Søren Juhl Hansen Product and Marketing Manager Teknos

The tree trunk shown in this picture is more than two million years old, and was found in Sukabumi in Western Java, Indonesia.

The annual rings and cell structure are still clearly visible, and it is most probably a hardwood species. Petrifaction has preserved the wood over several geological ages; a perfect example of timber’s durability!

Fortunately, the service life requirements for modern joinery are not quite so demanding, though we do face some exciting challenges. So we have published this newsletter to report some of the business stories, from around Europe, which show how timber and related industries are developing processes and products to meet these challenges.

We hope you will find the newsletter interesting and may even want to feature your business in future editions, which will be circulated to all our Customers and business partners throughout Europe.

In this edition we have feature articles on:

• Wiking Gulve, Danish flooring manufacturer

• The latest academic research on window service life

• Gilje Group, Norway’s largest door producer

• Composite products

• The impact of the Biocidal Products Directive on joinery treatments

We hope you will find these articles of interest. If you would like any further information on any of he topics raised, please contact our nearest Service Centre or e mail us at: sales@teknos.co.uk

July 2012

Dear Business Colleagues,

July 2012

Wiking Gulve A/S: High quality wooden flooring

Wiking Gulve A/S in Roslev (Midtjylland) is one of the largest Danish manufacturers of floorboards. The company, founded in 1997, produces high quality, three-layer floorboards and places particular emphasis on selected wood from local forests.

Wiking Gulve processes, for example, Danish ash wood with particularly fine transitions between light and dark shades, Danish oak for floorboards with a very special glow or pine from the forests of Northern Sweden, where the trees grow slower and thus the wood is harder. Douglas fir and Siberian larch are also among the preferred wood types.

A large proportion of the logs are hand picked in the forest, dried in Wiking Gulve’s own sawmill after cutting and then processed on the production site in Roslev. The entire processing operation is based on high quality and sustainability, combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. Through the careful control of wood and processing, the company is able to offer particularly high quality selected floorboards.

Teknos UVILUX system

Wiking Gulve use Teknos water-based, UV-cured products. Oak floorboards are coated in a 7-coat system, with the pore filler UVILUX Sealer 1456 (twice, applied by putty box), UVILUX Sealer 2420 (twice, roller application), UVILUX Sanding Sealer 2420 and finally two layers of UVILUX Cera 2070 (roller application).

The surface strength of the UVILUX Cera 2070 topcoat, which is based on nano technology, corresponds to conventional hard coats and was chosen after a demanding test and certification program.

Wiking Gulve is very satisfied by it’s partnership with Teknos. “With Teknos products we achieve precisely the high quality surfaces that we need for our floorboards”, says production manager Henrik Østergaard. “The process is straightforward, the cooperation is very good. It is important for us to cooperate with suppliers who are located nearby and have a comprehensive technical know-how such as Teknos.”

Wiking Country Life floor boards made from Ash, coated white matt with water-based, UV-drying Teknos laquers

White boards after coating with UVILUX Cera 2070 topcoat and before final UV-drying

Wiking Gulve boards after sealing with UVILUX Sealer 2420 (clear) and UV-drying on their way to intermediate sanding

July 2012

Window Service Life

The research confirms timber windows, manufactured to WWA standards, have a design life of 60 years in typical UK conditions, while alu clad or acetylated timber (Accoya) frames can further extend design lives up to 80 years.

The additional durability of alu clad and Accoya windows, combined with longer maintenance intervals make them particularly attractive to Specifiers of high rise domestic and commercial buildings.

The graph shows expected life based on manufacturer-controlled parameters under a range of exposures where “mild” equates to typical UK suburban conditions. Building design factors to further extend service life were excluded from this example.

Lifetime cost comparison

The research also examined window ownership costs for various window frame materials over a range of building design lives.

The costs were based on a standard 1230 x 1480 mm window with a central mullion and single opening, and assumed maintenance intervals in line with manufacturer’s recommendations and a glazing unit life of 20 years.

The graphs below show cost comparisons for various window frame materials over a range of building design lives.

In more severe conditions (coastal exposure, high rise applications, etc.) the greater durability of modified timbers and alu clad frames offset their higher initial costs over a typical building design life.

Independent research confirms the advantages of timber windows

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

PVC

Timber

Modified timber

Al-Clad

years

Expected Service LifeWWA window Standards

Severe

Moderate

Mild

Independent research has confirmed timber and timber composite windows allow Specifiers to optimise service life and lifetime cost in typical UK domestic and commercial buildings.

The research: on Service Life Planning (SLP) and Whole Life Costing (WLC) was carried out by Imperial College London and Herriot Watt University and commissioned by the UK’s Wood Window Alliance (WWA).

Full details, and a further study of the environmental impacts of window frame materials, will be published by Herriot Watt University, in partnership with Imperial College London, in summer and autumn 2012.

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

0 years 10 years 20 years 30 years 40 years 50 years 60 years 70 years 80 years 90 years

Cost/ window (£)

Whole Life Cost ComparisonSuburban Environment

Graphs show NPV costs over a range of timescales based on an average 3% annual inflation and a discount rate of 3.5%.

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

0 years 10 years 20 years 30 years 40 years 50 years 60 years 70 years 80 years 90 years

Cost / window (£)

Whole Life Cost ComparisonSevere Environment

Timber Accoya Aluclad PVC

July 2012

What started in 1948 with one sawmill and five enterprising brothers in south Norwegian Rogaland, is today the leading producer of wooden windows and doors in Norway.

