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C The Timber Preservers Association of Australia IT'S TIMBER - TREAT IT WELL !!

MAY ISSUE 2017

Correspondence: 3, Wright Street BRIGHTON VIC 3186 Telephone: (03) 9596 8166 Email: doug@tpaa.com.au Email: secretary@tpaa.com.au Web: www.tpaa.com.au Plant Register Web: www.tpaa.com.au/treatment-plants

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President: Gerry Gardiner (07) 3204 0444

Technical: Harry Greaves (0419) 585 193

Secretary: Jack Norton (0418) 989 398

Editor: Doug Howick (03) 9596 8166

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… … from TPAA President … …

President Gerry was pleased to

preside over the TPAA

Council meeting, which was

held in Melbourne on

Thursday March 23 starting

at 10:00 am.

A full agenda of items kept

Councillors busy and as

usual, Secretary Jack was

delegated and encouraged to

proceed with several projects for the benefit of the

Association and the timber treatment subsector.

* * * * * * * * *

… and from TPAA Secretary …

Jack’s rant … … It never

ceases to amaze me that our

industry finds it so hard to comply

with treatment specifications – at

least for landscaping products.

Perhaps we should give up and

stop calling palings and

landscape sleepers ‘preservative

treated’.

A couple of weeks ago, my

daughter asked for help to level out

the ground under her clothes line.

Her clothes line is about 4m long and is

one of those pull out things rather than a rotator.

The plan was to dig into the slope along one length and

use the spoil to raise the opposite side. This needed a

small retaining wall down one side.

The son in-law and I dutifully headed off to the local

hardware house (guess who??) and this is where the rant

comes in. After a short lesson in sapwood/heartwood

and preservative penetration, we sorted through two

packs of landscape sleepers and found two (yes, two)

that I thought had a chance of meeting the penetration

specifications in the Standard. We needed eight.

I admit that sleepers and palings are low value low cost

products, but the punters out there expect them to

perform and there are an awful lot of them pouring into

the market place.

I regularly get queries about the performance of

landscape sleepers and part of the advice is that if the

wall is more than 1m high then H5 treated sleepers

should be used. This is a requirement of the BCA. The

only problem with this advice is . . . . ‘where do you

buy H5 sleepers’ ???????

I am seeing increasing availability of non-timber

sleepers which cost a hell of a lot more than the timber

product but are obviously being sold. Otherwise the

hardware shop(s) wouldn’t stock them. You have to ask

why the punters are prepared to pay more and the only

reason I can think of is reliability!

As always, I am open to hear from you as to how we

might lift our game.

Jack Norton

C NTACT

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… and from TPAA Technical

Committee Chairman …

Standards Australia is currently

conducting a major review of

AS/NZS 1604 with the project

being undertaken by committee

TM-012. It is intended that this

review will deliver a more

performance-based standard

than the present version, e.g. it

will incorporate expected service

life for treated commodities. Note the

number 1604 may not be changed so beware of

potential confusion when it is published (expected to be

1/5/2018). It will be in three parts:

AS/NZS 1604 Part 1 – essentially a standard that

specifies preservative treatment for all wood-based

products (sawn, round, board, plywood and LVL, and

glued laminated), in one document complying better

with the National Building Code and providing

expected service life for treated commodities.

AS/NZS 1604 Part 2 – this will be the part that verifies

treated products are in compliance with the standard and

is very much dependent on a statistical approach. We

really need to see how much variation there is in

retention results in order to have some faith in

predicting the likelihood of getting it right! To this end,

a consultant is collecting and processing as much actual

data from the industry as it is willing to provide. The

objective is to have a number of different statistically-

based methods that give similar levels of confidence

that production of treated product complies with the

retention specified for that treatment, as required by

AS/NZS 1604.

AS/NZS 1604 Part 3 – this part is about test methods

and will be where the details of the current AS/NZS

1605 will be located. It has also been suggested that the

AWPC Protocols or something similar should be in this

part.

Harry Greaves

* * * * * * * * * Items provided in this CONTACT Newsletter

are drawn from a number of sources. The

source of the item is quoted, either by

publication or organization in line with the

practice of fair reporting.

TPAA does not necessarily agree with or

endorse the content of articles written by others.

