The market for wood preservatives picked up this year with the improvement in the weather this summer and the uplift in construction activity. However, premature fence post failures continue to hold the attention of wood treatment manufacturers and timber treaters, despite a flurry of activity last year in new formulations and treatment methods.
The focus has turned to restoring confidence in the product with more research, new safeguards from the treatment producers and an extension of the Wood Protection Association Benchmark scheme, which began with verification of the treatment process for quality and fitness for purpose of the product. The WPA is now introducing third-party verification of the treatments themselves (p24).
"We are playing catch-up with North America and Scandinavia," said WPA director Steve Young. "After this, the third step is to introduce a national warranty so that if the manufacturer is in the quality scheme and it has been treated with a WPA third-party approved product, it will be given the Benchmark warranty and this is not just replacement of the product but also an element of consequential loss. Farmers tell me that they may get new posts, but who pays for taking out the old, paying for the new wire and installing it?"
Manufacturers have until November 1 to submit efficacy data to a third-party panel to test the performance of the treatment. Richard Gulland, head of technical sales for BASF Wolman in the UK and Ireland, said the number of fence post failures was going down, but it remained an issue and he was firmly behind extending the WPA Benchmark.
"I think the product approval body is one of the biggest things to happen and that will bring a sea change," he said. "And that, above all else, should start to establish confidence, because again, a lot of people don’t have trust."
The extended scheme has also been welcomed by Gordon Ewbank, commercial director at Osmose Europe. However, like others he believes factors such as the wood being treated, dosage and the treating process are vital. "There has been a growing understanding that failures are less to do with the chemicals rather than how they are applied.
The WPA Benchmark scheme on quality assessed timber treaters has gathered great strength and incising has really taken off to the point that I think it will become the norm."
Formulation and application
Lonza Wood Protection believes the best protection for ground contact timbers is achieved by a quality, proven preservative product applied in a professional manner. Last year it introduced Tanalith E 8000, incorporating patent-pending BARamine technologies which, it said, provides a robust protection against wood decay organisms, particularly certain copper tolerant species. The company is now offering a new Treat- Right warranty in the UK and Ireland, based on the use of Tanalith E 8000 with treatments carried out to its Wood Protection Code of Practice for the preservative and other relevant parts of BS 8417 industry Code of Practice for Wood Preservation.
"Modern preservative systems vary from each other in their performance profiles and properties," said international sales director Dr Tony Kelly. "As technology develops, the critical factor is not just the active ingredient levels of the preservative, but more the totality of the formulation."
"We have always been confident in the performance of Tanalith E wood preservative and our customers are increasingly perfecting their treatment procedures to attain the very best levels of protection," added a spokesperson. "We have developed our latest incising technologies to work in tandem with these aspects to provide our customers and end markets with even greater assurance. Incising also helps to make the most of our home-grown species by allowing a greater preservative penetration into the heartwood."
Mr Gulland is not so sure about incising. "For spruce the issue has been full penetration of the sapwood. Incising has developed into something of a firestorm and people feel they have been forced into it. If you are one of the big boys, like BSW or James Jones, you just want to make a good product and I can see why they have gone down that route. I am sitting on the fence a bit because I am not sure there is a gain."
BASF has begun a research project on incising with BRE to try to find out more, but Mr Gulland believes the problem of fence post failures may be more basic. "In the past someone would ask for green or brown – they didn’t worry how it was treated, so there were failures. There were also a lot of cheap imports around. But I think when CCA (chromated copper arsenate) finished there was a lot of CC (chromated copper) used and that does not have the active ingredient that works against brown rot and most of the failures are brown rot."
Market improvement
Despite the issues around fence post failures, Mr Gulland said sales around fencing, although taking a dip earlier in the year, had picked up. "We are seeing better volumes," he said. "Perhaps that’s because people aren’t moving so much and are doing extensions and improvements. Overall, January-April was quiet – pretty hard, long winter, late spring – it has been quite busy since mid-April/May time, but I wouldn’t say it was dramatic.
"Construction has picked up. It’s hearsay, there’s no data, but some people say it’s gone ballistic for them and they can’t get the materials they need next day, but are having to wait for it."
Lonza, too, said it had been a quiet start to the year, but picked up with the weather, although there were no particular market changes. For Osmose, construction was up and in frame and trusses there has been a distinct uplift in the last couple of months. "The most dramatic change has been in housebuilding and outdoor products such as decking have followed," said Mr Ewbank. "The question we now ask ourselves is whether it will continue into the autumn."
Osmose is to introduce a new formulation for its micronized technology in MicroPro (p28). "There are benefits to the treater and us as a supplier," said Mr Ewbank. "It will have a wider applicability, it is more cost-effective, with better drying and fixation and performance with metal fixings – and it has a distinctive colour."
Investment in the preservatives sector has also included the European business of timber preservatives treatment manufacturer Viance being acquired by Germany’s Rütgers Organics GmbH. The transaction includes the UK production site of CSI Wood Protection Ltd in Cumbria and the European sales and distribution activities of Viance Ltd. Rütgers said the deal would strengthen its market position, but also the Viance range fitted into its Impralit wood preservative treatment range and Impra wood coatings.
Regulations
While cost and performance continue to drive the market, regulation remains a big issue, especially CE marking and the Biocidal Products Regulation, which came into effect on September 1.
"The timber industry has been preoccupied with the EU Timber Regulation, then there was the sudden realisation CE marking was coming in as well," said Mr Ewbank. "We had to do briefings and guidelines, but the other issue was the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPD). Very late in the day, it was decided that it would be extended to treated wood. It has been agreed to mark the packs or supporting documentation, rather than piece by piece; that was just impractical."
Industry Investment
The Biocidal Products Regulation, Industrial Emissions Directive, Construction Products Regulation, Environmental Product Declarations and others have driven investment by treaters. The market is moving into a smaller number of players with improved sites and facilities. One source estimated there are up to 400 treatment sites from large to small, but many are standing idle.
PTG Treatments, which has sites in Tilbury, Shoreham, Hull, Cumbernauld and Perth, has seen business pick up. "We are unique in that we have no dealing in the buying and selling of timber," said managing director Neil Ryan. "Where other people offer treatment as a service, they also market timber. We have invested because treating timber is our business and the regulation involved is changing the business – it’s becoming so much harder for small treatment operations. There are a lot of tanks outside, a lot still uncovered and a lot of rusty tanks."
Northumberland sawmiller A&J Scott is in the final stages of installing a third treatment plant, increasing overall capacity to 1,200m³. Managing director Robert Scott said the treatment expansion represented a £100,000 investment.
Hull-based WJ Components has invested £200,000 opening a site at the Scotline Terminal in Rochester, Kent. A second tank was added in June and volumes have continued to increase. "We have seen a significant increase in low pressure," said director Mark Eggleston. "That continues to cascade, and generally we are very optimistic. In Rochester we are seeing a lot of stuff which in the past would have been treated in Scandinavia. Now our customers can bring in untreated and can treat it or not. We have had some very positive feedback."
Garstang Timber & Building Suppliers has launched a high pressure timber treatment service at its site in Claughton-on-Brock, Preston. The company, part of the GE Robinson group, has invested £300,000 in a new treatment vessel from Lonza Wood Protection using the company’s latest Auto-Treater plant management software.
