PiveteauBois’s new engineered wood warehouse, processing and distribution centre says a lot about the company’s approach – and its ambition.
The €2m development is designed for maximum logistics efficiency and to keep product in prime condition, so customers in France and abroad get consistent quality product – plus a broader range from stock – when they want it. Beyond that, it’s an expression of faith in the engineered structural timber market and the company’s plans to develop its involvement. And the 4,500m2 building doubles as a product showcase too, incorporating giant trusses in its own Douglas fir glulam.
As TTJ reported last August, PiveteauBois is among France’s leading softwood players. Its headquarters and original sawmill are in Sainte-Florence near Nantes. In 1994 it also set up the SylvaDrewno mill in Poland, and in 2004 acquired Scieries Farge in France’s Massif Central. Between them they produce 300,000m3 of sawn wood annually, including pine, larch, Douglas fir and spruce, and Polish-grown ‘Sylvester pine’. And that’s set to rise to 520,000m3 by 2020.
Over the years, the business has also become one of France’s most diversified softwood operations. It has its own manufacturing operations at the Sylva Drewno and La Farge mills, and the 15ha La Vallée facility in St Florence, where the new warehouse is located. These produce finished goods from decking, cladding and garden products, to fencing, engineered wood carports and pine swimming pool kits. It also makes 280,000 tonnes of fuel pellets a year and Wex, a wood composite, in which it manufactures decking and cladding. Back to engineered timber, and PiveteauBois ranks among France’s veteran manufacturers.
"The business has developed tremendously since 2007, but our first finger-jointed timber-frame components date back to 1984," said managing director Jean Piveteau. "And we launched our Lamwood-brand glulam in 1990."
Mr Piveteau attributes the recent accelerated growth of its wider construction timber operation – which now accounts for 50% of turnover – to several factors; including growing building professional awareness of engineered wood’s technical capabilities and mounting pressure on construction to reduce its environmental impacts.
Then there’s the development and diversification of the products themselves. "Our range now includes solid, fingerjointed and glulam components for timber frame and roof truss manufacturers – and, besides our standard products, we also supply to customer specification," said Mr Piveteau. "In fact, the warehouse also includes new cut-to-size and further processing machinery."
Another factor underpinning France’s timber construction and structural timber products sectors is its growing Douglas fir supply.
"It’s inherently suited to exterior and structural use and we’re now Europe’s leading producer, with annual harvest around 2.35 million m3 and forecast to reach 6 million m3 by 2030," said Mr Piveteau "There’s also now a marketing campaign (www.france-douglas.com), promoting its use."
PiveteauBois makes engineered products at Sainte-Florence and SylvaDrewno, which have combined annual output of 50,000m3, using its full portfolio of species for fingerjointed and glulam products.
The company produces GL24h glulam beams up to 13m long and also applies the coloured preservative treatment expertise it uses for its Durapin-brand exterior products to the material.
"The range includes a unique CL4 green or brown-treated glulam, and Cl3b grey or Enseirb-Matmeca Building, Bordeaux, featuring Piveteaubois’ engineered timber brown-treated Douglas fir glulam beams," said construction products manager Vincent Marlin.
PiveteauBois acknowledges challenges in recession-hit French construction and that, despite recent growth, timber construction remains underdeveloped relative to some European countries, with 10% market share overall. But it identifies increasingly promising signs on both fronts.
"The wider building industry showed signs of improvement this spring, particularly private housing," said Mr Marlin. "And while we still have to work hard to promote use of timber construction, it is unquestionably set to take growing market share.
"Going forward, building will have to be even more ecologically sound, energy efficient, passive even, and renewable, sustainable timber is the material for achieving this."
Another factor set to drive the market, said Mr Piveteau, is the French strategic plan for the wood sector.
Under its Nouvelles France Industrielle programme, the government has identified a range of industries as key to long-term economic security and development. One is timber, with a specific focus on multi-storey timber building nationwide (see page 37-38). "It’s an exciting initiative for the sector," said Mr Piveteau. "And development of high rise projects especially implies use of more technical components, so an increase in engineered timber."
But PiveteauBois doesn’t expect only to be satisfying a growing French market for engineered wood from its new warehouse. It anticipates increased consumption abroad too, including the UK.
It set up a UK office last year under export manager Elisabeth Piveteau to develop product sales across the board, but sees particular prospects in engineered timber. "UK timber construction has developed significantly and we have a few cards to play in the market; service and logistics, product quality, which matches German and Nordic, and species variety," said Ms Piveteau, adding that the UK office is now selling glulam and cladding.
And PiveteauBois is looking at still more possibilities for developing its wider construction product business in France and beyond.
"Currently French demand isn’t sufficiently developed, but longer term we may consider cross laminated timber production," said Mr Piveteau.
