchase orders
automatically, which is a great help as we have
so many product lines to keep track of,” Mr
Wittish added. “There are other simple but timesaving benefits too, such as being able to raise a
purchase order and email it. Before we had to
print it and fax it – or just write it out by hand.”
The software is also making Ridgeons’
chain of custody audits much easier. Because
bisTrack at work in Ridgeons’ Forest Products sales office
2/9 April 2011
SUMMARY
The Ridgeons Forest Products team, from left:
Paul Mazey, Jem Slee, Peter Wittish, Annette
Wait and Stephan Wait
the company runs a ‘volume credit’ system, all
volumes, in and out, of all products, have to be
recorded. Using bisTrack, these reports can be
run by certification scheme, by size, by grade,
by group or even by branch, which was not
possible with the old system. If the auditor
requests a report to prove that the chain of
custody hasn’t been broken, Ridgeons can now
identify and retrieve all relevant information,
from the point where the request was made for
a certified product on the purchase order, to
the scanned goods in tickets, the stock receipt,
and the date the product was machined or sold
as a sawn product.
Escaping a black hole
Divisional operations manager Paul Mazey said
that bisTrack has enabled the group to move
away from what he described as the black hole
principle of timber management.
“Historically this was the way the timber
trade worked,” he said. “You had to make sure
you had a lot of everything so the salesmen
could sell whatever they wanted, and then the
operations team would just take what they had
and cut and convert it to meet the order. But,
with no visibility or control over the processes
in the middle, you were never really sure if you
were making any money until the end.
“Our previous system gave us some sort of
real-time stock control but we still had this
black hole of processes in the middle. Then
bisTrack arrived, and gave us total visibility.
We know exactly what stock is there, we know
what lengths we’ve got, you can put in the
processes, you can take account of the offcuts,
and you can see exactly what your costs are.
We’ve gone from a lot of guesswork into being
very precise – and that is a big change.” ■
21
Intelligent business
Business intelligence technologies can transform software into a dynamic management tool.
Nell McIntosh of Kerridge Commercial Systems reports
I
n the broadest sense,
companies have always used
‘business intelligence’, or BI,
but today it’s a term more widely
known through the computer tools
designed to collate and harness
management data.
The computer system has long
been a repository of information
from an input point of view, but
exploiting its capabilities as a truly
dynamic management tool has
only recently become commonplace. Although
several generations of software have been able
to produce reports, their processes could be
complex and their data out of date and its
potential reduced by the time it’s distributed .
What was needed was refined real time
information, pinpointing the key issues about
which swift action can be taken. Enter BI.
BI tools are the way forward for distributors
and merchants to get the best from their
systems. It’s all about unleashing the value of
information, presenting it in a clear, dynamic
user-friendly way, enabling the recipients to
make fast, effective decisions. Three elements
have contributed to the introduction of BI tools.
Firstly, there’s been a massive increase in
computer power – processing capability, storage
and on-screen graphics. Secondly, software
“Information power”
at the desktop
developers have been able to use this computer
power to produce increasingly capable products
– BI is just one. Thirdly, software consultants
working with the user companies have gained
an immense understanding of business
requirements, the issues faced daily and,
significantly, how best to resolve them.
With new BI ‘information power’ at the
desktop, managers can get stuck in with
aligning day-to-day performance with business
goals and, if it can be measured, it can be
improved. Planning and forecasting decisions
can be more informed. In a nutshell, it’s so much
easier when everything is well presented and
clear to understand.
There are other benefits: access to
“management information reports” used to be
the preserve of managers. With BI tools in
place, managers can focus more
on the information that they
really need and, at the same
time, free themselves up by
making information accessible to
their staff so that they can be
more effective by making ‘on the
ground’ decisions. BI can help to
expand staff responsibilities and
stimulate engagement at all
levels.
In our experience there are
two parts to introducing BI – the software
application tools and implementing the
necessary process changes that come with it. BI
adds a new dimension to how a business
operates and, whilst its potential is limited only
by the imagination of the user, some new
fundamental disciplines are required to make BI
a success.
In our K8 system, we have implemented a
series of BI applications suitable for merchants
and distributors comprising: workplace for
customer, sales, ordering, and stock information;
snapshot trading ‘dashboards’; KPI reporting;
advanced analysis tools; and user favourites.
