Monday, May 13, 2024
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Svenska Takelement, a leading supplier of prefabricated wooden roof elements in Sweden, collaborates with Metsä Wood to provide sustainable roof elements made from Kerto® LVL for high-performance construction projects. The company has contributed roof and wall elements to notable projects such as the entirely wood-constructed logistics center in Bålsta, known for its innovative approach. Svenska Takelement is now advocating for increased investment in sustainable wood construction.
From idea to innovative wooden roof element
Svenska Takelement was founded in 2019 when Göran Petersén, with over 40 years of experience in the construction industry, and his three daughters were looking for new challenges in their careers. The family business, with its own production in Västerås, has become one of the largest suppliers of prefabricated wooden roof elements in Sweden. It supplies elements to construction companies that build schools, logistics centres, multi-purpose halls, office buildings, hospitals and residential buildings.
“I wanted to do something that was better than site construction, as prefabrication has enormous advantages, both from a moisture point of view and in terms of sealing the house quickly. I wanted to create a wooden element that could meet all the challenges with spans and that met all the fire safety requirements,” says Göran Petersén, CEO of Svenska Takelement.
Kerto LVL fulfils the requirements
Svenska Takelement and Metsä Wood share a longstanding collaboration, with a personal connection that extends even further between Göran Petersén and Mats Blomberg, the Country Manager at Metsä Wood Sweden.
“I have had contact with Mats for over 30 years from my previous roles in the construction industry. When we wanted to develop a new roof element, we discussed back and forth to find the best solution for the market. The result was to use Kerto LVL from Metsä Wood as the frame of our roof element,” says Göran Petersén.
Göran Petersén is an innovator who always wants to improve. “We have a great relationship that has contributed to the good co-operation between Svenska Takelement and Metsä Wood, where we supply our Kerto LVL S-beams to their roof elements,” says Mats Blomberg.
Svenska Takelement has recognised the many benefits of Metsä Wood’s Kerto LVL, which is material efficient as less material is used compared to CL products to produce the same type of element. Other advantages that Svenska takelement sees with Kerto LVL are its low weight in relation to its strength and long spans, which allow them to prefabricate roof elements up to 18 metres in length. And so the roof elements are customised to the customer’s specific needs. The structure of the roof elements with LVL beams also makes it possible to run ventilation pipes in the elements, which is not possible in CLT, where ventilation pipes must be run on the outside of the CLT panel, for example. At the same time, Svenska Takelement can prepare the elements for windows, domes and lift stops directly in the factory in Västerås.
“This means that you get a tight house much faster than if you had built the roofs on site,” says Göran Petersén.
Roof elements that can withstand high fire safety
Since Kerto LVL is used in the roof elements, Svenska Takelement gets good strength values in terms of load-bearing capacity and stiffness. The element, which uses a homogeneous rectangular cross-section beam, achieves a fire rating of REI90, which means it can withstand a fire for 90 minutes without adding a fire plasterboard.
Roof elements in logistic centre built with wood
The Bålsta innovation project, known for constructing a wooden logistics center north of Stockholm, has garnered significant attention in Sweden. Svenska Takelement played a pivotal role in this project by supplying both the roof and wall elements, opting to use Kerto LVL for these essential components.
“It is a challenge to change the traditional construction method, especially in industrial buildings. The innovation project in Bålsta was a pioneer in showing that it is possible to choose wooden elements over other materials to meet environmental requirements and be more sustainable,” says Charlotta Tingstedt, sales manager at Svenska Takelement.
The market for timber construction is growing due to increasedenvironmental requirements for new buildings.
More sustainable construction in the future
Svenska Takelement has observed a growing demand for wooden construction elements since its inception, recognizing that increasing the use of wood in building projects can significantly lower the industry’s climate emissions. To foster more sustainable construction practices, the company advocates for more projects similar to the innovation project in Bålsta, which prominently features wood in its construction.
“More large projects should be built with wood, even if you shouldn’t be afraid to interact with other elements. But from a sustainability perspective, it is important that we build more in wood in the future, says Göran Petersén.
Read more news on: Metsä Group, Metsä Wood, prefabrication, wooden roof, Kerto® LVL
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Tags: CLT panel, Kerto LVL, Metsä Group, Metsä Wood, wood, wood and panel, wood construction, woodworking, woodworking industry
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