Ensuring reliability is nowhere more important than in the treatments we rely on for timber durability. We spoke with Koppers Performance Chemicals about safety and certainty. By Donyale Harrison
Service life lies at the heart of the timber industry’s promise to its customers: that if they use timber in an application where it has been correctly specified, they will have a sustainable product that meets their needs for at least the design life of the build. In many cases, the only way to keep that promise is through effective, reliable treatments that protect the timber from decay and insect attack.
Ironically, treatment is a process few end users fully understand. Instead, they rely on wood product manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to ensure the level of treatment in the products they purchase is fi t for purpose and meets the product’s claims, which puts a high level of responsibility back onto the industry.
One of the most respected names in treatment is Koppers Performance Chemicals (KPC). The level of trust Koppers has attained is no accident: decades of investment in robust R&D, careful and ongoing testing and regular third-party auditing make sure the company’s products are meeting their claims.
We spoke with Elias Akle, KPC Australia’s managing director, about the complexities of delivering treatment chemicals to the timber sector, how KPC helps its customers to ensure their products meet the Standards and how KPC keeps its position as the most trusted brand in the sector.
FOCUS ON SAFETY
Timber treatments are highly regulated in Australia. All must be approved by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) for safety and effectiveness before they can be used in Australian treatment plants and sold to the end user.
Additionally, timber treatments are included in the AS/NZS 1604 series of Standards covering preservation specifications, including the various Hazard Classes (see table, page 44).
In recent years, environmental concerns around treatment chemicals have also become a central issue, both for end users and within the industry. KPC runs a Zero Harm culture, which puts at the forefront the safety of its workers, its customers’ workers, the environment and the communities that live with treated timbers and around treatment plants.
As part of this, KPC has been a leader in the move to copper-based preservative systems, with MicroPro® (its micronised copper azole pressure-treated formulation) suitable for applications from H2 to H5.
“There is a growing awareness in the community around chemicals used and some people wanted an alternative to CCA,” says Akle.
“Whilst we support CCA and believe that, when used correctly, CCA treated timber is safe and effective, community standards and expectations are changing and some consumers want a treated timber product that is not arsenic based and also has independent environmental and safety accreditations. MicroPro fits these new expectations well.”
Not only is MicroPro ideally suited to applications where CCA (copper chrome arsenate) is restricted from use, including children’s play equipment, residential decking, handrails and picnic tables, it is an aesthetically pleasing product available, both in its light natural colour or a range of in-solution MicroShades pigments that remain stable over time. The pigments are based on iron oxides, the same colourants as in soil, while the main component in MicroPro is copper which is a widely used and accepted fungicide. The copper in MicroPro is in a solid form, providing the treated timber with many advantages over the earlier developed soluble copper preservatives.
“We are seeing a growing demand for more environmentally preferable products and products that are perceived to have a better health and safety profile,” says Akle. “To those consumers who value these attributes, MicroPro is top of their list. It’s backed by the same performance guarantee as CCA and we also have a number of independent certifications/accreditations that back up our claims around MicroPro being an environmentally preferable preservative system.”
KPC has seen a significant number of customers choose MicroPro’s treating capability in order to expand the market for their treated product.
“We need to make sure that any transition from CCA to MicroPro is smooth and managed well,” Akle says. “When you consider that CCA was invented in the 1930s, MicroPro is still a relatively new product, but we now have extensive experience in producing MicroPro and working with treaters to transition either in part or full to MicroPro treatment.
“MicroPro was commercialised by Koppers in North America in 2006 and then in Australia in 2010, giving KPC and our staff close to 20 years of experience in using the product and helping customers with both engineering and treating aspects required to treat with MicroPro.
“The preservative system and in-plant requirements for MicroPro are a little different to CCA and our technical services team is now extremely experienced in what is required to make this transition a reality from a plant and equipment viewpoint. They work closely with our customers in every step of the planning and implementation stages of the transition,” he adds.
Above: For commercial uses such as this walkway, MicroPro both delivers on the promise of long service life and removes environmental concerns, particularly in a worst-case scenario such as the ash remaining after a bushfire.
EASY AUTOMATION
This type of support is just the start of KPC’s assistance for its customers. One key area in which the company eases their work is to provide their customers support in meeting their verification requirements, a focus of the recent AS/NZS 1604 revision – making sure that treatments do what they say on the label and last for as long as they are meant to.
While preservatives leave KPC only after rigorous testing (each delivery comes with its own certificate of analysis) the application to timber is done by customers, so KPC works with them to ensure they meet verification requirements.
For automated plants, the Koppers Process Control System (PCS) was designed to assist their quality assurance process, whether they use MicroPro or any other of Koppers’ high- and low-pressure preservative systems, including Protim LOSP treatments, ACQ and CCA – or multiple treatment lines.
“The control system is an automation package for treatment plants that controls the treatment cycle and is also a database for all the data collected in the process, which can generate a multitude of reports for users,” Akle says.
These reports include all the data generated in the treatment cycle including preservative usage, time of cycle and time at each stage of the process. Penetration photos and QC results from third-party labs can also be entered directly into the PCS and cross-referenced to the charge number in which the sample was treated, allowing for comprehensive QA records.
