In the spring of 2019, AS Latvijas Finieris started preparations for a pilot project with the aim  of studying the long-term outdoor durability of birch plywood and various types of coating and finishing systems. The official launch of the project took place in the middle of August of this year.

For the study, the walls of the southern, northern and eastern sides of the Gaigalava Retail Store were finished with birch plywood slabs, taking into account the different external factors that occur under the influence of the cardinal directions. A total of 180 slabs with more than 70 different types of finishes and coatings were installed. Slabs on the south side will allow the effects of UV radiation and heat on birch plywood to be monitored, while on the north side it will be possible to observe the effect of higher humidity levels on the plywood, which carries a higher risk of fungal infestation. The east wall of the slab house was chosen for a neutral position.

The study uses Riga Ply or Riga Preprime covered with various finishing materials applied using a brush, paint roller or via automated production lines as well as Riga Ply overlaid with various phenolic and amino-group resin films, such as Riga Form, Riga Timber and Riga Composite with a PPL overlay.

In the coming years, the visual change of the birch plywood boards, their gloss and their colour, will be closely monitored. The slab samples will also be placed in an accelerated ageing chamber, and the correlation of their performance with real external environmental conditions will be studied. Based on the results, appropriate conclusions will be drawn to facilitate further product development.

Riga Wood Baltic and the Hapaks mill, as well as several cooperation partners – Tikkurila, AkzoNobel, Caparol, Klinta, Remmer and Rilak, were actively involved in the implementation of the project.

This project is implemented in the field of smart specialisation strategy of Latvia – “Knowledge-Intensive Bioeconomy”, in the sub-area “Innovative Solutions for Forestry and Wood Processing”.