* * * * * * * * *

Work Continues on Important

Timber Treatment Standards Standards Australia recently published amendments to

the AS(/NZS) 1604:2012 series titled Specification for

preservative treatment. This five part series specifies

requirements for:

• Part 1 – Sawn and round timber

• Part 2 – Reconstituted wood-based products

• Part 3 – Plywood

• Part 4 – Laminated veneer lumber (LVL)

• Part 5 – Glued laminated timber products

These are key documents for the timber treatment

industry, product certification bodies assessing product

compliance and also specifiers of timber products in

building and related applications. They are referenced in

a number of primary reference documents in the NCC:

Building Code of Australia.

Peter Juniper, Chair of the committee TM-012,

Timber Grading and Preservation, explained that “a

further major revision has recently been initiated and it

is currently proposed that all parts of the revised series

will be published as AS/NZS standards.

“This is an important step forward in the ongoing

development of timber treatment standards for Australia

and New Zealand. The committee is now focused on a

major review to adopt a more performance orientated

approach and the inclusion of timber treatment

verification methods.”

* * * * * * * * *

Now THAT’S a deck!

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Arsenic finding costs Tasmanian

greyhound trainer $2000 fine

15 Apr 2017, 12:44 p.m.

Leading greyhound trainer Anthony Bullock has been

fined over a positive swab

Tasmania’s leading greyhound trainer, Anthony

Bullock, has been fined $2000 for a positive arsenic

swab despite veterinary evidence that the finding

could have been caused by the dog chewing treated

timber.

The Bullock-trained Regent Assassin tested positive

after winning in Devonport on September 13. It had

been in Bullock’s kennels for only eight days prior to

the race

It was subsequently discovered that the dog had

chewed a considerable amount of timber in its

housing and a board removed for analysis was found

to contain arsenic.

The ORI regulatory vet gave evidence that “chewing

such timber could cause an elevated arsenic level.”

Bullock was not charged with administration but was

charged with presenting a greyhound to race when it

was not free of all prohibited substances.

He pleaded guilty and was fined $2000 with Regent

Assassin disqualified.

Bullock was Tasmania’s leading trainer last year with

168 winners.

* * * * * * * * *

Wood Protection Technologies

(WPT), Fulfills Advanced Orders for

its D-Fence Formulation

Marketwired - April 25, 2017

SAN DIEGO, CA - Eco Building Products, Inc. ( OTC

PINK : ECOB ) announced today that the Company's

subsidiary, Wood Protection Technologies, Inc., WPT,

has received and shipped orders ahead of schedule as

their new distribution agreement gains early

momentum.

WPT has entered into an exclusive licensing and

national distribution agreement with one of the

Industry's largest wood fencing manufacturers. The

Company expects widespread geographical distribution

and penetration across all of the various wood fencing

channels including home centers and pro distribution

yards by year end.

WPT has personnel onsite training staff and supervising

production system set-up, calibration and quality control

implementation. The Customer's plant has successfully

completed the necessary audit inspection by WPT's

third party, Quality Auditing Institute (QAI), and full

scale production has begun. Fencing protected by

WPT's proprietary formulation, D-Fence™, should

begin hitting "big box" home center inventories in June.

D-Fence™ is an environmentally friendly wood fencing

treatment incorporating WPT's patent pending, Wood

Surface Film Concentrate™ chemistry that protects

wood from mold, termites and fungal decay.

The Company's chemistry serves multiple end use

wood markets and fencing alone is roughly a $1.5

billion segment.

About Eco

Building

Products, Inc.

Eco Building

Products, Inc.

(Eco) is a

manufacturer of

proprietary,

environmentally

conscientious

chemistry utilizing patent pending ECOB

WoodSurfaceFilm™ and FRC™ technology (Fire

Retardant Coating). Eco's products protect against fire,

mold/mycotoxins, fungal-decay, wood ingesting insects

and termites. Eco is headquartered in San Diego, CA

and goes to market through licensed Affiliates

nationwide.

* * * * * * * * *

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Radial timber mill opened

A new state-of-the-art radial timber mill in Gippsland is

set to boost both productivity for the mill and jobs for

the region. Chris McEvoy, managing director of

Radial Timber Australia (and former CSIRO timber

treatment researcher – Ed.) said that the new mill

opening in Yarram is a first of its kind in the world.

