The latest generation of hardened timber products from New Zealand have arrived in the UK.
Kura wood products are being imported by Kevin Fraser, managing director of Hampshire-based Tardis Structures, and some, including dado rails, skirting board and architrave in three different finishes are already available in Homebase stores throughout the country.
The “vydrexta” cellulose wood hardening technology was developed in New Zealand by Pacific Hardwoods Ltd, now known as Fibre7. It follows another New Zealand wood-hardening product, Indurite, which has been the subject of a two-year £70,000 BRE research project in the UK. Osmose Europe now has the UK rights to manufacture and supply the Indurite solution and it is hoped licences to use the process would be issued soon.
At Fibre7, Bruce Matheson, formerly of Indurite, grades New Zealand timber before sending it to Indonesia where it is made into products ranging from stairparts to garden furniture.
Mr Fraser said the Kura wood is Forest Stewardship Council certified and has all the attributes of hardwood. And, he added, it is socially responsible as it gives work to Indonesian mills without impacting on that country’s timber supply.
“Kura is an ideal alternative for anyone who wants to enjoy all the benefits of hardwood without harming the world’s forests. Materials like this will play a genuinely decisive role in protecting the future of the planet,” he said.
Many softwood species and some low density hardwoods can be hardened with the process and the manufacturers claim that the treatment also improves the dimensional stability in some species by 35% making it less likely to warp.
