This year’s Wood Protection Association (WPA) annual Awards and Conference Is themed Future-Proofing Demand for Correctly Treated Wood.
The half-day conference will take place on May 8 at Oulton Hall Hotel, Leeds, with a dinner, the WPA’s 2025 Awards and golf tournament taking place the previous day.
Among the conference speakers will be Paul Pennick, procurement director, h&b Buying Group, who will cover “What supply chain buyers want from the treated wood industry”.
Mr Pennick believes the market potential for preservative-treated wood is strong. The Government’s ambitious infrastructure, homebuilding, and carbon reduction plans align with the benefits of treated wood.
However, for buyers like h&b, mixed specification & performance messages in the treated supply chain do not provide the clarity required to build end-user confidence & increase sales & profitability. He will highlight potential opportunities that could help influence change.
Another topic will be the role of builders’ merchants in treated wood sales.
Gareth Nicholls, head of timber category, MKM Building Supplies, will discuss the crucial role merchants such as MKM play when individual branches fully engage with a product like preservative-treated wood. He will highlight what’s required to sustain that engagement and increase demand for treated wood, and the rewards this delivers for merchants and the wider industry.
Ed Suttie, head of consultancy, BRE, will focus on “Changing service life and performance data for treated wood”
The emerging requirement for the declaration of Reference Service Life (RSL) under the new Construction Products Regulation has sparked a reassessment of how service life is determined and communicated.
Mr Suttie will explain the RSL concept, the value of performance data for both sellers and buyers of preservative-treated wood, and present 10-year durability data from the WPA’s field trial of treated British softwood fence posts, which collated in March.
Fredrik Westin, European Wood Protection Association, will cover “The future of treated wood in Europe: Unlocking business potential through advocacy”, while Steve Young, chairman, Wood Protection Association, will share strategic priorities for the WPA.
To book your tickets contact Caroline Hewison: caroline@thewpa.org.uk
