The Swedish Wood Preserving Association (SWPA) has launched a 20-year warranty that guarantees the quality of treated timber products in the country.
In association with treated timber producers in Sweden, SWPA has set out the guarantee to match Nordic Wood Preservation Council (NTR) standards for wood-based products, with the Swedish testing and research institute SP-Trätek acting as a third-party to control the process.
Consumers in Sweden will be able to claim for replacement products if they suffer any problems over the 20-year period, although SWPA said that NTR standards mean the products should last for up to 40 years.
The introduction of the warranty has come as SWPA looks to counter the amount of poor quality treated timber imports coming into Sweden, said managing director Mikael Westin.
“We have done this in response to a market trend for the increase of imports from other countries,” said Mr Westin. “Some of these are low-quality products that are not properly treated. Consumers think they are properly treated because they have the green [treated] colour, but this is only on the surface.”
Mr Westin added that the warranty would guarantee both customers and the reputation of treated wood, with low-quality imports bad for the Swedish treatments market.
SWPA has backed the scheme with a SKr3m fund, which will ensure consumers are covered by the warranty even if the producer or manufacturing process no longer exists in 20 years.