Implementing BI means an investment in
time, resources and systems and, with a robust
foundation in place, there will be significant,
far-reaching rewards. ■
Treatment on Auto
Paul Richardson reports on the latest software update to Arch Timber Protection’s Auto-Treater
A
rch Timber Protection has upgraded
Auto-Treater, its automated control
system for timber treatment
operations.
Already managing and controlling more
than 60 treatment plants in the UK and Europe,
Auto-Treater provides users with a proven
software system that combines automation of
the treatment process with business
management information to give advanced
control and optimisation.
Auto-Treater is now built on the very latest
PLC (programmable logic controller) & SCADA
(supervisory control and data acquisition)
systems ensuring product longevity and
helping to future proof Arch’s customers’
treatment operations. The system ergonomics
have been further improved to increase
operator efficiency, and additional fault-finding
tools provide operators with greater self-help
capabilities to diagnose plant faults,
minimising any down time.
The fully integrated solution strength
control system, with the facility to log
confirmatory lab results within the database,
will help remove the need for separate data
logging for quality assurance purposes. And a
22
new auto mix function following the
completion of a charge is available, helping
maximise plant throughput by minimising
charge turnaround times.
The latest generation of Auto-Treater is also
now equipped with an advanced retention
calculation structure to further improve
treatment control and help provide compliance
to BS 8417 – Preservation of Wood – Code of
Practice. Arch has also enhanced the list of
reports that are available direct from the
system to help customers manage their
business.
“But we’re not stopping there,”said Mr
Webster, Arch’s engineering and technical
services manager. “The system is now being
further developed to provide a fully integrated
European version, incorporating multilanguage options and required European
treatment standards.”
Bond Timber, one of the largest timber
treatment operations in Devon and Cornwall, is
among the latest companies to benefit from the
installation of Auto-Treater.
“We now have a superb system that is
extremely operator friendly and also provides
us with detailed and valuable management
The new Auto-Treater is operator friendly
reporting information,” said manager Shaun
Getson.
“Recording of data is much improved and
the automated mixing facility means that
treatment operator exposure or error is much
reduced.”
A new brochure highlighting the latest AutoTreater developments is available and Arch has
a fully functional demonstration system enabling
Auto-Treater to be brought direct to the
customer’s site so it can be seen first-hand. ■
2/9 April 2011
Does your timber treatment plant have real talent?
• Improved process efficiency, maximising
throughputs and minimising costs.
• Chemical stock inventory to provide
accurate cost control and more efficient
management of your business.
• Self diagnostic system for ease of
maintenance.
• Potential to link multiple treatment plants
from one source.
• Sophisticated yet impressively user
friendly.
Un!Qu! timber protection
For more information contact Arch Timber
Protection - telephone 01977 714000
www.archtp.com
® Auto-Treater is a registered trademark of Arch Timber Protection.
• Access to valuable management reports.
Enterprise is
ready for launch
Enterprise being used on a handheld device on the factory floor
Karl Foster, sales and marketing director at Wolf Systems, outlines
Enterprise, the latest version of its management software
E
vents in the construction industry over
the past few years have illustrated the
need for suppliers to have a better
understanding of their clients’ businesses. In
the past, it may have been sufficient to take a
longer-term view but today the need for
accurate, up-to-date information is paramount.
Now, manufacturers and suppliers need to
respond in days – or even hours – to their
customers’ requirements and they need to
have this information at their fingertips.
Recognising the extra burden this places on
its customers, Wolf Systems is launching
Enterprise – a management system with an
unprecedented degree of functionality and
flexibility, which allows users to respond quickly
to client needs. Although developed from WMS,
Wolf’s existing management software package,
the new product is so different that we felt it
necessary to give it a new identity.
Software evolution
Since Wolf Systems was established in the UK
23 years ago we’ve developed tools and
systems to help customers run their businesses
more effectively. We have created a series of
management systems – first WolfBase, then
WolfPro, WolfTrack and, of course, WMS –
while at the same time producing structural
design packages for roofs, floors and walls.
Enterprise continues this evolution and
takes management software to a new level. All
of the stages that are crucial to a business are
replicated within the system, from the initial
24
enquiry stage, through to quoting for a scheme
and the associated price and product
negotiations. Orders can be created and calloffs planned allowing production and deliveries
to be scheduled and invoices created.
Whilst all of this is useful for the estimator
and designer, what is of real importance with
management software is how it helps you
manage your business. The data logging in
Enterprise is so comprehensive that any aspect
of business-critical information can be reported
on; for example, the number and level of quotes
issued, their status and when they need to be
followed up and by whom. It’s information such
as this that is most useful to manufacturers as it
is this that helps them become more efficient
and, ultimately, more successful.