“Using Australian-developed technology, this new mill

will have the ability of tripling the capacity of our old

mill, Mr McEvoy said. Radial sawmilling is a process

that initially cuts logs into wedges like a cake, in line

with the way a log naturally splits as it dries”.

“This is different to

conventional sawmilling which

removes the edges of a round

log to square it off before

sawing into boards. This type of

sawmilling allows us to produce

more timber from smaller logs

and can still successfully

process sawlogs with splits,” he

said.

Nathan Trushell, Acting CEO VicForests, said that the

sawmill shows a promising future for both Radial

Timber and the greater Victorian timber industry. “This

is a great example of how our industry is constantly

adapting and evolving,” Mr Trushell said.

The sawmill, which cost AU$4.5 million and took 12

months to build, provided local employment for the

duration of the build and will also provide jobs for a

number of new on-going workers at the mill.

“This expansion will secure our long-term viability

within the industry and more than triple our production,

bringing more jobs and activity to the region,” Mr

McEvoy said. “We are confident that between our

10-year contract with VicForests and over 2000

hectares of high value plantations that we have

established in the region that we will be around for

many years to come,” he said.

Almost 100% of Radial’s products, which include

shiplap cladding, decking, screenboards and a range of

unique radial products, end up in high end Melbourne

and interstate markets. Radial Timber is now in the

planning stages for a further expansion of a new dry

mill on the site adding another AU$1.3 million

investment into the region.

Federal Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, will be

officially opening the mill in a ceremony that will

showcase this innovative technology and celebrate the

exciting economic potential it will bring to the area.

Friday Offcuts – 21 April 2017

* * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * *

The IRG48 conference

in Belgium is reaching

out beyond the research

and industry community

who attend on a regular

basis, and beyond our historical scope of wood

preservation. Young scientists in particular are

encouraged to participate.

So, 29-31 May 2017 you are also invited to the

conference XIV DBMC (Durability of Building

Materials and Components). More info on

www.dbmc2017.ugent.be.

The IRG48, IRG-WP Annual conference in 2017,

June 4-8, will have the same elements as detailed

during previous meetings. This year we will organise

special sessions on 3 topics: (1) Special session on

Timber bridges (contact Dr Christian Brischke –

brischke@ibw.uni-hannover.de) (2) Special session on

Quality control of treated/modified wood (contact Dr

Miha Humar - miha.humar@bf.uni-lj.si) (3) Special

session on Preservative treated wood at the end of

service life: waste or resource? (contact Dr Morten

Klamer – mkl@teknologisk.dk)

* * * * * * * * *

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NTU's new sports hall The Wave

The new NTU sports hall, called “The Wave”, is the

first large-scale building in South-east Asia with a

structure built completely using mass-engineered

timber.

ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

Charmaine Ng

SINGAPORE - Instead of the usual concrete or steel

structure commonly seen in Singapore's buildings,

Nanyang Technological University's new sports hall

was built using mass engineered timber.

Known as “The Wave”, the building features a 72m roof

made of seven timber arches. It is the first large-scale

building in South-east Asia built with the technology,

and is one of four developments in Singapore that have

adopted the timber construction method.

To produce mass engineered timber, layers of timber

panels are glued together for strength and structural

stability. Then, they are cut to specific dimensions in

factories, before being shipped off for on-site assembly.

Here are five characteristics of mass engineered timber:

1. IT IS FIRE-RESISTANT

Mass engineered timber does not burn, instead it chars

at a rate of 0.75mm per minute. As a result, the timber

used to build the sports hall has an extra buffer layer of

50mm, which is "sacrificed" for charring in case of fire,

allowing for an hour of evacuation.

The charred layer also acts as an insulation and protects

the inner core from heating.

2. IT CAN BE PROTECTED AGAINST

MOISTURE AND TERMITES

Structures made of mass engineered timber do not

usually require special maintenance regime. The timber

is treated against termites and will be checked

yearly.

3. IT IS SOURCED FROM SUSTAINABLE

FORESTS

The timber is harvested from sustainably managed

forests, which means new trees are planted to replace

those that are harvested. Mature trees are also harvested

to prevent them from decaying and emitting carbon into

the atmosphere.

Mass engineered timber is recyclable and stores carbon

for life, helping to mitigate climate change.

4. IT MAKES CONSTRUCTION FASTER AND

EASIER

As the building process involves assembling

prefabricated parts, it took 14 workers about three

weeks to assemble the 72m wave-like roof of the sports

hall.

