Entries have closed for the Timber Innovation Award at the 2012 TTJ Awards and the shortlist has been whittled down to the 10 best in class. Timber Expo and TRADA teamed up to joint-sponsor the award and have been thrilled at the levels of expertise and innovation shown by all the projects, products and people involved.

After a record number of 27 entries, it was a tough test for the judges to agree on a final 10. Successful innovation is about uptake and a sustainable future use, not necessarily the simple production of a new product or system. Invention is about creation. Innovation is about its adoption. “There is much scope for timber to innovate and it is absolutely necessary if we are to grow the market within a stagnant construction sector,” said Rupert Scott, TRADA Membership & Marketing Manager. “So it was very encouraging to receive such a high quantity and quality of entries in this first year of running this award.”

As well as a great trophy, the winner and runners up will be given valuable space to feature their entries within Timber Expo, held at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry in September. The successful entries will be shown on large scale posters with a detailed run down on the secret of their success with an additional guest speaker slot in the Frame Wise Timber Talk Theatre on Wednesday 26 Sept. “In an austere economic climate it was inspiring to see companies investing in innovation and finding a broad range of creative solutions for future industry use,” added Darren Richards, Managing Director of Timber Expo. “We are happy to help them celebrate their success at the timber industry’s most important annual event.”

The ten shortlisted entries are:

Armadilla – the Armadilla: a versatile timber framed pod that does not require foundations constructed with an integral steel chassis allowing the unit to be lifted and transported readily by forklift.

BSW Timber Group – Porcupine Incisors: incising is a pre-treatment mechanical process where bespoke knives are inserted into the faces of the timber longitudinally.

Coillte Panel Products – Medite® Tricoya® Extreme Durable MDF: this sustainable solution can be used in applications where wood products may not be the obvious choice and represents a huge advance in panel products.

Frankland Tree Services – an urban timber processing service that removes a huge variety of urban timber from parks, schools, streets and gardens for reuse for educational purposes, sheds, cabinet making, craft, sculptures, art and playgrounds.

KLH UK Ltd – CLT/Cross laminated timber: a PEFC-certified construction material which can be used for all elements of a building’s superstructure.
Lonza Wood Protection –TANALITH E 8000: a culmination of a number of detailed and specific research and development initiatives into industrial wood preservatives.

Roofspace Solutions – RoofSpace I Roof: an offsite manufactured and timber engineered panelised roof and wall system to provide habitable, cost efficient living spaces.

Sam Tuck, Bournemouth University – a flexible flat pack construction system that owes its success to the fact the components used in the construction system consist solely of 9mm birch plywood.

SHERPA Connection Systems – SHERPA connectors: a system based on an innovative yet very simple and ingenious idea – two aluminium elements slotting together in the form of an approved and tested - inverted - dovetail joint.

Tenmat Ltd – Firefly Cavity Fire Barrier on a Roll: a wall cavity fire barrier that utilises high expansion intumescent material that has a total length of 6.3 metres and is fully sealed in PVC.

Mike Jeffree, Editor of TTJ said: “The new Timber Innovation Award attracted an impressive number of high calibre entries, so the competition was intense and the judge’s job to decide between them was very difficult. Overall the Award highlighted just how focused this industry is on advancing the technical and market potential of timber and wood products and the level of inventiveness and ingenuity there is in the sector.”

The winner and runners-up will announced at the TTJ Awards 2012 taking place on 14 September at The Savoy, London with Nick Hewer, Lord Alan Sugar’s co-star on BBC TV’s The Apprentice as host. For more information visit: www.ttjonline.com

Timber Expo takes place on the 25 – 26 September at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry. For more information and to pre-register visit: www.timber-expo.co.uk