Aesthetic building designs

Companies missing out on trends will have a poor standing in a dynamic market, says Agrop Nova sales manager Vladimir Crhonek as he explains the company's strategy which is reflected in a remarkeable investments: The past five years have seen average investments in manufacturing hardware and infrastructure of € 2 million a year. In late May 2012, the company acquired Hundegger's PBA portal machining center, for example. The PBA allows an operator to machine workpieces while at the same time the portal processes another one automatically. Clamping of workpieces is not necessary due to the special supporting tables and construction. The CNC system processes the Novatop panels on a length of up to 12 m. As of March, a vacuum press by Woodtec Fankhauser, Vordemwald/CH, has been in operation in Ptení. "With this investment we have made a leap forward in terms of quality", says Crhonek. The evenly distributed pressure on the plate helps to keep glue lines thin which in turn save adhesive. The wall panels "Solid" can be produced with up to 2.95 m width and 12 m length. These investments have allowed Agrop Nova to increase its capacity of Novatop products by 10% this year. This, however, will be the limit in the medium term because: "Our motto is, 'added value over volume'. It would not make sense to expand production come hell or high water, when the market cannot absorb it." Crhonek still considers CLT to be an exciting niche product that offers excellent opportunities for timber construction. This is why the development team of Agrop Nova is constantly looking for new ideas and provides a wide range of products, spiced up with innovative features. This includes building systems either with specific details such as walls and ceilings, or complete solutions.

Less cracking of the surface

By virtue of comparatively thin surface layers, Novatop Solid surfaces are less prone to cracking. What is more, hand selected wood components make the visible surface appealing. The elements consist of spruce which is dried at the site in Plumlov/CZ down to 8% moisture content. The lamellae are glued to each other on all sides with polyurethane adhesive.

For ceiling and roof

A large-scale ribbed construction made of multi-layer solid wood panels – this is the product marketed under the name "Novatop Elements". A multi-layer panel serves as a solid backbone of the element structure. On it, longitudinal and transverse wooden ribs are glued, the dimensions of which depend on the required bearing capacity of the element. The cavities are filled with insulation before another multi-layer panel seals the element. The benefits are the large formats that this design allows for (up to 2.45 m by 12 m) as well as its swift and easy installation. The lengths are arbitrary but 6 and 12 m are standard.

Recently, Agrop Nova introduced a new, modified system of the "Novatop Elements" series called "Novatop Open". It features a multi-layer solid wood panel with wood components (CLT, duolam, triolam, glulam, I-beams) glued onto it. The general axis distance between these components is 625 mm. This construction also features transverse wooden ribs for increased stability. Around constructional openings, reinforcing elements are mounted. Again the cavities between the bars can be filled with insulation. The system is then shut off with a permeable wood material (Fermacell, DHF, DFP). "First, we have designed this product to be used purely for the roof. Yet we have customers who want to express their individuality by using this system for wall construction – and quite successfully so, as it turned out", says Crhonek.

Solution for roof projection

"Novatop Static" offers an inherently stable solution for roof projections. The elements consist of multi-layer panels with two parallel layers on each side and a middle layer with a grain orientation at right angles to the former two. Each layer includes solid spruce wood sheets. The layer thicknesses differ and determine the final thickness of the element.

Functional and aesthetic

The youngest child of the Novatop family is "Novatop Acoustic". It denotes a solid wood panel made of knot-free spruce or silver fir (harvested in Austria and Germany) to improve the acoustic comfort. It is a three-layer panel which has been ripped into different profiles. The product is available with five different profiles and 48 different colour shades of mineral wool accommodated in the cavities. During the mounting process, the panels are attached to a slatted frame or a metal suspension. "This combination of functionality and aesthetics is what typifies us – and "Novatop Acoustic" perfectly highlights this philosophy", says the sales manager with joy.

Employees as a valuable resource

"A few years ago we started with two sales reps and two assistants, then our business started growing. It is important to be able to communicate in other languages", explains Crhonek in perfect German. The company therefore offers language courses to its employees. "No company will survive without reliable employees", says the sales manager. As the company operates in an international environment, foreign languages are key.

There are also plans for setting up a new office complex consisting of cross-laminated timber. This will further upgrade the company's premises in Ptení.

International orientation inevitable

Besides the established CLT markets in Central Europe, Agrop Nova is keen to make the product known around the globe. "We are represented, for example, in the most important trade fairs in the Far East", says the sales manager and speaks about a positive feedback. A truly exotic reference object of the Czech company is situated in South Africa. There, a modular house was built in cooperation with a South African and a Czech construction company. So along with the regular participation in the Wood Conference in Cape Town, Agrop Nova transfers know-how to South Africa. All wooden parts were produced in Ptení and shipped in a total of five containers via Hamburg to South Africa.

Prefabrication offers many advantages

The modular elements are manufactured with utmost precision in all details in Ptení and then supplied directly to the site where they are assembled. Thanks to the advanced level of prefabrication and the large formats, assembly times on the sites are short which is welcomed by producer, user and client alike. "If we prefabricate the parts with high precision, this will have also a positive effect on the handling costs." Completing the shell of a house is a matter of hours. The company has also been cultivating an intensive exchange with many research institutions at home and abroad in order to increase effectivity even further. Ecology also matters a lot to Agrop Nova. Wood residues incurred in the production go into a briquetting plant which has an output of more than 9,000 t/yr. In addition, Agrop Nova was awarded the "Natureplus"-seal as it was the first multi-layer panel manufacturer in the Czech Republic. This adds an ecological aspect to the aesthetics of the product.

FACTS & FIGURES – AGROP NOVA

Established: 1992
Employees: 200
Locations: Ptení/CZ (production), Plumlov/CZ (warehouse)
Production: 1.3 million m²/yr of multi-layer solid wood panels, 7,000 m³/yr of laminated timber
Products: Novatop Solid,Novatop Elements,Novatop Open,Novatop Static,Novatop Acoustic