Accoya production starts in earnest

Around 200 people from across Europe, including architects, specifiers, joinery manufacturers, coatings specialists and local dignitaries attended the event at Arnhem and witnessed the first batch of acetylated timber roll out of the reactor as the city's mayor Pauline Krikke set the production line in motion.

Accoya, which is radiata pine modified by the acetylation process to perform like a hardwood, is the result of years of research and has been developed by Titan Wood, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Accsys Technologies plc.

BSW Timber has collaborated on the development of the product since Titan Wood was formed in 2003, and has the exclusive agreement to distribute Accoya across the UK and Ireland.

“It has been a long road to get to this point, requiring a huge effort and tremendous commitment - and sometimes patience - from all who were involved,” said Accsys chief executive Edward Pratt, who has described Accoya as “the holy grail” of wood modification.

“Accoya marks a very real change for the future,” he added. “It marks a transformation of what is possible in wood products.”

Further coverage will appear in a forthcoming issue of TTJ.