Woodsafe News

Woodsafe launches study to long-term test fire-retardant treated wood

Written by Thomas Bengtsson | Nov 26, 2024 7:00:00 AM

Woodsafe Timber Protection has long been a respected player in the fire-retardant wood market. For more than 30 years, the Västerås-based company has been working purposefully to develop and improve safety in this area. Today, the company is Europe's largest manufacturer of fire-retardant treated wood. The business is also constantly evolving, inspired by the company’s motto “Safer Living,” which was chosen to emphasize the importance of enhancing safety for both life and property.

Research and development are continuously underway at the company’s new fire and development center, Woodsafe Research & Development AB (WRD). It is one of the most modern privately-owned labs in Europe for testing fire-retardant wood, and here, Woodsafe is starting the next phase of its work with WRD as the executor, to study and test long-term fire-retardant treated wood.

Woodsafe’s fire-retardant products will be continuously tested and studied over many years. The research is led by Dr. Lazaros Tsantaridis, the Head of Research, who has 36 years of experience in research in the field at RISE. The fire-retardant wood will undergo aging both in field trials outdoors and in artificial aging chambers with varying exposure times, and will be fire-tested using established methods such as SBI (EN 13823), Cone (ISO 5660–1), and SP Fire 105.

"Woodsafe aims to meet the market’s need for more information regarding the lifespan of fire-retardant wood. The company will provide research partner RISE with insight for product control, and other Woodsafe partners will also have access to the results," says Peter Johnson, Product and Development Manager at Woodsafe.

For many years, Woodsafe has advocated for EN 16755 EXT to be the standard requirement for choosing fire-retardant wood. This is the standard that ensures fire-retardant wood is tested and classified to withstand exposure in damp and challenging outdoor environments without being leached, which could reduce fire protection. Woodsafe is currently involved in the work to revise the standard.

This is one of the values that is important to Woodsafe and has been communicated to the market for decades. The company cannot compromise on this point:

"Ensuring that fire-retardant wood products retain their protective properties over time, especially in challenging environments, is crucial for guaranteeing safety in our fire-protected buildings and safeguarding both people and property,” emphasizes Thomas Bengtsson, CEO of Woodsafe.

För mer information:
Woodsafe Timber Protection AB
Patrik Svanerud, Media Contact
patrik.svanerud@woodsafe.com