On the other hand, a roof made of steel or concrete

would likely take 30 workers and two to three months to

construct, according to managing director Kang Choon

Boon of B19 Technologies, the contractor for The

Wave.

5. IT IS STRONGER THAN CONCRETE OR

STEEL

Buildings with large roofs typically need columns or

scaffoldings to support the weight. However, mass

engineered timber is much stronger than concrete or

steel in terms of weight-to-strength ratio. This means

that the roof does not require any internal columns or

pillars to support the weight of seven timber arches that

are over 440 tonnes.

Instead, columns are designed to be on the exterior of

the building, leaving a cavernous three-storey space.

* * * * * * * * *

Think Outside the Box!

* * * * * * * * *

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TA ANN TASMANIA - LONZA

SPECIAL FEATURE

New H2 treatment adds value to

plywood veneers

Micro-encapsulation process

by Jim Bowden

LIKE giant blueberry jam sandwiches, the coated

and bonded eucalypt veneer sheets were quickly

served up for cold pressing – instantly taking them

off the menu for termites.

The breakthrough micro- encapsulation H2

treatment process, using a patented organic

bifenthrin mixture in the plywood glueline, has

added value, market appeal and maximised

protection for the range of premium- grade plywood

products manufactured at Ta Ann Tasmania’s

Smithton plant on the state’s northwest coast.

Ta Ann quality and safety manager Donovan Britton (left) and Lonza’s Noel Coxhead and Shane McFarling at the Smithton veneer peeling station.

Ta Ann peels environmentally certified native and

plantation eucalypts and radiata to manufacture

plywood. This mill originally commenced operation

in 2008 peeling eucalypt regrowth logs and

exporting veneers to Malaysia and other Asian

countries for further processing into finished

products.

In 2015, the company completed its plywood mill

and began converting a proportion of veneers to

finished products, producing boards from 17-35m m

thick. Much of this product was destined for the

short-term use markets, in applications such as

formwork ply.

As the demand for longer- term products increased,

the need for protection of plywood, particularly

against termites, became vital in some markets. In

2015, Lonza Wood Protection acquired Zelam

Pty Ltd, a New Zealand company specialising in

the protection of engineered wood products such as

plywood. LVL, MDF, particleboard and OSB.

“Zelam had been instrumental in developing the art

of protecting these products through the addition

of a biocide to the glue/resin used to bond the

veneers,” Ta Ann general manager Robert Yong

said. “This process depends on the heat applied

during the pressing/forming process to drive some

of this biocide from the resin into the wood veneer.

Termites sense the presence of bifenthrin at very low

levels and will seek alternative food sources,” Noel

Coxhead, engineered wood product manager at

Lonza, said Successful treatment using this

mechanism ensures the correct amount of chemical

is retained and present in the wood. Losses occur

during the addition and panel forming process. The

final determination of the correct levels is assessed by

chemical analysis of a sample of the treated board.

To mitigate some of these product losses during

treatment, Zelam developed the micro-

encapsulation process. The protectant (in this

instance, bifenthrin) is encapsulated in a polymer

micro-capsule where it resides until the capsule is

burst by the heat/pressure achieved during the

pressing process.

Since the early 1990s, Zelam has been protecting

panels for the Japanese market. More recently the

company expanded this opportunity to include

manufacturers in Asia, USA, Europe and now

Russia.

Ta Ann has chosen to use Lonza’s product,

Permatek 100 a 100g/l formulation of

encapsulated bifenthrin for the protection of its

combi-plywood products for structural

construction purposes.

Zelam’s Scott Connor explains. “From the instant a

termiticide is first added to the resin formulation,

degradation occurs, and the levels of termiticide are

compromised. “This can be due to pH levels,

residence time within the glue, temperature

pressure, time taken to bond the board as well a

post-press cooling period, all of which create a

breakdown of the initial active.

Feeding cross-banded veneer sheet into the roller coater to apply the resin/bifenthrin mix.

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“Micro encapsulation therefore protects the bifenthrin

throughout this process.” “The benefit to Ta Ann

customers is a reduction in actives required to achieve

final chemical retention requirements, resulting in

more reliable chemical readings and lower treatment

costs.”

