Environment
Why choose Finnish Birch plywood?
Chain of Custody
Sheet material and machined panels sold by Whittle Flooring Company Limited can be certified on request, under the Programme for the Endorsement of Certification schemes (PEFC) registration number NQA-PEFC-COC-1510.
Carbon Neutral
In fact because of the Carbon sink effect of the forests, wood from sustainable forests can actually be better than carbon neutral. Trees absorb one tonne of Carbon Dioxide for every cubic metre of growth as well as producing 750kg of Oxygen. The Carbon Dioxide is then locked into the timber for the life of the plywood.
Sustainability
Durable
To gain the maximum benefit from Carbon Dioxide locked into the timber it is essential that the wood is durable. Betula Pendula as a hardwood has some natural durability. The longer the plywood stays in use, the better the Carbon sink effect
Embodied energy
Wood has the lowest embodied energy of any mainstream building material; Glass requires 6 times the amount of energy to produce than wood, Steel 24 times and Aluminium 125 times. In Finland this is further enhanced by harvesting Biomass energy from the by-products to power the production processes.
Thermal insulation
Timber has the best thermal insulation properties of any mainstream building material, for example it is 350 times better than Steel.
Stable supply
Finnish forests have annual quotas for felling and replanting trees, the ratio of which is controlled by regulatory authorities. This ensures a consistent long term supply whilst preserving the environment.
Recyclable
Plywood and the wood waste from production processes has many recyclable uses, with the latest landfill directives creating even greater demand for alternative uses.
Recoverable Energy
One of the emerging markets for timber waste is the biomass sector. Timber waste can be used as a biomass fuel and is used, alongside other fuels, at power stations such as Drax to reduce the Carbon emissions. Smaller combined heat and power units are powered by wood pellets made from compressed wood waste. Recovering the energy from wood products at the end of their life, as a substitute for fossil fuels, increases the Carbon Dioxide benefits of using timber. Burning wood releases the same amount of Carbon Dioxide into the air as wood decomposing on the forest floor.
Low emissions
Finnish Birch plywood surpasses even the most stringent Formaldehyde emission test with less than 0.05 particles per million, thus minimizing the risk to the health and safety of production staff using this material. Finnish Birch plywood is certified Emissions Class E1 (EN 717-2) and Release Class A (EN 1084) The long term goal is remove the risk of Formaldehyde emissions altogether.
Plywood construction
All Finnish Birch plywood is constructed from 1.4mm veneers cross-bonded using phenolic resin adhesive giving a weather resistant gluing according to EN 314-2:1993 (Plywood – Bonding) Class 3 exterior (known formerly as WBP). This ensures an overall plywood specification under EN636: 2003 Class 3 : Suitable for unprotected exterior use or exposure to frequent wetting.
Strength values
As Finnish Birch plywood is cross banded during construction, strength values in both directions are very similar. We can provide any strength value or test data if requested.
Protection
All plywood edges machined by Whittle Flooring Company Limited are sealed using two coats of preservative and a further two coats of Acrylic paint.
Treatments
Post production treatments we offer are:
- Fire Retardant treatment
- High Durability treatment with anti-termitic values
- We can also offer other sheet material such as MDF, Hardboard and high pressure laminates.
- Edge sealants and colour match edge painting.
