Woodsafe Research & Development welcomes Lazaros Tsantaridis

Dr Tsantaridis has long experience in fire research with special focus on fire safety in timber buildings. Activities include reaction to fire and industrial applications from RISE Wood Building Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. His publications include several scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, proceedings and research reports.

"It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Dr Tsantaridis has taken on the leadership of the development of Woodsafe Research & Development,” said Thomas Bengtsson, founder of the Woodsafe Group. “As a senior researcher, Dr Tsantaridis has, with great scientific skill, established his own line of research in fireproofed wood, which has been recognised both nationally and internationally."

In February 2023, WRD broke ground for a state-of-the-art fire and research facility and now a year later with the leadership of Dr Tsantaridis as senior researcher, competence is at a very high level and ensures that it will contribute to elevate the wood industry's ability to develop sustainable wood products with fire protection properties.

“After almost 36 years at Trätek, SP and RISE, it was time for me to leave the institute world,” said Dr Tsantaridis. “I am happy that I have spent these years working in the research group led by Birgit Östman and, together with a handful of colleagues, solved the fire issue for building multi-storey houses in wood. The results are shown in the handbook Band-proof wooden houses version 3. When version 1 came out in the 2000s, the timber industry said it was done researching fire issues. The fact that Woodsafe Group is now opening a research centre proves that the research was not finished. I am happy that I have been asked by Thomas Bengtsson to lead the development of the WRD research lab."

"We are proud of our long-standing cooperation with RISE and can now with the WRD, and Dr Tsantaridis' guidance, expand and optimise the flow of products for classification testing and certification to RISE", says Peter Johnson, product and development manager at Woodsafe Timber Protection AB.