Like all our products, whether structural
engineering software for trusses, easi-joist
metal-webs or smartroof roof panels,
Enterprise is the result of ongoing dialogue
with our customers. Existing WMS users
provided us with feedback on areas such as
flexibility and the ability to make last minute
changes, and this information helped guide our
refinement of the system. For trussed rafter
manufacturers, the ability to make eleventhhour adjustments is invaluable as it is common
to find that a customer order doesn’t match
what they’ve quoted.
For example, a roof or floor design prepared
and accepted by the customer is logged into the
management system and scheduled for
production and delivery. But often when the
SUMMARY
■ Enterprise is the latest generation of
management software from Wolf
Systems.
■ It’s aimed at manufacturers of trussed
rafter and metal-web joists.
■ All of the business critical information is
stored in Enterprise.
■ Comprehensive management reporting is
available from the software to increase
efficiency.
building is measured to confirm sizes, usually
just before manufacture, a small change can
occur, requiring a redesign of the whole job.
Previously, this could have taken some time but
with the improvements made to Enterprise, a
manufacturer can make any change at any stage.
This flexibility was developed as a direct
result of talking to our customers and working
with them. Wolf has a unique advantage in this
respect as all of our software is written here in
the UK, which means our development team
can respond very quickly to requests for
improvements and enhancements in the
software. Larger projects can also be delivered
more quickly because we make more efficient
use of our resources with our developers
working in this team.
It also helps that the software we develop
for our customers is also used by all of our own
employees from our design office, admin, sales
and customer services staff right through to
dispatch who organise deliveries for our
customers. By adopting our “own brand”
software the company really drives the
development process forward.
Improved speed
Another aspect of the WMS software we had
been asked to improve was speed –
particularly in the process of producing
quotations. These days many of our customers
have to work to much tighter timescales than
in the past, while at the same time they are
receiving more enquiries as contractors shop
around for the best price. This has meant that
manufacturers need to ensure that the process
of producing a quotation is as fast as possible.
The improvements to the speed and
efficiency of the package have been delivered
by “caching” a lot of the information a user
would regularly need. Despite improvements to
network structures, the process of passing
information to and from a central server can be
time-consuming; so storing this information
locally allows the user the best of both worlds
– a networked management application
running at desktop speeds.
Enterprise also offers far more flexibility in
the scheduling of production and deliveries.
Last minute changes need to be handled with
the minimum of fuss so we have made
improvements to the scheduling system the
software employs. This makes adding,
changing and editing far easier for the user
and much quicker than in previous versions.
We don’t know of any comparable software
package that allows the level of manipulation
Enterprise now offers – a capability which we
believe represents a significant step forward
for timber engineering manufacturers.
2/9 April 2011
Decoding Eurocode
Jason Ruddle, business and marketing director for Gang-Nail
Systems, looks at Eurocode 5 and its impact on engineers of timber
structures and the software they use
T
he end of last year marked the close of a
three-year co-existence period between
British Standards for the construction
sector and the new Eurocodes.
Eurocodes have not been introduced
because current British legislation is
inadequate. The objective is to develop a panEuropean building code approach that provides
common design criteria and understanding
and helps promote trade across the board. The
new codes should also build a solid foundation
for research and development, as well as a
platform for design aids and software.
The European Standard EN 1995, or
Eurocode 5 (EC5) for the design of timber
structures, is made up of three parts and each
has a National Annex. The latter contains
country-specific design data for local
conditions such as wind speed and snowfall.
Following the BSI’s 2006 ratification of PD6693,
the document providing additional rules on
aspects of timber and truss design not
included in EC5, the latter officially became an
alternative to BS 5268. It has been possible to
work to EC5 since then, and large structural
engineering practices are already using it due
to the benefits for operating EU-wide. The
Trussed Rafter Association and the
independent UK Engineered Wood Products
Committee, which oversees the design of I-joist
and metal-web beams, have also been working
to encourage engineers generally to make the
Eurocode transfer as soon as possible.
Unprepared for standards switch
However, at present it seems unlikely that the
industry as a whole is equipped or ready to
make the switch. Many manufacturers and
engineers still don’t realise the importance of
employing EC5, or indeed the other respective
Eurocodes, as standard working practice.
