Winners 2011
MAIN PRIZE
Dieter Siempelkamp
Dieter Siempelkamp
Dieter Siempelkamp from Germany and his company of the same name set one of the most remarkable milestones for the entire wood working industry worldwide. No other mechanical engineering company has had more influence on the development and progress especially of the building and furniture industry within the past century. Today Siempelkamp is global market leader for press systems with a share of about 53%. The most prominent product of Siempelkamp for the woodworking sector is the continuous press Contiroll®. Nowadays Dieter Siempelkamp puts special emphasis on supporting young people in research and training. He has initiated the ProWood Foundation, whose most recent project „TeachWood“ aims at motivating children in primary schools to gain manual skills in working with wood.
Further information:
www.siempelkamp.com
INNOVATION PRIZES
Agepan® THD Static
from left to right:
Knut Kappenberg and Alfred Pfemeter
Dr. Knut Kappenberg and Dr. Alfred Pfemeter, Glunz AG, Germany, developed a highly innovative fibre board, which they say is a “paradigm shift for diffusion-permeable wooden buildings”. The fibreboard not only shows excellent insulating properties, but also remarkable strength properties which make the product spectacular. Agepan® THD Static has a very low density of about 230 g/m³. It is used as an outer insulation, where it is attached to the wooden frames throughout their storey height and acts as a stiffening element. The high strength properties combined with low density are related to a very specific density profile within the cross-section of the board. Both the development and its implementation in the production process show an outstanding performance. This product is a major step forward for building with wood, as it also helps to enter the private house-building sector. Additionally Agepan® THD Static increases the proportion of wood in wood-frame houses, which is crucial for a positive CO2 balance.
For more information see:
www.agepan.de/produkt/gruppe/367--thd_static
TES ENERGY FAÇADE
from left to right:
Knut E. Larsen, Frank Lattke, Stefan Winter, Pekka Heikkinen
A European team of scientists developed a completely new timber-based facade system for refurbishment. About 60% of all buildings in Europe were built between 1950 and 1980, of course without taking energy efficiency into account. Nowadays those buildings urgently need renovation in terms of thermal insulation and new windows. In order to make the renovation as efficient as possible, TES Energy Façade was developed as a holistic system, which covers all working steps of the reconstruction. At the beginning the whole building is measured in 3D by a laser scanner. Then the new facades made of wooden frames (complete with insulation, windows and claddings) are prefabricated according to the 3D data. Finally the facades are installed on site. The new tailor made „wrapping” is a vital contribution to reducing CO2 emission. It helps saving energy and even stores CO2 in its wooden frames. TES Energy Façade is a novel approach for tackling climate change and offers new opportunities for wood in the refurbishment sector.
Further information:
www.tesenergyfacade.com
HESS LIMITLESS
from left to right:
Simon Aicher and Mathias Hofmann
The development of Mathias Hofmann (Hess Timber) and Simon Aicher (MPA TU Stuttgart), Germany, is a real revolution! Large buildings for industry or sports need beams with long spans, which is ideal for glulam! But it is hard to produce and transport the beams, which can be more than 40 metres long. The development of HESS LIMITLESS enables the fabrication of long-span beams comprising short segments which can be glued together on site. The short segments contain a special joint geometry that is needed for the gluing process. The short segments used in HESS LIMITLESS allow a more flexible and economic transport to the construction site - resulting in lower total costs with a verifiable equal technical performance. Using this new system, all former restrictions on building with long-span glulam beams are made obsolete. It makes the possibilities of building with wood literally limitless.
Further information:
www.hess-timber.com
Glulam Turbine Blades
from left to right:
Svein Dag Henriksen and Åge Holmestad
Åge Holmestadt (Moelven) and Svein Dag Henriksen (Hydra Tidal) from Norway show an outstanding innovative performance. In autumn 2010 a completely new floating tidal power plant was introduced and equipped with eight huge glulam turbine blades. Several other materials were tested before glulam was chosen, because only wood could cope with the harsh conditions off-shore. Contrary to other materials, for instance steel, wood is not affected by salt water. In addition no disturbing buoyancy occurs when glulam beams are water saturated. The positive elastic properties of wood are also beneficial considering the dynamic forces caused by waves. In this case two excellent innovations have merged into an outstanding project. And again wood contributes to the generation of renewable energy.
Further information:
www.moelven.com
www.hydratidal.com
