To say that Puhos Board OY is in Puhos, a village in eastern Finland about 30km from the Russian border, is slightly misleading. It might be considered more accurate to say that Puhos is in Puhos Board OY, but visitors to Finland’s largest chipboard manufacturer usually go one step further and say Puhos is Puhos Board OY.
Puhos Board has been turning out top quality chipboard for the construction and furniture industries for more than 30 years and is now one of Europe’s leading chipboard manufacturers with an annual capacity of about 400,000m3.
The current mill was built in 1971 and, as plant director Sakari Wallin points out, while the frame of the line looks early 70s, everything within it, except the steel structure of the main press, has been replaced as part of the company’s rolling investment plan which always looks 10 years ahead and which, so far, totals e40m.
Despite being apparently isolated in the heart of thick forest, Puhos Board is well located for its purposes. The calibre of its chipboard is improved by the fact that it uses quality by-products sourced from the wood procurement arm of UPM – consuming 1,600m3 of wood residues a day – rather than forest thinnings and a neighbouring 350,000m3 Stora Enso sawmill is its largest raw material supplier. It is also sited close to Puhos harbour, a facility that it owns 50:50 with Stora Enso and which, last season, despatched 31 vessels.
Convenient
Perhaps even more convenient is the proximity of its two resin suppliers, one of which, Bakelite OY, snuggles up against the chipboard mill and literally pipes its resins through the wall.
The mill works three shifts per day, seven days a week and, this year, is budgeted to operate for 350 days. The fruits of its hard labour go to the UK and Ireland (35.6%), its domestic market (42.3%), the other Nordic countries (18.9%) and Russia and the Baltics (3.2%).
Russia is a watching brief, according to export director Mikko Lattu. ‘The Russian market is becoming more stable and is building up its furniture industry so we are putting more effort into melamine-faced chipboard. We expect good sales growth to Russia this year,’ he said.
Puhos Board (UK) was set up in January 2001 and is the Finnish parent’s only daughter company. While Puhos products had been exported to the UK since 1972 under the Pellos and Schauman brands, latterly as part of previous owner UPM-Kymmene Wood‘s portfolio, the new company was charged with the task of bringing greater focus to the market.
The company has also established a good national distribution network via merchants. Travis Perkins is its single biggest customer, conducting about 50% of its chipboard business through Puhos, while Buildbase, National Hickman, Ridgeons, Covers and Brooks Manson are all large customers.
Timber engineering specialists and flooring cassette manufacturers such as James Donaldson & Son and Marlow & Co Ltd are increasingly showing up on the order books.
Thus, while Puhos Board (UK) does not sell direct to housebuilders, its products find their way to all the big players.
Moisture resistant
The company’s bestseller is Weather Dek2 (WD2), a type P5 moisture resistant chipboard flooring system, which is covered with a protective waterproof film and provides a safe working platform during construction. When the film is peeled off after construction, the floor is in pristine condition and the waxed surface can simply be buffed with a damp mop. Housebuilders using the system report a three to four day time saving per unit. The original Weather Dek was launched in 1999 and the improved fast peel-off and more durable WD2 was introduced in 2000. It first secured BBA approval in 2000 and has recently been updated and is now used in around 37,000 new homes per year.
There is also a campaign to ensure that decks are fixed properly to eliminate squeaks.
The next chapter in the WD2 story is a radical new fixing method which Mr Moore describes as ‘revolutionary and designed specifically for use with engineered wood beams, saving up to 30% fixing time and providing improved structural integrity and quieter floors’. Another recent development is the Maxi panel, larger board sizes for factory-built housing projects.
Partnerships such as these are all part of the master plan, which is to protect Puhos’s chipboard market in the UK. It avoids commodity selling, believing it undermines and undervalues the product. Mr Moore in particular is adamant that ‘it’s time for the industry to make a concerted effort to focus on quality and restore margins’.
Puhos Board has proved that by taking the initiative, a basic product like chipboard can be turned into an integral part of cutting edge construction processes.
‘Puhos believes the future is all about the evolving needs of customers, not only in terms of product, but also in the efficiency and flexibility of supply,’ said Mr Moore. ‘We need to set new standards in how we support our distributors and their service to end user customers.’
