Timber Expo visitor numbers increase by 15%

It was the second Timber Expo after an encouraging inaugural event last year at Coventry's Ricoh Arena. Organiser Radar Communications, backed by TRADA, held a bigger event this time with around 150 exhibitors and two seminar theatres.

Event director Loretta Sales said many exhibitors had cited the good quality of visitors during the event. "People have also said that the size of stands and structures are a vast improvement on last year," she said.

She said the Timber Buyers' Forum, where contractors and specifiers could meet suppliers, was a major success.

TRADA membership and marketing manager Rupert Scott was delighted with the quality of the stands. "For a show of its size Timber Expo punches well above its weight," he said.

One of the biggest changes from 2011 was replacing the paid for In Touch with Timber conference with free seminars on the show floor and Mr Scott said the format worked well. "The seminar structures were great adverts for timber engineering in their own right and the seminars proved popular in terms of numbers attending and the feedback we received. The seminar programme was one of the most important tools we used to attract more specifiers and contractors," he said.

Many companies TTJ spoke to thought the show provided a good shop window for timber products, as well as a place to meet customers and a united front by the timber industry, though some wanted to see more architects/specifiers among visitors.

UK importers, merchants and distributors were strongly represented among exhibitors, along with several timber frame manufacturers, fixings suppliers and timber treatment producers.

A sizeable international presence featured a strong Austrian contingent, while companies from Canada, US, Brazil, Spain, Ireland and Germany were also present.

Awards were presented for product innovations and stand displays, with the Supreme Award for Innovation won by Accsys Technologies.

Other awards were Best custom-built stand: Lonza Wood Protection; Best tooling & fastening/fixing innovation: Simpson Strong-Tie's Portal 1; Best shell stand: Knauf Drywall; Best energy efficiency/
sustainability solution, Val-UTherm; Best structural/offsite solution: Frame Wise's Wise Wall; Best building envelope product: Senior Architectural Systems; Best interior product: Balcas's KOTA.

Tough talk
Coillte Panel Products launched its coated SmartPly OSB at Timber Expo.

ToughPly is a double-sided, pre-coated structural OSB3 panel, sanded and finished on both sides.

The coating results in time saving onsite as the panel can be painted without any further surface preparation.

It is suitable for a range of applications such as roofing, sheathing and boarding, and is easy to cut, plane, route and nail.

ToughPly is being marketed as an alternative to tropical plywood and the forthcoming anti-illegal timber EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) will increase its competitive edge.

"It is CE marked and has full FSC chain of custody," said marketing manager Joanna Smith. "And in terms of carbon footprint, it's only coming from Ireland, rather than from tropical countries.

"It's available now and timber and builders merchants are showing great interest in it as it makes EUTR compliance that much easier. They are all trying to filter out non-compliant plywood."

Woodbridge Timber makes show debut

Woodbridge Timber, exhibiting at Timber Expo for the first time, received "quite a lot of leads".

"The [visitor] numbers aren't quite as expected but it's positive," said commercial manager Martin Oxley.

Woodbridge supplies construction timbers to merchants and truss and timber frame manufacturers and had samples of its range at the show - including a glulam beam spanning the width of the stand.

All its products - including Kerto LVL, carcassing, CLS, TR26 - are sold in packs - but glulam is supplied to merchants to order and as single items. However, this could change once merchants become more familiar with the product.

"We're trying to get the knowledge out into the market about what glulam is. It could become a stock item in future," said CLS product manager Steve Place.