Life doesn’t get much tougher for a piece of timber than being a fence post on the farm. Stuck in damp or boggy ground, out in all weathers from baking hot to freezing cold, surrounded by livestock and exposed to the elements and decay organisms, both above ground and below ground. Anything that can protect timber from insect and fungi attack in that extreme environment over long periods has to be special.
Balcas has been manufacturing and supplying its Permapost range of fencing rounds for more than 50 years. Now a range of latest innovations and investments introduced into its timber protection operation allows Balcas to offer a 15- year performance warranty on the latest Permapost Incised range.
The company says this is designed to provide a renewed assurance and confidence to fencing markets.
“Preparation of timbers ready for preservative treatment has always been crucial in ensuring a high-performance end product that we and our customers can have real confidence in,” said Andrew Kidney of Balcas.
“To help achieve this we are investing in three more modern kilns, which are designed specifically for the careful drying of our Use Class 4 ground contact timbers produced from home grown species.
“These new kilns are being situated next to our extensive timber treatment facilities and will give us so much more capacity as well as bringing logistical efficiencies to our operation.
“Balcas were very early adopters of incising technologies as far back as 1972, recognising the benefits incising brings. “We have now invested in the very latest award-winning Excalibur surface incising technologies for our ground contact timbers.
This incising helps ensure a more consistent and effective penetration of the wood preservative into the critical areas of our Permapost Incised timber posts giving a real belt-and-braces protection result.”
Adding to these investments Balcas is also using the latest generation Tanalith wood preservative in treatment operations to produce the Permapost products. This latest formulation product has the addition of BARamine application technologies developed by Lonza Wood Protection.
Balcas said these allowed for a more consistent penetration of the preservative into the timbers as well as a superior protection against certain copper-tolerant brown rots that can attack timbers at the ground level.
BARamine technologies are also designed to enable the preservative solution to be well balanced and fresh for each treatment charge.
“Whichever timber preservative is being used, it must be meticulously applied for optimum results,” said Mr Kidney.
“We have experienced and fully trained treatment personnel managing our facilities and using Lonza’s advanced Auto-Treater computerised plant control and management system, which helps us achieve the most cost-effective and consistent treatment results possible.”
He said the new technologies introduced, together with the timber treatment used and quality assurance procedures, gave the company total confidence in its Permapost Incised posts and strainers range, meeting the requirements of IS 436 and BS 8417.