The Gilje Group, with the companies Gilje Tre (Dirdal) and Gilje Door (Moi) manufacture low energy windows, fire protected windows and doors, exterior and safety doors. The group and its 280 employees produce a total of around 120,000 windows and 20,000 doors annually. While most are produced for the Norwegian market, around 15 percent are exported, many to the UK.

Gilje produces exterior doors at the Moi location, which resulted from the takeover of the door manufacturer Nordør AS in 1992. With 16,000 doors and turnover of around €10 million, Gilje Door is today the largest Norwegian manufacturer of exterior doors and door components. The innovative company was awarded the ‘Golden Saw Blade’ in June, a renowned prize of the Norwegian Association of the Woodworking Industry (NTL).

In 2010, Gilje was searching for a coating solution for the special material combination of Gilje exterior doors: a pinewood door leaf with an outer compact laminate layer of composite material. “The challenge was to find a solution that achieves the desired properties both on pine and on the composite material”, says Trine Busch from Technical Customer Service at Teknos in Vamdrup. “On the basis of our considerable experience with various materials, we were able to find the right coating in targeted tests.”

The solution was a water-based, dual-layer coating sytem comprising TEKNOSEAL 4002 and AQUATOP 2760. The primer seals the wood effectively against the penetration of dampness and allows for good adhesion of the final coating, even on the composite material. The water borne topcoat has a very even, durable surface for the optimal finish of Gilje Doors products.

At Gilje, the partnership with Teknos has developed strongly and a positive spirit of cooperation prevails. “We have a good dialogue with both sales and technical staff at Teknos”, confirms Svein Egil Korsbø, Purchasing and IT Manager at Giljedoor. “We are very satisfied with the processing and quality of the Teknos products.”

www.gilje.no

Teknos Partners: The Gilje Group, Norway’s largest door manufacturer

Gilje Door factory in Moi (Norway)

State-of-the art facilities with a high degree of automation allow for a flexible production of doors.

Gilje Door offer a broad range of exterior doors, including some extraor-dinary designs.

Gilje doors leave in the production line after coating with Teknos AQUATOP 2760.

Teknos (UK) LimitedUnit E1, Heath Farm

Banbury Road Swerford

Oxfordshire OX7 4BN

Tel. +44 (0) 1608 683494Fax: +44 (0) 1608 683487

Email: sales@teknos.co.ukWeb: www.teknos.co.uk

Teknos Ireland LimitedUnit 1

Fortwilliam Industrial EstateDargan Crescent

Belfast BT3 9JP

Tel. +44 (0) 2890 960670Fax: +44 (0) 2890 960674

Email: sales.ni@teknos.co.ukWeb: www.teknos.co.uk

Teknos Scotland LimitedNettlehill Road

Houston Industrial EstateLivingston EH54 5DL

Tel. +44 (0) 1506 436222Fax: +44 (0) 1506 448826

Email: sales.scotland@teknos.co.ukWeb: www.teknos.co.uk

Teknos UK and IrelandTeknos is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of industrial wood coatings. We provide technical support and delivery services throughout Western Europe from 3 service centres, located at Swerford, near Banbury, Livingston and Belfast.For further information, please contact your local service centre.

July 2012

Profile made from glass-reinforced plastic (GRP)

First BPD approval procedures for Teknos products successfully completed

The first approvals under the Biocide Product Directive (BPD) have been completed for the industrial use of three Teknos wood preservatives:AQUA PRIMER 2907-02 AQUA PRIMER 2907-42TEKNOL AQUA 1410

Following initial approval in Denmark, the process for acceptance by national approval authorities of other EU countries is now underway and expected to be concluded by mid 2012. In the meantime the specified products can continue to be sold and used under national transitional arrangements.

Coating of composite materials

Surface of fiberon composite decking.

The use of composite materials is growing in many applications, including window construction.

One important type is glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) which is lighter than aluminium with good strength and rigidity. GRP is corrosion and weather resistant, does not conduct electricity, and is a good heat insulator: interesting properties for energy efficient window construction.

Different compositions

GRP is a fibre reinforced resin matrix, and many different materials and combinations

can be used to produce composites with a wide range of properties.

Glass is the most common reinforcing fibre, but aramid, carbon, or a combination of reinforcement fibres can be also be used dependant on end use.

Five main groups of resins are typically used in the polymer matrix: polyester (UP), vinylester (VE), epoxy (EP), phenol (PF) and polyurethane (PUR). For window profiles, glass reinforced polyester and polyurethane are the most typical.

In addition to the resin and fibre reinforcement, additives are added to enhance specific properties such as heat stability, fire resistance and colour.

Coating selection

With such a variety of possible resins, fibres and additives, some care is required in choosing the optimum coating system.

Teknos’ Application Technology Department

have developed a sophisticated composite analysis and testing program to optimise adhesion and confirm performance with respect to durability, chemical resistance, cold and climate tests, abrasion, etc.

For most exterior joinery applications, water-based 2K polyurethane coatings TEKNODUR AQUA 3391 and 3393 offer the best balance of performance and application properties and conform to the AAMA 623-10 Standard for Organic Coatings on Fiber-Reinforced Thermoset Profiles.