Wood is one of the few natural resources which offer the combination of structural strength, elasticity, thermal efficiency, renewability and CO2 neutrality.
Although the wood-processing industries are still suffering from a weak economy, the future prospects are bright, not only for traditional wood products such as furniture, flooring, windows and doors, but in particular for the construction industry. New developments in lamination processes will lead to an increase in demand for softwood as housing markets improve.
Hardwood species such as beech and birch are also finding new applications in residential and commercial building construction. For example, a structural beam which has a hardwood top and bottom layer has a higher static value than a softwood beam and, therefore, can have a smaller cross-section to reduce dead space, decrease building costs and increase usable room volume.
Classic uses
In Europe, the classic use of hardwood for interior applications such as furniture, mouldings, windows and doors will continue to decrease in the future. This trend is mainly due to a change in interior decoration and design trends as well as the increased use of composite panel materials, wrapped MDF, gypsum board and plastics.
North America will continue to use softwood mainly for house framework and trusses, as well as for interior decoration. Hardwood will continue to be used mainly for furniture, mouldings and flooring. The traditional approach to home building will maintain a consistent demand for wood and future growth as the housing market recovers.
In particular, demand for softwood will grow as new engineered solid wood building materials are made available for residential and commercial buildings. One of these products is cross-laminated timber (CLT), a compound panel designed, in particular, for the prefabricated building industry. CLT offers high thermal qualities which make it equally valuable for hot and cold climates while offering high static strength. These characteristics allow it to be used for floor, wall or roof construction and it can be supplied to the construction site as prefabricated panels or beams for quick assembly with a crane.
The high static strength makes CLT products not only ideal for residential homes but also for multiple storey commercial buildings. For example, the highest wood construction building is the nine-storey residential apartment building in Murray Grove, London, which is constructed with CLT.
Well-planned production
The future winners in this market sector will be those companies that have not only the required certification, but also a well-planned production facility to process these materials. At Weinig, recognising this trend in the industry, we have a given a specific focus to designing and producing systems and machinery for these engineered wood products.
Only a well-planned system with automated processes can ensure an efficient yield of high quality end product from a low grade material with little or no waste. Those who have a reliable supply of timber resources and control the industrial manufacturing process will form alliances or merge into groups which work nationally or internationally. Regional retailers can purchase semi-finished products direct from manufacturers and supply them to end users according to their requirements.
Optimising wood yield is the primary process and key to a successful timber-processing business, and this is set to become even more so as we move forward. Among the processes Weinig has already developed to achieve this goal is a type of moulder which requires less oversize to plane material dimensionally accurate and clean on all four sides. For wood-processing machinery manufacturers, there will be growing pressure to develop technology with this kind of capability to help the timber industry maximise use of its increasingly valuable raw material.
Countries such as Germany and Austria, as well as Canada, are well prepared for the future market requirements due to their controlled harvesting and reforestation programmes. Every year German forests, for example, grow 30 million m³ more in volume than is removed by harvesting, even though consumption has trebled in the last few years.
Wood is a hi-tech material with great potential for innovation in design and is a guarantee for a high quality of life. It is up to all of us to make even more of it into the future.
