Three companies joined forces to meet the challenge of supplying some of the largest treated glulam beams ever made for a single UK project.

Constructional Timber, Glenalmond Timber and Arch Timber Protection worked together to provide a series of 18.8m-long glulam beams for a new swimming pool in Bristol.

Glulam specialist Constructional Timber, which won the pool contract, found the 18.8m beams were too big for all the double vacuum treatment plants in the UK, except for Glenalmond's Perth facility which can treat timbers up to 22m in length.

Glenalmond also had experience with Arch's Vacsol Aqua, the preservative specified by the architects.

The beams were manufactured in Holland and shipped to Perth for treatment, before being incorporated into 31 prefabricated roof panels at Constructional Timber's production site.

Glenalmond managing director Fraser Steele described the challenges of the project as “significant” but paid tribute to the timber industry for providing a joint solution.

“As architects seek to utilise timber for ever more ambitious projects we fully expect to see the industry presented with ever greater opportunities that will require this type of partnering approach,” he said.

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