Page 63 - History-of-flooringLR

About the company
Hanson Plywood Ltd are a privately owned company operating primarily Hanson Plywood were pleased to be involved in the technical
in the import, storage, sales and distribution of wood-based panel consultation process initiated by the CFA which enabled the inclusion of
products. The business stocks a wide range of unique and specialist a plywood specification reference within this standard.
panels in addition to readily available commodity products.
This is seen as a significant development for the industry, as it now
The company strives to make life easy for architects, designers and gives manufacturers and installers a clear reference on the specification
specifiers by presenting products with clear and easily understandable of plywood that should be used for a successful and reliable installation.
performance criteria. Our aim is to be instructive and helpful to our Trained fitters that are working to BS 8203 now need to ensure they are
customers, whilst also being innovative and progressive in our services. using the correct specification of plywood. Manufacturers of LVT,
adhesives and all other allied products have acknowledged and
Specialist and fit-for-purpose plywood panels are a significant part of the welcomed this addition to BS 8203 standard. Plywood which is BS 8203
business and we are constantly working with a variety of industries to compliant is naturally demonstrated at most floor-fitting training schools
deliver bespoke products which provide optimum performance and throughout the UK.
value.
Brief history of the company
The business was established in 1987 with two members of staff from a
small office and rented warehouse in Halifax. During the initial years of
trading the company shared transport and materials handling facilities
before finally purchasing its first delivery vehicle; a second-hand flat
back rigid lorry.

Through steady growth and progression, the business eventually moved
to Drakes Industrial Estate in Ovenden, Halifax in 1997. By this point,
staff had increased to 12 and turnover had reached £5 million.

Further growth allowed the company to acquire additional land in order
to construct its own purpose-built office and warehouse facility.
Construction finished in 2007 and the company continues to further
develop on this site.

SP101 and the environment
The UK timber industry has comprehensive systems in place to ensure
legality and sustainability of timber products. Products have to be
technically sound and fit-for-purpose and have to comply with all
relevant environmental criteria.
The timber in SP101 Flooring Plywood is sourced from Indonesia a
country comprised of well over 13,000 islands with over 91 million
hectares of forest cover.
Indonesia is the first country in the world to complete the process of a
voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) with the European Union (EU),
legally obligating the country to implement a licensing scheme to
Hanson Plywood today
regulate trade in timber and timber products.
SP101 Flooring Plywood Currently, this means all timber exported from Indonesia has to be fully
The growing use of resilient floor coverings such as luxury vinyl tile traceable and certified under Indonesia’s countrywide timber legality
(LVT) has emphasised the need for a much higher quality plywood than assurance scheme, SVLK. SVLK (Sistem Verifi kasi Legalitas Kayu)
the general-purpose panels which have commonly been used in flooring was developed through multi-stakeholder consultations and, by process
applications. of further modification, became a nation-wide scheme which now offers
market incentives for legal compliance (timber cannot be exported
In order to achieve a fully compliant and reliable installation, a plywood without supplying evidence that it complies with SVLK).
panel needs to be carefully engineered to meet the specific demands
required. Alongside this, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment & Forestry has
developed an online system (SIPUHH Online) which tracks logs all the
Following extensive technical consultation with relevant bodies, Hanson way back to the concession using a QR barcode-scanning system.
Plywood developed a product which for the first time provides the
industry with a fit-for-purpose and guaranteed plywood panel. SVLK is now the first timber legality assurance scheme to be recognised
Manufactured to flooring industry standards as defined by BS by the UK Timber Regulation (UKTR) as a framework that assures the
8203:2017- Plywood Annex A. SP101 Flooring Plywood is a fully reliable legality of timber sourced in Indonesia.
component for use in the subfloor base construction for all floor
coverings. All timber products certified under SVLK and exported from Indonesia
are now FLEGT licenced as of November 2016. A FLEGT licence is
The supply and quality of general commercial hardwood plywood currently the only licence that ensures full, verifiable compliance with the
continues to be compromised by the acute short supply of legal and EU Timber Regulation.
sustainable high-quality hardwood logs. Plywood is an integral
component of the subfloor and its ability to perform is of paramount SP101 Flooring Plywood was the first flooring plywood to be imported
importance. into the UK with a FLEGT licence. SP101 Flooring Plywood is
constructed with environmental sustainability at its core. Every sheet is
SP101 Flooring Plywood is developed specifically for the flooring comprised of legally verifiable timber from well-managed forests.
industry and is manufactured with an acute attention to detail which
underpins its performance and reliability. Strictly controlled and 01422 330 444
monitored production processes guarantee that SP101 provides the panels@hanson-plywood.co.uk
ultimate assurance for flooring applications. www.hanson-plywood.co.uk

The History of Flooring 63