At Versowood Oy, we see glulam as a breakthrough construction material because of its versatility. Its ecological soundness and the visual appeal of its warm soft surface have attracted architects to use it in a huge range of construction projects – and its applications are growing.
Thanks to its lightness, glulam is easy to work with, and it offers unbeatable structural and installation advantages compared with other construction materials. It also has excellent fire resistance and needs no separate fire protection, speeding up installation and cutting costs.
Glulam appeals to the construction sector too because it needs no polishing, painting or any kind of after-treatment. Like wooden structures in general, it requires protection from rain during building and the stabilisation of the completed construction takes about a year, depending on the climate. But care has been taken at the production stage to minimise the occurrence of cracks, stretching and contracting, with each lamella inspected and its optimal place in the beam modelled.
Adding to its appeal, from the beginning of next year it will be possible to offer GL strength classes in accordance with Eurocode 5.
Versowood produces 150,000m3 of glulam products a year, plus 1 million m3 of sawn timber. Glulam is made at three plants. Our Kotka unit serves the Japanese markets exclusively, while in Heinola, besides standard product, we also produce Duolam and Triolam which comprise two and three lamellas glued together respectively. The latter products are aimed at clients who want the look of solid timber but the technical advantages of glulam and they’re proving popular in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and northern Italy. They are well suited to applications where small cross-sections could cause problems if solid wood were used. Their consistent and controlled quality makes design and the construction easier and we are constantly evaluating technical developments and new applications.
Third factory
A year ago we completed our third glulam factory in Vierumäki. This makes Duolam and Triolam for the Finnish and European markets and also has the facilities to service and support specific construction projects. Versowood has taken on a role as a developer of glulam solutions and structures, as well as the product itself, and it is focused on helping the market make ever more innovative use of the material. It is a valuable exercise to consider glulam structures and their potential at initial design stages and we have our own designers ready to assist on customers’ projects and help them to exploit the best properties of glulam, to solve any possible structural and design problems and to ensure the safety of the solutions to be implemented.
In Finland, glulam has been used for some very demanding construction projects, like shopping centres, sports stadia, bridges, and a ski-jumping hill. The success of these applications highlights how glulam can perform and last in even the harshest and most variable climatic conditions.
And new markets are opening up for the material all the time. We have exported to Japan for a while, and the performance of glulam there is highlighting to other Asian countries how suitable it is for their climates.
In southern Europe, including Greece, Italy and southern France, the material is also being taken up with increasing enthusiasm, and interest is growing in the UK. The UK is potentially a great market and Versowood is now looking for local partners to establish a sales network here.
