For treatment to perform as intended, the process has to be right: appropriate plant design, accurate controls, correct conditioning and clear documentation from batch to batch. Without that foundation, even the right formulation can fall short.
As WPA Chairman Steve Young puts it: “In any discussion about the performance of pre-treated wood, preservative efficacy is often the only topic of conversation. The reality is far more complex – well documented factory production controls are essential – and pre-conditioning, preservative impregnation or wood modification plant and equipment manufacturers have a vital role to play as a wood protection formulation is only as effective as the plant designed to use it.”
Engineering reliable treatment
UK-based Timber Treatment Solutions (TTS) designs, manufactures, installs and upgrades high- and low-pressure timber impregnation plants, controls and associated equipment for sawmills, treaters, merchants and infrastructure suppliers, covering waterborne preservatives, oil-based products, creosote and heat treatment.
For TTS, the challenge is to help customers treat timber consistently and in line with recognised best practice, including penetration, retention and process control requirements associated with BS 8417 and the WPA Code of Practice.
Joe Watson, Director at Timber Treatment Solutions, says: “As an equipment supplier, our role is to make it as easy as possible for timber treaters to get the process right every single time. Correct treatment is more than just durability performance, it’s also about safety, environmental responsibility and preserving confidence in wood as a long-term, sustainable construction material.”
Recent projects include a purpose-built copper oil treatment system for SNCF railways in France and a high-capacity pressure plant for Impregna in Sweden.
The company has also continued to develop incising equipment for species such as spruce, particularly where timber is being treated for ground contact applications.
Control, traceability and confidence
Danish specialist Wood Treatment Technologies (WTT) brings the same focus to treatment plants, process solutions and services, with Managing Director Jakob Jakobsen emphasising process control, documentation, health and safety, and environmental performance.
“Correct wood treatment is about applying the right chemistry in the right way,” he says. “Accurate dosing control is essential to avoid overconsumption of preservatives, protect the environment and ensure a commercially sustainable product. It is equally important that the process itself can be operated correctly for every batch, time and time again.”
That traceability is increasingly important as customers, regulators and specifiers look for stronger evidence behind treated timber claims, including compliance with Best Available Techniques and Industrial Emissions BREF requirements where relevant.
Current activity includes a new treatment plant for railway sleepers in the USA, designed for energy efficiency, process stability and full traceability through WTT’s proprietary SCADA system.
That shifts the discussion around wood protection away from a narrow focus on formulation and towards the system behind it. Plant design, dosing accuracy, incising, traceability and documentation all shape whether treated timber performs as specified. As durability, sustainability and compliance expectations rise, the quality of the treatment process is becoming central to confidence in the finished product.
More at www.thewpa.org.uk
Read more in the lates Timber Trader magazine here