There are several reasons for this, aside
from the technical differences. Within the
industry there has been no ‘official’ axing of
the BS 5268. Instead it has existed alongside
the new Eurocodes, leading to the perceived
impression that designing, and subsequently
building, to this standard is still accepted
practice. Furthermore, many end users have
failed to prepare correctly for the migration,
despite procurement rules demanding that EC5
be used for all public sector building.
The current situation could lead to floors
and trussed rafter roofs being designed to EC5
and timber walls to British Standards. It is
important to stress, however, that one
approach must be taken. Projects that are
specified to EC5 can’t use products designed
to BS 5268. Combining the two could lead to a
mismatch of components and subsequent
problems during the build.
It’s also worth noting that professional
indemnity insurance has a large part to play in
ensuring engineers switch to the Eurocodes. If
2/9 April 2011
work has been completed to the old British
Standard and there are mistakes that need to
be rectified, companies may find themselves on
the wrong side of litigation for negligence.
SUMMARY
■ Eurocodes will provide a platform for
design aids and software.
■ Software is still in development.
■ Gang-Nail’s test version features a
simple switch from BS or EC5.
■ Very little will change in the software’s
user interface.
Working stress to limit state
In designing and using timber construction
components, EC5 means engineers switching
from working stress methods applied under
British standards to limit state methods. But,
as many changed to the latter working with
steel, concrete and masonry a number of years
ago, this shouldn’t have too much of an impact.
In design terms, the fundamental difference
between the standards is that EC5 is a
theoretical code where formulae replace
tabulated values, rather than a code of best
practice. The result is that it lacks the easy
reference tables of BS 5268, but this is where
the National Annex comes in. It includes tables
of loads and other design data that were
included in BS 6258 in addition to countryspecific material properties.
Although EC5 takes a less prescriptive
approach to design than BS 5268, it will require
far more understanding and vigilant
application from engineers. Characteristic
strength properties for panel products and
components, such as timber I-joists and metal
hardware, must also now be obtained in
accordance with CEN testing standards.
Major items still to be decided are vibration
design for floors/attic trusses and compression
splice plate design. If the design follows EC5,
it’s important that a vibration check is carried
out, as this is usually the governing design
case. After the vibration method has been
finalised the National Annex to EC5 will be
updated and reissued along with PD6693.
Clearly implementation of the new
Eurocodes – specifically EC5 – will have
a marked effect on
timber
construction design software and the transition
here from one code to another will inevitably
have complications and take time.
In this regard Gang-Nail’s own software is
still in development, despite having a solid
foundation to start from. But our products are
now designed to work within the parameters
of EC5 and we offer full training to ensure that
timber engineers can use the new design
codes to improve timber design. We also check
against existing British Standard requirements
to make sure there are no fundamental
variances between the new and old codes.
We also now have a test version of software
covering truss and metal-web floor designs,
which features a simple switch to change from
either BS or EC5, offering a tool to compare the
results rapidly.
Anyone using our software does need to
understand the fundamental differences
between EC5 and BS5268 and this is where our
commitment to training is focused. But as very
little will have changed in the software’s user
interface, it’s unlikely that much, if any,
training will be needed in this area.
The use of EC5 as the only design method
will take some time to filter through the
industry, and there are still some unknowns
regarding its formulation and implementation,
so software will continue to evolve and expand
to meet market requirements over coming
years. In this respect Gang-Nail offers users
the advantage of an annual update of all
software to keep abreast of changes. ■
A roof designed to EC5
25
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Face to Face
Pathway to promotion
AHEC’s European director, David Venables, talks to Sally Spencer
about a career that’s taken him from hardwood sawmilling and
trading, through to marketing
T
here can’t be too many people for whom
the simple act of sharpening a pencil is
enough to transport them back to their
childhood, but David Venables, great-greatgrandson of Stafford sawmiller Henry
Venables, is one of them.
“The smell of the wood shavings is the
smell of a Saturday morning at the sawmill
with my dad,” he reminisced. “The mill would
be quiet and he’d be doing his paperwork
while I ran around making dens in log piles
and climbing on stacks of timber.”
His childhood was steeped in the family
timber business, which involved woodland
management and harvesting as well as
sawmilling.
He was encouraged, though never forced, to
follow in his ancestors’ footsteps, but had early
ambitions to do more than “shuffle wood
around”. Working at the sawmill in his school
holidays he became particularly interested in
kilning technology.
