beeldscherm schreef op 17 april 2014 13:00:
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And whether he knew it or not, Ben Law was tapping into a growing worldwide trend. More and more builders are turning away from artificial materials like uPVC and aluminium – which release harmful gases into the atmosphere during their creation – and towards natural wood.
Today’s company is a high-tech wood specialist that’s got the potential to shake up the construction industry. I’m going to tell you all about this exciting firm and its market-leading product in just a moment. First though, let’s look at why wood remains such a hot commodity.
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In fact, wood is the only truly sustainable building material. It’s non-toxic and can be recycled or used as a biofuel at the end of its useful life. It offers good heat and sound insulation and is easy to work with. Wood also has great carbon credentials – it acts as a carbon sink when it’s growing and often displaces materials that use energy-intensive manufacturing.
All in all, the uses for wood in all kinds of industries are huge. But there is one crucial fly in the ointment. The woods with the best performance are expensive hardwoods. Cheap, fast-growing softwoods simply don’t have the right characteristics.
But that’s about to change. There is an Aim-listed company that has solved this problem, and that’s why I’m writing to you today.
Accsys Technologies (AXS) owns a process called ‘acetylation’, which can give softwoods the same sought-after characteristics of hardwoods. The process changes the chemical structure of wood, by converting free hydroxyl molecules into acetyls – hence ‘acetylation’.
The treated wood no longer absorbs and releases water to the same extent. So, it doesn’t swell or shrink and is a lot more durable. This stability also means it requires less maintenance, which adds to the value proposition.
Quite aside from the importance of environmentally friendly building materials, there are a huge number of possible applications for this technology across the global construction industry. That’s precisely why I find this company so exciting
moneyweek.com/penny-sleuth-high-tech-...