Timbe Hit at Green Construction Show

TIMBER PROVED a great success at the Ecobuild and Futurebuild sister events held in London earlier this year.

Over the three days, 13,404 visitors were treated to the biggest showcase for the environmental construction industry ever staged in London, which included timber suppliers and timber frame erectors. With sustainability top of the agenda, exhibitors were keen to promote their products’ eco-credentials.

The exhibition included the whole timber supply chain; from forest to finished product, and chain of custody was a major topic of conversation between exhibitors and visitors.

The UK Timber Frame Association said it received particularly positive feedback for its new, carbon neutral, exhibition stand. The association said it designed the stand to raise awareness of its information services for architects and builders interested in timber frame as an environmentally sound, tried and tested method of construction. Visitors were invited to take the “timber test”, which was an interactive quiz, and put even the most dedicated eco-builders through their paces on the carbon credentials of timber frame construction.

Trada and Wood for Good were also present at the show, and contributed to its vast conference and seminar programme, which consisted of more than 90 sessions in three days. Ecobuild’s Great Materials Debate was one of the most lively and hotly debated sessions, at which Trada’s Paul Newman and expert witness Jonathan Fovargue of Eurban Construction, made the case for timber versus other materials.

Those people wishing to specify timber-based products were spoiled for choice at the show. Building systems, doors, windows, cladding, flooring, decking, roofing were all represented. From the most advanced engineered timber to construction products made from coppice-grown sweet chestnut, if it was made from timber, it was at the show.

Timber frame structures were represented in force as Stewart Milne, Eleco, Covers Timber Structures, Frame UK and Wave Homes joined Hemsec’s SIPs and Acermetric’s ambitious structures to create a Manhattan-like effect at the centre of the exhibition.

Stewart Milne sales and marketing director Christine Jones said: “Our objectives have been met by the fantastic attendance at the show. The right people are here, the right visitors are attending and the key movers in the industry are exhibiting.”

Arnold Laver Timber World offered visitors to their stand a free guide, which demystifies the various timber accreditation schemes, what they mean for the customer and how they affect timber around the world. Among an impressive number of Canadian exhibitors, the British Columbia Market Outreach Network introduced visitors to its new search tool, which identifies suppliers who can prove chain of custody certification for Canadian Standards Association, Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

Rachael Irving of Arnold Laver said: “The atmosphere around Ecobuild was fantastic with the hustle and bustle of information being transferred from exhibitor to customer. The whole event was a complete success for us. The seminars were well attended and everyone seemed happy and satisfied with the presentations they were given.”

According to the show’s organisers, next year’s events will offer visitors even more scope with a bigger exhibition space, more exhibitors and an expanded seminar programme. The show will also feature new attractions, which will include a Focus on Timber feature and plans for an ambitious engineered timber structure at the heart of the event.