Woodford has been known to farmers in the northwest for over 20 years for their wood products and farm fencing solutions, with owner Alan Richardson purchasing the current factory site midway between Ballyconnell and Carrigallen in 1997. Up until recently, the company had been importing in creosote treated posts bought in from another plant, alongside their home treated water based produced products.

As a result of creosote being banned since in the EU since April 2023, the company had to explore new alternative treatments for long lasting fencing for both domestic and agricultural purposes.

Speaking on the open day held recently on the 17-acre factory, Alan explained that after considerable talks with two companies, Woodford entered into agreement with Arxada for their newly launched product Tanasote®, a copper oil derived wood preservative.

Woodford had a working relationship already with Arxada due to them using their water based preservatives, Tanalith and Tanalith E. Woodford also travelled to various test sites and plants throughout the UK and Europe before commissioning construction of their new plant.

Benefits of copper oil

Sales manager Mark Richardson explained some of the benefits of the product in comparison to both creosote and water-based products: “With copper oil, you get no bleeding out of the oil on to the surface in hot water, and no strong odour, both of which would be associated with the now banned creosote.’’

Saying this, the copper oil is still mobile within the timber, and if cracking after treatment occurs, the oil will go to this area and permeate it, protecting the wood from rot and water ingress.

Tanasote has received certification from the Department of Agriculture for use in TAMS III fencing for both livestock and stud fencing, with it being the only approved treatment for timber stud fencing due to its anti crib biting properties.

Mark noted that “rigorous testing of Tanasote in the UK showed no signs of crib biting’’ over a number of years, with hay nets even having been hung on the rails to try to encourage horses to the fence.

As well as receiving approval for farm and equine fencing, Woodford has also received approval for their Tanasote products for motorway fencing.

Due to no bleeding out of the copper oil, there is no burn-off of vegetation around the base of the stake, while independent environmental impacts showed Tanasote treated pine posts show the lowest impact to human health, damage to resources and damage to the environment when compared to steel, concrete or plastic posts.

Being an oil based, rather than a water based, preservative, Tanasote treated products are water repellent, with farmers and fencing contractors who have used the product so far noticing visible beading of water on stakes.

2.5 million euro has been invested in a state-of-the-art plant for the new copper oil treatment. Cold copper oil is stored in a large vat before being heated up to 70 degrees Celsius by a wood fired boiler which uses chippings from off-cuts from the factory floor to reduce wastage.

The treatment chamber is loaded up via a conveyor belt system which is capable of taking six bales of 6ft timber posts at a time.

Mark pointed out that the chamber was specified to length to allow for the treatment of utility poles in the future, an avenue that Woodford see growing as the derogation for creosote for utility poles will end in five years’ time.

Pressure is matched to the dry matter percentage of the wood. To meet NSAI standards, the timber is required to have a dry matter of 28% or less.

Dictate

Dry matter of the wood alone does not dictate the treatment process, as species of timber and the ratio of heartwood to softwood both have an effect on the uptake of the preservative in to the wood. The current process takes five hours per batch, with two batches treated per day. Mark highlighted that farmers stock piling creosote posts pre-ban had warped markets slightly, with the end of 2023 and start of 2024 seeing a lull in demand, but as these stock piles in farmers yards begin to dwindle, they expect a major uplift in demand.

The plant is currently building up reserves of treated timber but it is expected that the plant will have to be ran around the clock to keep up with demand when farmers begin adapting to using the product. NSAI standards require a penetration of 12mm minimum of the preservative, with Woodford currently seeing penetrations of 20mm-40mm on their posts, dependent on diameters.

Imported pine

Only imported kiln dried pine is used for the timber stakes. The Richardon’s tried several times to use native grown timbers, with no success.

Mark explained ‘’native timber has such a large volume of sapwood, having grown so quickly in this climate, that we found it very hard to dry out and penetrate with preservative. What we actually found when we dried out the timber to a sufficient dry matter was that the copper oil wasn’t able to penetrate in to the wood; it was like it was hitting a hard pan’’.

‘’For this reason, imported kiln dried pine is used, with Woodford overseeing timber quality and drying rate.

‘’Compared to importing in treated posts, we can control the process from start to finish. We buy the timber, have it kiln dried before shipping to our plant here where we treat it. This way, we know the process has been done to an acceptable standard. Being able to do the treatment in-house also means that timber field gates can be treated to match stud or agricultural fencing.’’

Colour and lifespan

Initial reaction from some farmers has been that the colour of Tanasote post treatment is off putting, with the product coming out an emerald green colour.

However, both Arxada in the UK and Woodford themselves, who purchased in some Tanasote treated posts before their own plant was functioning, have witnessed the green colour to change to a ‘warm honey brown’ colour with exposure to UV light (sunlight) after approximately 12-18 months, with the product eventually darkening further before eventually changing to grey.

Tanasote treated timber products are given a 25-year warranty from Woodford, with an expected working life of 40 years.

Creosote in the UK

Creosote usage is currently being debated in the UK, with the ban across the EU having been in place for 18 months now. Hodge noted that it is expected that creosote will indeed be banned in the near future, with increased inquiries experienced by Arxada and Woodford in copper oil treatment plants and treated products.

In short