A bare essential.

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It may not be the most glamourous of materials, but wood is the backbone of any structure and can be surprisingly versatile

The massive boom in the construction industry in the Middle East over recent years has created an increased need for raw materials. Timber and plywood, which are necessary for almost every interior, are therefore in hot demand. In Dubai alone, the hotel market is soaring with new properties opening every month -- more than 70 new hotels are expected to open by 2010. This means wood sales are at an unparalleled high, plus there is a growing emphasis on environmentally friendly materials. To feed this demand, wood imports to the region from the US and Europe have increased substantially over the past couple of years; imports in 2007 topped an impressive Dh8.5 billion (US $2.3 billion). The boom has seen US hardwood product exports to the Middle East total a dramatic Dh191.6 million ($52.2 million) in 2007, a fact welcomed by the American Hardwood Export Council. European wood exports exceeded even this, reaching a whopping Dh894.3 million ($243.5 million). This in turn has led to the increasing popularity of events such as Dubai Wood Show and the Hardware & Tools Middle East Exhibition, one of the largest exhibitions of its kind in the region. 'Wood, timber and wood products, laminates, hard wood, veneer, parquet and plywood are being imported at record levels in the UAE from Asia, Southeast Asia, the US and Canada,' says Gavin Morlini, senior show manager. 'Wood industry players around the world have recognised the importance of Dubai as a strategic location to exhibit their products, especially at a time when the construction boom in the country has boosted wood imports to new heights,' agrees Dawood Al Shezawi, managing director, strategic marketing and exhibitions for Dubai Woodshow. The growth of the sector in the Middle East has boosted the activities of outfits across the globe, such as the Pacific Timber Export Corporation (Pateco), a Filipino wood processing company. Pateco engages in a diverse number of wood-related projects such as industrial tree plantation, plant operation, lumber dealership and the manufacture and export of wood products. The company manufactures products such as high quality moulded doors, flush doors, architectural mouldings and door jambs to a number of buyers throughout the region and its warehouses can produce up to 300 door units per day. 'Our moulded doors have the leading edge in terms of applied raw materials and workmanship. They are guaranteed to resist warping, shrinking, swelling, cracking and delamination, which are the typical short-comings of panel-doors,' says Alice Austria, retail sales and advertising manager of Pateco. There is, however, a down-side to this apparent industry success story. Prices of building materials in general are set to rise by up to five per cent predicts manufacturers Danube Building Materials -- and timber and plywood will be no exception. The increase is due to record oil prices, rising freight overheads and a high level of demand across the GCC area. Wood products such as timber and film-faced plywood have already increased by around 25 per cent over the past quarter. However, the domination of these materials is set to continue because of their comparative inexpensiveness to other alternatives. Alternatives are starting to get a foothold in the market however, especially with the rise of the trend for the use of sustainable building materials. Recent years have seen a crop of new companies that supply environmentally friendly wood materials come to the fore. One such company is Oceanic General Trading, a member of the Emirates Green Building Council, which has partnered with a bamboo company in Vietnam that provides flooring, decking and panels. These are more sustainable than other forms of timber as bamboo grows rapidly compared to trees. Other ways in which wood products are becoming more environmentally friendly is through the demise of the use of urea formaldehyde and the increased use of recycled content in composition - this works particularly well for MDF, plywood and particleboard. Wood materials are not just used for building structures and furniture, they are used for almost everything: doors, windows, shutters, partitions, flooring, finishes. In terms of interior design, the popularity of parquet timber floors shows no sign of abating. Ofis, a furniture, flooring and interior solutions company recently launched a range of wooden flooring from Parador in the Middle East. Parador, who specialise in timber floorings, offer laminated and pre-finished floorings that can be used in any residential or commercial space. "Around 80 per cent of our total sales come from laminate floorings, but global trends forecast an increase in demand for pre-finished timber products," says a spokesperson for the company. Local company, Shaw floors highlights one current trend in wood flooring: "Hardwood is moving more toward distressed planks, planks in wider widths, and exotic woods. It's no longer just plain maple or oak. We're seeing more mahogany, cherry, teak, and walnut. Also, mixing woods is becoming increasingly popular," explains a manager at Shaw. Hardwood flooring comes in two kinds: solid and engineered. Solid wood is milled from a single three-quarter inch thick piece of hardwood, it is then sanded and refinished. It is important to remember that this kind of flooring expands and contracts depending on levels of moisture and humidity, so a gap must be left to compensate for this. The second type, engineered wood, is produced with three to five layers of hardwood bonded in such a way that they are not highly influenced by humidity levels and can be used in a wider variety of spaces. Wood shutters are popular in Middle East interior design as they are an effective shield from the intense sun and allow natural ventilation to circulate. They can be adapted to match any colour scheme and can be custom-made to suit any window, door or partition opening and are becoming especially popular in hotels. One of the most important factors when using wood is quality. Interior design consultants Gemaco Interiors has long been aware of the growing emphasis on top-end products when it comes to timber and wood products. The company is currently working on projects in Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City and Dubai Sports City. Soren Kraen, general manager of Gemaco, believes that the emphasis on quality witnessed over recent years is a direct result of the shift towards minimalist decoration and design -- all materials must be of the highest calibre to avoid an unfinished or slapdash look. "Minimalist elegance has been a constant theme in interior design for decades, but has really come to the fore in Arabia thanks to the abundance of natural light and bright colours," he says. It is for this reason that timber being imported to the area tends to be of a high standard, particularly as much of it is intended for commercial purposes.

By Cassandra Barnes

Copyright 2008 www.tradearabia.com

Copyright 2008 Al Hilal Publishing & Marketing Group

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