When Medite Tricoya modified MDF launched in England in 2011 it caused a stir.

The claims were big: here was a product opening up a whole new market for MDF – exterior applications based on its durability and stability credentials conferred in a fibre modification process. It was hailed as the biggest development in panels for years and one that would take on rival materials.

The product, branded, Medite Tricoya Extreme Durable MDF, is a natural further development from Accoya modified solid wood – radiata pine which is modified through acetylation to give performance characteristics akin to tropical hardwoods.

It was developed by London-based Accsys Technologies and produced at its plant in Arnhem, the Netherlands.

It was only going to be a matter of time before wood fibre/chips followed in solid wood’s footsteps and it was Medite, part of Coillte Panel Products (CPP), that secured an agreement to develop the acetylation technology for panels with Tricoya Technologies Ltd – the modified wood fibre technology joint venture between petrochemicals giant INEOS and Accsys.

The product was unveiled at Timber Expo in 2011, two years ahead of schedule, with an agreement that saw Accsys supply acetylated wood elements from Arnhem to the Medite factory at Clonmel in Ireland for processing into Tricoya modified MDF panels.

The acetylation technology and product benefits have since been lauded by research bodies, distributors and customers alike and, though Accsys hasn’t had a trouble-free time, due in part to high investment levels and the time taken to build the market and increase Arnhem’s output, demand levels for Accoya and Tricoya have been growing well.

One of Tricoya Extreme MDF’s key quoted performance attributes is a 50-year guarantee against rot and decay when used externally. Typical applications in building and construction include façade claddings, exterior trim applications, exterior doors, interior wet areas and outside furniture.

Tricoya demand growth
Since starting production of Medite Tricoya Extreme MDF three years ago, Coillte Panel Products has steadily increased volumes to develop various end-use markets.

"Medite Tricoya is growing in acceptance in many markets," an Accsys spokesperson told TTJ. "To date, these have primarily been in Northern Europe and Scandinavia. But we’ve also worked with a number of others on specific projects, such as theme parks in Japan, decking, combined with Accoya, in India and a large shop front project in the USA."

The company says the key attractions of the product for customers have been its superior dimensional stability performance, long term durability and reduced maintenance cycles. Also boosting market acceptance in a range of applications have been the core material guarantee, design flexibility and environmental credentials.

Accsys says sales of Tricoya MDF have met or surpassed expectations in all markets whereit had been launched, including the UK, Germany, Ireland and Holland. Customers were also willing to pay a significant premium over conventional MDF.

Technical challenges
In terms of producing the modified panels at Clonmel, Medite said it was not a straightforward process.

"An engineered wood panel from modified wood, which has had the cell structure changed, resulting in a wood chip with different physical properties, would be a significant test for any producer," said the company. "And introducing Medite Tricoya Extreme has not been without its challenges for us. But CPP (Medite) has built its business on innovation, being one of the first to produce products like Medite Exterior, Medite FR and Medite Ecologique (zero added formaldehyde board)."

One of the next steps for Medite will be to produce the modified raw material itself, rather than buy it in from Accsys’ Dutch facility. It already has a licence to build a plant with initial capacity of 30,000 tonnes a year, enough for 42,000m3 of Medite Tricoya.

Medite has also secured exclusive rights to market Tricoya MDF in Ireland, Holland and the UK, with non-exclusive rights to sell the finished product and the Tricoya fibre in other territories. Accsys is likely to provide significant and increasing volumes of Tricoya fibre during the new plant’s start-up period to support Medite’s market development and enable it to ‘seed’ other prospective licensees in different regions.

Not much has been revealed about developments for the new plant, but an Accsys spokesperson told TTJ that they were at an "advanced stage".

"CPP and TTL are working closely together to reach the point where a dedicated facility to produce Tricoya elements can be realised."

Geographic spread
At the moment, the CPP Medite factory remains sole producer of Tricoya modified wood panels, but that could change in the next few years. As TTL’s joint development partner for Tricoya, CPP has an agreement to realise wider opportunities for acetylated wood fibreboard. This includes supplying product to future potential licensees of the proprietary technology, of which Masisa in South America is one.

Masisa recently announced it would launch Masisa Tricoya Super MDF throughout Latin America following an extended licence option agreed with TTL.

Masisa is carrying out evaluation of Tricoya, including market and production testing and development of end products. The licence extension option agreement grants Masisa exclusive production and distribution rights for Tricoya for the Latin American market – excluding Brazil, for which rights are non-exclusive.

During the evaluation phase, the Tricoya product will be supplied to Masisa by Medite.

"The licence option with Masisa is a significant milestone for our company, confirming that Tricoya technology has genuine global appeal," said Pierre Lasson, TTL general manager. "This will act as a platform for further worldwide market penetration of our cutting edge technology."

"Innovation is one of Masisa’s strategic axes", says Alfredo Gili, corporate manager of Masisa’s new product development department. "It is because of this that we are constantly looking for exclusive and innovative products, which translate into a wider offer to customers. In that regard, we’re very happy for this alliance with Tricoya. And we’ll certainly surprise our customers in Latin America."

Masisa has industrial facilities in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico as well as commercial operations in over 40 countries. Its main panel products are MDP, MDF and melamine boards.

Research and development work
During the development stages of Medite Tricoya Extreme, significant trials were undertaken with a number of independent third party assessors. The work was coordinated by the UK’s Building Research Establishment (BRE) with testing carried out by the WKI Institute and SP Wood Technology in Sweden to name but a few. BRE’s evaluation indicated expected exterior service life of 60 Years for Medite Tricoya Extreme, with the product achieving durability Class 1 under EN 350-2, equivalent to teak and more durable than oak.

SP Wood Technology demonstrated the product’s ability to resist wood destroying basidiomycetes (white and brown rot), while British Board of Agrément (BBA) assessment concluded that Medite Tricoya Extreme is suitable for internal and external nonstructural applications

More recent work has been carried out in Australia to determine the product’s resistance to termites, with good results.

Meanwhile, a number of accelerated weathering tests by coatings companies around Europe have found that their products last longer when applied to Tricoya compared to conventional wood items.

Furthermore, work has been carried out to test a variety of other coating finishes, including laminating with various overlays (vinyl, melamine impregnated paper, electronic beam cured overlays, wood veneers and various metals). Good results are also reported for direct surface printing.

Early acceptance has been gained in applications such as exterior doors, windows and joinery (often combined with Accoya modified wood), roofline products, cladding (both flat façade and profiled), shop fronts, signage and garden products.

"We see significant potential for the product, which we believe can be used in almost all exterior environments, and also extreme interior environments," said Accsys.

"Our focus has been, and continues to be on the identification and development of new applications."