Woodspan® PLT Panels: Making use of New Zealand’s natural resources

Taranakipine® is a long established (1954) and trusted wood manufacturing business, based in New Plymouth. Taranakipine® has evolved over time from being pre-dominantly a sawmill to a manufacturer of high-quality finger jointed and laminated products; employing over 170 staff and exporting to markets around the world.

This desire to continue to evolve as a business and best utilise their current manufacturing capabilities saw the trialling of a new, innovative engineered panel system – parallel laminated timber (PLT) panels. Woodspan® PLT Panels are made from finger jointed or solid timber boards that are then laminated into large panels with all grain running parallel to panel span direction to produce a strong, structurally efficient panel.

In 2017 a house was designed and built in collaboration with builder Chris Bell Construction and the team from Boon Team Architects incorporating Woodspan® PLT Panels for the first level midfloor. The Woodspan® PLT Panels were manufactured and fabricated within the Woodspan® factory and delivered to the building site stacked in the order the builder requested, coated with a sealant to provide temporary moisture protection along with detailed layouts to provide concise and easy instruction.

Once onsite they were installed by crane quickly and efficiently, with both Chris Bell Construction and Boon Team Architects taking advantage of the accuracy and quality that offsite prefabrication brought.

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