A year ago TTJ reported on Postsaver, a new fencing product developed by British Polythene Industries (BPI). According to the latter, a lot has happened since then. Postsaver has gone from the development stage, through product prototype, to being widely available in the timber market place.
Ten years in evolution, Postsaver is the brainchild of inventor Richard George. His aim was to take a softwood fence post and protect the in-ground section so that it never comes into contact with moisture and decay organisms, creating a long-lasting product that combines all the traditional benefits of timber above ground with outstanding rot protection below.
After coming up with the concept, Mr George teamed up with British Polythene Industries which developed a special machine to make the posts with Stenner.
The manufacturing process starts with an Osmose Naturewood pressure-treated post. This is then fitted with the tough polyethylene Postsaver boot. The boot itself is lined with a flexible bituminous sealant which is bonded into the timber using a heating process that also shrinks the boot onto the post.
The end result is a triple layer of protection. The Osmose Naturewood pressure treatment protects the timber above ground level. The Bitumen sealant is the secondary barrier against decay organisms and moisture, and also plays a key role in preventing moisture fluctuations within the post that can lead to cracking. The third layer of protection – the polyethylene – excludes decay organisms and moisture and protects against the alkaline by-products from concrete.
The next step was to plug the Postsaver into the timber trade to bring it to market. To this end BPI made contact with BSW Timber via its contacts with Scottish Enterprise and the Forest Industries Cluster.
UK licence
After 18 months of further development, Postsaver is now on the market, with BSW Timber holding the UK licence. The company has installed a Postsaver machine at its sawmill in Newbridge-on-Wye in Wales which is capable of producing 1,000 posts per day. It is making the product in a brown or green timber and in 75×75 and 100×100 sections in lengths of 1.8m, 2.1m, 2.4m, and 2.7m.
BSW Timber marketing manager Richard Scott commented: “We launched Postsaver at the GLEE exhibition in September. The reaction was extremely positive from all sectors of the market. End users have welcomed Postsaver’s long life and retention of the traditional benefits of timber. Stockists and contractors have told us it offers them the ability to sell an added-value product that is also easy to install.
“We have also had interest from housing associations. They see Postsaver as providing an environmentally-sound, long-life, cost-effective fencing solution.”
Richard George told TTJ: “I knew that Postsaver was a great idea and with BPI’s development we had an effective product; what was missing was a route to market. BSW Timber is the best possible partner for us, it has over 150 years’ experience in the trade and a huge customer base as the UK’s largest sawmilling company.”
The success at GLEE, claims BPI, has been followed up by significant orders and a network of stockists is fast developing throughout the country.
Stockists are given marketing and promotional support to help sell the product, including a merchandising stand to display the posts and point of sale material such as display banners, leaflets and dispensers, and window stickers.
Postsaver is also being backed promoted with an extensive advertising campaign targeted at a wide range of market sectors. Information on the product is also available on a dedicated Postsaver website – www.postsaver.co.uk.
