30 | Sector Focus: Preservatives & Fire Retardants
WPA HITS THE MARK
The Wood Protection Association’s annual awards and conference took place as a physical event this year and were declared a great success
Above left: This year’s WPA Award winners Above right: WPA conference speakers (from left): David Hopkins, Neil Ryan, Gordon Ewbank and Andy Leitch
Now in their seventh year, the Wood Protection Association (WPA) Awards and Conference have become a popular annual event, which showcases wood protection technology as a relevant and vital part of the timber industry, whilst keeping members abreast of latest developments.
This year’s event was held on September 22-23, was well attended and “a fantastic time was had by all,” said Gordon Ewbank, WPA chief executive officer. “After a turbulent year it was heart- warming to finally get back together with colleagues and old friends.
“It was particularly satisfying to be able to celebrate excellence in our sector together in person after such a difficult 18 months. Congratulations to all our winners. “A big thank you must go to all of the sponsors who stuck with us and continued to support the WPA after several abandoned attempts at staging this live event – the whole process is funded by sponsorship. “Special thanks also go to Bond Timber, sponsor of this year’s golf tournament. This year’s competition was particularly strong and, once again, the sun shone.”
AWARD WINNERS Wood Protection Project of the Year (sponsored by Wolman): Winner Accsys Technologies for the use of its modified wood product Accoya in the design and construction of the Netherlands’
first ecological school – Basisschool De Verwondering. Innovation Award (sponsored by Impra): Winner TANASOTE, a new oil-based wood preservative, with BPR authorisation, for use as a treatment for the long-term protection of heavy-duty industrial timbers. Treated Wood Trader of the Year (sponsored
by Tanalith): Winner Bond Timber. This Award is all about customer service and what differentiates a business from other suppliers.
Treated Wood Campaign Award (sponsored by Koppers): Winner BSW Timber. The Award goes to the business that best demonstrates its engagement with the WPA/TTF ‘Make Sure Its 4’ campaign and the use of the communications and training resources. Lifetime Achievement Award: Winners Hamish Macleod, formerly of BSW Timber and David Law, formerly of Lonza Wood Protection.
This award is for individuals who have made a significant impact on the wood protection sector over many years and are approaching the end of their career or have recently retired.
WPA 2021 CONFERENCE
The half-day conference got to grips with the big issues and talking points of the wood protection industry. David Hopkins chief executive officer of Timber Development UK, spoke on leading the
TTJ | November/December 2021 |
www.ttjonline.com
move to quality assured treated wood in the UK and focused on the TTF Action Plan on wood treatment and the Treated Timber you can Trust campaign. Gordon Ewbank, WPA’s chief executive officer highlighted construction product information, giving delegates an insight into the culture change in a post-Grenfell era and the drive for clear, unambiguous and verified product support information. Andy Leitch, deputy chief executive at Confor gave a presentation on UK softwood supply and alternative conifer species, including research and commercial evaluation.
And Neil Ryan, regulatory affairs adviser at
the WPA spoke about rising to the challenge of environmental permitting – the UK experience and looking to the future. As one delegate put it, “All of the presentations were excellent and absolutely relevant to the market right now. Probably the best half-day conference I have attended over the last three years, so congratulations to all involved.” ■
FURTHER INFORMATION For further information on the 2021
WPA Awards and Conference, please go to:
https://www.thewpa.org.uk/2021-awards- conference or email
gordon@thewpa.org.uk
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