Identity parade

As of September 24, the UK Timber Frame Association (UKTFA) will officially be relaunching as the Structural Timber Association (STA), encompassing users of all structural timber systems, elements and components.

The timber industry is going through an evolution. It is no longer defined simply by the supply of timber kits; it is driven by intelligent and integrated hybrid solutions. Because of this, the UKTFA now stands for much more than 'timber frame' and we felt that we needed to broaden the Association to reflect the evolving industry.

The overall purpose of the organisation will continue to be the promotion of structural timber products and systems within the UK construction industry - something the UKTFA has done for 11 years to good effect. With the growing understanding that timber construction is the way forward in terms of energy efficiency, time saving and flexibility, the new STA will reiterate these messages and continue all the good work of the UKTFA through its programme of seminars, factory tours and research.

This change has the support of the UK construction market, and we will continue to collaborate with the other timber-related organisations such as TRADA, the Timber Trade Federation, Wood for Good and the newly-created Grown in Britain initiative, all of which promote the use of timber and wood in a more generic manner.

Our official launch will take place on the morning of September 24, where we'll have many of the 'great and the good' from the UK construction industry speaking on the platform, confirming the future for the timber industry at the forefront of construction.

We'll be following this with a jam-packed Timber Expo programme. In addition to our exhibition stand in the Pavilion, we can find also be found on the Timber Accord Group at the Timber Summit from 11am-1pm on the 24th, followed by one of our highly successful Fabric First conferences in the afternoon - where speakers Peter Wilson, director of Edinburgh Napier University's Wood Studio, and Stuart Goodall, chief executive of Confor, will be giving must-see presentations.

This is an incredibly exciting time for the timber industry. The market is picking up, our association is ready to take off and right now structural timber is the place to be.

BM Trada Unveils Technical Talks Programme
BM TRADA's technical experts will cover some of the big topics in the timber industry as part of the Technical Talks seminar programme at Timber Expo.

Subjects including fire prevention in timber buildings, innovations in crosslaminated timber and how underfloor heating affects wood coverings will all be discussed on stand B9, while the technical experts will all be on hand on BM TRADA's stand (B13) during the show to answer all technical questions.

For example, Lewis Taylor will talk about innovations in cross-laminated timber, which is growing in popularity as architects and engineers realise the sustainability and cost savings that can be achieved with this timber panel solution.

Meanwhile, Peter Kaczmar will discuss how underfloor heating affects various different wood floor coverings, presenting his results from an earlier research programme where an underfloor heating test rig was built to test coverings such as bamboo and modified wood.

The presentations will last around 20 minutes each, with time afterwards for questions and answers. There is no need to book - delegates just turn up five minutes before the start of each seminar, although attendance is on a first-come, first-served basis.

The full programme can be viewed at www.tradatechnology.co.uk/news/ article/bm-trada-unveils-technical-talks-programme.

Meanwhile, BM TRADA experts on stand B13 will be available to talk about the company's complete service offering, which includes testing, technical and certification services.