Product category:
Building Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
News Release from: BRE | Subject: UK timber
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 19 December 2005
UK timber - opportunities and
profitability
The Forestry Commission and Scottish Enterprise have commissioned BRE Timber to work on five projects aimed at increasing the opportunities and profitability of the UK timber processing industry.
The Forestry Commission and Scottish Enterprise have commissioned BRE Timber to work on five projects aimed at increasing the opportunities and profitability of the UK timber processing industry The focus is on manufacturing innovative, engineered wood products and adding value to UK grown timber
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 2 Oct 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Good Energy Advice Follows Alarming Report
Alarming results were recently published in a recent Which report investigating advice given to householders by heating engineers.
Industry Concern Over New Energy Initiatives
Delegates at a seminar held at BRE, voiced their concerns about the implementation of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
The projects, which will run concurrently, are:.
* two linked projects on whether engineered wood products can be successfully manufactured from Scots Pine falling boards - the boards cut from the outer edges of the log - and on how machine grade settings can be raised for UK-grown Scots Pine (see below for further details).
* a third project to develop BRE's innovative technique for making better use of UK-grown small diameter hardwood stems by re-engineering them into 'inside out' beams (see below for further details).
* a fourth project to develop UK-grown timber for industrial applications including piles and bridges.
* the production of a manual on adding value to UK timber.
There are likely to be both economic and environmental benefits from the work on thinnings and small dimension round timber, as timber from these sources is frequently considered to have no value.
'We recently completed a study for the Forestry Commission which identified that Scots Pine from the Grampian and Cairngorm regions has the potential for far more applications than previously thought,' says Chris Holland, Senior Consultant in Timber Technology at BRE.
'The work we are now starting will build on this by looking at how the UK timber industry can make the most of UK-grown trees'.
The competitive environment for the proposed end-products will be closely examined and there will be a rigorous evaluation of the technologies for producing them.
Project outputs are expected in 2007, though regular updates enable the flow of information sooner.
'With the Government's emphasis on using modern methods of construction to meet UK housing needs, the use of timber frame is likely to increase,' says Dr Peter Bonfield, Managing Director of BRE's Construction Division, of which BRE Timber is a part.
'With only the USA, China and Japan being bigger net importers of forest products than the UK in 2004, we need to make better use of home-grown timber, while at the same time recognising the importance of the sustainability of UK forests.'.
• BRE: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Buildingtalk email newsletter
• Buildingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