Able to manage up to three treating cylinders simultaneously, the PCS is built on PC/PLC architecture with a user-friendly interface. It comes with a backup system that includes automated backup of programs and data files, and a second PC to ensure your plant can keep running in the case of computer failure. Not only are treatment chemicals metered accurately, ensuring reliability and repeatability, the PCS also refines automatic cycles to deliver best results for specific needs.
The comprehensive reporting system has built-in reconciliation systems, standard reports and custom reports on request and advanced capabilities include chemical inventory management, email/text alerts for a range of defined conditions (including stock levels and safety shutdowns) and a data interface with business inventory systems.
“It can also be integrated into the treater’s accounting/ERP system, cutting down on data entry and processing time,” says Akle. Importantly, the PCS doesn’t require any third-party interventions and is fully supported by Koppers.
“It was developed in-house by Koppers programmers and is maintained and continuously upgraded by Koppers staff – both software and components,” Akle says.
“In addition to the many ways in which it eases operations for our customers, the PCS also allows Koppers Technical staff to gain remote access to treatment plants to review operations and troubleshoot. In Australia and New Zealand, we have two process control engineers/programmers who provide the frontline support to our customers and are involved in new plant installations, upgrades, equipment changes etc. All of our technical service representatives also have a strong working knowledge of the PCS and provide assistance, audits, checks and trouble shooting. They can all gain remote access to assist on the spot.
“A customer doesn’t need to wait for someone to travel to site if there is an issue. Usually, problems are hardware issues in a plant and our staff can use the PCS to help diagnose them and get repairs underway immediately.”
TICKING ALL THE BOXES
The multi-layered checking processes around timber preservation mean that warranties on properly treated product can be lengthy. Koppers offers a limited 50-year guarantee on the durability of timber properly treated with several of its preservatives, including MicroPro, when used according to the Standards.
To meet these guarantees, end users must meet the conditions specified for each type of treatment. Some require special fasteners, most require that cut ends and other exposed cut surfaces be treated with a suitable preservative.
KPC has a comprehensive document library for its product range. Rather than being technical documents for specialists, these guides are in plain English, easily accessible on the website and with clearly visible sidebars that highlight important information for anyone skimming (or, worse, using AI to summarise) such as resealing and fastener requirements.
Koppers’ treatment customers can refer their retail customers to the appropriate KPC page for a raft of information on uses, care and maintenance of treated product, which sit well beside the wood product manufacturers’ safety data sheets.
It’s all part of KPC’s commitment to making operations and growth as seamless as possible for their customers. This extends to being an active partner in change, whether that’s shifting to a newer preservative such as MicroPro or whole new plant designs.
“We have good working relationships with our customers, and that includes being aware of what their plans are for the future,” says Akle.
“In Australia, we have five dedicated technical services representatives, our process control engineer and a BDM who assists with projects and QA at customer sites. In NZ we have Terry Smith, our general manager, sales, five technical service reps and our process control engineer.
“This means we have the expertise to work with them and put together a plan on what needs to be done to complete a task.”
Some of the tasks KPC has been asked to assist with include helping to design treatment plants, for both LOSP and waterborne preservatives. Starting with the big picture on plant capabilities, KPC engineers use their experience to help customers drill down to specifics, including advice on cylinder and plant sizing, drip pad area, location in the shed and design. The team has also assisted with obtaining and comparing quotes for new plants and obtaining necessary licenses, including with the EPA.
“KPC can provide information as required for the treater to include in their submission,” Akle says.
“We also advise on upgrading existing treatment plants to either increase capacity or to convert them into dual preservative plants – including obtaining quotes.
“Our support is extensive and tailored to meet the needs of individual sites. The entire support package is reviewed regularly with formal meetings between myself and the customer representatives, so we can ensure everyone is happy.”
All treatment plant sites supplied by KPC have a dedicated technical service representative assigned to the site, who can call in additional support where required. In addition to the unique Koppers PCS, the service reps deliver training and help to set up treatment schedules that best meet Standards while ensuring efficient use of preservative, then continuously review and modify these schedules as required. If needed, they can help to set up a QC scheme with a mixture of on-site penetration testing and off site laboratory analysis.
Here, as ever, safety is at the centre of the KPC process.
“Koppers has very specialised resources covering the areas of product safety specialists and toxicologists,” says Akle.
“The timber preservative products supplied by KPC are core products for Koppers and as such are well supported from an efficacy, application, safety and product stewardship point of view. We’ve engaged toxicologists to review SafeWork Australia proposed changes to wood dust limits and worker exposure as well as chromium, arsenic and copper levels.”
For MicroPro, KPC’s assurances are reinforced with independent certifications including GreenTag and Greenguard Gold and is the only treated wood process to be certified under Scientific Certification Systems Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) program based on life-cycle assessment.
“These certifications give consumers, and everyone else in the supply chain, the confidence that MicroPro is their best choice,” Akle says. “But they’re really just reinforcing what our APVMA approval already shows – that when our preservatives are used correctly in treated timber, that timber will be protected from decay and insect attack and will be safe to handle and safe for the environment.”
For more, visit www.kopperspc.com.au
