Accsys Technologies PLC and Titan Wood Limited, one of the company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, recently announced the successful transportation and installation of the world’s first heavy traffic bridge made from the company’s revolutionary Accoya® wood. The bridge, located approximately 125 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam in Sneek, the Netherlands, is chartered as a 60 tonne class bridge and will support the major Dutch thoroughfare A7. An official opening ceremony and celebration is planned for April 15 in Sneek.

Spanning 32 meters and rising more than 14 meters in the air, this impressive structure will serve as a beautiful grand entrance to the city of Sneek. Commissioned after a 2005 design competition, the €3.5 million bridge was designed by Oak Architects and constructed by German firm Schaffitzel Holzindustrie.

When designing their masterpiece, OAK Architects specified environmentally friendly Accoya® wood due to its many benefits such as having a high strength to weight ratio, enhanced durability and dimensional stability, non-toxicity, and aesthetics. The Accoya® wood used in the bridge’s spectacular design is not only beautiful, but strong as well, supporting and bearing the traffic load.

The Dutch government mandates that every bridge built provides a minimum service life of 80 years. Accoya® wood, which is produced only from source-certified sustainable species, including FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), was specified after a thorough testing and verification process. Project Manager, Sieds Hoitinga, said: “Several independent European research institutes were contracted to test Accoya® wood’s suitability for this project. After rigorous testing, we found that its dimensional stability and incredible durability put it head and shoulders above other species and showed that it is suitable for laminating in large sections measuring 1080 x 1400 mm. Accoya® wood also has superior UV resistance, is non-toxic and made from sustainably grown timber and these things were also considerations.”

Wood, such as Accoya® wood, naturally sequesters carbon helping to combat the effects of global warming. Due to its extended usable-life, Accoya® wood sequesters carbon for much longer than ordinary wood species, helping architects and builders to minimize the carbon footprint of their projects.

Akkerwinde, as the wooden bridge is known, represents a milestone not only for Titan Wood, but for the international building and civil engineering community as a whole.

Willy Paterson-Brown, Executive Chairman of Accsys Technologies, said: “Accoya® wood represents a new era in building technology. We are taking a traditional building material and improving it, which allows it to be used in new and innovative ways. Accoya® wood, a green product through and through, allows builders and architects to think out of the box, while at the same time supporting the environment.”

Typically used in applications such as doors and window frames, Accoya® wood is being used in an increasingly wide range of products including those of decking, cladding and structural building elements.

Email: leah.kramer@parkgreenmedia.com