Ecobuild proves essential date for timber industry

Ecobuild’s organiser, UBM, claims that the show “proved itself once again to be an essential date in the diary for anyone in the timber industry” – and very few visitors or exhibitors would disagree.

UBM is still verifying visitor numbers for last month’s show at London’s ExCeL but is optimistic that the 55,000 achieved in 2011 will have been exceeded by at least 5,000 this year.

What is undisputed is the number of exhibitors – more than 1,500 – “providing inspiration and practical advice”.

“Once again Ecobuild demonstrated why it is the leading event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment,” said UBM marketing director Jo Mayer.

According to some visitors and exhibitors, the rapid growth of Ecobuild and its supplanting of Interbuild may haver turned it into a more generic building show.

“It did feel like a construction industry jamboree and that tended to take away from the innovative and almost campaigning feel of earlier Ecobuilds,” said John White, Timber Trade Federation (TTF) chief executive.

But, he added, the timber industry “acquitted itself well”.

“The timber products on show were well presented and the increasing emphasis on timber engineered solutions supports the view both the TTF and Wood for Good have about the direction of travel of the industry.”

Established Ecobuild exhibitor Metsä Wood (formerly Finnforest) saw the event as the ideal opportunity to flag up the company’s name change to customers and suppliers.

Its impressive two-storey stand was built entirely from its own products and – taking the eco-theme one stage further, part of it was recycled by students of North London College.

The show featured many other “must-see” stands, such as Saint-Gobain’s Fabric First, which highlighted some of the technical challenges that needed to be overcome in order to meet forthcoming legislation.

Meanwhile TRADA’s stand featured a plywood rehabilitation shelter, the winning project in the Timbmet-sponsored Student Design Competition and the Austrian pavilion boasted its own Viennese coffee house, built to Passivhaus standard.

Next year’s Ecobuild will take place at ExCeL on March 5-7, while its new Indian incarnation is being held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre from April 16-18. The launch reflects the increasing momentum of sustainable building in India, said UBM.