Assembling the plywood pack … every second veneer is cross banded and coated both sides with

the resin/bifenthrin mixture.

Zelam Permatek 100 Encaps is particularly suited to Ta

Ann Tasmania, which produces TPly, a high quality

plywood product, manufactured from AFS/PEFC

certified Tasmanian eucalypts and certified under

EWPAA to meet AS/NZS 6669.

Ta Ann’s Ingkui Tang operates the unloading

station from the hot press.

Ta Ann quality and safety manager Donovan Britton (left) and

Lonza account manager Shane McFarling inspect a pack of

finished plywood at the Smithton plant.

After Lonza’s purchase of Zelam, Ta Ann Tasmania

now has the best of both worlds – it benefits from the

range of specialty products for engineered wood that

Zelam offers, and gains from the technical service and

knowledge provided by Tasmanian-based Lonza

account manager Shane McFarling.

Lonza’s Melbourne-based engineered wood

products manager Noel Coxhead inspects the cold

press.

Robert Yong said the Smithton operation was

approaching production target deadlines.

“The push is on to build up the scale of production as

quickly as we can,” he said. “We appreciate the good

support from our customers; the new mill’s loyal

clients are supporting us very well.

“We certainly value their added commitment to the

Zelam-treated range of products.”

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Part 1 of a series: Jack Norton

City of Residence: Brisbane, Australia.

Inhabitants at my residence: She Who Must be

Obeyed + 5 x grandies when they need to be spoiled –

filled full of sugar and returned to their parents

(payback!).

Start date and current position with TPAA: I

started as Secretary with the TPAA about 4 years ago

(the mind tends to scar over trauma) and before that,

42 years with the Queensland Government in the

Forestry Department and then its morphed forms until

Campbell Newman took over.

What I like best about working for TPAA: Actually

I really like helping people use our (treated) product

and to use timber correctly.

Best job: I love the science (I am a scientist by trade)

and it is just great when you get a project or

experiment or investigation to work. I really liked

working with treatment plant operators and seeing the

lights turn on when they understand why they do what

they do.

Worst job: I hated doing budgets.

Favourite place to live: What sort of question is

this?? It has to be Brisbane – Beautiful one day –

perfect the next. Gotta love the clear blue skies and

the outdoor living.

Motto or Personal Mantra: “Trier not crier”. I use

this a lot on my grandies. Ya gotta have a go! It is OK

to fail but you have to try! I also like something a CO

said to me a long time ago . . . . . “Any fool can have a

bad time – you have to be smart to have a good time!”

I’m happiest when: I am making noise and sawdust

in my workshop. I love tinkering and making stuff.

What I fear most: I couldn’t have answered this until

Trump became president. This guy really scares me.

I’m proudest of: My kids – I have three amazing kids

who all contribute to society and more importantly are

nice people. I would like to say it was good parenting.

Favourite sports or pastimes: I don’t follow sport -

it just doesn’t float my boat. I really enjoy the

outdoors. A most memorable experience is sitting on a

still warm sand dune with a glass of red wine in hand

in the Simpson Desert watching the sunset.

The Top 3 Highlights of my Life: 1. Marrying She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Married 45 years and she still

surprises me.

2. Being there at the birth of my kids.

3. The third one is yet to happen.

People would be surprised to know: I used to be

pretty good at the piano.

If I could do it all over again, I would: Do the same

again. I am pretty happy with my lot!

Favourite Memory: We have a tribal gathering every

Sunday Night. The Boss cooks up a storm and I love

sitting on the back deck watching the mayhem bounce

back and forth.

Pet peeves: Working in my workshop and looking for

the tool I had in my hand 30 seconds earlier . . . Grrrrr!

Favourite song, movie, book, or comedian: Movie(s): Monty Python’s Holy Grail, Live of Brian

and The Meaning of Life!

Book: I am into brain candy and really enjoy (as in

can’t put down) the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child.

Comedian: - Dave Allen who is all class – even

today.

Best Vacation: I can’t pick between the Larapinta

Trail, Patagonia including Antarctica or 10 days in

Iran. (Any fool can have a bad time).

Favourite Vehicle: Used to be a 1973 VW Kombi.

Still haven’t made up my mind on the next one.

Before I die, I would like to: Take a few of those

brain-eating zombie bastards with me!

* * * * * * * * *

OOOPS!