protection industry isn’t finding new customers; it is complying with the Biocidal Product Regulation (BPR).

“It is a major focus for us,” said Andy Hodge, marketing director at Lonza Wood Protection. “Wood protection actives are early entrants into the BPR and we have been extremely focused on this process as failure to comply can mean products being removed from the market.” He added that Tanalith, Vacsol (Vac-Vac) and Antiblu are all now BPR approved “and have sustainability at the foundation of their development”.

Impra also points to the challenges BPR is imposing on the industry.

“An increasing number of actives are meeting and will meet the exclusion criteria of the BPR,” said Axel Hemptinne, export manager at parent company Rütgers Organics GmbH. “The latest example is propiconazole [a triazole fungicide], a widely used active used in PT8 (timber treatment) formulations.”

He added that regulatory challenges include “limited transparency, very complex risk scenarios and, to a certain extent, unclear requirements and evaluations”. Eric Uerdingen, head of wood protection marketing and Wolman brand at BASF Wolman, also named propiconazole as the most recent casualty of the BPR and shares the frustration of “constantly changing guidelines”.

“During the first wave of BPR registrations and the upcoming re-registration process under BPR we see an increasing pressure from the authorities for reclassification of actives as Substances of Substitution (SoS) or even Exclusion (SoE),” said Dr Uerdingen.

“This is leading to fewer long-term available active substances remaining for biocidal product innovation. There is also considerable uncertainty about the constantly changing guidelines of the registration process of both active substances and wood preservative products.”

He added that Wolman feels “well positioned” with its BASF-proprietary active substance Copper-HDO, which is registered under BPR until 2025 and is expected to be approved beyond that.

“We believe among today’s established active substances that Copper-HDO might be the only long-term viable high-performance fungicidal active substance remaining for the future,” said Dr Uerdingen.

The decision to reclassify propiconazole as an SoE – as is also the case with boric acid/ borates – is seen by manufacturers as “unjustified”.

“Especially when looking at the high human toxicity threshold values for boric acid/borates and its low risk profile in biocidal products,” said Dr Uerdingen. “Recent discussions amongst wood protection industry experts at the European Wood Preservative Manufacturers Group (EWPM) annual meeting concluded that there is a risk of reclassification for other important azole-fungicides such as cyproconazole and tebuconazole during their BPR renewal as well.”

However, experience has shown that it’s extremely difficult to predict regulatory decisions.

“On top of that, we as a formulator of wood preservatives depend on the actions and information given by active suppliers,” said Mr Hemptinne. “Impra is managing this uncertainty by supporting a wide portfolio of formulations and actives.”

BREXIT EFFECT

Uncertainty also exists over the impact Brexit could have.

“The advent of Brexit will have commercial ramifications but I am not certain any of us fully know to what extent,” said Mr Hodge. Impra also doesn’t claim any foresight into what the Brexit negotiations will bring but says it is “on the safe side”, operating one plant in the UK and one in Germany.

However, Lonza is confident that the legislative requirements won’t be affected, as indications from the UK government are that a “strong alignment” will prevail.

Discussions among wood protection industry experts close to the topic at meetings of the EWPM and the European Institute for Wood Preservation (WEI) suggest that they expect both the BPR and the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) to be incorporated into UK law.

“The remaining transitional period before Brexit is challenging for products that are under renewal in the UK as, for example, is currently the case with creosote,” said Dr Uerdingen.

In spite of Brexit and the BPR muddying the waters, the R&D wheels have kept turning and manufacturers continue to bring new products to market.

“Lonza has a continuous pipeline of development in these core products,” said Mr Hodge. “The addition of baramine into Tanalith products has been a game changer when it comes to in-ground performance.

“We have invested heavily into modern preservative systems for industrial application, keeping timber at the leading edge of long-term performance,” he continued. “Timber sustainability is a key element for agricultural contractors, utility companies and railways.

“Lonza has developed Tanasote, which is an oil-based system to help wooden fencing, poles and sleepers to continue to compete against concrete, steel and plastic composites. We are working closely with the industry stakeholders to ensure they have all the information they need to transition to Tanasote when the time is right for each market segment.”

MARKET DRIVERS

Mr Hodge added that, as engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) become more mainstream in construction markets, Lonza is investing in technologies to help those products have “built-in durability”.

Wolman, too, has been steadily investigating new formulations based on various combinations of active substances. “With our R&D activities we aim to strike a balance between market requirements and the regulatory framework, with the latter becoming the main driver in the industry,” said Dr Uerdingen.

“We believe that Wolman’s proprietary active substance Copper-HDO delivers promising performance, also in our future Wolmanit CX wood preservatives.”

He added that following the Grenfell Tower fire in London last year, Wolman had received numerous requests related to its fire protection or intumescent products.

“We are in the process of investigating these requests and developing new products,” he said, adding that, to date, Wolman had not had to counter any negative opinions regarding the use of timber in high-rise buildings or in cladding applications generally. Meanwhile, Impra is currently introducing some products into the UK that have been successfully tested on the continent.

“Impralit TSK40 was developed for low pressure for Use Classes 1, 2 and 3, applied at very economic retentions,” said Mr Hemptinne. “And Impralit colorant brown, with substantially increased UV resistance applied at low solution strength was developed to meet the needs of customers requesting a better, yet affordable, brown,” he said, adding that it is also available in a grey.

“We are seeing strong growth in our colorants, both for wood preservatives and for our wood coatings range, sold under the Impralan and Profilan brands. The trend is driven by customers who want wood protection but who also want it to look good.” It’s not just about the chemicals, however.

“Incising continues to grow and our Excalibur range continues to evolve with the advent of continuous technology changes,” said Mr Hodge. “Excalibur products developed by Tweddle Engineering have been designed to work hand-in-hand with Tanalith preservative systems and results continue to show great consistency.”