How is Treated Rubberwood Timber Produced and Processed?
There are 6 essential treatmant processes raw rubber wood must be put through in order for it to be suitable for use in making products for consumers. Once these processes have increased it strength and durablility, it is then ready to be used for commercial products such as rubberwood parquet floors and high-end furniture.
Step 1: Cutting of Raw Rubber Wood Logs
Because raw rubber wood is susceptible to the bacteria and fungi when first cut, it needs to be treated quickly. The logistics must be set up so that raw rubber wood logs can be extracted and transported to where it will be processed and converted as soon as possible after cutting. During the milling process all tap marks from rubberwood’s previous use as a latex producer, must be removed to ensure quality.
Step 2: Pressurized Preservative Treating the Timbers
Raw rubberwood sawn timbers are placed in a pressure chamber, where they are injected with a liquid chemical compound that will prevent decay and protect them from termites. The pressure chamber is vacuum sealed and filled with liquid chemical preservatives. The pressure is increased until it reaches 5 – 10 kg m-3 and is kept at this setting for 20 mins.
Step 3: Kiln Drying the Timbers
The drying process is done in a kiln, where excess moisture is removed, leaving the rubber wood timbers with a uniform moisture level. Drying the rubberwood timbers in a kiln help prevent the surface from cracking and splitting, things that occurred when a wood is left to dry naturally. Kiln drying increases the strength of a rubber wood timber as well as making it lighter and less costly to transport.
Step 4: Sizing and Sorting the Timbers
Because Rubber Wood Products Ltd. places great emphasis on quality and that rubber wood sawn timbers can be damaged if they are overtreated, once the timbers are removed from the kiln, only personnel trained in quality control are used to check the processed sawn timbers for damage and correct physical properties. Then these high-quality treated rubber wood sawn timbers are sorted according to size.
Step 5: Quality Packaging (Bundling) of Timbers
A quality packaging process is used to ensure that the processed/treated rubber wood sawn timbers retain their freshness after they has been processed. Rubber Wood Products Ltd. packages the timbers by stacking them in cubic meter bundles, wrapped in waterproof wrappers. This quality & standard packaging process is adopted by the company to prevent water seepage and staining.
Step 6: Fumigating for Shipment to other Countries
Before the processed rubberwood sawn timbers can be transported out of the country, the Agricultural Department of Malaysia (DOA) requires that the timbers be fumigated to protect them from bacteria and fungi. The rubber wood sawn timbers will be ready for shipping once they are sprayed with a light chemical compound.
With a 95% average utility rate for the company’s processed rubber woods, Rubber Wood Products Ltd. exporting their rubber wood products to the countries in Asia, Europe and North America. The company specialize in supplying mainly “Grade A” high-quality processed rubberwood sawn timber which meets all of the desirable standard specifications in the rubberwood industry.