As a part of its consistent effort of highlighting the benefits of integrating wood in a variety of applications, Canadian Wood’s WOODINNOVATIONS series is dedicated at discussing what’s new and what’s next, in the area of wood use. The series is running successfully as these virtual sessions have been the constant ground for knowledge sharing by several reputed woodworking professionals in India. This of course, while covering a range of topics of significance to the industry.
Engineered wood products are designed to maximise the natural strength and characteristics of wood. These products are dimensionally stable, offer great structural strength and at the same time work as sustainable and cost-effective solutions too.
Esteemed guests and speakers at the Engineered Wood Products webinar, namely, Punit Patel (Nav Nirman Industries, Hyderabad) and PV Haridasan (Kerala State Rubber Co-operative Ltd., Kannur) shared their unique experiences and technical expertise besides highlighting the advantages of using engineered wood products for mutiple purposes. Alongside, Peter Bradfield (Technical Advisor, Canadian Wood) also introduced recent successes – FJEG boards made with sustainably sourced wood species from British Columbia and demonstrated their suitability for varied applications besides showcasing other engineered Canadian wood products.
Speaking about the webinar, Mr. Pranesh Chhibber, Country Director – Canadian Wood, said; “The nature of Indian wood market was preventing the use of mass wood, as the market is highly fragmented and unorganised, which came across as a major challenge. The thought behind conducting this webinar was to discuss engineered panels and address market challenges. As an international provider of wood, sourced from sustainably managed forests of British Columbia, we strive to add value to the new-age architectural practices and support builders in creating innovative spaces using wood which is an environment-friendly and powerful building material. The Indian woodworking industry is growing rapidly and we have seen an increased demand for engineered wood products, for different structural and design requirements. Although the market appetite is there, there’s a lack of technical knowledge around the engineering of wooden products. In order to bridge the knowledge gap and to educate our woodworking professionals, we conducted this webinar on engineered wood products with an aim to create more awareness. We hope that the session has been beneficial, as we will continue to host many such informative webinars, in the future.”
Speaker at the webinar P.V. Haridasan, Managing Director – RUBCO (Kerala State Rubber Co-Operative Ltd.) said: “Currently the market opportunity is very high and the demand for wood furniture is growing over the years owing to factors such as urbanization as well as an increase in the customer’s earning potential. With Canadian Wood, we have had some of the best experiences working with wood, as it is easy to work with machines like planing, sawing and giving smooth finishes to products. While integrating Canadian Wood species, finger joints were found to be smoothly cut on the planed pieces with formation of strong figure joints using D3 glue. We’ve also experienced that Canadian Wood products are suitable for edge gluing with polyvinyl acetate glue and its hardener to make string glue joints. Additionally, the boards could be easily and smoothly sanded in a widebelt sander, thus, meeting our quality parameters.”
Referring to the use furniture, he further added: “In the recent past, we have made wardrobes, tables, chairs, etc. with western hemlock board. The mortise and tenon joints were found to be quite sturdy when developed using Canadian Wood species. The screw holding capacity was very good and the product allowed for finishing with Polyurethane Lacquers, the same finish as obtained through Rubber wood.”
Taking the session forward, Puneet Patel, Director – Nav Nirman Industries, Hyderabad, said: “FJEG BOARD is an engineered product and is a ready building material suitable for a wide range of applications. Most importantly, by using FJEG boards made from sustainably sourced wood species, we can protect forests. It helps lower formaldehyde emission, as compared to other panel products. Also, it is very flexible which adds to ease in applications and creates better dimensional stability. It could further be customised with versatile applications, like a thick solid wood section, as compared to plywood. FJEG BOARD can be used in door shutters, furniture, kitchen and wall cabinet making and for flooring, ceiling, panelling and door frame purposes, which is a new trend.”
Speaking about the association with Canadian Wood, he added: “Our journey started in 2016, when at the initial stage we had used Spruce-pine-fir (SPF) for our production and have had amazing experience using Canadian Wood species. We then tried using western hemlock for manufacturing 45mm boards. We’re happy to say that today, boards made with Canadian Wood are in our main product line.”
Watch the webinar, now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW40f0Fdns8
About Canadian Wood
Forestry Innovation Consulting Pvt. Ltd. (FII India) better known as Canadian Wood is a crown agency of the government of British Columbia (B.C.) – the western most province of Canada, with a mandate to promote its wood products in offshore markets. It focuses on promoting five distinct wood species in India, namely: 1) Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF), 2) Western hemlock, 3) Douglas-fir, 4) Yellow cedar and 5) Western red cedar. These species have unique properties making them suitable for a range of reman and structural applications. Canadian Wood lumber is available duly seasoned, sized and graded, almost ready-to-use across the country through a network of 41 stockists in all major towns.
Know more about Canadian Wood. Visit: www.canadianwood.in
