Kebony has posted annual growth of 40% in the past three years and, according to director of marketing Jan Terje Nielsen, that rate is set to continue in 2013.

Mr Nielsen reported growing interest from the public procurement sector, partly due to the FSC-certified product’s quoted green credentials. "Public sector clients have a tendency to look at the whole life cycle cost calculations," he said.

He said cost studies comparing Kebony to Norwegian sawn softwood found that although the modified product was two or three times more expensive to buy, it was about three times cheaper in terms of life cycle costs.

The "Kebonisation" process involves species such as maple, Scots pine, southern yellow pine and radiata pine being impregnated with a patented mixture based on furfuryl alcohol, a liquid produced from agricultural crop waste. Kebony says the liquid reacts with wood fibres, permanently strengthening and stabilising the wood, making it durable against biological decay. Kebony markets the Kebonised product as "The new wood".

Typical applications include decking, cladding, windows, furniture and yacht decking.

Tropical timber substitution
Mr Nielsen believes the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) is potentially a big boost to the specification of modified wood in place of tropical hardwood.

One example is the decision by French outdoor products chain Grad to replace its South American ipé hardwood decking with Kebony. Mr Nielsen said the EUTR was key in converting business at the likes of Grad, which has 45 franchisees.

At Norwegian building materials/DIY chain Maxbo, 20% of decking sales are now Kebony.

He said companies that found it difficult to determine legal sourcing for their ipé were faced with either trying certified plantation variants of the species, which he said did not have the same quality as rainforest timber, or modified wood.

"How much tropical wood will disappear from the European market because of the EUTR? People are saying 20-30%. There will be alternative hardwoods that carry the same name but do not have the same quality."

He added that prices of tropical timber would inevitably rise.

Kebony has already featured in several high-end projects in the UK. These include the Kreod pavilion in London, a challenging project involving more than 1,000 pieces of wood cut to a tolerance of just 0.2mm.

"It shows new ways of using wood and iconic ways of getting wood into architecture. It has created extreme interest, especially among the forward-looking, futuristic architects," said Mr Neilsen.

Other UK projects include Bexhill beach shelters and a pair of contemporary houses in London’s fashionable Highgate, where Kebony was used for cladding, decking and garden furniture.

Over the past two years Kebony has won "numerous" architectural awards for its sustainability and use in modern architectural design and the company has an architectural consultant in London who is promoting the wood among architectural practices.

"It takes time and we have only been working at full speed in the UK for the past two-and-a-half years. It is one of our priority markets," said Mr Neilsen. "We believe it will develop and a key factor is London being an architectural hub for international projects."

Brooks Bros (UK) Ltd is enjoying its third year as Kebony’s sole UK distributor.

"Annual growth has been about 30-35%, with about 70% of all sales coming from projects via architects who have specified the product," said Simon Greig, general manager of Brooks Bros’ Danbury branch.

"It’s a premium product, but once people see it they love it. It has a very contemporary style."

Kebony had been marketed extremely well and the product had been received positively by Brooks Bros’ customers, he added.

"It is difficult to get a premium product into the current market but in the last six months more and more of the large timber importers have been coming to us to buy it because their customers are asking for it," said Mr Greig.

Brooks is importing sawn Kebony and using its moulders to produce standard profiles or bespoke products. One recent project is a new Tesco store in Woolwich, London, featuring Kebony planters.

Decking is a popular application and Brooks has the southern yellow pine-based Kebony ex-stock in 21x145mm profiles, mostly sold with a smooth face.

"The density is about 740kg/m3 and the durability is Class 1, so it’s right up there with ipé," said Mr Greig.

Brooks has also supplied Kebony decking with anti-slip inserts for a Cambridge University project, while exterior lacquered and fire-retardant treated cladding products have also been specified.

"It’s the certification available on all these products and the lifespan that’s attractive. It gives us an edge in the market. The more we can add value, the better," said Mr Greig.

Brooks has also started supplying clearfaced radiata pine Kebony, a product doing well in the French and German markets.

Kebony Scots pine cladding, an alternative to Siberian larch or treated cladding, is more knotty and rustic in appearance. Kebony maple has an appearance similar to teak.

Business plan
But wood modification is not a cheap business and demand is not yet sufficient for Kebony’s Norwegian factory to make a profit, although Mr Nielsen points out this is not uncommon with new products and their start-up costs.

"We are getting much closer to being in the black with the growth we are experiencing," he said.

Kebony’s business plan is to sell licences for third parties to manufacture the product.

"We are in discussion with several possible licensees but it will not happen tomorrow. There is interest in several parts of the world, including Europe," he said.

The current factory capacity is 25,000m3, but expansion is planned for 2014.