MEDITE MDF'S LONG HARD LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

31st October 2006 - Press release

Medite, Europe's leading brand of MDF, has announced a 'futures' project looking at how the industry will develop and change by 2016. The Medite 2016 Forum is being launched at a gathering of European timber, construction and furniture industry leaders, at the Design Museum, in London

The first stage of the futures forum is the publication of the Medite 2016 Compendium. It contains more than 20 articles looking at the future challenges and opportunities for the timber industry and its various end-user markets over the next 10 years. Contributions have been provided by senior business leaders and academics from the UK, Ireland, Continental Europe and the USA, each covering a key issue. Subjects include new opportunities for European producers, new environmentally-friendly logistics, the likely scarcity of raw materials, advances in manufacturing processes, and breakthroughs in manufacturing and communications technologies.

It is also intended that the Medite 2016 Forum will provide a blueprint for a think tank that will investigate developments and opportunities likely to have a major impact on the industry.

Such a think tank, comprising an informal gathering of experts in the MDF and timber industries, will report on subjects such as timber technology, extended applications of timber and MDF in construction, advantages over established materials, production processes, raw material resources, and environmental issues.

Medite 2016 will also have its own website - www.Medite2016.com - on which the latest information will be published and which will provide for the discussion of a variety of major topics.

Medite's European marketing and sales director, Geoff Rhodes, says:

"The Medite 2016 Forum is a unique initiative by the timber industry which no other industry has undertaken. We are bringing together the views of a wide spectrum of the industry's leaders and academics operating in this field to provide a vision of the future opportunities and challenges facing one of the most important and high profile global businesses. In a world facing raw material shortages, it is precisely because timber is renewable within a ten-year time frame, that makes this future perspective for 2016 so important and significant, not just for this industry but for anyone using timber in their business or in their home".

Here are some highlights from the Medite 2016 Compendium (these views are not necessarily those of Medite):

Furniture: Despite the decline in the Western European markets a major opportunity has been identified for locally-produced products in the of custom fitted furniture sector. It will change the nature and business model of European furniture manufacturers and offers huge opportunities.

Logistics/Transport: Kite ship propulsion systems will be installed in deep-sea cargo vessels. Ships towed in this way may expect to save up to 50 per cent on fuel costs and eliminate pollution.

Media: The daily newspaper will pass into the history book, along with periodic news magazines; that change is also already under way. Doubters need only touch the news key on their mobile phones or PCs. Games consoles will be at the cutting edge of communications development and are likely to metamorphose considerably. Ubiquitous connection to the internet will allow users to subscribe cheaply to huge, un-ending online games - with dynamic, multi sensory content being added continuously.

Wood as fuel: Many people still think that the best utilisation of timber is to burn it to produce energy. More and more wood is being used in this way with its availability for materials production being consequently reduced. Manufacturers are becoming increasingly unsure of whether they will find enough wood to satisfy all needs. There is an increasing emphasis on the use of wood as bio fuel.

European building regulations: In a much enlarged European Union, as 2016 approaches, the increasing numbers of states with voting rights are making it increasingly difficult to achieve a blocking minority. Furthermore, a general spirit of voting positively in every process is appearing, which makes it again ever more difficult to keep standards and regulations under control. Experience shows that the easiest way to ensure a new proposal is accepted is by simply getting it on a European work programme, from whence a seemingly automatic approval process is eventually generated.

Resources: Illegal logging is a massive problem. If this continues at the current rate, most of our tropical forests will have disappeared by 2016. Obviously wood is a renewable raw material but we have to take a cautious approach. Well managed forests provide the answer, one that has to be heeded.

Environmental concerns: A challenge for the wood industry is to promote better the family of wood products and to convince more authorities, specifiers, end users and consumers of the all-round beneficial effects of wood. Fighting a defensive campaign is not an option; the wood industry has to go on the offensive with the policymakers. There is much talk of "green building" and "sustainable building" - terms whose meaning is ill-defined and confusing.

British timber: Climate change, carbon sequestration, and reduced carbon miles will continue to be encapsulated in government planning and development policy. A simplified mechanism for the comparative assessment of construction methods and materials is likely to emerge. This will enable the architect and builder to work together on designs to win carbon credits, thus earning fast and easy planning approval. Timber and especially British timber will benefit from this approach.

MDF: Over the next ten years there will be a variety of interesting developments. Less will be more. Manufacturers will improve product performance from increasingly reduced inputs. New versions of MDF will use less wood and ever more environmentally-friendly resin binders. It will be more homogenous, more easily machined and require even less finishing. Advanced MDF – the added value or technical ranges - will deliver increasingly important products. Flame retardant MDF will see more widespread use through technical advances and lifetime cost benefits. Use of this product will continue to grow as society seeks better, safer, built environments. Technology will provide high specification MDF with flame retardancy and exterior quality as an all-in-one combination. Resin development could lead to interesting niche products such as flexible MDF that may be draped like a blanket and hardened in place!

By 2016 Europe's consumption of MDF will grow to more than 20 million m3.

Further information:

The Medite 2016 Compendium is a detailed, 64-page publication that is freely available to interested parties.