Top products without worries

The most sustainable woods, efficient assembly and high-quality spray robots. But also: a continuous focus on innovation and chain integration. TimmerSelekt Doornenbal and Holland Houtwerk belong to the top of the Dutch carpentry industry for a reason. "Our professional employees are responsible daily for the sale, production and assembly of wooden façade elements of very high quality," says commercial director Victor Vos. "If required, we also take care of glazing, sealing and painting. This assures clients and chain partners of top products, without worries!"

TimmerSelekt Doornenbal and Holland Houtwerk started in the 1970s as manufacturers of windows, doors, lift-slide doors and frames. In recent years, the companies have undergone tremendous development, overcoming various challenges. However, the challenges were never as great as last year. "The corona pandemic has certainly left its scars," Vos says. "We are also noticing the effects of the scarcity of materials. It is becoming increasingly challenging to have raw materials available at the right time and place. Delivery times are increasing, making it more difficult to deliver on time. Fortunately, we still have quite a bit of wood in stock. Moreover, we do our own finger-welding and/or laminating, with our sister company Wood-Joint, which allows us to better control schedules and prevents our production from grinding to a halt. Still, we too cannot escape the capricious market. Due to the high costs of glass and aluminum, we are forced to work with daily prices. Much of the market fortunately understands this, but this kind of excess cannot go on indefinitely. I am very curious to see how long this trend will continue, but also whether the prices will eventually be adjusted downward again. I hold my heart; we never got back the 'Kok quarter' either."

15 years paint-free

Yet there is also much positive news to report. For example, TimmerSelekt Doornenbal and Holland Houtwerk have used the past few years to further invest in their assembly lines so that employees no longer have to lift. The result is a system with rails, drop sections and switches that will be the envy of the Dutch Railways. "During the production process, our window frames can remain suspended," Vos says. "For the larger frames, we also have special drop sections above the finishing pits, where our employees can lower the frames to working height." The paint shop has also been further automated. "Several spray robots now provide the window frames with exactly the right coats of paint, and the drying process is also fully automated. This creates a constant supply and removal of window frames. The spray quality is also raised to an even higher level. In combination with the modified Accoya wood as a substrate, our window frames will not need to be repainted for the first 15 years. An exceptional first and very good news for housing associations, Home Owners Associations and private residents, for example!"

BIM

Whereas in the past TimmerSelekt Doornenbal and Holland Houtwerk supplied sec window frames, today the entire window frame is painted, fitted with sealed glazing and delivered to the building site completely packed on special trestles. The window frame is also an increasingly important part of the overall facade envelope. "In order to optimally coordinate all elements in the facade, we are increasingly working with BIM. Thanks to the Building Information Model, all parties in the chain can produce and assemble on the basis of the same data (such as drawings, (energy) calculations, building dimensions, reports and records), thus minimizing clashes, failure costs and - as a result - wastage. As a result, quality and sustainability come together perfectly."

'Endless wood'

Sustainability also relates to the types of wood used by TimmerSelekt Doornenbal and Holland Houtwerk. "We work mainly with modified wood species, such as Accoya, Plato and Fint. In fact, in Accoya we are the largest processor in the Netherlands! In addition, we like to process Red Grandis; a type of wood from South America that comes entirely from the plantation. All our other wood also comes from sustainably managed forests. We are FSC®-, PEFC™- and STIP®-certified and affiliated with Stichting Garantie Timmerwerk (SGT), which introduced HOUT100% in September 2016. This quality mark stands for 100% craftsmanship, 100% security, 100% safety, 100% innovation and 100% sustainability; an ambition we fully embrace. The use of 'endless wood' is a good example of this. Residual wood is kept to a minimum. Top quality products can only be made from top quality raw materials, and we are happy to guarantee that!