| 67
to soy or cattle farming,” he said. “The main message I heard was that, while the forest offers hundreds of different species, only a handful enjoyed the attention and interest of international markets.”
He coined this ‘the mahogany effect’, whereby a handful of big name species become the market default, the pre-eminence of which it’s difficult to shake. Cambridge- based Ecochoice clearly sees as its task, and a business opportunity, to help challenge this. The arguments for using LKS, said Mr Bekin are many and varied – and commercial as well as environmental.
“They’re cheaper and less prone to stock fluctuations than the famous few. So it just makes sense to push them as a viable alternative to any suitable enquiries we get,” he said. “Forest operators would also benefit from their take-up since their yield/ha would increase. This in turn provides vital funds to continue exploring and protecting the natural forest sustainably.”
The problem is convincing clients of the merits of these timbers – and Ecochoice’s customers range from merchants, manufacturers, builders and landscapers, to civil and marine operations.
“They’re usually relying on old and narrow species specification documents and have
become risk averse,” said Mr Bekin “We need to incorporate new species into designs and specification so that the library of permissible species grows. There’s plenty of test evidence on the performance of LKS, most times even case studies of their use, albeit abroad.” The key to widening the spectrum of species on the market, he maintained, is to use this data so timber is specified and selected based on technical characteristics rather than name only. “We use every possible source of scientific literature to assist specifiers in incorporating LKS into their projects,” he said. “We’ll also hunt high and low for projects where our recommended LKS has been previously used. All of this with a view to assuring designers that using them is not such a great risk.” Ecochoice’s strategy is to target the right LKS at the right specifier or user. “We find a softer approach works best,” said Mr Bekin. “We introduce LKS to customers who seem, or could become interested.”
The company finds the aesthetics of LKS is not the major factor that ultimately wins over customers and end users. It is their proven durability, notably untreated in exterior applications.
“Our thermo modified frake cladding is
often ordered for its beautiful colours,” said Mr Bekin. “But [our focus] is on actively educating customers on the natural process of weathering. Embrace the grey!” In the current challenging market, Ecochoice actually sees opportunities for growing the LKS market.
“Right now we think the world is heading towards economic slowdown, but we’re cautiously optimistic,” said Mr Bekin. “With budgets already or set to be restricted, LKS can provide great value for money.”
BROADENING BRAZIL’S SPECIES BASIS Brazil’s Forest and Agricultural Management and Certification Institute, Imaflora (www.
imaflora.org), has drawn up a list of 30 “less commercialised, alternative” timber species it sees has having market potential – https://
bit.ly/3zAwZCF. In a recent edition of its Timberflow bulletin, it says these varieties were selected on a range of criteria, including technical performance, looks, abundance and non-vulnerability. It also highlights which more widely used species could be substituted by these alternatives – ipe by jataibepa for instance. Valorisation of the diversity of species with timber potential, it states, is essential for achieving sustainability in forest management. ■
Top Left: FSC cloeziana at the Windermere Jetty Museum PHOTO: JOHN LORD Top right: FSC cloeziana at the Windermere Jetty Museum PHOTO: NIGEL SWALES
Bottom left: FSC cloeziana at the Windermere Jetty Museum PHOTO: ALLAN HARRIS Bottom right: FSC opepe decking in Limehouse project
www.ttjonline.com | November/December 2022 | 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
