| 39
how the industry can actively support the transition. Treated wood already offers a low- carbon, bio-based option – but there is room to improve further.
One area of focus is the end-of-life phase.
Today most treated wood waste is incinerated for energy recovery. We see potential to increase reuse and recycling so that more value than just energy is retained. For instance, the technology is there for chipping treated wood and extracting the copper so it can be sold and the clean chips used for fibreboard. It’s now a question of growing demand for these materials and increasing process cost efficiency.
The circular economy is based on using materials multiple times in different applications, so we have to push the concept of cascading use of wood – using it in different forms before burning the residue for energy. There are probably 20 different technologies for cascading use of treated timber. Some are very innovative and may be not realistic, but others are viable. When it comes to incineration, there are options too. Burning the wood and extracting copper from the ashes, for instance, and low oxygen incineration to produce biochar as a soil improver.
TTJ: DO YOU SEE A POTENTIAL ROLE FOR THE TIMBER TRADE AND THE TREATMENT SECTOR MANAGING THE SECONDARY TIMBER USE SUPPLY CHAIN? FW: Currently wood goes to, for example, the construction industry and at the end of the building’s life is generally taken away by waste management companies to be incinerated. But in a circular economy there will be a lot more secondary raw material in the market, and there are likely to be more controls on incineration. It makes sense for companies that understand the material and its potential to take on this circular wood business. They have the knowledge to get most value out of the material.
TTJ: WHAT DEVELOPMENTS HAVE THERE BEEN IN SWPA MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION? FW: We’re currently developing our ByggaUte (build outdoors) concept, designed to provide
micro-education and purchase decision support tailored to consumer behaviour in today’s digital and social media environment. This includes a decking installation app into which you key decking dimensions and it produces a purchase list of items you need and construction instructions. But we still need to adapt further to how consumers use modern media. The new generation aren’t going into trade shops to buy their timber products, and they’ve moved on from Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Today they’re surfing the internet on the bus, looking at video, or talking to online communities and might be selecting products by whether they’ve got an eco-label. We need to be there in that moment they’re making that decision and get the NTR quality assurance logo into webshops. We haven’t got all the answers yet, but we have some ideas. We also focus on supporting professionals with information and inspiration with publications like The Environmental Handbook for Treated Wood. We support the Wood Protection Prize, awarded to an inspiring local public wood project, and the work of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology including through a wood bridge building course. This manifests in the public event Träbrobyggardagen, “Wood bridge building day” which involves architecture and engineering students designing a wooden bridge, with the winning design being constructed.
TTJ: HOW DOES THE SWPA WORK WITH THE NORDIC WOOD PRESERVATION COUNCIL, AND HAVE THERE BEEN RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NTR QUALITY SCHEME? FW: We co-operate closely and meet regularly through joint forums. NWPC is working to further improve quality by enhancing education for members and operators. There will be mandatory education for personnel of companies using the NTR label to levels 1 and 2, eventually leading to a master level of wood treatment. We have to build trust in our sector and education is key to that. Another challenge facing our industry is the digitisation of product information in the construction sector. We are working on this with members.
TTJ: RECENTLY THE NTR ALSO INTRODUCED A NEW STANDARD FOR PROTECTED GLULAM. WHAT ARE ITS REQUIREMENTS? FW: This was introduced in April in response to growing demand for preservative treated glulam. This requires the lamellas to be treated prior to gluing as the glue can act as a barrier to preservative, and if the glulam is subsequently planed and sanded, it needs to be treated again. The standard describes correct processes and procedures, including quality checking done by taking bore samples.
TTJ: IS THE LIAISON WITH THE UK WOOD PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION ONGOING, AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT? FW: Of course, the UK is a very important market for Swedish timber and we value our relationship with the WPA highly and see scope for developing it further. This year we invited WPA director Simon Henry to the European Wood Protection Association spring meeting and I addressed the WPA annual meeting on behalf of the EWPA.
TTJ: HOW DO YOU SEE THE OUTLOOK FOR THE TIMBER PROTECTION SECTOR? FW: I’m optimistic. As the world increasingly moves to a decarbonised economic model, we will be faced with competition from the well-resourced energy intensive materials sectors which are developing their own environmental, low carbon stories. We must be in the rooms where decisions are made, be part of decisions at policy level and lobby alongside these industries. But if we position ourselves well, our market can potentially multiply, not necessarily in volume, but through enhanced quality and new business models. We are active at the European level through the EWPA where we lead the advocacy project ‘Treated Wood for Decarbonisation’. This presents treated wood as a strategic enabler for policymakers in Brussels and in EU member states. And we believe the increasing focus on climate change and sustainability is, in fact, turning into a support for our industry – a striking shift from previous decades, when the spotlight was mainly on chemical risks. ■
THE SWPA
The Swedish Wood Protection Association (Svenska Träskyddsföreningen) represents 52 timber treating companies and 15 associate members. Focus areas include information and education provision, advocacy, quality assurance, R&D, member support and digitisation. It is the largest association affiliated to the Nordic Wood Preservation Council, which has 102 members across Nordic and Baltic countries and in Poland and manages the NTR timber treatment quality labelling and certification scheme. The SWPA is affiliated to the European Wood Protection Association. ■
www.ttjonline.com | September/October 2025 | TTJ
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101
