As the construction industry continues its recovery, architects, designers and contractors are under pressure to specify building products that deliver proven performance, cost efficiencies and meet building regulations.

With engineered wood an increasingly popular specification, leading timber panel manufacturer Coillte Panel Products sets the standard for the industry with its ever-evolving range of SmartPly OSB (oriented strand board) panels.

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Focussing on investment in product advances, SmartPly proactively develops its pipeline of new and innovative products to guarantee market leading performance and reliability. To ensure the company remains at the forefront of the industry, the company is investing €59 million into its SmartPly facility in Belview, Waterford Port, which will see the creation of new forming and finishing lines, a new state-of-the-art ContiRoll press, and a new Innovation Centre.

Offering unrivalled quality, environmental certification and the assurance of raw material supply from locally-grown sustainable forests, SmartPly is already one of the most environmentally efficient building materials on the market. As an ideal solution for flooring, roofing and timber frame sheathing applications, SmartPly constantly evolves its product offering to meet the changing needs of the industry.

Evolutionary thinking

The key to SmartPly’s success is a market leading range of next generation wood panels for a range of structural and non-structural applications in low carbon, energy efficient buildings. From exceptional structural strength and flame retardance to Passivhaus-compliant airtightness, SmartPly has a solution that breaks new ground for performance.

SmartPly DryBacker has been designed to provide support for fixtures and fittings in non-structural drywall partitions system, where stability and rigidity for fixtures and fittings are required. Engineered with vertical side recesses, it accommodates ‘C’ shaped metal studs which are used specifically for the construction of partition walls. With fast installation, saving time onsite, the strong OSB panel provides optimum stability in the partition wall, ideal for the application of fixtures and fittings as part of an interior fit-out programme.

For challenging site hoarding and security applications, SmartPly SiteProtect is the smart, cost effective and environmentally friendly alternative to plywood. The SmartPly OSB3 substrate has been pre-primed with a smooth heavy-duty cross-linked polymer surface treatment. Like all SmartPly products, SiteProtect is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and has been manufactured using zero-added formaldehyde technology to meet the growing industry demand for products with low environmental impact.

Building an airtight case

Recent years have seen an increasing demand for double sheathed timber frames in both structural applications and the development of offsite closed panels, with OSB panels used on the warm side of the frame as well as external sheathing. As the rigid layer is added to the build-up, timber frame manufacturers have been using OSB panels as the airtight layer.

Environmental credentials are now a crucial requirement in modern construction. With Passivhaus construction growing in popularity across Ireland and the UK, SmartPly developed a new structural panel to meet these low energy and passive requirements. The new SmartPly VapAirTight OSB panel, for which a patent is pending, is specifically engineered to deliver outstanding levels of airtightness and vapour control.

Each panel features alternating layers of wood strands coated with a high quality formaldehyde-free resin and wax binder system to deliver outstanding levels of airtightness. A specialist coating is then applied to ensure vapour resistance and provide a premium performance OSB solution for super-insulated and passive buildings and enabling the elimination of a traditional additional vapour control membrane from the construction.

A panel that can take the heat

As environmental performance continues to grow in importance, fire safety will always be an essential building regulation. SmartPly FR Flame Retardant OSB was developed to combine the strength and moisture resistance of OSB3 with dependable reaction to fire properties. Manufactured using a water-based and eco-friendly fire retardant solution that penetrates the wood strands without detriment to the physical properties of the panel, the system is ideal for roofing, flooring and wall sheathing applications.

Unlike post treatment fire retardant technologies which can have a destructive effect on the mechanical or physical properties of a panel, the addition of the Zeroignition® Solution during the manufacturing process ensures that the SmartPly FR OSB panels have the same quality and structural strength as all OSB3 manufactured by SmartPly to the rigorous standards of European Standard EN300.

All of SmartPly’s innovations are underpinned by the brand’s strong environmental ethos. The SmartPly mills are carefully managed to ensure that the sustainable credentials of the raw material are supported by processes to minimise waste, save resources and enhance – rather than compromise – this sustainability.

Engineered wood delivers quality, performance and durability for a wide range of structural and non-structural applications. Coillte Panel Products’ growing range of high performance and environmentally friendly systems makes SmartPly OSB the natural choice for forward-thinking architects, specifiers and contractors. 

www.smartply.com   Irish building magazine