Twenty years ago Weyerhaeuser decided a "solid timberlands strategy" in South America would be critical to the sustainable delivery of wood products and, particularly, alternatives to tropical products in dwindling supply. Fast forward to 2012 and the company’s plantations in Uruguay are today the source of a range of fully-certified plywood products under the Lumin brand.
Although the plantations are yet to fully mature, the Lumin brand already comprises a range of eucalyptus and pine-faced panels, which are sold in the UK and throughout the rest of Europe.
One particular success has been a eucalyptus-faced CDX product, which has quickly emerged as a UK front runner. Representing over 50% of Lumin plywood sales in Europe, CDX is designed to provide a competitive and reliable alternative to established products. While some certified tropical resources decline, so does producers’ ability to guarantee a sustainable supply. As Lumin plywood is based on timber from managed plantations, long-term availability is secure.
The Lumin mill has full PEFC and FSC chain of custody certification. It is also CE2+ approved for structural use, so can address applications where structural performance, forest certification and competitiveness are all critical considerations.
Over 50% of Lumin plywood is sold to Europe, where an extensive stockist network has been established to further secure availability and ease of access, including Altripan, Caledonian, International Timber, James Latham, Meyer Timber and Travis Perkins.
While there may be many new competing products to CDX plywood, the UK market remains committed to assured and tested premium grade plywood, underlined by the fact that Lumin CDX is now commonly used for roofing, flooring and hoarding and a variety of other applications.
In Europe, eucalyptus CDX supplied by Altripan has even been used in a piece of artwork, by Belgian artist Peter De Meyer, entitled "The Art of Making Money".
Weyerhaeuser Products Ltd, which recently relocated its base from Brussels to Dublin, has now revealed its strategy to develop Lumin long term. It plans to continue to build its Lumin CDX business and, as its timberlands mature, increasingly focus on more premium grades, including high-grade BB/CC alternatives, which it calls Tropical Replacement Plywood – TRP.
All the company’s plantations are pruned and it expects that in three to four years it will have a very productive resource and large-scale availability of high quality clear veneers.
And Weyerhaeuser is planning "additional product developments" for 2013.