It was an interest that was to stand David
in good stead for his next step, which was to
study for a timber technology degree at Bucks
College – his thesis was on accelerated oak
drying. Again his father, Geoffrey, provided
encouragement.
“He hadn’t had the opportunity to go on to
any further education because when he’d
finished his national service he was needed
back at the family business,” said David. “He
also hadn’t had the opportunity to travel, so he
encouraged me to do both those things.”
The timber technology degree continues to
pay dividends. “There is a strong technical
aspect to the marketing we do at AHEC,” he
said. “It’s genuinely an education that I have
used and applied throughout my career.”
Bound for Africa
Travel followed immediately after graduating
and in 1984 at the age of 22, he was boarding a
plane for Zimbabwe. He was heading for a
large South African furniture manufacturer,
Springmaster Furniture, based in Harare, where
he was to control its kilns and the primary
input into its various furniture factories.
“It was a fascinating experience,” he said.
“I was thrown in at the deep end because
although I had lots of product knowledge I had
no experience – particularly in terms of
management. It was real character-building
stuff.”
Eighteen months in Zimbabwe was followed
by six months back in the UK, consulting for the
family business, but he couldn’t wait to get back
to Africa. And, thanks to family friend, hardwood
agent David McKee and his international
contacts, it wasn’t long before he was heading
back, this time to Ghana.
“I worked for a joint initiative between Fetim
Bekol, a Dutch trading company, and Ghanaian
landowners,” said David. “Again I was thrown
30
in at the deep end of running an export sawmill
with limited resources.
“There was one bandsaw, two cross-cuts and
60 people compared to the three that ran the
sawmill at home, but I learned fairly quickly to
work with the African way of business.”
In 1990, after four years in Ghana, David
was ready to settle back in the UK, but he
didn’t want to lose his “connection” with the
international trade. He fired off letters to
various hardwood agents and got a “fabulous
response” from Jack Furtado and John Barrett
at Lignum. They didn’t have a vacancy but
were so impressed with David’s experiences in
Africa, where they wanted to grow the
business, that they offered him a job.
“Jack and John really took me under their
wing and gave me a fantastic grounding,” said
David. “I procured African timber and they got
me selling, too.”
After a couple of years “itchy feet” got the
better of him and he was enticed away by EAC
in Sevenoaks. “It was a real powerhouse at the
time and so exciting going into a much larger
trading environment and working with a wider
portfolio and bigger volumes,” said David.
However, in 1995, after some restructuring
at EAC, David found himself out of a job for the
first time in his career. As it happened it was a
lucky turn of events.
SUMMARY
■ David Venables is Henry Venables’ greatgreat-grandson.
■ He has a timber technology degree from
Bucks College.
■ On leaving college he worked in
Zimbabwe and Ghana.
■ He joined AHEC in 1995, later taking
over as European director.
The AHEC years
“I picked up a message on my answerphone
from Michael Buckley [then AHEC’s European
director],” David recalled. “I rang him back and
four hours later I was on my way to London to
meet him.
“I’ve never looked back. Michael was a very
different mentor for me. He has a real instinct
for marketing and communication and he
helped me to connect my technical experience
with that,” said David. “Suddenly I wasn’t
selling lumber, I was selling ideas and I
realised that being part of something that was
influencing change in behaviour was my
vocation.”
He describes being asked to take over as
European director when Michael Buckley left to
set up his own marketing company, Turnstone
Communications, as “one of the most exciting
times of my career”.
Anyone who has met David will have no
doubts over his commitment to promoting the
US hardwoods cause. Sixteen years on, his
motivation is as strong as ever.
“The challenge is there all the time,” he
said. “At the core of everything I do is the idea
that, with effective communication, we can
change the perception of wood, in particular
with designers and architects.
“When we have seminars that attract 500
delegates and have presentations from
architects who are passionate about designing
in wood, I think ‘it’s worked’ – and that’s what
David Venables: “influencing change in
behaviour was my vocation”
gets me out of bed in the morning.”
He feels a strong moral obligation to
promote the use of timber, generally, as a
sustainable, renewable resource.
“Timber has an even more important role to
play than it did for our ancestors, but it’s all
about awareness and understanding. Those of
us in the trade carry the mantle. That’s my
motivation – the job will never be over.”
This motivation spills over into the general
promotion of timber. AHEC is a driving force
behind the annual Wood Awards, for example,
and is a gold sponsor of the forthcoming
Timber Expo.
