Sector Focus: Preservatives & Fire Retardants | 29
NEW HORIZONS
Wolman is a longstanding wood preservatives manufacturer that is now part of the Sika Group. Stephen Powney talked to Richard Gulland, Wolman UK & Ireland account manager
German wood preservative chemicals manufacturer Wolman has a long history stretching back to 1911.
More recently it has seen several owner changes. BASF owned the brand from the1980s through to 2019, when Wolman was purchased with other businesses held by BASF to American hedge fund LONESTAR. The latter renamed these acquired companies under the banner Master Builder Construction Chemicals Group, before a further sale in 2023, with Wolman and several other companies being acquired by large European chemicals group Sika. Wolman has benefited from Sika’s ownership; with investment and a new MD Markus Rupp. It has about 130 employees, manufacturing low-pressure and high- pressure preservatives formulations and fire retardants to sell into the industrial wood treatment sector. Richard Gulland, Wolman UK & Ireland account manager, told TTJ that the brand was making good progress under Sika’s ownership with impetus in the fact that Sika specialises in products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protection in the building sector and industrial manufacturing. “We make chemicals for many products that go into construction, so it has generated quite a few cross-selling business opportunities with Sika across Europe,” said Mr Gulland.
In addition, Wolman’s fire protection’s expertise – which includes both fire retardant chemicals and intumescent fire seals for items like fire doors – is a very good fit for Sika as it sell a lot into construction and deals with projects.
“Sika is very much a construction-based chemicals company and they understand that market,” Mr Gulland added. Wolman UK has recently been fine-tuning its distribution model, with a new set-up since September 2025, which gives it UK warehousing and distribution, allowing it to meet 1-2 days delivery times. A couple of customers have been gained due to the improved service. In addition, Wolman has its products registered in Ireland now, giving opportunities to sell into the Irish market. Products offered by Wolman include
Wolmanit CX or Wolsit KD vacuum pressure treatments, the ProColor systems for pigmentation of treated wood, as well as
Wood preservative penetration. Photo: Wolman
Xyligen 30 F and Wolsit F-15T products to protect wood-based panels from wood- destroying fungi. Fire retardant treatment products include Wolmanit Firestop and Wolmanit Antiflamm. Wolman UK has recently submitted its internal field test data to the BRE for independent validation, with the results expected by the end of May.
PRESERVATIVES MARKET Mr Gulland, who has been at Wolman for nearly 20 years, described the UK timber industry as a stable sector, with 8-9 million m3
of softwood
(homegrown +imports) supplied annually. “Whether it’s decking, sheds, housebuilding, fencing or garden landscaping materials, the market does not seem to ever stop,” he said. “People always needs fence posts and house extensions always seem to be going on.” However, he noted the early Easter and less than ideal weather in some regions during that crucial DIY period had not been ideal for garden products market demand. In addition, the Middle East conflict was also impacting consumer confidence, as well as crude oil costs for wood preservative manufacturers.
Copper amine-based wood preservatives – used widely in formulations for impregnation of wood in ground contact – is one such area affected by costs, as the amines are bought by most major preservative manufacturers. “Purchases are steady but none of us really know whether some customers are ordering chemicals to meet customer orders or are
buying to build up stock. So, it’s hard to definitively know what demand is like.” Regulation of active ingredients in wood preservatives continues to be a focus point in the treatments sector. Azole-based biocides is an area that has come under focus from European regulators.
“Many active ingredients are getting restrictions or limitations of use, so in the years to come that is going to be the biggest factor on chemicals companies’ ability to make products. “All the chemicals suppliers are probably hedging their bets – they can see the writing on the wall for some actives, so they are looking at other formulations to have ways of continuing in the coming years. There is certainly a lot of innovation in the industry to prepare for the future.”
A complicating factor is a growing time lag between the response times of the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the EU since Brexit. “For us as a Group supplying across Europe, it is easier to have one body making decisions.” Mr Gulland believes another important consideration for the continued growth of the preservative treated wood sector is correct specification of products for the right end use - a point raised during the recent WPA annual conference (see pg24).
FURTHER INFORMATION
For additional comments relating to treated wood specification see
www.ttjonline.com
www.ttjonline.com | Summer 2026 | TTJ
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