Soaring steel prices may provide an opportunity for the growing LVL and glulam market, according to timber industry sources.
Prices of hot rolled steel coil, used to make steel frame sections, have increased from {euro]303 a tonne to €470 a tonne between August 2003 and April 2004 (source: Steel Business Briefing) mainly due to Chinese demand and the rising cost of raw materials.
Chartered structural engineer John Bellamy described the rises as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for the timber industry, especially for glulam and LVL in the small buildings market.
However, he said they were not widely used due to a lack of promotion and a dearth of structural timber design knowledge among engineers.
Mark Baillie, general manager of Finnforest‘s building systems division, said structural steel prices were “going through the roof”, with suppliers not currently giving long-term prices or delivery guarantees.
Mr Baillie, who formerly worked for steel company Corus, said: “The market for LVL and glulam is already increasing substantially for structural use and we get one or two fairly significant enquiries each week.”
He suggested the growing fashion for glulam and timber products was mostly down to sustainability and aesthetic reasons but said rising steel prices were “an added push” in the right direction.
John Mallinckrodt of Gloucester-based Laminated Wood Ltd, said: “We hope it will make glulam an attractive alternative to steel and a good opportunity for us.”
