Accoya® Wins Major Dutch Award
Accoya® has strengthened its credentials as a world-class revolutionary modified wood by winning a prestigious Dutch award.
The pioneering wood product, which recently starred in Channel Four’s Grand Designs Live show, has been awarded the Dutch National Award for Sustainability Innovation – “The Columbus Egg”.
The awards, opened by the Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, are staged by the Dutch Government bi-annually to reward sustainability innovation in the Netherlands.
Commercial production of Accoya™ by Titan Wood, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Accsys Technologies plc, began last year at a new 30,000 m3 plant at Arnhem, Netherlands.
BSW has signed an exclusive agreement with Titan Wood to be the sole supplier of Accoya®, across the UK and Ireland, following four years of extensive collaboration between the two companies.
Accoya will now be a contender for the European Business Awards in the Environment (EBAE) contest with winners being announced in the first week of June.
Dr Wim Quik, one of the judges, paid tribute to the innovative wood modification process behind Accoya.
“Thanks to this production technology, Accoya® wood has become a real alternative to increasingly scarce tropical timber. The ability to make high performance timber from fast–growing, sustainable species will help to protect threatened species and rainforests. Further advantages are that Accoya® wood can replace less environmentally friendly materials in demanding exterior applications and that it requires less frequent maintenance due to its improved durability and dimensional stability.”
John Alexander, head of business development at BSW Timber, said the award reflected Accoya’s impressive environmental credentials.
“Accoya is a solid wood product made from certified sustainable sources and has multiple long-term environmental benefits as it is non-toxic, recyclable and acts as a carbon sink.”
The start of commercial production is the end-result of almost 80 years of global R&D and field testing in acetylated wood modification - a patented process that protects wood from rot by making it inedible to most micro-organisms and insects.
Accoya® uses wood acetylation technology to deliver outstanding levels of performance, stability and durability. It also boasts excellent environmental credentials, using wood from sustainable plantations and being 100% non-toxic. The wood's appearance, natural colour and strength of the timber are not affected in the process.
Industry experts have supported Accoya's performance and sustainability claims, with both the British Research Establishment and Napier University’s Centre for Timber Engineering recently reporting an unprecedented minimum 60-year service life for the product in cladding and external joinery applications.
The Paint Advisory Bureau has also published research findings that show Accoya® windows are the most cost effective option over the standard design life of a building, outperforming PVC, hardwood and softwoods.
June 13, 2008