Choose an Alternative to Birch Plywood

Wood offers us a wide range of uses for interior and exterior construction. You can find it in beams, wall structures, staircases, floors, roofs, furniture, doors, frames and moulds, among many other examples. Some wood products, such as plywood, are great options for interior construction and are also a resource for revamping surfaces, providing aesthetic value and building this warm and inviting environment that’s so typical of traditional wood. 

However, ensuring that you’re receiving quality materials from legal sources is a hard part of using such a raw, natural wood resource in your projects. And given recent events regarding Russia’s attack on Ukraine, supply chains around the world have been altered, creating new challenges for both distributors and manufacturers. 

You’ve probably heard about the rise in gas prices and inflation, but those aren’t the only sectors that are affected. There are two main effects that the war has on sectors: 

1. Price increases: the market was already quite volatile after the COVID-19 pandemic, but now with the war in Eastern Europe, there is a level of uncertainty that is causing market prices to rise and complicate delivery processes.
2. Search for alternatives: many are seeking alternative options for their plywood, such as in North America and Europe. 

Russia’s Role as a Plywood Supplier

Russia is one of the world’s largest suppliers of birch plywood. And more than half of plywood produced in Russia is exported to other countries: the EU consumes around 10 million m3 of wood products from Russia. Given the current situation and the volatility surrounding both supply and interest of being involved with the attacking nation, it is now illegal to import both timber and timber-derived products from Russia and Belarus, as this wood can’t be PEFC/FSC certified as it has been declared conflict timber. 

With the current political situation in Russia, choosing a readily available, sustainably produced plywood panel has never been more important, many suppliers are looking to cut ties with the area and searching for new alternatives to avoid sanctions and risking compliance with European Timber Regulation.

At Garnica, we offer the perfect and legal substitute to Russian Birch Plywood: the Reinforced range, a highly-resistant, multi use plywood ideal for applications where resistance is key. Its eucalyptus and poplar core from European plantations provides exceptional resistance; later on, we’ll introduce the different available finishes: decorative maple or poplar for overlaying or industrial uses. 

Here’s what Garnica’s Reinforced Plywood range can offer you: 

• A high strength panel
• Exceptional physical properties: Stable, uniform and easily machinable.
• Multi-layer construction: Ideal for applications with exposed edges.
• Surface uniformity: Light, smooth and uniform surface
• Sustainability: Hardwood core sourced from European plantations

And here’s the uses its best suited for: 

Interior Decoration

Decorative applications in interior uses such as panelling, indoor furniture, kitchen cabinets, shows and exhibitions, shopfitting and DIY.

The Reinforced Globulus Maple range is a ready-to-use, maple-faced mixed hardwood core panel, perfect for decorative applications. No further sanding and processing is needed, thanks to its hard maple surface and multilayer construction.

Platform for Different Overlaying Methods

At Garnica, we have developed our Reinforced Globulus Poplar as the optimal platform for overlayings; this is a poplar-faced, mixed hardwood core plywood panel with exceptional physical properties and a light, smooth poplar surface suitable for laminating, reveneering or priming. 

Industrial Uses

Certain industrial applications require more specific mechanical properties; this must be kept in mind when looking for raw materials. This is how the Reinforced Globulus Poplar version SG was born, with eucalyptus globulus interiors and poplar cores, ideal for the manufacturing of sofa frames, door mouldings, flooring supports or even heavy packaging.

We hope we’ve clarified the importance of finding a substitute to Russian birch plywood, in terms of both legislation and technical features. Check with Garnica if you want to receive more information or are interested in acquiring some of these panels. We’d love to help.