The Mass Timber Centre of Excellence offers access to the UK’s most advanced mass timber manufacturing equipment, with the largest commercially available CNC machine in the country
Supported by Scottish Funding Council and host institution Edinburgh Napier University, the Innovation Campus at BE-ST will now house £1.5m pounds of newly acquired, state-of-the-art mass timber post-processing equipment and SuperBlower extraction system. The Mass Timber Centre of Excellence will complement existing capabilities and further enhance precision finishing, production capacity, and health and safety processes.
Mass timber solutions offer a variety of advantages, such as lowering carbon emissions associated with construction, strengthening local supply chains, creating jobs, and improving the efficiency of the delivery of the built environment.
The Mass Timber Centre of Excellence will provide support to accelerate UK-grown mass timber adoption across the UK
It hosts the largest commercially available CNC machine in the UK, while offering the full-scale production of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), Nail Laminated Timber (NLT), and Glue Laminated Timber (Glulam).
The factory is anticipated to have an annual manufacturing output capacity of approximately 8,000m³ once fully operational.
The UK faces the dual challenge of a climate emergency and a housing emergency. By advancing the use of mass timber, the Centre has been established to position the construction industry as a key part of the solutions to both challenges.
Increasing use of UK-grown mass timber would benefit both the environment and the economy
The UK imports The UK consumes between 15 and 18 million cubic metres of timber annually, two-thirds of which is imported.
Mass timber is a category of engineered wood products made by compressing layers of timber to form large structural elements. Currently, the UK imports 73,000m3 of mass timber per year. By creating higher-value timber products in the UK, such as mass timber, and leveraging local supply chains, significant economic and environmental benefits can be unlocked in the UK.
As well as offering access to mass timber manufacturing equipment, the Centre offers research, innovation, and systems design support through partnerships with industry and academic experts to develop timber solutions; consultancy services to assist with product approvals, regulatory compliance, and manufacturing processes; and timber processing through trusted partners for felling, grading, kilning, and planing.
Hands-on training and skills development can also be provided via the Centre to upskill the workforce in the expertise required to deliver mass timber products.
“Addressing some of the UK’s key challenges”
Sam Hart, associate director of Manufacturing and Housing, at BE-ST said: “The Mass Timber Centre of Excellence opens up huge opportunities for the construction sector. By investing in mass timber, we are not just advancing low carbon approaches to construction, we are also investing in economic growth, creating jobs, and addressing some of the UK’s key challenges.”
Stephen Good, CEO of BE-ST added: “The launch of this Centre will support the wider adoption of mass timber, helping to reduce carbon emissions, strengthen supply chains, and deliver much-needed domestic, non-domestic, public, and private infrastructure where appropriate, in a more efficient, affordable, higher quality and sustainable way.”
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