ProFi seeks new forms
Text: Tuovi Similä
Photos: Herman, Matti Viljanen, UPM
UPM ProFi wood plastic composite set out to conquer the markets with decking board. Product development is currently investigating what kinds of end products would emerge from the same raw material, but modified to a panel-like form or combined with plywood.
On the table in front of Venture Manager Jouko Pussi lies a stack of light-coloured panels approximately one centimetre thick with a surface that feels and looks pleasantly textile-like. The panels are the same material as UPM ProFi Deck, although it looks different.
Pussi's background is in plywood and familiarity with the board industry has been necessary when ProFi has been modified into a panel-like form. Liisa Lehtinen, ProFi's R&D Director with whom Pussi cooperates, is for her part a specialist in plastics chemistry.
"This is precisely what is needed in product development. Competence and know-how across operations are needed for the development of new innovations. More openness, more cooperation and less time spent alone doing research is the name of the game," says Lehtinen. A good example of cooperation across operations is the current plywood project in which combining plywood and ProFi coating is being studied.
Jouko Pussi
Venture Manager
Liisa Lehtinen
ProFi's R&D Director
"Competence and know-how
across operations are needed
for the development of new innovations."
Testing of new applications
The modification of wood plastic composite into a panel-like form began last summer as a joint project between ProFi and Plywood. A number of applications are already ready. Pussi is responsible for developing the coating and method of production. "One application consists of coating plywood, but in a panel-like form ProFi can function as a completely separate product too. Or the panel may be an intermediate step towards the actual product," says Pussi, cautious about revealing too much about the plans.
Products for which suitable end uses are being sought are currently being developed from these applications. The joint project between Plywood and ProFi alone initially involved products for nearly 50
different end-uses. Of these, three were screened out for further assessment. "It is hoped that this year at least one will be in production," Pussi says.
No compromise on recyclability
elative to its size, the ProFi unit has fairly extensive R&D operations. Of the 25-strong group in the Lahti production facility, as many as seven are part of the R&D team. The facility also engages in technology development, which is Pussi's responsibility.
"We still do a great deal of fundamental research − after all, we did start from scratch five years ago. There are numerous basics we need to know, for example, the way in which the raw material behaves," Lehtinen says.
The main raw material, self-adhesive label materials left over from UPM Raflatac, sets the framework for R&D. "It restricts, but in a positive way. It helps one to focus, which would otherwise be difficult, as the composite sector has so many possibilities," says Lehtinen.
What will never be compromised is ProFi's recyclability. "The product itself contains as much recycled material as possible, and at the end of its lifecycle ProFi can be recycled either to produce new products or energy. For this reason we don't use harmful chemicals in the manufacture − so that we don't lose the environmental arguments for the product," says Lehtinen.
The ProFi formula is being tested and improved continuously.
"If there are 10 components in
the formula, at least 150 test runs are needed to ensure that all the elements are in place," says Lehtinen.
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