Summary
¦ The TTF is sponsoring the Timber Works section again.
¦ TRADA will conduct hourly guided tours of timber stands.
¦ Finnforest’s stand will highlight its engineered timber systems.
¦ Timber merchants such as James Latham, Travis Perkins and Brooks Bros are taking stands.
Of the many timber businesses and organisations taking part in Ecobuild, The Timber Trade Federation (TTF), TRADA and the UK Timber Frame Association (UKTFA) will have a high profile.
The UKTFA is using the exhibition to demonstrate that timber frame “remains unrivalled in delivering environmentally-efficient buildings”.
“We have an impressive speaker line-up, including Wayne Hemingway, Martin Young, chief architect at Tesco, and Martin Aust, development director of Flagship Housing Association – all tremendous advocates of timber frame,” said UKTFA chairman Simon Orrells.
“In addition to the speakers we will be revealing for the first time industry-wide research addressing attitudes towards timber frame and unveiling our new online knowledge centre for architects, enabling them to get the most out of designing in timber frame.”
In addition to its own stand, the TTF is sponsoring the Timber Works section of the exhibition. As well as raising its profile, the sponsorship will also highlight the TTF’s commitment to sustainable building and promote the increased use of wood – it will use the occasion to update the industry on the latest progress with the Wood for Good marketing campaign.
“It’s a great opportunity for the industry to share ideas and meet key figures and potential customers and I’m very much looking forward to meeting them at the show,” said TTF chief executive John White. “Ecobuild is designed to showcase the future of design, construction and the built environment, so it’s the perfect opportunity for the industry to communicate why wood will be at the forefront of this trend. We can offer expert guidance on sustainable construction and the benefits of wood and wood products.”
One regular exhibitor taking advantage of Timber Works is Wolf Systems, which will be focusing on its easi-joist metal-web product, used for roofs, walls and floors. “We find the ‘village’ type location in amongst other stands actually increases footfall and makes for a very interesting and busy show,” said Karl Foster, Wolf Systems’ sales and marketing director.
“Some of our customers have also taken space in the Timber Zone and there really is a great atmosphere amongst the exhibitors and visitors in such a concentration of stands.”
He has detected a slight change in visitor type at Ecobuild. “Feedback from our first Ecobuild showed a high percentage of architects and specifiers. It’s still a great opportunity to influence specifiers, but now it’s also a great vehicle to communicate with others involved in the construction industry, from major housebuilders and contractors to self-builders and other industry suppliers.”
Timber design competition
TRADA, which has supported Ecobuild since show one, is taking its biggest stand yet, at 81m². Of that, around 20m² will be dedicated to a student design competition it has been running with Timbmet.
The aim of the competition, which was open to students of Oxford Brookes University School of Architecture, was to promote the use of demountable timber in contemporary architecture. TRADA provided technical support, while Timbmet supplied materials and assisted with off-site fabrication.
The winning pavilion – designed by third-year part-time student Christian Spendier – will be built at Ecobuild in honour of Timbmet’s founder, the late Dan Kemp.
TRADA is also an active partner with Ecobuild and will run hourly guided tours of timber stands, highlighting innovations in wood.
“The tours will help visitors to prioritise their day and to make the most of their time at the show,” said Rupert Scott, TRADA’s membership and marketing manager. “Each delegate will have a headset, to be able to concentrate on the guide, and there will be the opportunity to follow up with key contacts afterwards.”
Tours are hourly from 10.30am and will start and finish at TRADA’s stand (S1350). They will be free but spaces are limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis – although they can be booked through the Ecobuild website (www.ecobuild.co.uk).
The tours are likely to drop by Finnforest’s 75m² stand, a key part of which will be a second storey constructed using Kerto-Ripa – the company’s wide span solution for floors and roofs – and accessed via a Kerto staircase.
Beneath this upper level, visitors will be able to view Finnforest’s Low-E wall solution, which is being used by leading retailers in new store builds, plus a double-curved Leno cross-laminated wall panel.
According to Finnforest’s vice-president, construction industry, Kevin Riley, the key message from the company at “the industry’s seminal event” will be “that engineered timber solutions are versatile and effective and suitable for a vast array of applications, from residential to commercial, retail industrial and leisure, in both the public and private arenas”.