When David’s not carrying the torch for
timber and American hardwoods in particular,
he likes to spend time with his family at their
home in Herefordshire. He and his wife Áine
have three children: Joe, who’s at university,
and Alice and Lucy, who are still at school, and
“enjoy a good sense of rural community”.
“We enjoy walking and canoeing and
swimming in the River Wye,” he said. “We
spend summer holidays in Pembrokeshire,” he
added. “My favourite spot is the Gower
Peninsula – I’m probably happiest down on the
beach with a surfboard under my arm.” ■
2/9 April 2011
People
OBITUARIES
Ron Hurlock
Incorporating Timber Trades Journal,
Timber & Plywood, Board News, Timber
Construction, and Timber & Wood Products
© World Market Intelligence
ISSN 1740-701X
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical
including photocopying, recording or
any information storage or retrieval
system without the express prior
written consent of the publisher.
Ron Hurlock, former hardwood
buyer for Arnold Laver & Co Ltd,
died on February 23. He was 78.
Mr Hurlock worked for Arnold
Laver for 33 years and was well
respected in the UK timber
industry.
James Clayton “Jim” Hamer,
former president of the National
Hardwood Lumber Association
(NHLA) and the Appalachian
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1 April 2011
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2/9 April 2011
Hardwood Manufacturers, died on
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The owner of Jim C Hamer
Company, Mr Hamer was NHLA
president from 1992-94.
He is survived by his wife
Gladys.
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enjoyed working with Mr
Hurlock. “I appreciated the way
he helped me to understand the
UK hardwood business. He was
a real character in his time and
will be sadly missed,” said Mr
James.
James (Jim) Hamer
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As group hardwood buyer he
had extensive knowledge of the
hardwoods sector and was always
willing to pass on his knowledge
to younger members of the trade.
Arnold Laver hardwoods
director Peter James said he
Lamont is on the
run for charity
Wood International Agency
director Alan Lamont recently
completed a half marathon, but it
was a mere warm-up compared
with the London marathon, which
he will be running on April 17.
Mr Lamont, who crossed the
finish line of the Brentwood half
marathon in 1 hour and 47
minutes, is running the marathon
in aid of St Francis Hospice.
“I'm not running this marathon
just for a sense of enormous
personal achievement, but also,
and more importantly, to raise
money for a charity that’s very
dear to me.
“Too many close friends and
family have been touched in some
way by cancer in recent years.
St Francis Hospice in Haveringatte-Bower helps in so many
ways to make it more bearable,”
said Mr Lamont.
He hopes to raise £1,800 for
the hospice. Donations can be
made through Just Giving at
TRADA Technology has
appointed Dr Hugh Mansfield
Williams as principal consultant,
to provide a focus for
manufacturers and specifiers of
the growing number of
engineered wood products in the
construction sector.
Managing director Andrew
Abbott said the appointment
reflected TRADA Technology’s
commitment to supporting new
and innovative timber products,
verifying performance data and,
equally important, assisting
manufacturers to develop routes
to market.
“We have both the technical
expertise and knowledge of
regulations and standards to give
impartial guidance on this fastgrowing market sector. Hugh’s
appointment underlines the
significance we accord to
engineered wood products and
their potential,” said Mr Abbott.
www.justgiving.com/alan-lamont.
“Any sponsorship, no matter
how small, will be gratefully
received; even just one pound can
help to make a difference, and
help me to reach my target,” said
Mr Lamont.
Vandecasteele adds
UK presence
Belgian trader Vandecasteele
Houtimport has established a UK
presence with the appointment of
Hans Ng as UK sales manager.
Vandecasteele export manager
Genevieve Standaert said Mr Ng,
who has 25 years’ experience in
the UK timber industry, would
promote the company’s entire
product portfolio, which includes
an extensive range of hardwood,
softwood, decking, laminated
window and door sections, logs
and clear grade softwood.
“The UK represents an
important export market and this
appointment will give a
supporting and additional UK
presence and increasing service
Hans Ng has joined Vandecasteele
as UK sales manager
levels and the opportunity for
further business development,”
she said.
Mr Ng can be contacted on
07720 383634 and email:
[email protected].
31
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Discover the merits of timber
technology over 2 vibrant days
A wide-ranging exhibition &
conference programme including
In Touch With Timber
Find timber industry leaders and
new business contacts in one
single location
Raising the profile of timber in
an event that is groundbreaking,
contemporary and compelling
Bringing timber to the front of
the green construction agenda
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