Metsä Wood UK has first public airing

The Ecobuild stand had already been built when Finnforest UK was renamed Metsä Wood UK so it was all hands to the pump to change the branding and “step up communications”, said Marcus Sanders, head of UK marketing.

“This exhibition is a really good opportunity to get the message out about the name change,” he added.

The Finnforest name still has “great value” as a brand, said Mr Sanders, and is being retained for certain products – Finnforest timber and the Finnframe building system, for example. Other products, such as decking, plywood and interiors products, now carry the Metsä Wood brand.

Many other products that appeared on the Ecobuild stand – Kerto LVL, ThermoWood and Leno, for example – also retain their brand names.

“One eco-aspect of the stand is that some of it – the Kerto Ripa floors and staircase that make up the mezzanine level – will be reused by the North London College. They probably won’t have come across Kerto before so this is a great opportunity for them to understand how it’s put together.”

Other elements of the stand included an ultra-thin version of a Leno cross-laminated timber (CLT) wall made with 11 layers of Kerto.

“It’s the next evolution of CLT,” said Kevin Riley, construction industry vice-president. “It’s a very strong, durable, 85mm structural load-bearing wall.”

The stand also showed the potential of a Leno and I-joist combination which provides a void for insulation – “a great opportunity for the upgrade and refit of existing buildings”.

The company’s thermal modelling was also highlighted. “We provide SAP calculations so developers don’t have to do them themselves,” said Mr Riley.

Ari Tiukkanen, senior vice-president construction industry, said the challenge for timber companies was to industrialise their processes to add value.

“Because of that, our aim is to put more resources into R&D – roof, floor and wall systems,” he said.