“The stand itself demonstrates the ambitions we have,” he said, adding that Finnforest’s products and solutions would be underpinned by promoting its own timber engineering expertise through its specialist division Finnforest Merk.
Sawmiller James Jones & Sons is also focusing on engineered timber, with two product launches at the show – the Service Hole I-joist (SHI) and “the UK’s first and only fully home-grown I-Stud solution”.
The SHI increases the versatility of the company’s JJI-Joist and enables large MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heating recovery) services to be run through the joist web in locations otherwise not possible in an I-joist.
“With new Building Regulations, most future homes will contain a heat exchange unit,” said a James Jones spokesperson. “These units require large duct holes to be incorporated into the floor scheme, often within joist lengths where only smaller holes are permitted. However, the SHI solves this problem, providing extra reinforcement, allowing larger holes to be cut from the web.”
On a similar theme, judging from a recent sales boost, Donaldson Timber Engineering is expecting “real interest” in its open web joists, which managing director Jonathan Fellingham attributes to their ability to accommodate MVHR. “This can be vital when trying to meet new environmental standards and higher Code for Sustainable Homes levels,” he said.
Other products its “jam-packed” stand will focus on will be roof trusses, I-beams, floor cassettes, spandrel panels and the Smartroof roofing system.
Insulation products
Steico will be showcasing wall, roof and floor solutions with its Steicoflex, Steicotherm and Steicouniversal flexible and rigid insulation panels. Providing both thermal and acoustic insulation, these panels can be combined with engineered Steicojoist I-joists, Steicowall insulated wall studs and Steicoultralam LVL structural elements in both timber frame and brick and block construction. The company’s natural wood fibre insulation will be very much to the fore.
Designed and built in-house, Steico’s 45m² stand will provide “good touch and feel for visitors”, according to managing director Andy Moore.
“Dynamic insulation”, which uses the heat escaping from a building to warm air being ducted via the ventilation system, will be promoted by IP technology licensing company Energyflo Construction Technologies at the show. Energyflo experts will be on hand to explain to visitors how, via dynamic insulation, the temperature of the incoming air can be raised by as much as 8°C, using energy that would otherwise be lost. Case studies have shown that 40% improvements in energy efficiency can be achieved, significantly reducing CO2 emissions.
Accsys Technologies will be back at Ecobuild, marking the fifth anniversary of the launch of its modified sustainable softwood, Accoya.
New accreditations for Accoya will be revealed – such as the Scion Durability Report, a five-year independent study, which placed the product ahead of species including cedar, cypress, teak and kwila in the durability stakes.
Jular Madeiras will be focusing on the cost and assembly time savings afforded by its “Treehouse” modular housing. Stressing that its houses are made from certified and sustainable timber, the Portuguese company says that modules can be added both vertically and horizontally after completion, making the system very flexible.
Accsys’s 50m² stand will feature interactive displays and demonstrate Accoya’s applied and varied use throughout the world. It will also have a wall dedicated to the world’s first Tricoya panel. Tricoya is manufactured by Medite MDF producer Coillte Panel Products via the same acetylation technology as Accoya.
Accoya will feature on James Latham’s 25m² stand, as will Woodex engineered hardwood, and Timura – a new flooring product, which the company describes as a “hero product”. It affords similar status to Moralt Klima door blanks, which will also be demonstrated at the show.
Another modified softwood, Kebony, will exhibit alongside its UK distributor Brooks Bros. Kebony, which is wood modified by the “Kebonization” process (impregnation with a mixture based on furfuryl alcohol, a liquid produced from agricultural crop waste), is being used for decking, cladding, decking, roofing, windows, furniture and yacht decking.
Recycled materials
Travis Perkins (TP) will showcase its efforts towards sustainability by using mainly recycled materials to build its stand. It will also launch its new website.
The company says it will be taking a “whole house” approach, demonstrating that it can provide sustainable building solutions for all parts of new build and retrofit activity and that by exhibiting at Ecobuild it will be targeting its two major focus audiences – the public and the tradesman. “We recognise that both audiences have very different needs, but we intend to fully cater for their individual sustainable solutions,” said a TP spokesperson.
Other companies prefer to keep their show plans under wraps until the doors open. The design and layout of Arch Timber Protection’s stand, close to the Timber Works area, is currently a closely guarded secret. But, says the company, “new and developing technologies for both preservative and specifier markets” will be launched at the show.
